FIFA 21: How to Defend Better with These Tactics

FIFA 21's defending can feel much harder and more complicated compared to past years. FIFA, which had settled into its game mechanics and rarely changed much about the series, saw how easy defending had become in previous years and added new features to this part of the game. Looking back since FIFA 13, we could find one defending trick and lean on it going forward. For example, in FIFA 13, the moment an opponent one-on-one with you started trying to beat you, you could hand control over to the AI and comfortably win the ball back.

This year, unlike previous years, the game wants you to take every defensive action yourself, and in situations where you hand it to the AI, it makes the player ineffective and leaves you down a man. This means you need to meet every opponent player and make the right move yourself. In this article, we'll go over a few different ways to defend in FIFA 21.

How to Defend in FIFA 21

The most important thing to keep in mind while defending is not to mash the tackle button unnecessarily. Whatever console or button settings you're on, making the "Jockey/Contain" standing tackles at the right place and the right time — rather than sliding — matters a lot. When an opponent beats you, don't press the tackle button unnecessarily with the defender you're using. Doing this both takes a player out of the play and slows down how quickly that player recovers into a defensive position. After 2-3 lazy tackle attempts like this, your back line will suddenly open up, and conceding a goal off the back of it won't even feel unfair.

Let the Opponent Come to You

This style may look easier than the other styles I'll describe, but it's a system where you're in serious trouble and highly likely to concede if you don't time your challenges and moves correctly. Its advantages are that it's easier to break out on the counter-attack and harder for you to leave gaps behind your defense.

When setting up your tactics, set your attacking mentality to anything other than "quick build-up play" in your custom tactics. I usually use the "possession" tactic. If you want, you can also play "balanced" or "long ball."

How to Set Up Defensive Styles in FIFA 21

In a defensive style, your defensive width should be around 5-7, and your depth around 4-5. This way, when the opponent tries to switch the direction of play during an attack, your team's width is long, making it harder for the opponent to find gaps.

During the match, as the opponent comes at you, position yourself as far back as possible and let them come to you. Before they enter the box, pick your most trusted defender among your centre-backs or defensive midfielders and cut off the passing lanes you think the opponent will use. If the ball goes past the player you're controlling, switch to the player in that area and keep meeting the attack. Eventually, the opponent will run out of open space and, wanting to score, will try a pass or a cross through your defense. At that point, you can either challenge for the ball with the player closest to the pass's target, or, since a misplaced pass is likely, win the ball and break straight into attack.

This style of defending requires patience and concentration. If you get impatient and break your defensive shape, you'll most likely give up a good chance.

Defending the Opponent by Pressing High in FIFA 21

This is a style you'll enjoy more, where you'll have more of the ball and get into more attacking positions. If you're wondering how to score more goals through your defending, here's the answer:

Set your defensive depth to around 5-7 in your defensive style. You can set your defensive width to around 4-5. The point of these settings is that with your team's defensive line shorter and its players closer together, and with the defense set higher, you'll meet the opponent quickly high up the pitch and increase your chances of winning the ball.

You should set your defensive style to "press after possession loss." This way, the moment you lose the ball, your team will automatically apply pressure to win it back. The most important thing in this defensive style is winning the ball back and completing your attack before the opponent spots your gaps. I'm underlining "completing your attack" in particular because, in FIFA 21, one of the most common reasons for conceding goals is failing to finish an attack and leaving gaps behind as a result. Let's say you win the ball, continue the attack, and then lose a simple ball again; the second time your team moves to press again, if the opponent reacts faster than you and finds an open teammate, you can suddenly be left very short at the back. So even if it means booting the ball into the stands, finish your attacks!

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