10 helpful pro tips for FIFA 22

Do you want to go straight to the top in FIFA 22 and not give your opponents a chance? We have 10 hot tips for you that will take your success in FIFA to the next level.

Finally, the time has come: FIFA 22 is here! The new virtual soccer game from EA Sports traditionally offers new gameplay features that you have to learn first. To make it easier for you to get started with the new FIFA, we’ll give you ten helpful pro tips again this year. Our big FIFA 22 guide is the perfect companion through the – Season . No matter if you are a beginner or an advanced player: Here you can take a lot for your personal progress. We promise you: If you take these tips to heart, nothing will stand in the way of a kickstart in FIFA 22!

1. the defense – 6 basics for long-term success

As every year in our FIFA Pro Tips we start with the basics. Also in FIFA 22 it depends on one thing first of all: A stable defense. It’s not said for nothing: offense wins games, defense wins championships. If you implement these six tips, your opponents will have a hard time scoring goals.

1.1 Don’t pull your center backs out of the defense

Pulling one of your center backs out of the defensive line is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. This creates large gaps that opposing players can mercilessly exploit for dangerous slant passes.

1.2 Running back with a midfielder

In order to leave the center backs in the defensive chain, but still be able to defend with a player far in front of your goal, you should run back with one of your midfielders. This way, you’ll also generate an outnumbered game and have another player with whom you can block your opponent’s attacks. This makes it more difficult for your opponent to find gaps in your defense.

1.3 The right pressing

With targeted pressing it is possible to force your opponents to lose the ball. To do this, use the R1 or RB key to constantly build up pressure on the player with the ball. The more aggressive you are, the more you confuse the attacker. But be careful: At the same time, pressing the R1 or RB key aggressively opens up your defensive line for more strikers. So weigh up how often and how aggressively you want to press R1 or RB.

There was already a revolutionary innovation in FIFA 19. Meanwhile, you can see which additional player you’ll use to build pressure when you decide to press R1 or RB. While your selected player has a red icon above his head, you’ll see a gray icon above another of your players. This is the player you can use to build pressure with R1 or RB. Also, this is the player you get selected when you change players (L1 or LB). This innovation made defending in FIFA better a few years ago. It is now less common that you get a different player than you wanted when changing players.

1.4 L2/LB-defense is still mandatory

What you can’t do without in FIFA 22 is defending with the L2 or LB key. If you don’t press L2 or LB when an attacker is running towards you, you won’t have enough grip in the duels and you’ll let the opponent pass too often. With L2 or LB you stand better, move in a smaller radius and can defend optimally in a small space through faster movements.

There was already an important innovation in FIFA 20: Sprinting is no longer disabled when pressing L2/LT. If you press L2/LT and R2/RT at the same time, you move faster and still have your eyes on the player with the ball. So even at high speed, you can now defend great with L2/LT. But there are still situations in which you should briefly dispense with L2/LT. For example, there’s a sprint duel on the sidelines and you need your maximum speed to keep your opponent from running away. In order to stand up to him in terms of speed, you only press the R2/RT key. As soon as you don’t need that much speed anymore and you’re heading for a duel, don’t forget to press L2/LT again in addition to R2/RT.

1.5 Manual defending pays off

In the last years many FIFA players have left the defending to the CPU players. On the one hand, because they had problems with it themselves and on the other hand, because the CPU players mostly behaved intelligently. The latter has been toned down significantly in the meantime. Back in FIFA 20, we advised you against relying solely on CPU defense. Our recommendation was to defend more manually, because that pays off more again. In FIFA 22 this development is confirmed. The CPU players don’t do much, so you have to defend actively more than ever. Only if you have absolute top players in the defense – like Virgil van Dijk for example – the CPU defense can be helpful now and then. Conclusion: Especially in high-level games, you will be better off with optimal manual defending than with a primarily CPU-controlled defense. Practice manual defending with our tips above and defend yourself!

