FIFA WORLD

FIFA 12

2011-12-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

Shooting saw some big improvements in FIFA 12, when compared with FIFA 11. In FIFA 12, you can expect to score from many different angles and distances, whereas you probably couldn't say the same about FIFA 11. Shots are generally much harder than they have been in previous versions of FIFA, so you can expect to score from a variety of ranges, provided you're using a player who has decent shooting attributes, especially power. Most people overlook it, but it's worth knowing who has good shooting stats and who doesn't so you know when you should be shooting.

Regular Shot

The regular, laces shot is best for long range shooting, but it is also quite effective from closer ranges as well. You perform the regular shot with your console's default shooting button alone. An important tip is that you should pay attention to your set-up touch before shooting. By this I mean that you can't expect to rip one with a small touch, you need to set yourself up with a touch in front of your player so he can get some power into it. Regular shots can also be volleys and headers, so the controls are no different.

Finesse Shot

Finesse shots are sidefooted strikes which are particularly useful when shooting from in and around the penalty box. Finesse shots are generally more accurate than regular shots, but will be much less powerful. They are useful for picking out corners, but don't expect them to be as useful as they were inFIFA 11. In FIFA 12, they're still highly effective from tight angles, but it's not as ridiculous as in FIFA 11. Finesse shots also have a decent bit of curve, the amount depending on the strength of shot and time it has to curve. To execute a finesse shot on Xbox 360, hold down RB while shooting, and R1 while shooting on PS3.

Acrobatic/Fancy Shots

Unlike FIFA 11, in FIFA 12, you have the ability to control the occurrence of acrobatic shots such as bicycle kicks or diving headers. To do so, you obviously need to be set up correctly, including having the ball in the air. For Xbox, hold down LT as you shoot, and L2 for Playstation. For lower shots, such as double-tap or triple-tap low crosses, you can do the same thing and pull off some cheeky little flicks and backheels. It's really quite simple, but it's more about the timing and set up than anything, but you can pull off some really spectacular goals if you do this well.

Chip Shots

Chip shots are useful shots which are used to cheekily loop the ball over the goalkeeper and into the goal. A chip shot has a high arc and is not very powerful, but is useful for when the goalkeeper is not on his line and a bit farther away from the goal than he should be. This scenario occurs a lot when a player is on a breakaway and the opponent rushes his goalkeeper out too early, giving you enough time to chip it over him before he gets too close to cut off your angle. Sometimes in FIFA 12, goalkeepers are off their line for no good reason, so you should look for this and give it a try if he is. On Xbox 360, chip shots are executed by holding down LB as you are pressing the shoot button, and likewise for PS3 although you want to hold down the L1 button instead.

Manual Shooting

By default, FIFA 12 is set to assisted shooting. This means that whenever you take a shot, the computer ultimately directs the shot and determines its power for you in relation to where you “sorta” directed the shot and how long you held the stick for. Once you set your shooting settings to manual, you will realize just how much the computer helps you get your shots on target. When you first set manual settings, don't be discouraged by how your shots go everywhere but into the net. You will improve over time and in the end it will be worth it as your shots will be determined 100% by your command. This means that once you get good, you can hit the far corners out of the keepers reach much more frequently than if you'd spent the same amount of time practicing shooting with assisted settings.

FIFA 12 is all about knowing when to pass and when to dribble. It is now very effective to mix it up, and unlike FIFA 11, you can now expect to blast past some unbalanced defenders with an opportune dribble.However, passing is still a very extremely important skill to know how to do well, and arguably one of the most important concepts in FIFA 12.

Possessing the Ball

The possession game in FIFA has always been very similar to what it's like in real life: hold the ball, pass it around, and wait for the moment to surge forward. If you have a team who isn't exactly the "sit back and wait for the counter attack" it's probably in your best interest to maintain posession in the midfield and slowly work it upfield. Try to emulate teams like Barcelona, who focus on the little layoffs and utilize all areas of the final third. Don't be afraid to pass back, it opens up more options, and it's certainly better than loosing posession.

Inside or Outside?

There are always pockets of space on the pitch where the defending team is nonexistent. You must look at the current defensive shape of your opponent, are they spread out all around, leaving many available passing lanes? Or are they cluttered more in the center of the field, leaving options for you to play the balloutside? You need to learn to analyze how your opponent's team is positioned, and take advantage of this. A good example would be that from a goal kick, the defending team tends to push into the center of the field, leaving your wingers or outside midfielders wide open. If you are to win the header, play the ballto any open player, who can then distribute it to your winger or outside midfielder. Another example isplaying against a team who is very spread out, which is usually due to his formation featuring many midfielders and defenders. By noticing this, you already have the advantage that there will be more passing lanes than normal, and the through ball will be extremely effective.

Regular Passes

By pressing the default passing button of your gaming console, you play a simple sidefooted pass to a teammate. These passes will generally go right to your target's feet, so if they have a lot of room in front of them to run on to, you might want to consider the through ball, which will be explained later. Although the default assisted controls will aid your passing direction and power, you do have a considerable amount of control over the power of your pass, so analyze the distance between you and your passing target and hold down the passing button accordingly so it gets to him without being intercepted. However, if you want full control over the direction and power of your shots, I highly recommend looking into changing your passing settings to manual.

Lofted Pass

The lofted pass is useful when your passing target is wide open, but there is a player of the opposing team in the way of this. By simply lofting the ball over your opponent's head and to your target, you can evade this problem. Another useful time to utilize the lofted pass is by passing up to a big, tall striker. Most of the time, he will out-jostle and out-jump the defenders to head the ball to another player or even chest it down to his feet. This is useful because when done well, it is so sudden that the midfielders don't have enough time to get back, and you can attack just their back line.

Crossing

Crossing is an incredibly useful tool in FIFA 12. Utilize your quick wingers and get them down the line to play a cross in. However in FIFA, you can decide what kind of cross you want to play. There are three types of crosses in FIFA 11.

The Traditional Lofted Cross – by holding down the lofted pass button on your console, your player will play in a cross that tends to go high enough that heading the ball is the best option for your strikers.
The Low Cross – by tapping the lofted pass button down twice in quick succession, your player will play in a lower cross to the ground that is usually put away by not only headers, but also volleys. The ideal time to use this is when your striker us approaching the near post and there is not a defender in front of him, or when the player who is going to cross the ball is very close to the end line.
The Ground Cross – a ground cross is executed by tapping the lofted pass down three times in quick succession. This will result in a ground level, hard cross across the face of goal. This is useful for when the defensive line is rushing back to the goal to defend the cross but haven't quite made it there yet. If your striker is in line with the defence, but is faster and will beat them to the ball, then go for it. When done well, the cross will nestle right in front of your striker nicely for him to bang into the back of the net.

*Holding down LB on Xbox or L1 on Playstation while crossing with any of these three crossing variants produces an early cross which is best used when your strikers are still not quite into the area, so you play it into their path to run on to.

