High-level EA FC 26 play is about learning the meta tactics and exploiting them until a new one is discovered a few weeks later. Players hate it when someone uses these tactics against them, but they’re essential to climbing the ladder and progressing in-game.
Custom tactics and formations are a good place to start, but goals still won’t come easily. The developers have improved the overall defense of the game, and goalkeepers are better than ever. So just dribbling past them and trying to score is quite challenging if you face an experienced player.
However, not all hopes are lost as set pieces are still powerful and they play a crucial role in winning the game. With the right execution, they can be your most useful tool to score more goals than ever. Here is the complete breakdown on how to master each set piece in EA FC 26.
Mastering Penalties
The first and foremost set piece is the penalty. When the ball is inside the box, you or your opponent might make a foul due to the tension of the game. Tie-breakers are also decided by penalties, so it’s important to get good at them.
Selecting The Kick Taker
Sometimes, the default kick taker may not have the best stats for penalties. Choose the player manually by pressing the R2 button. Look for players with these two high ratings:
- High Penalties: To ensure the shot is accurate.
- High Shot Power: To ensure the shot is fast and difficult for the keeper to catch.
Timing The Shot (Aiming Ring)
The ball is in the centre of an Aiming Ring that expands and contracts:
- Timing: The smaller the circle around the ball, the better the shot, so aim for the smallest state of circle.
- Tip: Press the shoot button just before the circle reaches the ideal state to counter any delay in the game.
Aiming And Power
Combine all the learned aspects with the perfect aim and power:
- Aiming: Use the Left Analog Stick to aim where to shoot. The best choice would be the top corners, but if you want to go down the middle, simply do not aim at all.
- Power: Aim for three bars of power, around 90% as even if the circle is green, applying full power could make you miss the shot.
Saving Penalties
There is no guaranteed science behind saving a penalty, but to improve your chances, here are the best tips:
- Five angles: You must dive at the correct angle, as diving wrong will guarantee the opponent a goal. Try to keep your keeper in the middle and pick a side. You’ll have to make an educated guess here, based on where the opponent has been shooting and where you think they’ll shoot next.
- Pre-step: Before diving, always make a small step in the direction you intend to dive. This increases your chances of saving the shot.
How To Master Freekicks
There are many techniques for utilizing free kicks to score a goal. It is also not necessary to score directly, as you can use your teammates to create different scenarios and score.
Selecting The Kick Taker
- Playstyle: To ensure the best accuracy for your free kick, your player should have the Dead-Ball Specialist playstyle.
- High free kicks: The higher the stat, the higher the accuracy.
- High curve: A higher curve equals more swerve, making your shots difficult to save. Don’t overdo it, though, as you might miss completely.
Selecting The Shot Type
Low Direct shot:
- Aiming: Aim the shot slightly into the corner of the goal where the keeper is not near.
- Contact: Aim at the middle of the ball.
Outside Foot Curled Shot:
- Player assignment: Select a left-footed player for free kicks on the left side and a right-footed player for free kicks on the right.
- Shot selection: Scroll until you find outside foot low and go slightly down to find outside foot curled.
- Aim: Slightly next to the wall
Selecting The Shot Power
- Low direct shot: 3 and a half bar power.
- Outside foot curled shot: 3 and a half bar or almost 4 bar power.
How To Master Corners
Previous FC games had strong direct corners, but now they’re not as viable. So, you have to apply different tactics to score.
Here are the two methods that work best
First Short Corner Method
1. Game settings
- Ground passing: Set to assisted.
- Pass receiver lock: Set to animation start, allows you to control the receiver immediately.
2. Execution
- Step 1: Call a teammate to pass the ball by pressing the R1 button, and once your teammate arrives, simply pass the ball.
- Step 2: Turn around after receiving the ball and look for an empty teammate inside the box or near it. Pass the ball to the teammate using R1 and X for a driven pass.
- Step 3: Try to create space by performing two three-shot passes and then dribbling through the space using technical dribbling, which is done by holding R1.
- Step 4: The final step is to finish with a low-driver shot by double-tapping the shoot button.
Second Short Corner Method
1. Setup
- Player selection: A tall player should be on your team.
- Assignment: Go to assignments and assign the tall player in your team to the back post.
2. Execution
- Step 1: Call a teammate to pass the ball by pressing the R1 button, and once your teammate arrives, simply pass the ball.
- Step 2: Your opponent will likely move to the original corner taker. If yes, then run down the byline; else first dribble past your opponent.
- Step 3: As you get close to the goal, look at the back post and cross to the player assigned to the back post.
- Step 4: Now you just have to tap the shoot button and score off a header with the receiver.
Practice Makes Perfect
That’s all you need to know about getting good. Keep in mind that certain PlayStyles will be very effective at set pieces, but you want to familiarize yourself with almost all of them to improve at the game. Apart from just improving mechanically, you also need to get better at recognizing how well your players can execute on a certain idea.