1.6 Reward for correct duel timing

Since FIFA 21, timing in tackles is more important than ever. This is because the ball doesn’t bounce right back to the opponent if your tackle is made at the right moment. This is also the case in FIFA 22. If you are in the best possible position with your defender and then tackle at the right moment, you will also get the ball. The “Ping Pong” from earlier years has (fortunately) come to an end. However, you can’t expect a player with an overall rating of 60 and a tackle value of 40 to win every duel just because you’re in the right position. The higher the tackle value, the greater the chance of success. The fact that you are also rewarded with more ball wins for optimal tackling also speaks in favor of taking care of your defense yourself and not just trusting the CPU.

2. the game structure – with calmness and control to the victory

Continuing with the basics, we now come to the game setup. For a safe build-up it is especially important that you stay calm – even if your opponent puts you under pressure. If you act restlessly and are too hectic, you run the risk of making a bad pass, running into counterattacks and conceding unnecessary goals. Good ball control and a secure passing game are essential in the build-up to the game!

2.1 Good ball control

For good ball control, you first need to be calm. You must not get nervous when an opponent is just approaching. Have confidence in your abilities and stay calm. If you get hectic, you’ve often already lost. In addition to calmness, coolness and self-confidence, good ball control also requires effective dribbling. If you know how to dribble, you can better withstand your opponent’s pressing. In tight spaces, you can keep the ball close to your feet and use lightning-fast movements to keep your opponent off the ball.

2.2 Safe passing

Calmness and patience are also required for a safe passing game. If you press the X or A button too frantically, you will play an inaccurate pass and, in the worst case, a bad pass. Important: When you play a pass, the direction of the pass should also be the direction the player is facing. For example, if you look forward with your player and pass to the left or right, the ball may not reach your teammate accurately or at all. So try not to pass until you are looking at your teammate. In the end, it’s just like in real soccer: The players don’t have eyes on the right, left and back!

3. Chapter Three: The Offense – Many Goals Thanks to Variable Attacking Play

Basics Chapter Three: The Offense. There are many different ways to score goals. You can play through the middle, through the outsides or try it with long range shots. The only thing that matters is that you choose a mix of all these options and don’t play too monotonously forward. If you always choose the same move, you’ll be too easy to count on and won’t be successful in the long run. In the offense, it’s especially important to be variable.

3.1 Attacking through the middle

If you choose a move through the middle, you can expect to have to make a lot of quick decisions in a tight space. A fast passing game, as well as dribbling and skill moves are essential to let the many opponents run into nothing. At the right moment, the pass must come into the interface to get a scoring opportunity. As already mentioned in the defense tips, the steep passes have already become better in FIFA 21. And also in FIFA 22 they are dangerous. If you play a steep pass with a top player like Kevin De Bruyne at the optimal moment, it often arrives outstanding. This is also due to the fact that the running paths of the players have become more intelligent.

3.2 Attacking play via the outsides

When you play through the outsides, you often have more space than when you play through the middle. This is positive at first. However, you will be further away from the opponent’s goal and will have to decide how to get the ball back into the middle. There are several options for this. Either you choose the easiest solution and hit a high cross into the middle from far outside. However, with high crosses you often have to cover a long distance and therefore the accuracy sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. So if one of your players is not completely blank in the penalty area, you should think twice about passing the ball with a cross or keeping it on your foot.

Another possibility is to move from the outside back into the middle – either with quick, targeted short passes as well as powerful passes into the penalty area (X/A + R1/RB) or a skillful solo run – peppered with skill moves. Often your opponent doesn’t expect it, is overwhelmed and the defense is unsorted. Moving from the inside to the outside and then from the outside to the inside again can therefore be effective.

However, we would like to talk about high crosses once again. Crossing is more worthwhile in FIFA 22 than before! Especially if you have strong headers in the attacking center, we recommend you to use high crosses more often again. There was an interesting innovation with headers in FIFA 21: With manual headers you can take complete control and decide better than ever where exactly you want to head. This applies to both goal attempts and passes that you play with your head.