Through Ball

The through ball is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use against your opponent. The through ball is a pass which doesn't go directly to your passing target, but rather in front of him for him to run on to. Obviously, don't try this if your target doesn't have space in front of him, or if his marker or defenders around him are faster than him. The best uses for the through ball are for when playing wingers to give them a head start on their dribble down the line, or playing through holes in the defensive line so your striker can simply run past the defenders to be in on goal. The through ball can also be utilized to quicklyspeed up your attack in the midfield also, your midfielders will have space in front of them too!

Chipped Through Ball

Chipped Through balls have the same concept as the regular through ball, but that the pass is, well, chipped! This is useful for when your passing target has a lot of space in front of him and is faster than the defenders around him, but they are blocking passing lanes through which you can play a grounded through ball.

Fancy Passes

New to FIFA 12, you can control when you want to play a little backheel or another fancy flick. As you're passing, hold down RB on Xbox or R1 on Playstation to produce a random fancy pass or flick. It's not always the same type, but they're all equally as effective as eachother. By this, I mean that it's not such a good idea to do this all the time, just occasionally as they aren't all that effective.

Defending has seen some huge changes in FIFA 12, mainly due to the fact that it was just too easy to hold down a single button have your players automatically chase your opponent. In FIFA 12, defending is more down to strategy and timing than anything. You need to learn what to do and when. When you start up the game for the first time, you're greeted with a basic tutorial to the new defending system, but this guide will go much more in depth and give you the upper hand in those defensive battles.

Contain your Opponent

The most important thing to remember is that tackling isn't your main focus until your opponent reaches your penalty box. It is very hard to correctly time tackles, so you need to be patient and just contain your opponent. Make sure you're jockeying so that you're actually closing down players. Quickly switch players and close down passing lanes, forcing them to make a mistake. More often than not, you'll eventually intercept a pass without your opponent even nearing your penalty box. The alternative, quickly trying to just tackle your opponent off the dribble, doesn't provide quite the same success rate.

Tackling

When your opponent does reach the penalty box, you need to be able to tackle correctly. Tackling is all about timing. You need to anticipate when the ball will be within your reach and be sure not to tackle too early, as this will result in your player mindlessly flinging his foot forward, allowing the opponent to dribble past. Timing will come in time, but if you contain your opponent well (previous paragraph), you shouldn't actually have to tackle all that much.

Anticipate Passes

Like stated before in the guide, anticipating passes is paramount. I wanted to emphasize this because in previous versions of FIFA 12, it's all been about tackling and winning the ball quickly. This is replaced with anticipating tackles in FIFA 12: you now need to be patient and think "Where would I pass in his posiion?" and close down that passing lane accordingly. It seems like a lot to think about, but you'll get the hang of it as long as you practice and are patient.

Other Tips

Use the right stick to change players quicker.
Be patient!
Stay goal-side of your opponent.
Time your tackles well.
Anticipate through balls and bring a player back for cover.
Be wary of skill moves, just focus on jockeying a player like this.
Use the slide tackle sparingly, and in only dire situations.
If you are to win the ball, make good use of your counter attack!

Also see our list of the 5 star skill players in FIFA 12 here!

Below is a table of all the possible skill moves in FIFA 12. Remember that pretty much every skill move requires for the left trigger to be held down, without it your player will just dribble normally if you are moving the right stick. These controls are the same for both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation, although on the Playstation the trigger you want to use is L2. Note that just these core moves are not the onlytricks you can do, you can combine them however you want to create your own unique skill move.Please note that many of these skills can be done with either foot, so they have two versions, which are done using opposite sides on the analog stick.

Note that the FIFA 12 version of the series continues the 'Star Rated Dribbling' system. In this system, players are ranked on a 1-5 scale of stars, with the players having 5 stars being able to perform every skill move and players with just 1 star will only be able to perform the simplest of skill moves. Also keep in mind that you can watch most of the moves here using the 2nd column "Watch", which will cause a GIFimage to show up and show you exactly what move we're referring to.

Skill Move

Watch (GIF)

Controls

Sideways Roll

Watch

LT + Right Stick R/L (hold)

Body Feint

Watch

LT + Right Stick R/L (flick)

Stepover

Watch

LT + from Right Stick U to R

Reverse Stepover

Watch

LT + from Right Stick R to U

Fake Shot

Watch

B, A (quick succession)

Blanco

Watch

While still, LT + press down Right Stick

Inside Circle Drag

Watch

While still, LT + Right Stick SW/SE twice (quick succession)

Elastico

Watch

LT + from Right Stick R under to L

Hocus Pocus

Watch

While still, LT + from Right Stick L to R

Roulette

Watch

LT + from Right Stick counter-clockwise D to U

Heel-to-Heel

Watch

LT + Right Stick U, D (quick succession)

Juggle Ball

Watch

LT + RB repeatedly

ATW (Around the World)

Watch

While juggling, LT + Right Stick full rotation starting from bottom

Ronaldo Chop

Watch

While running, LT + Right Stick SW/SE (quick succession)

Overhead Flick

Watch

While still, LT + U, U, D

Rainbow

Watch

While running, LT + Right Stick D, U, U (timed)

McGeady Spin

Watch

LT + Right Stick flick U, flick R

Matthews

Watch

LT + from Right Stick L to R

Rainbow Variation

Watch

LT + Right Stick U, U (hold), D (timed)

Rabona Fake

Watch

While sprinting, LT + power up power meter and cancel with Pass Button while holding backon the Left Stick(back as in in regards to direction sprinting in)

Triple Elastico

Watch

LT + from Right Stick U, to R, to L

Scooped Lob Pass

Watch

While still, LB + X

Roll and Flick

Watch

While running, LT + Right Stick R (hold), Flick NW

Ball Roll Fake

Watch

LT + Right Stick L, flick Left Stick R

Ball Roll and Back

Watch

While still, LT + Right Stick R (held), L (held)

Stepover Double Touch

Watch

LT + Right Stick U, across to R, Left Stick NW

Stop Ball and Turn

Watch

LT + Right Stick U, flick L

Fast Ball Rolls

Watch

LT + Right Stick D (held)

Fancy Fake Ball Roll

Watch

LT + Shoot/Lob button, Pass button quickly after

Airborne Rainbow

Watch

LT + tap RB constantly throughout, Right Stick D, U, U (timed)

Directional Ronaldo Chop

Watch

LT + Shoot button, Pass button quickly after, use Right Stick in any of the following directions to designate direction (U, L, R, NW, NW, SE, SW)

Elastico Chop

Watch

LT + Right Stick D, flick L

90 Degree Scoop Turn

Watch

LT + X, A, Left Stick L

180 Degree Scoop Turn

Watch

LT + X, A, Left Stick D

Bergkamp Flick

Watch

LT + Flick Right Stick D as ball is coming directly toward player.

Reverse Toe Bounce

Watch

While juggling, hold Right Stick L.

LATW

Watch

While juggling, Right Stick D, clockwise twice fast.

