The revamped version of Football Manager, Football Manager 26, really showcases the importance of good tactics. Players can’t just expect to stat-check their opponents with a top-tier team anymore; you need the strategy to back it up. However, finding formations for weaker teams isn’t a piece of cake either. With an offense-heavy meta going on, you’ll need to dig into the archives to find something that suits an underdog team.
Fortunately, we already did that part. Today’s piece is all about tactics that work best when facing teams above your skill level. You don’t need fancy tricks or world-class dribblers for these methods; all you need is cohesion and discipline to pull off some major upsets. But enough talk, let’s see what the best underdog tactics look like and how they work in FM26.
Best Underdog Tactics In FM26
Vertical Tiki Taka (4-1-2-3)
First, we have the Vertical Tiki Taka strategy using a 4-1-2-3 formation. For a solid underdog formation, you always want a heavy backline to reduce the offense coming into your box. The ideology here is rather than going for an offensive gegenpress method (which is super popular right now), you fall back and build from your half.
Your defensive line will remain back, keeping your line of engagement low. Your CDM helps facilitate them, intercepting potential passes into your backline. Your midfield also sets a defensive tone on the field, acting as your first line of defense. They should be tracking back as soon as you lose possession of the ball to keep your half packed. Jockeying is super helpful here.
The mentality in this strategy is set to be balanced. You don’t want to go too heavy on defense since that will just result in draw after draw. Not only does this formation cover your central half, but you can also use it to stop wing plays. Have your FBs move forward with your CBs supporting them. The CDM and midfield moves further back to stop any crosses into the middle. This should hopefully win you possession.
For the offense, you always want to build slowly when going up against a better team. Use short passes and the Tiki Taka playstyle to move the ball forward. This formation doesn’t support wing offenses, so your options might seem a bit limited. But if you’re building on a failed attack from your opponent, chances are their defensive line has moved up the field. Using your midfield’s playmaking skills, get the ball to your ST/CF for an easy 1-on-1 with the GK.
Remember that the key to making this strategy work is not exhausting your options by chasing, but rather letting the opponent come to you and pincering them from behind. It is ideal for teams that rely on outnumbering opponents rather than beating them in skill matchups.
Defensive Line Push (4-4-2)
The Vertical Tiki Taka is quite a popular playstyle in FM26, but the next one we’re about to mention has hardly ever been seen. I got this from scouring the internet, and the credit goes to X-user, RDF Tactics. This method uses a packed defensive line to suffocate the opponent’s attack while getting in position to make your own.
In the previous strategy, the attack stayed at their positions, even during OOP. This time around, the attack moves around freely while expecting the ball since you’ve got a solid midfield. You want to set the mentality to balanced once again, since an aggressive mentality might move up your line of engagement, making you vulnerable to a counter-attack.
When OOP, your midfield and CDMs push towards the ball, creating pressure on the attack. If the attack is coming centrally, your LM and RM will try to pincer them near the halfway line, but just enough to be available for a counter-attack. Your CDMs can engage higher up the field since they have your entire defensive line backing them.
If the attack does manage to surpass your CDMs, your CBs should move up while the FBs swing inwards. This is because the wings were already covered by your LM and RM. With such a heavy defensive presence in your half, marking each one of their players shouldn’t be an issue. Once you have the ball, it’s time to move up.
When the IP phase starts, it is preferable to play aggressively. Move the ball amongst your CBs and CDMs to maintain possession. Once the opponent’s formation starts to split a little, move the ball outwards and towards the halfway line. Use your wing midfielders to create space, since wing attacks are more successful with this tactic. Whichever wing you play from, the others should crowd the box for potential crosses.
If you’re using this tactic, you’ll have a lot more defensive presence, minimizing the chances of you conceding. You might face issues building up a successful attack initially, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to smoothly guide the ball up the field.
