Alright, here we go again with another 4-3-3 variation 2 tactic! If you've checked out any of my previous stuff, you'll know this is like my third or fourth 4-3-3 variation 2 formation. This is my bread and butter in previous FIFAs. The 4-3-3 variation 5, AKA The False 9, was my level of pure expertise, and obviously with that being removed, the 4-3-3 with the variation 2 is the closest thing to it. This is something I know inside and out; it fits my play style perfectly, so it's why I can test out and get a lot of tactics out there, and each one is very different from the previous. This one I'm really excited about because it's something that was missing in FC24, which is now back in FC25, which I'm absolutely buzzed about! So, let's go and check out the tactic. Now, this is one where you really need to focus on what I'm saying because to understand how it works and the pros of it, but also the cons of it, you really have got to follow exactly what I'm saying with it.
Formation and General Instructions
First of all, it is short passing. A lot of my tactics are going to be either balanced or short passing. I'm not the kind of person that's going to go for counter. For me, it's all about controlling the game, it's all about having those safe five-to-ten-yard passes, great passing options to build up and score goals. But for this one as well, the defensive approach is high at 70. And again, don't just blindly put the code in; please follow the instruction as to why. Again, the defensive approach is high. Now, really quickly, this is a 4-3-3 with one CDM and two center midfielders, and this is what it looks like out of possession.
Defensive Setup and CDM Role
This is the really key thing here because if you notice, we've got on the CDM, Center Half. Now, this is what I'm so excited about: the drop between Defenders that EA removed from FC24. I love it because it allows you to get the wing backs nice and high and attack further up the pitch. So, as you can see, when you've got the ball, the CDM, in my case, it's Gravenberch, drops in between the two center backs and forms a three. Now, what this does – and I'll be honest here – it does cause a massive gap between the two center midfielders. For me, that's my two playmakers on attack, Harel and Mac Allister. The gap between them two and Gravenberch is huge, and this is why we've got to have the high defensive approach, okay? Because you do have a massive void in the middle of the pitch, but there's a reason why, and it's calculated. It's to counter a lot of things.
Player Roles Breakdown
Let's just run through each player role step by step:
- Wing Backs: First of all, they are on balanced, okay? That's all you can choose. Do not go to, um, where is it, attacking wing back? It's too aggressive, and you don't need to. It's the same for the right back as well. As you can see, I've got Klein, who's got A+, and I've got Simas, who doesn't. They both do the job equally well, okay? If you're one of those people that has to have Plus or the plus-plus in these positions, go for it, but for me, it's working without. So, as you can see on the heat map, you can see the sort of positions they take. It's a bit further, it's a bit advanced in a fullback, but what's great about it is in midfield, you can just turn to the right, you can turn to the left, and you have got a great passing option. If you want to trigger them to go forward, press L1. If you don't, they'll just maintain that slightly advanced position without being too aggressive.
- Center Backs: The two Defenders, I've just got Defender. I haven't really experimented too much about the different center back roles; it's something I'll probably do in the coming week, but for me at the moment, Defender and defend is just the way I've got it.
- CDM (Gravenberch): Now, this is the key one, okay? Center Half, and you can see the heat map here. Again, he is going to drop to form a back three. Quansah will go slightly wider right, Jamie Carragher will go slightly wider left, and Gravenberch will sit in the middle. We're going to come back to that position in just a moment.
- Center Midfielders: Similar to previous 4-3-3 variation 2, I've gone for Playmaker attack. I find it's currently with a lot of setups, it's the best one for me in a three-man midfield, okay? It's what I'm getting the best out of both my center midfielders. It's working; they kind of form the attack, they get on the edge of the box, they're a good passing option, it just works.
- Inside Forwards: Then I've gone for inside forward and attack, so they kind of come a bit more central. So, they're not as narrow as a two-striker formation, they're not as narrow as like the 4-3-2-1 from previous years, but they're narrow enough to get involved with the two center mids and false nine.
- False 9 (Diogo Jota): Diogo Jota is perfect. I had been using Darwin Nunez, who I still got 13 wins in Foot Champs with, but is not ideal. Someone like Diogo Jota, someone that can pass, someone that's got decent agility. It'd be great if he had more pace. Diogo Jota, he sometimes goes through on goal from like good positions, and he hasn't got the pace to outpace some of the center backs, but it's not a necessity. Good passing, good hold-up. Berbatov, for example, would be really great to use, even though he has got lower pace. They just drop into that more central position, allow then the inside forwards to have space. If you try something different like an advanced forward, a poacher, etc., it just gets a bit too messy and a bit too narrow, and it means there's not enough space for your left wing or right wing to actually attack and get in good positions, especially when you're playing it five back. It's too easy to lock them down. By putting Jota or your striker as a false nine, it means they just pick up positions in between the back line and the midfield of the opposition, so you can get the ball to them, you can link everything nicely, you've got nice triangles with the two center midfielders, it works really nicely.
CDM's Defensive Transition
Now let's go back to Gravenberch because this is what the tactic is all centered around. So, yes, when you've got the ball, he's going to form a back three, and you're like, "Oh, this is just a glorified five at the back." It's not. The reason why I really like this is because a lot of teams, a lot of tactics, are playing counterattacking football, and they get the ball quickly to the strikers. It's a one-two between the strikers or the CAM, it's an L1 boost abuse, and they get through. Now, with this Gravenberch, when you actually – or your CDM – when you lose the ball, what he does is he transitions from the center back position to the defensive mid. So, if you see that movement, that's the movement he does in-game, which means that when he comes out from defense, if you've lost it, so with your center midfielders, say they've gone past your center midfielders, and this is why we need the high depth because you want to be able to put as much pressure with the center midfielders and your wingers and your false nine as possible, but more than likely they're going to make it past, okay? If you win it back, brilliant, you've got a great opportunity to attack with five players. If they get past your two center midfielders, you want to switch to Gravenberch, your CDM, and you want to go forward, and you want to put pressure now on that ball into the striker's feet, into the CAM's feet, or whoever they're attacking with. You want to put that pressure on and get in there early and put that pressure on. Now, if he's a center defensive mid in this position already, he might be out of position, or he might have to go right, he might have to go left, and he can be worked around. Because he's coming from a center back position, even if they decide to go more to the right or more to the left of the pitch, because he's got that deeper starting point, you can just run out, and you can put that pressure wherever it's needed on the pitch. It is so good. You have to test it out, you have to try it, you have to join my stream and see me play with it in Division One so you can see what it's like. Hopefully, by then, I'll be Elite by the time this video goes out, but you can see how it works.
Conclusion
So, you are going to have a void between the midfielders, but it's because then your CDM is in a good position to stop the counterattacks. Even though it looks defensive, it's actually an aggressive setup to stop those counterattacks, put pressure on it, and allows your wing backs to go a bit further forward without leaving your two center backs too exposed, okay? So, this is the tactic I've been using in Division One, it's what I use in Foot Champs. I got 13 and two, and this is the team I'm using, and actually, this is a much, much weaker team – sorry, stronger team than I use in Foot Champs because I had Darwin Nunez as a striker, Jota on the left wing, who is nowhere near as good as K on the left wing. Um, so actually, I've made improvements just by bringing in K, I've made massive improvements to my front three functioning. I think if I had this team, I could have potentially pushed for 15 and 0, which I will be streaming, by the way, on Twitch and YouTube on both platforms. Yes, so if you prefer to watch it on YouTube, I'll be there. If you prefer watching on Twitch, I'll be there too. So, this is the tactic. Let me know, the code is in the description, you would have seen it in various points in the video, it come up as well. See how you get on. I wish you the best of luck.