A feature that returns to the FIFA series for a fourth time after its debut in FIFA 09 is the ability to control thecelebration of your player after he has scored. There are two types of celebration moves; running moves and finishing moves. Find out your favorite combinations andcelebrate your great goals with a traditional punch the air or a more fancy salsa dance.

Running Moves

Celebration	Xbox Control	Playstation Control
Signature Running Move	A	X
One Arm Raised	B	Circle
Thumb Suck	X	Square
Ear Twist	Y	Triangle
Finger Points	tap B, then hold B	tap Circle, then hold Circle
Arms Out	tap X, then hold X	tap Square, then hold Square
Wrist Flick	tap Y, then hold Y	tap Triangle, then hold Triangle
Aeroplane	press down Right Stick	press down Right Stick
Point to Sky	Right Stick U	Right Stick U
Shhhh!	Right Stick R	Right Stick R
Telephone	Right Stick D	Right Stick D
Can you hear me?	Right Stick L	Right Stick L
Fist Pump	Right Stick R, hold L	Right Stick R, hold L
Come on!	Right Stick L, hold R	Right Stick L, hold R
Blow Kisses	Right Stick D, hold U	Right Stick D, hold U
Double Arm Swing	Right Stick U, hold D	Right Stick U, hold D
Flying Bird	Right Stick R, hold R	Right Stick R, hold R
Hand on Head	Right Stick L, hold L	Right Stick L, hold L
Heart Symbol	Right Stick D, hold D	Right Stick D, hold D
Arms Pointing Up	Right Stick U, hold U	Right Stick U, hold U
Windmill	spin Right Stick clockwise	spin Right Stick clockwise

Finishing Moves

Celebration	Xbox Control	Playstation Control
Kneel Slide to Fist Pump	LT + B	L2 + Circle
Jump Punch to Fist Pump	LB + X	L1 + Square
Big Fist Pump	LB + Y	L1 + Triangle
Shoulder Dust	LB + double tap B	L1 + double tap Circle
Bottom Dance	LB + double tap Y	L1 + double tap Triangle
Point to Crowd	LB + double tap Y	L1 + double tap Triangle
Stand & Point to Sky	LB + hold Right Stick U	L1 + Hold Right Stick U
Standing Archer	LB + hold Right Stick R	L1 + hold Right Stick R
Kneel Slide to Fall on Back	LB + hold Right Stick D	L1 + hold Right Stick D
Punch & Dodge	LB + hold Right Stick L	L1 + hold Right Stick L
Chest Slide	LB + flick Right Stick D, U	L1 + flick Right Stick D, U
Bow	LB + flick Right Stick D, U	L1 + flick Right Stick D, U
Head Shake	LB + flick Right Stick L, R	L1 + flick Right Stick L, R
Standing Arm Sweep	LB + flick Right Stick R, L	L1 + flick Right Stick R, L
Backflip (agile players)	LB + flick Right Stick U, U	L1 + flick Right Stick U, U
Arms out to Crowd	LB + flick Right Stick U, U	L1 + flick Right Stick U, U
One Knee Fist Pump	LB + flick Right Stick R, R	L1 + flick Right Stick R, R
Kneel and Point to Heavens	LB + flick Right Stick D, D	L1 + flick Right Stick D, D
Handstand (agile players)	LT + Right Stick clockwise revolution	L2 + Right Stick clockwise revolution
Roll & Punch	LT + Right Stick clockwise revolution	L2 + Right Stick clockwise revoltion
Double Backflip (agile players)	LB + Right Stick counter-clockwise revolution	L1 + Right Stick counter-clockwise revolution
Roll	LB + Right Stick counter-clockwise revolution	L1 + Right Stick counter-clockwise revolution
Upper Curl Jump Punch	LB + press down Right Stick	L1 + press down Right Stick
Shoe Shine	LT + B	L2 + Circle
Violinist	LT + X	L2 + Square
Spanish Archer	LT + Y	L2 + Triangle
Kneel Slide Spin	LT + double tap B	L2 + double tap Circle
Hands on Ears	LT + double tap X	L2 + double tap Square
Heel Taps	LT + double tap Y	L2 + double tap Triangle
I can't hear you!	LT + Right Stick R	L2 + Right Stick R
Side Slide	LT + Right Stick D	L2 + Right Stick D
Brick Fall	LT + Right Stick L	L2 + Right Stick L
Fall to Knees & Hold Face	LT + Right Stick D, D	L2 + Right Stick D, D
Kneel Slide	LT + Right Stick U, D	L2 + RIght Stick U, D
Samba Dance	LT + Right Stick L, R	L2 + Right Stick L, R
Who am I?	LT + Right Stick R, L	L2 + Right Stick R, L
Frontflip (agile players)	LT + Right Stick U, U	LT + Right Stick U, U
Kneel Slide to Sit	LT + RIght Stick D, D	L2 + Right Stick D, D
Bird Walk	LT + Right Stick L, L	L2 + Right Stick L, L
Cartwheel and Flip (agile players)	LT + spin Right Stick clockwise	L2 + spin Right Stick clockwise
Twist Flip (agile players)	LT + spin Right Stick counter-clockwise	L2 + spin Right Stick counter-clockwise
Cartwheel Roll	LT + spin Right Stick counter-clockwise	L2 + spin Right Stick counter-clockwise>
Robot	LT + press down Right Stick	L2 + press down Right Stick

FIFA 11

2011-12-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

Shooting in FIFA 11 is a bit different from previous FIFA versions, but the changes are not too drastic. The ball physics overall seem a bit different, and in most ways, more realistic. The drop is very accurate to real life, and the power to height correlation seems to be much less drastic. My single biggest complaintwith the shooting engine in FIFA 11 is that outside of the foot shots occur way too much, and I think that they are actually quite inaccurate when compared to regular shots

Regular Shots

The traditional laces strike is the default shot in FIFA 11. By pressing the default shoot button for your particular gaming console, the player will execute this shot. More powerful than the chip or finesse shots, but they are much less predictable and sometimes less accurate due to how quickly the power bar can fill up. I recommend this shot if you are shooting from relative distance (18+ yards out) because while in the box, the finesse shot will be more useful in most cases. The regular laces shot is more useful in the box in some scenarios such as a right footed shooter aiming for the wide left post while approaching from the right side of the goal. This of course isn't the only scenario, but you will have to experiment to figure out what works when deciding between regular shots and finesse shots, which are explained below.

Finesse Shots

Finesse shots are sidefooted strikes which are particularly useful when shooting from in and around the penalty box. Finesse shots are generally more accurate than regular shots, but will be much less powerful. Finesse shots also have a decent bit of curve, the amount depending on the strength of shot and time it has to curve. To execute a finesse shot on Xbox 360, hold down RB while shooting, and R1 while shooting on PS3.

