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8 expert tips for mastering FIFA 19
Fancy a bit of pre-season training before FIFA 19 arrives? Here are our top tips.
FIFA 19 is out this week and as usual it’ll probably take you a few days to get to grips with the changes, especially the new Timed Finishing.
But that’s where we come in. We’ve been playing FIFA 19 pretty much non-stop for the past week and have put together this list of tips to help you adapt as quickly as possible.
You’ll be banging in screamers and pulling off blood-twisting tricks in no time.
Practice makes perfect with FIFA 19’s Timed Finishing
© EA Sports
1. Take your time
FIFA 19’s new Timed Finishing can be lethal but it’s pretty tricky to get the hang of, requiring a press and precisely timed second tap of the shoot button to pull it off. Nailing the time between the two is the difference between a screamer and just a scream of frustration.
The best way to practise is to turn on the Trainer, select Movement & Mechanics mode but turn off all helpers except the Timed Finishing Bar. This will display a coloured feedback bar above your player’s head when you shoot, a bit like the swing-o-meters you get in golf games. When it turns completely green, you’ve nailed it.
Now drop your usual difficulty level right down and play some friendlies. Defenders will be slower to close you down, giving you more time to concentrate on timing your shots properly.
2. But don’t overdo it
Once you’ve seen what it can do, it can be tempting to use Timed Finishing all the time but remember it adds more risk. Get it wrong and you can scuff or blaze a shot you’d easily score using a standard strike, so leave it for those chances that need something special to beat the ‘keeper, not one-on-ones that just demand a bit of composure.
Be careful during goalmouth scrambles as well. When the ball is loose in the box and you just need someone to smash it into the net, it can be tempting to hammer the shoot button and hope. But that can now easily activate a Timed Finish and instead of blasting the ball in, you’re likely to drag the ball hopelessly wide with the goal at your mercy.
Kevin De Bruyne acrobatically controls the ball in FIFA 19
© EA Sports
3. Get your flick on
EA has added a load of new tricks and flicks that show ponies can spend hours perfecting but there’s one very simple one that anyone can make use of pretty easily.
Pressing the right stick in (R3), no matter where the ball is in relation to a player’s body, will command them to flick it up into the air. Press it again and they’ll attempt to keep it there. Combine it with movements of the left stick and you can even try to pull off the kind of flick-turns that Dennis Bergkamp would be proud of.
4. Hang time
With physical battles between players now more than just a case of who’s stronger, a squeeze of the left trigger can do wonders when trying to win or keep the ball.
If you’re in possession and an opposition defender is getting a little too close for comfort, use your player’s body to protect the ball and squeeze the left trigger to hold them off while you look for somebody to pass to. Just remember you haven’t got all day.
This can work well in the air as well. Getting your head to the ball first is often a case of who’s got the momentum, and a quick pull on the left trigger can help you to rise above the opposition.
5. Don’t push your luck
The change to the way 50/50 battles work, combined with Active Touch affecting how the ball behaves, means there’s every chance an unlucky bounce or ricochet could leave you exposed at the back. That means it’s not always worth taking the risk on a ball you’re not sure you can win, so you should sometimes consider just holding your position and guarding the space rather than attempting to get to it ahead of your opponent.
Don’t be shy to tackle though. Even if you don’t think you can take possession of the ball, sometimes just getting a touch on it in order to disrupt opposition play is enough.
Emil Forsberg crosses the ball in FIFA 19
© EA Sports
6. Swing it in
You probably gave up on crossing the ball in FIFA 18. Unless it was hard and low to the far post it was pretty much complete dumb luck whether your striker would get on the end of it, but crosses have been tweaked for the better in FIFA 19.
Earlier balls are particularly dangerous, especially if you’ve got runners arriving from midfield, so don’t wait for the box to be full before you swing it in. Cross it early and trust that your team-mates will be there when it arrives, and don’t forget you can use Timed Finishing on headers and volleys as well.
7. Lay off the trigger
The quickest players on FIFA 18 used to tear away from defenders like they were on fast-forward, but pace has been reined in slightly on FIFA 19, so you can’t rely on it quite so much. That’s a good thing.
Players also appear to tire more quickly when sprinting for long periods, which has an impact on how effective they are when they reach the business end of the pitch, so go easy on that trigger.
More new stadiums needed in FIFA 19
© EA Sports
8. Utilise the new Dynamic Tactics system
Altering the mindset of your team by hitting left or right on the D-pad used to just shift them up or down the pitch, but on FIFA 19 it does much more. You can now tie entirely different tactical systems to each setting and change them on-the-fly mid-match.
Press the left trigger in the normal team selection menu and you can choose different playing styles for each setting. Change how quickly they try to get the ball up the pitch; how your team presses when you’re chasing a game; how many players are in the box for corners and free-kicks when you need to hold on to a lead and much more. The settings are simple to change and activate but can have a real impact on how you play.
