FIFA 22 Guide: How To Master Defending

Attack wins you games, defense wins you titles. With this guide, you will crunch the opposing strikers in FIFA 22!

FIFA 22 defending
Legend. Idol. Perfection. | © EA Sports

When you think of FIFA, you might think about a shitload of goals. If you are too slow, you won't get the ball. If you are not into the meta, you will concede and concede and concede. FIFA 22 is merciless... but also has a lot to offer for defensive strategists. If you think you are tactic god Diego Simeone himself, you will surely be pleased with the improved AI. In contrast to the brainless attacking and scoring, a good defense needs genius. And you know... I'm something of a genius myself.

In addition to the best formation and the right tactics, the controls are very important. The updates made the gameplay even more realistic, so the defensive action might feel different now. But if you cover the dirty work, your attack will be thankful. The moment between winning the ball and running towards your opponent's goal is a real game changer. Gegenpressing like Jürgen Klopp or classic parking the bus like José Mourinho – your defense decides the outcome of the game. But which moves should you definitely aim for while defending? We'll show you how to defend in FIFA 22!

How To Defend in FIFA 22

Defending in FIFA 22 is all about timing and anticipation. While you could only rely on the AI until now, because EA doesn't know how to balance a game, with the announced Title Update 2, you will have to take over the defensive wheel again. But let's start from the beginning.

If you want to put pressure on your opponent, you should press L2 or LT when covering someone. This ensures that you can always intervene and react quickly. If you also press R2 or RT at the same time, everything happens a little faster, and you push the opposing player – or the ball – off the pitch.

If you are sure and correctly positioned, you can try to tackle your opponent with Circle or B. It's not a tackle yet, but you can put your leg in the way of the attacker and maybe even poke the ball away. But watch out: If you are careless or simply too slow, you risk committing a foul.

That's too boring for you? You want to compete with the greats? Then unleash the tackle! With Square or X, you take full risk, but you can win or lose everything at the same time. So use the tackle wisely... Not everyone is a Puyol. If your opponent has practiced free kicks, it could quickly end up like in this video:

To fully master defending, you also need to learn how to switch between players. There are two options. Either you simply press L1 or LB and you play an automatically selected player. But you can also manually select your next player with the right stick. We recommend the manual version here, so you really have everything in your own hands.

To get your opponent even more under pressure, you can simply call another player with R1. This way, you attack your opponent with two players at the same and hardly offer him space.

Did you already master your defending? What are your tricks? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!