Chip Shots

Chip shots are useful shots which are used to cheekily loop the ball over the goalkeeper and into the goal. A chip shot has a high arc and is not very powerful, but is useful for when the goalkeeper is not on his line and a bit farther away from the goal than he should be. This scenario occurs a lot when a player is on a breakaway and the opponent rushes his goalkeeper out too early, giving you enough time to chip it over him before he gets too close to cut off your angle. Sometimes in FIFA 11, goalkeepers are off their line for no good reason, so you should look for this and give it a try if he is. On Xbox 360, chip shots are executed by holding down LB as you are pressing the shoot button, and likewise for PS3 although you want to hold down the L1 button instead. The goalkeepers tend to stay on their line most of the time, unlike FIFA 10, but keep your eyes open when on a breakaway to try the chip shot.

Volleys

Volleys are shots taken while the ball is airborne, making it much harder to get on target, but they look spectacular when you do so and it results in a goal. Volleys tend to be much harder than ground shots, both in real life and in FIFA. The control for a volley is the same as a regular shot on your console. Keep in mind that the volley category includes any airborne shot except for the header, so look out for opportunities to pull off an acrobatic shot such as a bicycle kick, which occur randomly and you cannot do much to increase the chances of them happening.

Headers

There isn't much to say about headers as shots. The control is the same as what it is for a regular shot for your console. Remember that a good header is usually accompanied by a good cross, so if you don't provide good crosses in from the wings, don't expect good headers. Crossing situations aren't the only ones that provide heading opportunities, but keep this in mind. Also note that you need not hold the shootbutton to get a good header, you will usually only require a short tap.

Setting Up for a Shot

When thinking about taking a shot, keep in mind the position of your player in relation to the goal. Also think about how the ball and your player are moving and how this will affect your shot. An example of an ideal time to shoot is when your player has enough room for a decent run-up, not pressured by opposing players, and the ball is on the ground and not moving fast.

Manual Shooting

By default, FIFA 11 is set to assisted shooting. This means that whenever you take a shot, the computer ultimately directs the shot and determines its power for you in relation to where you “sorta” directed the shot and how long you held the stick for. Once you set your shooting settings to manual, you will realize just how much the computer helps you get your shots on target. When you first set manual settings, don't be discouraged by how your shots go everywhere but into the net. You will improve over time and in the end it will be worth it as your shots will be determined 100% by your command. This means that once you get good, you can hit the far corners out of the keepers reach much more frequently than if you'd spent the same amount of time practicing shooting with assisted settings.

FIFA 11 is about as equally paced as FIFA 10, so passing is still a crucial skill to be able to do well. You must learn to posses the ball through passing before looking for that killer through ball that puts a striker in on goal and other useful techniques such as playing a ball to the winger and learning when to cross.

Possessing the Ball

Holding a good percentage of possession is very important. If you do not possess the ball, your opponent does, and obviously, he can score if he has the ball. Good possession of the ball is hard to teach, you must look for those short passes around the midfield. Don't be afraid to play the ball back! Even though you're loosing ground towards the goal, playing the ball backwards to an open player gives him many more options forward than you would have had. He can then play a ball to the more central midfielder who was not an option when you had the ball, and he might have some really good passing options due to the space you opened up with this quick rotation of the ball.

Inside or Outside?

There are always pockets of space on the pitch where the defending team is nonexistent. You must look at the current team stance of your opponent, are they spread out wide and long leaving many viable passing lanes? Or are they cluttered more in the center of the field, leaving options for you to play the ball outside? You need to learn to analyze how your opponent's team is positioned, and take advantage of this. A good example would be that from a goal kick, the defending team tends to push into the center of the field, leaving your wingers or outside midfielders wide open. If you are to win the header, play the ball to any open player, who can then distribute it to your winger or outside midfielder. Another example is playing against a team who is very spread out, which is usually due to his formation featuring many midfielders and defenders. By noticing this, you already have the advantage that there will be more passing lanes than normal, and the through ball will be extremely effective.

Regular Passes

By pressing the default passing button of your gaming console, you play a simple sidefooted pass to a teammate. These passes will go right to your target's feet, so if they have a lot of room in front of them to run on to, you might want to consider the through ball, which will be explained later. Although the default assisted controls will aid your passing direction and power, you do have a considerable amount of control over the power of your pass, so analyze the distance between you and your passing target and hold down the passing button accordingly so it gets to him without being intercepted. However, if you want full control over the direction and power of your shots, I highly recommend looking into changing your passing settings to manual. See more on the Manual vs. Assisted debate here.

Lofted Pass

Crossing

Crossing is an incredibly useful tool in FIFA 11 due to the effectiveness of headers and importance of strength. Done most by wingers and outside midfielders, the cross is when a player plays a lofted pass from the wide flanks of the pitch to open strikers in the box who are ready to put it into the net. There are three types of crosses in FIFA 11.

The Traditional Lofted Cross – by holding down the lofted pass button on your console, your player will play in a cross that tends to go high enough that heading the ball is the best option for your strikers.
The Low Cross – by tapping the lofted pass button down twice in quick succession, your player will play in a lower cross to the ground that is usually put away by not only headers, but also volleys. The ideal time to use this is when your striker us approaching the near post and there is not a defender in front of him, or when the player who is going to cross the ball is very close to the end line.
The Ground Cross – a ground cross is executed by tapping the lofted pass down three times in quick succession. This will result in a ground level, hard cross across the face of goal. This is useful for when the defensive line is rushing back to the goal to defend the cross but haven't quite made it there yet. If your striker is in line with the defence, but is faster and will beat them to the ball, then go for it. When done well, the cross will nestle right in front of your striker nicely for him to bang into the back of the net.

*Holding down LB on Xbox or L1 on Playstation while crossing with any of these three crossing variants produces an early cross intended for when you are not very close to the endline but still think your strikers are in a good enough position to cross to.

Through Ball

The through ball is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use against your opponent. The through ball is a pass which doesn't go directly to your passing target, but rather in front of him for him to run on to. Obviously, don't try this if your target doesn't have space in front of him, or if his marker or defenders around him are faster than him. The best uses for the through ball are for when playing wingers to give them a head start on their dribble down the line, or playing through holes in the defensive line so your striker can simply run past the defenders to be in on goal. The through ball can also be utilized to quickly speed up your attack in the midfield also, your center-midfielders will have space in front of them too!

Chipped Through Ball

Manual Passing

Passing in FIFA 11 is set to assisted controls by default. By this, I mean that whenever you attempt to pass the ball, the computer greatly alters the amount of power your pass will have and the direction it will go, almost regardless of what you did with your controller. If you set your passing controls to Manual, you will have full control over the power and direction of your shots. It takes some getting used to, but it is very much worth it in the end, once you get good at it.

The all-new Replay Theater of FIFA 11 organizes your replays into one space, and provides a place to view your saved replays. FIFA 11 now also includes post-match highlights – the game automatically saves your highlights of the game such as goals, close misses, shots, etc. This way, after the match you can pick and choose which highlights you would like to save to view or upload later without having to pause during the game to save an instant replay. This also eliminates the old problem of replays in online matches, previously you couldn't pause online games to look at instant replays, so the only way to record online games was through an external capture device.

