Before we get started, a quick note: a player’s position now seems to be as important as his type. Wide players with the ‘winger’ player type now seem to be faster than attacking midfield ‘winger’ types, for example. This ‘positional awareness’ of different scouted player types, as it were, is a big improvement on previous FIFA games - sprint speed and acceleration are now among wingers’ best stats, as opposed to the sluggish-but-skilled wide players we’ve been cursed with over the past few years. Anyway, let’s dive in and examine the different player types that you can scout.
The only thing that you need to do yourself for these tips to help you is get into a crossing position yourself, but you don’t even need to do that if you check out our amazing passing tips and skill move tutorials. When you do get into these dangerous positions, you should always face the way that you’re crossing as it’s more effective and gives off better results. For improved conversion you should make your player go all the way to the byline as if it’s about to go out of play for a goal kick and then cross the ball. We’ve found that these crosses more often than not end up as a goal or at the very least and attempt on target.
It is important that you know who to cross the ball with. Obviously, important statistics here are crossing, curve and vision. If you know a player doesn’t have the greatest stats for crossing then don’t use him to cross with. Sounds fairly obvious but a lot of people WILL do this. There is little point in crossing the ball if you see that your speedy 5 foot 5 inch winger is the only player in the box. More often than not a tall, strong, powerful centre-back or full-back will easily deal with the danger and you’ll end up losing possession. Like the sort of hard-hitting defensive solidity that would mirror Tony Adams in heat, the back end of the pitch is now decidedly more steadfast in its approach to danger, too.
It's no longer the case that Gareth Bale's direct running to the byline would cause a collective conniption amongst your full-backs, rather it's now a matter of your defensive unit setting itself in accordance with how the midfield is controlling the game, whether that means dropping back an extra ten yards to receive more passes or to hold the line tightly in response to an over-the-top through ball and an onrushing striker. Everything just feels more cohesive and less susceptible to implosion so long as you're methodical with how you proceed. Plus, the inclusion of an in-game tutorial-of-sorts named 'FIFA Trainer' alleviates some of the growing pains associated with learning the art of defending, or even the game for that matter.
Sure you can play with a healthy dose of risk by sending your AI defenders out of position to close down an impending threat but the game now expects you - and damn well challenges you - to be mindful of the potential for that to go awry. The odd howler and the fact that 'keepers are still far too slow in getting back to their line after charging out aside, the defensive portion of FIFA 16 is a lot more nuanced than ever before and though it takes a lot of practice for everything to fall into place it's worth it in the end. I like my sound when playing the games, and the Logitech PowerShell provides a pass-through cable so that you can plug in a pair of headphones - and of course there’s nothing to stop you using a Bluetooth headset if you want. The good news is that FIFA 16 UT on the iPhone supports MFi controllers and the better news is that is works surprising well, with a couple of caveats.
FIFA is still great but in some areas it has taken a backward step. The no touch dribbling is worth attempting with a player boasting very high ball control ratings. Keep the FIFA Trainer option on for your first half dozen or so games. This feature shows prompts suggesting various moves and is a good way to learn some of FIFA’s more intricate skills on the hoof. As well as faking shots, you can now fake tackles as a defender. This is useful to lure in dribbling wingers and then dispossess them.