Extra tip: You should also use high balls into the middle for corners from time to time. In FIFA 20 we recommended you to take short corners, because corners hit high into the middle usually didn’t lead to anything. Already in FIFA 21 it was different – and also in FIFA 22 high corners can lead to success again.

3.3 Shoot more from distance

We have been preaching it for years and we still do it in FIFA 22: Shoot more from distance and don’t always try to carry the ball into the goal! Shooting from outside the penalty area is more effective than many of you might think. In addition, it is more difficult to score a goal inside the penalty area in FIFA 22 because of the improved goalkeepers. Of course, you can’t shoot from every possible situation. If you shoot from a distance, you should have the right player and spot for it. You need enough space and the ball should be on your strong foot. Do you have both? Then pull the trigger!

Extra tip: In FIFA 22, shots outside the penalty area work even better than in previous years. Especially finesse shots to the far corner are promising. Furthermore, Timed Finishing – a shooting technique introduced in FIFA 19 – celebrates its comeback! With the right use of Timed Finishing, long-range shots can be an effective tool for scoring goals in FIFA 22. By regularly interspersing long-distance shots, you’ll become even more variable in your goal scoring and you’ll create moments of surprise. This way, your opponents will have a hard time guessing what you’re up to in your attacking game.

4. the comeback of the Timed Finishing

With the comeback of the Timed Finishing we want to introduce and explain the optional shooting technique introduced in FIFA 19. So to say as a learning repetition, so that you really remember to use the Timed Finishing in FIFA 22. Because if you don’t, you won’t be able to use the full potential of your offensive actions.

What is Timed Finishing and how does it work?

In real soccer, timing is the most important thing when it comes to finishing a goal. Since FIFA 19, this is now also true on the virtual pitch. With “Timed Finishing”, publisher EA introduced a new shooting system. If you want to get a perfect shot, you now press the shoot button twice. The second press of the shoot button is particularly important. This decides whether the ball goes into the goal or far off/over. The second press should be made at the moment when the player has the ball right in front of his foot. By the way, for those who don’t feel like dealing with a new shooting system or just can’t get used to the novelty, we have good news: timed finishing is still OPTIONAL! You can also shoot normally by pressing the shoot button only once.

Nevertheless, our tip is that you learn Timed Finishing and perfect it. Because: If you practice a lot and master the new shooting system, you will be rewarded with more accurate and better finishes! As described, the Timed Finishing in FIFA 22 is especially recommended for shots from a distance. When shooting from a distance or when you are free in front of the goal, it is better to shoot normally. The risk that the ball flies into the clouds if you don’t use the timed finishing is too high.

It’s clear that it takes some time to perfect Timed Finishing – especially if you’ve never really used it in previous FIFA years. But patience is needed here: No master has fallen from the sky yet!

5. dribbling – essential for success

If you want to succeed in FIFA 22, you should master dribbling better than ever before. Not only will it make you harder to defend, but it will also help you get out of pressure situations when your opponent is pressing hard. For dribbling in FIFA 22 there are two other options besides the classic dribbling with the left stick:

5.1 The penalty dribbling

Already known from FIFA 20 is the penalty dribbling, which is basically the previously introduced skilled dribbling. You can enter the penalty dribbling with the L1/LB key and the left stick. The difference from the normal dribbling is that you move in a tighter space, touch the ball in shorter time intervals and thus perform faster movements.

In order to perform the penalty dribble in all directions – not only in the direction of the opponent’s goal – you need to use the Locked Angle penalty dribble. This is done by pressing L1/LB and R1/RB at the same time. If you do this, your player will immediately enter the penalty dribble and will not have to turn towards the opponent’s goal to perform the penalty dribble.
A valuable move before using the penalty dribble can be to pull the ball back. This allows you to avoid a tackle from the opponent and change your direction. This works with L1/LB and pressing the left stick in the direction you want to run. Important: The main thing here is to anticipate your opponent’s behavior. So constantly keep an eye on your opponent and think about at what moment he is likely to try to separate you from the ball.