However, I would recommend using a good quality, external capture card of some sort if you are planning on making goal montages or tutorials pertaining to FIFA, as the quality is rather low on FIFA's replay system when uploaded on to your EA Sports profile, but it would work if it is your only option.

If you are interested in recording better quality FIFA gameplay that can be saved on to your computer for viewing or making goal montages to put online, check out this guide to Capturing your FIFA Gameplay.

FIFA10

2011-12-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

Shooting in FIFA 10 isn't much different from previous FIFA versions, but there are a few small differences. One thing you may notice is that shots actually drop normally, in FIFA 09 they seemingly never stopped rising. Overall though, shots are a bit easier to pull off when compared to earlier versions, but not by much.

Regular Shots

The traditional laces strike is the default shot in FIFA 10. By pressing the default shoot button for your particular gaming console, the player will execute this shot. More powerful than the chip or finesse shots, but they are much less predictable and sometimes less accurate due to how quickly the power bar can fill up. I recommend this shot if you are shooting from relative distance (18+ yards out) because while in the box, the finesse shot will be more useful in most cases. The regular laces shot is more useful in the box in some scenarios such as a right footed shooter aiming for the wide left post while approaching from the right side of the goal. Of course, this isn't the only scenario, but you will have to experiment to figure out what works when deciding between regular shots and finesse shots, which are explained below.

Finesse Shots

Finesse shots are sidefooted strikes which are particularly useful when shooting from in and around the penalty box. Finesse shots are generally more accurate than regular shots, but will be much less powerful. Finesse shots also have a decent bit of curve, the amount depending on the strength of shot and time it has to curve. To execute a finesse shot on Xbox 360, hold down RB while shooting, and R1 while shooting on PS3.

Chip Shots

Chip shots are useful shots which are used to cheekily loop the ball over the goalkeeper and into the goal. A chip shot has a high arc and is not very powerful, but is useful for when the goalkeeper is not on his line and a bit farther away from the goal than he should be. This scenario occurs a lot when a player is on a breakaway and the opponent rushes his goalkeeper out too early, giving you enough time to chip it over him before he gets too close to cut off your angle. Sometimes in FIFA 10, goalkeepers are off their line for no good reason, so you should look for this and give it a try if he is. On Xbox 360, chip shots are executed by holding down LB as you are pressing the shoot button, and likewise for PS3 although you want to hold down the L1 button instead.

Volleys

Headers

Setting Up for a Shot

Manual Shooting

By default, FIFA 10 is set to assisted shooting. This means that whenever you take a shot, the computerultimately directs the shot and determines its power for you in relation to where you “sorta” directed the shot and how long you held the stick for. Once you set your shooting settings to manual, you will realize just how much the computer helps you get your shots on target. When you first set manual settings, don't be discouraged by how your shots go everywhere but into the net. You will improve over time and in the end it will be worth it as your shots will be determined 100% by your command. This means that once you get good, you can hit the far corners out of the keepers reach much more frequently than if you'd spent the same amount of time practicing shooting with assisted settings.

FIFA 10 is a bit slower paced than FIFA 09, so passing is still a crucial skill to be able to do well. You must learn to posses the ball through passing before looking for that killer through ball that puts a striker in on goal and other useful techniques such as playing a ball to the winger and learning when to cross.

Possessing the Ball

Holding a good percentage of possession is very important. If you do not possess the ball, your opponent does, and obviously, he can score if he has the ball. Good possession of the ball is hard to teach, you must look for those short passes around the midfield. Don't be afraid to play the ball back! Even though you're loosing ground towards goal, playing the ball backwards to an open player gives him many more options forward than you would have had. He can then play a ball to the more central midfielder who was not an option when you had the ball, and he might have some really good passing options due to the space you opened up with this quick rotation of the ball.

Inside or Outside?

Regular Passes

Lofted Pass

Crossing

Crossing is an incredibly useful tool in FIFA 10 due to the effectiveness of headers and importance of strength. Done most by wingers and outside midfielders, the cross is when a player plays a lofted pass from the wide flanks of the pitch to open strikers in the box who are ready to put it into the net. There are three types of crosses in FIFA 10.

The Traditional Lofted Cross – by holding down the lofted pass button on your console, your player will play in a cross that tends to go high enough that heading the ball is the best option for your strikers.
The Low Cross – by tapping the lofted pass button down twice in quick succession, your player will play in a lower cross to the ground that is usually put away by not only headers, but also volleys. The ideal time to use this is when your striker us approaching the near post and there is not a defender in front of him, or when the player who is going to cross the ball is very close to the end line.
The Ground Cross – a ground cross is executed by tapping the lofted pass down three times in quicksuccession. This will result in a ground level, hard cross across the face of goal. This is useful for when the defensive line is rushing back to the goal to defend the cross but haven't quite made it there yet. If your striker is in line with the defence, but is faster and will beat them to the ball, then go for it. When done well, the cross will nestle right in front of your striker nicely for him to bang into the back of the net.

Through Ball

The through ball is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use against your opponent. The through ball is a pass which doesn't go directly to your passing target, but rather in front of him for him to run on to. Obviously, don't try this if your target doesn't have space in front of him, or if his marker or defenders around him are faster than him. The best uses for the through ball are for when playing wingers to give them a head start on their dribble down the line, or playing through holes in the defensive line so your striker can simply run past the defenders to be in on goal. The through ball can also be utilized to quickly speed up your attack in the midfield also, your center-midfielders will have space in front of them too!

Chipped Through Ball

Manual Passing

Passing in FIFA 10 is set to assisted controls by default. By this, I mean that whenever you attempt to pass the ball, the computer greatly alters the amount of power your pass will have and the direction it will go, almost regardless of what you did with your controller. If you set your passing controls to Manual, you will have full control over the power and direction of your shots. It takes some getting used to, but it is very much worth it in the end, once you get good at it.

A new feature that debuts in FIFA 10 is a more useful, varied practice mode. Instead of just having a 1v1practice mode, you have the option of practicing any type of set piece, playing a practice match, or creating your own unique set piece play which you can unleash both offline and online.

Practice Set Piece

The 'Practice Set Piece' mode allows you to practice a Corner Kick, Free Kick, or a Throw-In. The most useful of which is undoubtedly the free kick practice. Gone are the days where you need two controllersto hone your free kick skills; intentionally fouling players with one controller, and picking up the othercontroller to give the free kick a try. If you've ever done this, you'll know that it can get extremely annoying. However, this is now solved with a simple free kick practice mode. Corner kicks are relatively useful, but are still primarily a matter of luck. Not quite sure why EA thought Throw-Ins are something we shouldpractice, but it is there if you need it.

Practice Match

Playing practice matches can be fun, and sometimes a quick way to try something out without having to go through the trouble of booting up a new game. They are also useful for getting a bit of a “warm-up” before playing online, if you care about ranks. In practice matches, there are no fouls, the computer is terrible, and every ball out of bounds goes to you; so if you haven't already guessed, you'll havepossession nearly the entire duration of your practice match, which has no set time.

