FIFA 17: Good formations for beginners

Whenever you play a match in FIFA 17, the very first thing that comes to mind is the formation in which your team should play. 25 different ones are available, and you can also customize them if necessary. There are formations that are suitable for all situations: Defensive, offensive, wing or counter-attack formations, and those that emphasize possession of the ball. The following three are well suited, especially for beginners.

Basic considerations

The lineup in FIFA 17 determines the roles of the players and the tactical orientation of the team. If nine players are permanently in your own half, there will be less offensive accents in the game. Ultimately, you can also adapt a lineup to the upcoming opponent, or even change it in the game. If the other team plays with fast wingers, your own full-backs should not be too far out.

In FIFA, the players must also be suitable for their positions, in FUT this is even mandatory. When you're looking for the best lineup, it's important to get a feel for how you like to play. If you like to score goals from the cross, you should play with the wings. If you like to have the ball often and combine through, you need a well-staffed midfield.

4-3-2-1

This is the current standard formation in FIFA 17, so you're ready for anything.

In the past, the 4-4-2 system was considered the best all-around formation in soccer, but in FIFA 17, the 4-3-2-1 is currently the most popular. This formation has various advantages: It is oriented towards the soccer world, where recently a lot of attention was paid to short passes and a strong midfield. Accordingly, many of the players available in FIFA 17 are suitable for such a formation.

At the back, a back four defends, which is the best middle ground between excessive security and offensive risk. In the center, three good midfielders play, one either as a central defensive or central offensive man. Up front, there are either two very attacking left and right midfielders or two wingers at once. At the very front, a single striker lurks for crosses, rebounds or plays a "false nine" if he drops back.

Another advantage of the formation is that it creates fewer links between players in FUT and is excellent for using the blocking technique. The wingers are often occupied by Bale and Ronaldo, while in the middle Modric plays as ZM. 4-3-2-1 is versatile as described, you can send the wingers forward to cross, follow up with the fullbacks to create overcrowding, pass the ball through the middle and also run counterattacks.

4-3-3

FIFA 17 provides five different variants. This means that the 4-3-3 is equipped for every style of play.

This is the standard formation in FIFA 17, and five different variations can be set. The basic idea of the formation is almost the same as the 4-3-2-1, except that the forward line is no longer subdivided. Here, the outfielders move further out to the sidelines and occupy the wings.

The 4-3-3 can be adapted to any style of play: The ZM can become a ZDM, which gives it better stability. This "holding" formation works well in counterattacking tactics, when the ball is won at the back by a misplaced pass and played forward quickly. Likewise, in the "Defensive" variant, you can move the central player more forward and put the other two midfielders on the defensive. This would be the defensive-minded variant.

The "offensive" formation makes a ZOM out of the ZDM and is thus clearly more offensively positioned, while at the same time being more vulnerable in the defensive midfield. If the opponent's goalkeeper strikes wide, he could hit exactly the unoccupied hole. In the "false nine" formation, the central striker moves back and plays a "false nine". This opens up new possibilities, as the nine ties up central defenders. However, for this formation you need fast and finishing wingers.

4-1-4-1

If you prefer a defensive formation, put all players except the striker in the back.

If you want to be very safe, use a defensive formation. The 4-1-4-1 combines a solid defense with a ZDM and a defensive midfield. Far forward remains a single striker, who usually does not have to drop back. This position is of course critical, someone who knows his trade should play here. At the same time, this striker doesn't have to run as much as in a 4-3-3, for example.

Ibrahimovic would be a good choice. To get forward, you need to pass a little more and the ZMs should also be able to shoot quite well, so that the striker can also use a rebound sometimes.

For FUT you can change a little bit, especially in the 4-3-3 variant, if you don't have a ZOM, but only ZM players. In the end you should adapt your formation to your style of play and not the style of the formation. This will not work.

By Holm Kräusche