The penalty dribble can also be used to buy time – for example, to wait for a teammate who is about to run free. You use the penalty dribble to keep the opponent away from you and wait for the right moment to make a pass.

Of course, you can also use the penalty dribble for a very long time at a time to make several opponents look old. However, you should keep the following in mind: When you use the penalty dribble, you do not protect the ball from your opponent with your body. This means that as soon as you anticipate an opponent’s move incorrectly, the ball can quickly be gone. Our recommendation is to combine the normal and the penalty dribble and to include the ball back into your dribbles. This way you have the greatest chance to perform a successful dribble over a longer period of time.

Another way to get past your opponent with the penalty dribble is the double step. The Double Step is a fakemove where you pull the ball back, but then don’t run in another direction, but return to normal dribbling after only one contact with the ball and execute the exitmove in the same direction. In the best case for you, your opponent thinks that you will change direction after pulling the ball back. He tries to anticipate this and moves with his player already in that direction. With the exit move in the same direction you leave your opponent behind you quite easily.
What you should always keep in mind when penalty dribbling: The more technically skilled your player is, the better the execution. The most important attributes are dribbling, agility and balance. In general, you should not use the penalty dribble with tall, stiff central defenders, for example. If you lose the ball, your opponent will have a clear path to your goal. And one last hint: after you have used the penalty dribble, the player may take a while to execute the next action. This depends on how the ball is lying and with which foot your player will execute the following action.

5.2 The Agile Dribbling

In FIFA 21 another form of dribbling has been introduced with the Agile Dribbling. You use it with R1/RB and moving the left stick at the same time. As the name suggests, you are more agile in your dribbling moves, you move faster and more precise with the ball. The higher the dribbling value, agility value, reaction value and ball control value of your player, the faster, more precise and better he can control the ball at his foot.

Also new is the contextual Agile Dribbling, which is optional but activated by default. When enabled, your players will automatically perform Agile Dribbles in certain situations, such as when they are in a 1-on-1 against an opponent. You can turn off contextual agile dribbling in the controller settings.

Extra tip: We can only recommend that you incorporate Agile Dribbling into your offensive game from time to time. However, you really need very good and technically skilled players to actually gain an advantage with Agile Dribbling. If you use it with weak or average players, Agile Dribbling won’t work as desired. Also, you should not use Agile Dribbling in an inflationary way. In other words, too much agile dribbling at a time can be counterproductive because the ball won’t be as close to your foot and you’ll create attacking areas for your opponents. So if you manage to pass opponents with agile dribbling, you should quickly switch back to normal dribbling to better secure the ball. So don’t be too playful and only use agile dribbling when it really makes sense!

6 Passes and Crosses – Accuracy and overview are important

6.1 Passes

That a safe passing game is crucial for your success, we have already emphasized in our tips for the game setup. Basically, every FIFA player should be aware of this. Nevertheless, it is often neglected to play controlled passes. Instead, the X or A key is pressed frantically in order to get forward as quickly as possible. There were certainly FIFA offshoots in the past where this worked. But nowadays it doesn’t work anymore. You have to think about every pass. This is especially true in FIFA 22! Even after the first few hours of playing the new game, it was clear that the passing game is more challenging than ever.

If you lack accuracy, you will often miss passes. You play accurate passes by:
Looking at your face-off station and not standing sideways or with your back to it.
Don’t stand too far away from the station you are playing to
Make sure that there is no opponent in the path of the pass.
Playing controlled balls, if possible with prior ball reception and ball pick-up
Press the X or A key only as long as the passing path requires (for a very short pass, for example, it is sufficient to press the pass key only briefly).

6.2 Crosses

Of course it is not enough to control the passing game on the way forward. An effective means in FIFA 22 to bridge spaces and create dangerous game situations are side changes or crosses. They are more useful than in FIFA 21, because they are hit with more speed – the balls don’t fly through the air as long and reach your teammates faster.

The most important thing here is a good overview. You are under pressure and see a player standing free on the other side of the field? Then don’t hesitate and pass the ball in a high arc! It’s also a good idea to take a look at the radar every now and then – here you can see more precisely where there are free spaces on the pitch.