Create Set Piece

Creating set pieces is a unique new tool to FIFA 10. You can pick a region for your set piece, and whenever you receive a free kick in this region during a game, you will be given the option of running this created set piece, provided you have saved it and assigned it to a D-pad control. By assigning smart runs and carefully planning out your set piece, you could have a deadly scoring opportunity each time you are fouled in this area. Keep in mind that it is not always consistent, as you can have a free kick from avariety of places within your region, so sometimes the passing angle may not be there when it was when you practiced it. Nevertheless, when done well, created set pieces can provide an excellent scoringopportunity, so get creative!

A brand new feature of FIFA 10 is the Virtual Pro mode, in which you can create a player and increase his skills. You can also use this Virtual Pro to unlock content and features, some are specifically for your pro to use, some are features you can use throughout FIFA 10, such as new celebrations or boots.

Accomplishments

Your player will unlock new skills and traits which in turn affect his overall. Keep in mind that it is impossible for your player to reach 99 Overall, the max is around 90. By viewing your Accomplishments, you can see which ones you still need to achieve and how to do so, and which ones you have already gotten. You will notice that some of the accomplishments are listed as 'Secret'. Below are the secret achievements that are not listed in the Accomplishments Book.

Ball Skills

Accomplishment	Reward
Dribble Past an opposing player	Dribbling +1
Chip the keeper and score from inside the box in a match	Ball Control +3
Score using the backheel in a match	Ball Control +3
Beat 100 players using skill moves	Dribbling +4

Defence

Accomplishment	Reward
Block a shot on goal	Marking +1
Win the ball 3 times with sliding tackles 2 games insuccession	Standing Tackle +2
Play 5 consecutive matches in defence without receiving a yellow card	Standing Tackle +3
Win 10 man of the match awards as a defender	Marking +4

Mental

Accomplishment	Reward
Score from within 3 yards	Positioning +3
Play 5 consecutive matches without being called offside	Tactical Awareness +3
Play 10 consecutive matches without being called offside	Tactical Awareness +4
Make 2 goal-line clearances in your career	Aggression +4

Passing

Accomplishment	Reward
Score from a rebound off the post	Reactions +5
Run 3500 yards in a match	Stamina +1
Get a mactch rating of 10/10	Strength +1
Tap in 5 career goals within 5 yards	Reactions +5
Make 200 career appearances	Sprint Speed +3

Shooting

Accomplishment	Reward
Hit the target with 3 headers in a single match	Heading Accuracy +2
Score from a laces shot taken outside the box in a match	Long Shots +1
Score a penalty during normal time in a match	Penalties +3
Beat the keeper with 2 headers in a single match	Heading Accuracy +3
Score 2 volleys in one match	Finishing +3
Score 10 volleys in your career	Score 150 goals in your career
Score a brace in 3 consecutive matches	Finishing +3

Traits and Celebrations

Accomplishment	Reward
Beat 5 defenders in a single match using skill moves	Unlocks Flair trait
Make 3 goal-line clearances in your career	Unlocks Acrobatic Clearance trait

Accessories

Accomplishment	Reward
Play a match in the rain	Unlocks Long Sleeves
Play 25 matches in the rain	Unlocks Undershirt

Rewards

Once you unlock an accomplishment, you will be given a reward for your efforts. Most of the time, this will be improved levels or traits which will be updated automatically, but sometimes you will receiveaccessories. To use your earned accessories, or to edit your Pro in other ways, go to 'Edit Pro', from the Virtual Pro mode interface.

Game Face

One of the most unique aspects of Virtual Pro, or FIFA 10 in general is Game Face, which allows you todownload an image of your own face to be used for your Virtual Pro! You can do this online via EA Sports' website. However, before you get into this I recommend taking a quick look at my guide on Game Facehere.

Playing Online

While you can take your player into a match in nearly any offline game mode, you may want to use them online. Your Pro will be available in Unranked games, and Pro Club Championship, which is an online game mode that allows you to create or join a club of Virtual Pros and help bring your club to the top of the leaderboards.

FIFA 09

2011-12-14T23:58:00.000-08:00

Shooting in FIFA 09 is a lot different from previous FIFA versions, and it almost seems a bit easier. Shooting is entirely new in the '09 version of the game, the actual trajectory and physics of the ball during shooting in particular. One thing you may notice is that shots tend to rise the entire duration of a shot, and very rarely do they drop very much, and this makes it a bit tougher to get your shot on target. Overall though, shots are more powerful, easier to pull off, and generally more accurate when compared to the older versions of FIFA.

Regular Shots

The traditional laces strike is the default shot in FIFA 09. By pressing the default shoot button for your particular gaming console, the player will execute this shot. More powerful than the chip or finesse shots, but they are much less predictable and sometimes less accurate due to how quickly the power bar can fill up. I recommend this shot if you are shooting from relative distance (18+ yards out) because while in the box, the finesse shot will be more useful in most cases. The regular laces shot is more useful in the box in some scenarios such as a right footed shooter aiming for the wide left post while approaching from the right side of the goal. This of course isn't the only scenario, but you will have to experiment to figure out what works when deciding between regular shots and finesse shots, which are explained below.

Finesse Shots

Finesse shots are sidefooted strikes which are particularly useful when shooting from in and around the penalty box. Finesse shots are generally more accurate than regular shots, but will be much less powerful. Finesse shots also have a decent bit of curve, the amount depending on the strength of shot and time it has to curve. To execute a finesse shot on Xbox 360, hold down RB while shooting, and R1 while shooting on PS3.

Chip Shots

Chip shots are useful shots which are used to cheekily loop the ball over the goalkeeper and into the goal. A chip shot has a high arc and is not very powerful, but is useful for when the goalkeeper is not on his line and a bit farther away from the goal than he should be. This scenario occurs a lot when a player is on a breakaway and the opponent rushes his goalkeeper out too early, giving you enough time to chip it over him before he gets too close to cut off your angle. Sometimes in FIFA 09, goalkeepers are off their line for no good reason, so you should look for this and give it a try if he is. On Xbox 360, chip shots are executed by holding down LB as you are pressing the shoot button, and likewise for PS3 although you want to hold down the L1 button instead.

Volleys

Headers

Setting Up for a Shot

Manual Shooting

By default, FIFA 09 is set to assisted shooting. This means that whenever you take a shot, the computer ultimately directs the shot and determines its power for you in relation to where you “sorta” directed the shot and how long you held the stick for. Once you set your shooting settings to manual, you will realize just how much the computer helps you get your shots on target. When you first set manual settings, don't be discouraged by how your shots go everywhere but into the net. You will improve over time and in the end it will be worth it as your shots will be determined 100% by your command. This means that once you get good, you can hit the far corners out of the keepers reach much more frequently than if you'd spent the same amount of time practicing shooting with assisted settings.

