FM23: The Best Attacking Tactic Guide

When we look at the best attacking tactic in FM 23, we find a lot of different options and styles. Playing attacking, high-pressing football doesn't always require top-quality players. You can achieve it with a different kind of approach as well. In this article, I'll talk about how to play attacking, pressing football both with high-quality players and with lower-quality ones!

FM 23's Best Attacking Tactic!

The core feature of attacking football, of course, comes down to scoring plenty of goals, and in terms of style we've tied this to high-pressing, high-tempo, high-risk football, giving you the chance to play exciting, high-scoring matches.

Heavily pressing, aggressive, or in plain terms "biting" systems can be built with different passing styles and different types of players. Attacking football can comfortably be played in two different styles: direct vertical football or a shorter passing game.

The first (vertical football) makes it possible to play with less talented players,

while the second (high-tempo, short-passing system) makes a difference the opposite way, when played with higher-quality players.

Vertical and direct attacking systems should be built with wide players, shadow strikers, advanced forwards, and other instructions geared toward carrying the ball, quickly spreading the play into the opponent's half and complementing it with other roles that want to run forward.

The attacking tactic built around short passes and a more technical, high-tempo style, on the other hand, includes technical playmakers, inverted wingers, and inside forwards, players willing to take risks but who also carry the ball centrally and play close together using shorter passes, along with attacking fullbacks who press the flanks when the wide players cut inside.

What Formations Work Best For FM 23's Best Attacking Tactic?

In terms of formations, attacking football can comfortably work across different formations, as long as it moves players forward and your defenders are positioned in midfield. With that in mind, the smartest move is to go with the formation that gets the best out of the players you have.

For those who want to play vertical football, 4-3-2-1, 4-4-2, or 4-2-4 can be preferred, while 4-3-3 or 4-3-1-2 will be more suitable for those who want to play a more technical, short-passing game.

What Should the Tactical Approach Be For FM 23's Best Attacking Tactic?

The systems you'll play attacking football with are far more flexible compared to other tactical approaches. They give you the chance to play with and enjoy nearly every role and tactical approach in the game.

Trequartistas, Regista, Segundo Volantes, Complete Forwards, and Complete Wing-Backs. All of these are aggressive roles that fit an overall attacking team mentality. Just make sure your players can actually handle instructions this high-risk!

The more aggressive roles you use, the more you need to make sure your team makes fewer mistakes on every attack, otherwise big gaps will be waiting for you at the back :)

On the other hand, for players with lower technical ability, it can be a good idea to soften all these high-risk instructions with a few safer ones, to keep them from attempting risky passes and flashy dribbling.

Using a defensive role that takes on less risk and/or dribbles less lets you deploy ball winners and defensively strong players within an attacking system without them getting swept up in their teammates' ambitious mentality.

Aggressive play on the ball can be complemented with aggressive, intense pressing and a defensive line that's effective both on the ground and in the air, closing down space off the ball well too. Again, before building this kind of tactic, make sure you've set up your team correctly and that what you have on hand is the best fit for you!

What Should FM 23's Best Attacking Tactic Instructions Be?

Attacking football, especially if you want to play short, one-touch passes without regularly giving the ball away to the opponent, is a demanding style to get results with successfully.

Your players will need to be versatile and close to perfect in attack. While in possession, you'll need players with first touch, passing, technique, flair, composure, concentration, decisions, work rate, off the ball, teamwork, and vision. On top of that, players who carry the ball and play through dribbling need high dribbling, acceleration, agility, balance, and pace, and I'd recommend training them with that in mind.

If you're planning to back up your high-pressing possession game with aggressive ball-winning, your midfielders will need marking, tackling, aggression, bravery, determination, work rate, stamina, and strength.

Having a high defensive line will also require your defenders to have both the mental attributes (anticipation, composure, concentration, decisions, positioning, and teamwork) and the physical attributes (acceleration, agility, pace) needed to defend all that open space.

As you can see, we've covered almost the entire range of attributes, which gives you an idea of why such a broad approach is usually reserved for exceptionally talented squads.

What we're really seeing here is that it's easy to impose any style of play when you have good footballers. If you trust the quality of your squad, don't be afraid to play attacking football and try things out!

If you want to play attacking football but don't have the all-around quality to take it to a higher level, you can adopt the vertical football approach I mentioned first instead.

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