7. skill moves – 3 simple and effective special moves.

When it comes to skill moves, many players are still quick to shy away. Special moves are basically too complicated, require too much time to learn and ultimately lead to nothing. We have finally dispelled this myth in recent years! There are numerous moves that are not complicated at all. And the best thing about them is that they are extremely effective and improve your game enormously. We’ll introduce you to three simple special moves that can make a small but significant difference and that you should therefore also have in your repertoire in FIFA 22.

7.1 The Drag Back – two-star skill move

For years the drag back has been one of the most popular FIFA skill moves. And there are two good reasons for that: The execution is simple and you can eat up the opponent in some game situations.

Execution

To execute the Drag Back, first press R1/RB and at the same time pull the left stick backwards, starting from the running direction of your player. So if you run straight towards the right goal, press the left stick to the left, if you run towards the left goal, press the stick to the right.

This will first pull the ball back. Now comes the decisive move that makes the Drag Back so unpredictable and effective. You can execute the exit move of the drag back in any direction. That means: Either you keep the left stick pressed backwards, or you finally press it to the right, to the left or to the front.

Application

The beauty of the Drag Back is that it makes sense to use it in many game situations. The different possible exit move directions make it difficult for your opponent to guess what exactly you are trying to do with the Drag Back. To name just two examples of possible applications:

1. you are caught up in a sprint by a defender. If you use the Drag Back successfully, you let the defender run into nothing and create space for yourself again.
2. you play your striker in the penalty area. With the Drag Back you can let your opponent go and get into shooting position.

7.2 The Fake Shot – One-Star Skill Move

Often the Fake Shot is enough to make your opponent look old. Most of you know the classic shot deception, but the most important thing is the different executions.

Execution

Basically, you first press the shot/flank key and then the pass key to execute the shot deception. At the same time you decide with the left stick in which direction you move after the shot. This way you also decide whether you keep the speed or take it out with a complete change of direction, for example. It is also possible not to touch the left stick at all. In this case, you execute a shooting deception in the standing position. There is also a shot deception followed by a speed boost. How does that work? It’s simple: You press L1/LB in addition to the normal shot deception. So if you want to execute a shot deception, for example, diagonally to the right or left and want to gain speed, definitely use the L1/LB key. If you get past your opponent with it, it will be extremely difficult for him to catch up with you again.

Application

The Fake Shot helps you in numerous situations. For example, you can use the fake shot to get into promising finishing positions in the penalty area and around the sixteen. With the Fake Shot into the stand you can break off running duels with your opponents. If the opponent continues to run, you have space again for a short time and you get the opportunity to create new game situations. The shot deception with tempo boost is especially useful on the outer lanes, when you need additional speed for sprints with your wingers.

7.3 The ball roll – two-star skill move

The ball roll is another useful special move that is extremely simple to execute.

Execution

All you need for the ball roll is the right stick. You press the stick in the direction you want to perform the ball roll. Example: If you are running straight towards the right goal and you want to execute a ball roll to the right, you press the right stick to the right. Important: In order for the ball roll to work, you have to keep the stick pressed in the respective direction for a short time. The longer you press the stick in this direction, the more ball rolls your player will perform.

Application

For optimal use of the ball roll, it is especially important to choose the right time. Example: You are running forward with your player and an opponent is running towards you. You anticipate that your opponent will tackle you to take the ball from you. Just before the tackle, the ball roll comes into play. With the ball roll you avoid the duel and let the opponent tackle into space. Without much effort you will pass your opponent and get a bit closer to the opponent’s goal. But as I said, it depends on the timing. If you use the ball roll too early or too late, it won’t bring the expected added value and in the worst case your opponent will take the ball from you.

Conclusion: If you have never used these three skill moves before and are only now integrating them into your game, you will quickly notice that you will achieve better results in FIFA 22. With the Drag Back, the Fake Shot and the Ball Roll your game will become more creative and more unpredictable. more unpredictable.