Although the fast pace of the gameplay in FIFA 09 favors the dribbling game a bit more than the passing one, passing is still a vital skill to be able to do well. You must learn to posses the ball through passing before looking for that killer through ball that puts a striker in on goal and other useful techniques such as playing a ball to the winger and learning when to cross.

Possessing the Ball

Inside or Outside?

There are always pockets of space on the pitch where the defending team is nonexistent. You must look at the current team stance of your opponent, are they spread out wide and long leaving many viable passing lanes? Or are they cluttered more in the center of the field, leaving options for you to play the ball outside? You need to learn to analyze how your opponent's team is positioned, and take advantage of this. A good example would be that from a goal kick, the defending team tends to push into the center of the field, leaving your wingers or outside midfielders wide open. If you are to win the header, play the ball to any open player, who can then distribute it to your winger. Another example is playing against a team who is very spread out, which is usually due to his formation featuring many midfielders and defenders. By noticing this, you already have the advantage that there will be more passing lanes than normal, and the through ball will be extremely effective.

Regular Passes

Crossing

Crossing is an incredibly useful tool in FIFA 09. Done most by wingers and outside midfielders, the cross is when a player plays a lofted pass from the wide flanks of the pitch to open strikers in the box who are ready to put it into the net. There are three types of crosses in FIFA 09.

The Traditional Lofted Cross – by holding down the lofted pass button on your console, your player will play in a cross that tends to go high enough that heading the ball is the best option for your strikers.
The Low Cross – by tapping the lofted pass button down twice in quick succession, your player will play in a lower cross to the ground that is usually put away by not only headers, but also volleys. The ideal time to use this is when your striker us approaching the near post and there is not a defender in front of him, or when the player who is going to cross the ball is very close to the end line.
The Ground Cross – a ground cross is executed by tapping the lofted pass down three times in quicksuccession. This will result in a ground level, hard cross across the face of goal. This is useful for when the defensive line is rushing back to the goal to defend the cross but haven't quite made it there yet. If your striker is in line with the defence, but is faster and will beat them to the ball, then go for it. When done well, the cross will nestle right in front of your striker nicely for him to bang into the back of the net.

Through Ball

The through ball is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use against your opponent. The through ball is a pass which doesn't go directly to your passing target, but rather in front of him for him to run on to. Obviously, don't try this if your target doesn't have space in front of him, or if his marker or defenders around him are faster than him. The best uses for the through ball are for when playing wingers to give them a head start on their dribble down the line, or playing through holes in the defensive line so your striker can simply run past the defenders to be in on goal. The through ball can also be utilized to quickly speed up your attack in the midfield also, your center-midfielders will have space in front of them too

Chipped Through Ball

Manual Passing

Passing in FIFA 09 is set to assisted controls by default. By this, I mean that whenever you attempt to pass the ball, the computer greatly alters the amount of power your pass will have and the direction it will go, almost regardless of what you did with your controller. If you set your passing controls to Manual, you will have full control over the power and direction of your shots. It takes some getting used to, but it is very much worth it in the end, once you get good at it.

Free Kicks

Free Kicks provide an excellent opportunity to score, but many ignore this and don't learn the propertechniques. Before I got the techniques down, I was enraged when my opponent slide tackled me on a breakaway and I got the free kick, but now it makes no difference because it is just as easy to score free kicks as it is to finish off a breakaway. Read more here.

Corners

Corner Kicks are a mixed bag really, it's hard to call them a consistent scoring opportunity, at least in FIFA 09. Besdides whether you have big, strong players in the box, the only thing you really can control is how you play the ball in, and this tutorial goes over the best methods of doing so. There are, however, some significant changes from FIFA 08's corner kick system, so you should take a look. Read morehere.

Penalties

Penalties are easy, its a given. As it's just guessing, its really a matter of statistics, which favor the kick taker. Obviously though, there are ways to increase your chances of putting it away from the spot kick, and likewise for saving penalties. The penalty kick system in FIFA 09 hasn't changed much from FIFA 08, but what I found to be the best method of saving them last year is no longer possible to use. Read morehere.

Ultimate Team is a brand-new game mode to FIFA 09, released March 19, 2009. In FUT, you have the freedom to create a squad of players you accumulate through opening “packs” or trading with other players through the online trading system. Coins are the currency in the game which are given as a reward after games and can also be accumulated through trading. You can buy packs which contain random players, staff, training cards, consumable cards, or collectibles. This page elaborates on the types of cards below.

PLAYERS.

Players can be obtained through opening packs. There are three types of players: bronze, silver, and gold. As you might imagine, the gold players are the best players, and the bronze are the worst. Although you can hope for sheer luck and pull a Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in a pack, it's highly unlikely. It's very easy to give in and pay a hefty fee to open a pack when your return will usually not reach the amount you paid, so know you will likely be disappointed before deciding to buy a pack. Players can be traded for coins or other cards via the FUT Trading Center. Also, players can be trained permanently with training cards all the way up to overall level 99, but players who had a higher overall than others before they were trained will naturally be better even when the two are trained to the same overall level.

Consumables

There are four types of consumable cards. Healing cards are used to heal your injured players. When a player is injured, he is issued a number which is higher if the injury is more serious. A healing card also has a number, which subtracts from the injury number which must be at zero or lower in order to heal the injury. Contracts are used to keep your players and staff with your team, who have a certain number of games they can play before they are dismissed from your team. You can use contract cards to increase this number and keep your player or staff member, but keep checking to make sure nobody is at 1 game remaining before playing a game. Gameplay cards are very useful, varied cards which can do things such as taunt the opposing keeper, make the ref lenient or strict, or give your players a boost in many different attributes for the game or half. These are incredibly useful when competing in a tournament. Finally, Team Talks are used to increase the morale of your squad. Your morale will go down after loosing games and you cannot expect to play well if your morale is low, so do not underestimate the usefulness of these cards.

Staff

There are 5 possible staff members which you can use to bolster your squad. The Manager determines how effective your contracts are and also your chemistry, more on chemistry can be found in the links below. The Head Coach makes your training cards more effective when used on field players. TheGoalkeeper Coach speeds up training of goalkeepers like your Head Coach affects your field players. TheFitness Coach increases the effectiveness of your fitness training cards, which alter the fitness stat of your players. Lastly, the Physio speeds up the recovery time of your players by making your injury healingcards more effective.

Training Cards

Training cards are used to change the stats of your players. There is an alternate type of training cards which change your formation, and you can use these to your advantage in chemistry. The stat trainingcards can be attained through trading or packs, like any of the other cards. As you increase the individual stats; pace, shooting, passing, dribbling, heading, morale, or fitness, the overall level will increase.Training cards either train individual players or the entire squad.

Another type of training cards is the formation changing card. You can apply a formation card to a player or manager to change his preferred formation to the one that the card is meant for. However, keep in mind that there are player versions of this card, and manager ones, you cannot use a player card on a manager or vice versa.