Extra tip: In FIFA 22, it’s more important than ever to use your skill moves specifically and with the right timing. If the timing is not right, it is now easier for your opponents to separate you from the ball. That means: In FIFA 22 it requires more skill and ability to get past your opponents with special moves. It’s no use just applying skill moves somehow. The timing has to be perfect to create the desired effect and to gain an advantage with the various special moves.

8. penalty kicks – How to become the king of the point!

The penalty kicks have already been completely revised in FIFA 20. Since then, you no longer determine where you want to shoot with an arrow, but with a target cursor. Important to know: You’ll see this cursor in all game modes – including FUT Champions. This simplifies the execution of an optimal penalty kick. Up to and including FIFA 19, you didn’t have the arrow as a support in Weekend League, but had to aim completely free.

The more you charge the shot with the shoot button, the more powerful the penalty kick will be. But be careful: more power also means a larger spread. This means that with more shooting power, the probability increases that the ball won’t land exactly where you’re aiming – in the worst case, next to or over the goal. The larger the white area around the cursor, the greater the scatter. You can reduce the scatter by shooting the penalties with high-caliber players. Since FIFA 20 it is more important than ever to start with a good shooter. You select the shooter with the R2/RT key.

8.1 Timed Penalties

The Timed Finishing shooting system is also available for penalties. Just before the shooter shoots, you can activate Timed Finishing (TF) completion by pressing the shoot button a second time. This means that, as with shots from within the game, it is optional whether you choose a TF finish or a normal finish.

Our tip: Practice and apply TF shots on penalty kicks. Even with extremely good players, there is some spread without TF. With a perfect TF penalty, you aim more accurately and the probability of the ball going in is very high.

8.2 Finesse and lobs

In addition to the normal shot with circle or B, you also have the possibility to take a finesse shot or a loupe. For the finesse shot you press circle/B and the R1/RB key as usual. If you want to lob the ball, press Circle/B and the L1/LB key.

9. mental strength – success is a matter of the head

Gameplay-wise, you are now well prepared for FIFA 22. But mastering the gameplay is not everything. You also have to be mentally strong. Be honest: You know this scenario: You dominate the game, but the ball just won’t go in. And then you concede an unfortunate goal. You boil with rage, freak out, leave the game and/or even destroy your controller. No question: Emotions – both positive and negative – are as much a part of FIFA as they are in real soccer. Everyone wants to win – and if that doesn’t work out, you’re just unhappy. But the freak-outs won’t get you anywhere! If you lose your nerve, you lose the game.

Our tip: If you are behind and nothing seems to work, keep calm. Try to keep your concentration high and stay mentally strong. FIFA is also about your head! If you start to get upset about game situations, your players or FIFA in general, you’re immediately on the losing track. Because then you get into it and criticize every little thing. This will destroy your game and you won’t be able to play to your full potential. Only those who are mentally strong throughout the game and stay focused have what it takes to become FIFA champions.

10 Esport – Learn from the Best

Last but not least: There are many esport players who produce learning content and give you a lot of help during their streams. If you haven’t had enough after our pro tips and the many other FIFA 22 tips on redbull.com and want to learn more, then visit the YouTube, Twitch and TikTok channels of the pros from RBLZ Gaming – the FIFA team of Bundesliga soccer team RB Leipzig. The Red Bull athletes Umut Gültekin and Richard Hormes offer you regularly exciting and helpful content about FIFA 22 and especially about FIFA 22 Ultimate Team.

Our tip: Don’t just watch tutorials. Take the time to watch complete games of the Leipzig pros on YouTube or Twitch. For example, watch the live stream of their professional tournaments from time to time and try to analyze and find out for yourself what makes the pros so strong. At best, you can learn defensive and offensive behavior, moves, standard variations, goal finishes, and much more, and integrate what you’ve learned into your own game.

You have read and understood all our FIFA 22 tips? Then you can now start to sweep your opponents off the pitch in FIFA 22. But remember: Practice makes perfect – not everything will work right away. We wish you good luck!