Collectibles

Your Collection is just that, a collection of players, kits, and team crests. By adding these "collectibles" to your collection, you will be rewarded with coins, and will receive a significant bonus reward of 1000 for 7 card pages and 5000 for 14 card pages. This makes collecting a valuable money making asset, as people might list players for 200 or so, when you could add that card to your collection for 400 and profit, and not to mention the big bonus for completing pages. Note that even though FUT09 is sort of unpopulated now, this remains a good money-making method as players are still listed low enough for you to profit on by collecting them. More on money-making, and collecting in particular in the links below.

FIFA 08

2011-12-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Shooting in FIFA 08 is a lot different from previous FIFA versions, but certainly for the better. Shooting is much more realistic, the actual trajectory and physics of the ball during shooting in particular. According to EA, there are nine factors which determine the success of a shot, and they apply to all kinds of shots, including volleys:

Ball Speed – the greater the speed of the ball in any direction when you hit it, the less accurate your shot will be.
Ball Height – this pertains to volleys, the height determines the angle at which a player kicks.
Ball Bounce – a bouncing ball is much more difficult to accurately shoot, especially if the ball takes a bounce just before you hit it.
Kick Power – the harder you attempt to hit the ball, the less accurate your shot will be.
Player Speed – the current speed of the player as he takes the shot affects his ability to get the shot on target (i.e. greater speed = harder to control) but keep in mind that this could positively affect the power of your shot, provided you do get it on target.
Pressure – if players are pressuring the player attempting to shoot, the less likely it is that he hits his shot on target.
Balance – a balanced player is more likely to get his shot on target.
Player Attributes – players have stats such as shot power and long range shooting which will affect how accurately he shoots the ball.
Shooting Foot – every player in FIFA 08 has a preferred foot, and if you are using the opposite one, it is much harder for your player to pull off an accurate shot.

Regular Shots

The traditional laces strike is the default shot in FIFA 08. By pressing the default shoot button for your particular gaming console, the player will execute this shot. These shots are more powerful than the chip or finesse shots, but much less predictable and sometimes less accurate due to how quickly the power bar can fill up. I recommend this shot if you are shooting from relative distance (18+ yards out) because while in the box, the finesse shot will be more useful in most cases. The regular laces shot is more useful in the box in some scenarios such as a right footed shooter aiming for the wide left post while approaching from the right side of the goal. This of course isn't the only scenario, but you will have to experiment to figure out what works when deciding between regular shots and finesse shots, which are explained below.

Finesse Shots

Chip shots are useful shots which are used to cheekily loop the ball over the goalkeeper and into the goal. A chip shot has a high arc and is not very powerful, but is useful for when the goalkeeper is not on his line and a bit farther away from the goal than he should be. This scenario occurs a lot when a player is on a breakaway and the opponent rushes his goalkeeper out too early, giving you enough time to chip it over him before he gets too close to cut off your angle. Sometimes in FIFA 08, goalkeepers are off their line for no good reason, so you should look for this and give it a try if he is. On Xbox 360, chip shots are executed by holding down LB as you are pressing the shoot button, and likewise for PS3 although you want to hold down the L1 button instead.

Volleys

Volleys are shots taken while the ball is airborne, making it much harder to get on target, but they look spectacular when you do so and it results in a goal. Volleys tend to be much harder than ground shots, both in real life and in FIFA 08. The control for a volley is the same as a regular shot on your console. Keep in mind that the volley category includes any airborne shot except for the header, so look out for opportunities to pull off an acrobatic shot such as a bicycle kick, which occur randomly and you cannot do much to increase the chances of them happening other than try to shoot when the ball is in a positionwhere your player will have to bicycle kick it or something to actually shoot it.

Headers

Setting Up for a Shot

Manual Shooting

By default, FIFA 08 is set to assisted shooting. This means that whenever you take a shot, the computer ultimately directs the shot and determines its power for you in relation to where you “sorta” directed the shot and how long you held the stick for. Once you set your shooting settings to manual, you will realize just how much the computer helps you get your shots on target. When you first set manual settings, don't be discouraged by how your shots go everywhere but into the net. You will improve over time and in the end it will be worth it as your shots will be determined 100% by your command. This means that once you get good, you can hit the far corners out of the keepers reach much more frequently than if you'd spent the same amount of time practicing shooting with assisted settings.

Due to the slow pace of the gameplay in FIFA 08, passing is arguably your most deadly weapon. You must learn to posses the ball through passing before looking for that killer through ball that puts a striker in on goal and other useful techniques such as playing a ball to the winger and learning when to cross.

Possessing the Ball

Inside or Outside?

There are always pockets of space on the pitch where the defending team is nonexistent. You must look at the current team stance of your opponent, are they spread out wide and long leaving many viable passing lanes? Or are they cluttered more in the center of the field, leaving options for you to play the ball outside? You need to learn to analyze how your opponent's team is positioned, and take advantage of this. A good example would be that from a goal kick, the defending team tends to push into the center of the field, leaving your wingers or outside midfielders wide open. If you are to win the header, play the ball to any open player, who can then distribute it to your winger. Another example is playing against a team who is very spread out, which is usually due to his formation featuring many midfielders and defenders. By noticing this, you already have the advantage that there will be more passing lanes than normal, and the through ball will be extremely effective.

Regular Passes

Crossing

Crossing is an incredibly useful tool in FIFA 08. Done most by wingers and outside midfielders, the cross is when a player plays a lofted pass from the wide flanks of the pitch to open strikers in the box who are ready to put it into the net. There are three types of crosses in FIFA 08.

The Traditional Lofted Cross – by holding down the lofted pass button on your console, your player will play in a cross that tends to go high enough that heading the ball is the best option for your strikers.
The Low Cross – by tapping the lofted pass button twice in quick succession, your player will play in a lower cross to the ground that is usually put away by not only headers, but also volleys. The ideal time to use this is when your striker us approaching the near post and there is not a defender in front of him, or when the player who is going to cross the ball is very close to the end line.
The Ground Cross – a ground cross is executed by tapping the lofted pass down three times in quicksuccession. This will result in a ground level, hard cross across the face of the goal. This is useful for when the defensive line is rushing back to the goal to defend the cross but haven't quite made it there yet. If your striker is in line with the defence, but is faster and will beat them to the ball, then go for it. When done well, the cross will nestle right in front of your striker nicely for him to bang into the back of the net.

Through Ball

The through ball is an incredibly dangerous weapon to use against your opponent. The through ball is a pass which doesn't go directly to your passing target, but rather in front of him for him to run on to. Obviously, don't try this if your target doesn't have space in front of him, or if his marker or defenders around him are faster than him. The best uses for the through ball are for when playing wingers to give them a head start on their dribble down the line, or playing through holes in the defensive line so your striker can simply run past the defenders to be in on goal. The through ball can also be utilized to quickly speed up your attack in the midfield also because your center-midfielders will have space in front of them too

Chipped Through Ball

Chipped Through Balls have the same concept as the regular through ball, but that the pass is, well, chipped! This is useful when your passing target has a lot of space in front of him and is faster than the defenders around him, but they are blocking passing lanes through which you can play a grounded through ball.