How To Defend in FC 26 – My Top 5 Defending Tips To Concede Less Goals

Tried and testing methods of defending that can help you become more solid defensively, and win more games

Here are my top five tips to help you instantly improve at defending in FC 26.
This will help you concede a lot less goals, but you have to make sure you’re doing these properly, always watch your gameplay back to see if you’re doing what I’m telling you, one the biggest misconceptions is, people think they’re doing the right thing, but under pressure they are not.

Choose the right player in FC 26 (and trust me a higher rated/expensive card be the worst defender)

The most important thing in FC 26 is using defenders with high sprint speed. The higher the sprint speed, the faster your recovery runs are—crucial for cutting out through balls after a mistake. If you’re using a slower CB (e.g., 75 sprint speed), your positioning has to be perfect. Even pros are not using cards with this low pace.

Prioritize pace: I aim for 85+ sprint speed on my centre-backs and would rather run a CB with 85 sprint speed / 80 defending than one with 72 sprint speed / 90 defending. If a player is below 85 sprint speed, apply a Shadow chemistry style.

This can instantly elevate your defending, even if you have a player that’s worth a lot of money, it does not necessarily mean that they are good card, same with rating, that is why 80 rated cards are better than even higher rated cards because it purely depends on stats.

This is explained further in my FC School videos & explanations to why, and which players to purchase that are “overpowered” or better than their ratings show.

Top Tip: If you are unsure, you can always filter via websites to search for cards that have above 85+ sprint speed, and 80+ defensive awareness, and you can always apply a shadow or sentinel chemistry style depending on their stats. A centre back that has high pace. but does not have the best of defending stats, you can use a Sentinel chemistry card, because you don't need to improve the pace anymore, but the Sentinel chemistry style will greatly improve defending and physical.

If you’re unsure, check out my YouTube videos where I normally have an upgraded list of meta players and plays that I recommend.

Remember just because a player is high rated, or maybe they’re very expensive does not necessarily mean that they are good player, there are loads of high rated cards that are very expensive that are actually not that good inside the game, you need the right combination of stats in game.

Why Trust NealGuides:

NealGuides is a gameplay expert with one of the biggest tutorial channels for EA FC 26. He has repeatedly predicted powerful META mechanics in advance and turned them into practical guides that help players improve. He is also one of the very few members part of the EA Design Council, in which he travels to EA headquarters multiple times per year to play the game and provide feedback and as a consultant.

Through his 20 years of extensive football simulation knowledge, he now focuses on helping the average player get better at the game. He has coached over 10,000s of people exclusively through his FC School, and his YouTube channel boasts over 300,000 subscribers, with over 100 million views across all platforms. Best known for his tactics, he breaks down each tactic and formation exploring the different variations and adjustments for the viewers style, all his formations that he releases are testing by him and members of different skill levels before being released.

The Jockey Playstyle

If you’re struggling to defend, the Jockey Playstyle is one of the most effective tools. The Playstyle+ version is rare players and usually expensive (e.g., players like Koundé), but even the base silver Jockey playstyle is very helpful. Remember: the running-jockey speed isn’t tied to sprint speed, it’s influenced by Defensive Awareness. Jockey playstyle boosts that movement speed – its mainly to do with transitions, but for the average person that’s defending, therefore they will notice a significant difference.

This means that if I was to perhaps buy a player, I’m going to look for a player that has the jockey playstyle, if I can’t get the playstyle+ variation, I’m taking into account the silver bass playstyle. This is something that can greatly increase your ability to defend especially inside the box, we know this because right now as it stands a players left stick movement and control Sprint movement, the velocity is much faster in contrast to a person defending with the running jockey.

If you want to improve in FC 26, join my FC School Series, where tens of thousands of people have improved, we are so sure we can help you, if you dont get better we will refund you after a month.

Swiching Early and anticipating the danger

The most common defensive mistake that players make, and even players that are advanced in the game – that have many years of experience – make this simple mistake of “not switching early”, when I mean switch early I mean switching to the defender early. It can be an L1 switch or a right stick switch.

I want you to picture there’s a through ball going in behind, a lot of people they switch the defender once the through ball is already been made, if you take into account that average attacker has higher Sprint Speed than a defender, not only are you at a disadvantage already because you’re switching later and you have a lower sprints the defender then trying to catch up, the only thing you have in your favour is angles.

if you are seeing that your opponent is triggering a player to make a run in behind, and you know there is that through ball coming, you’re better off switching early and running to where the ball is going to be, just to iterate don’t run toward the ball is run to where the ball is going to be, that way you can recover and defend the situation easier, the last thing you want to do is not anticipate the pass, sit there and then its too late, and once they are through its too late.

Use ball relative if you are struggling with defending, I go through this in detail in my FC School, but ball relative is the most consist right stick switching mechanic.

You can also use L1 switching if your timing is correct, but a right stick switch will ensure the correct player every time.

Mastering Auto-Tackling and Angles

A lot of people get confused when I say this, I’m not saying don’t tackle, of course you should tackle but there is an auto tackle feature inside the game and while you’re learning to defend you should always use it in your favour.

The auto tackling feature means the game will automatically tackle the ball for you when your opponent runs into you, if you are holding the L2 Button on your in a running jockey or a jockey phase.

Auto tackling is genuinely strong this year, but it only shines with good positioning. Instead of lunging and then running out of position, get goal-side and close the angle to goal. Keep repeating to yourself: “My job is to defend the angle toward goal, not to win the ball back.” This mindset reduces over-committing and cuts out the easy lanes your opponent wants.

Defending with CDMs & keep your defence in line

One of the most important habits is running back with your CDMs. Track the danger with a quick-CDM so you can be a bit more aggressive without pulling your back line out of shape.

Gone are the days where you can just control the CDM and run the entire time without ever touching your defence.
However, you can still defend your CDM to retreat backwards and play safe but you cant run around with them the entire time as you could of done previously.

Instead of running out with your defender run back with your CDM first that way you can use your CDM’s as like your risky players an your defensive line will be the safety net. When your CDMs are beaten, or a ball has been passed around, then you can switch to your defensive line but the key is hold the line. Do not run out with your defender, this year at all, even if you are 99% sure you can get the ball, its very easy for your opponent to glide past you since the jockey speed is slower, even if you have the best players in the game with the Jockey Playstyle+.

Hold your line, let them come to you, DO NOT BREAK YOUR DEFENSIVE LINE, this is the most common mistake that is made defensively, remember its your job to defend the angle towards goal, not to win the ball back. The most rookie mistake is selecting a defender and running out aggressively trying to get the ball, you have to be PATIENT, that is the key being patient, all you are doing by running out with your defenders is making it easier for your opponent and creating a hole in your defence.

Remember, Keep the defensive line intact; if you really want to press then you can use your CDM, If CDM gets beaten or is too far away to recovery, then switch to a defender. As a rule of thumb, when the ball is central, recover with your CDMs first.

Ensure you are using a formation with CDMs, as this will allow your defenders to sit deeper, making it easier to switch to, unsure what formation to use? See my tactics list for formations with CDMs,

Top Tip: if you watch professional players, you may see them defend aggressively, this is not the correct approach, they do it because they know what they are doing and when to take the risk and how to recover, first be patient, learn how to defend, then you can start defending aggressively.

Honourable Mentions & Considerations

These formations are very effective, but there are also other formations that can be useful. Feel free to experiment, the key is always changing the roles to make the formation play the way you want to play, copying a code and a tactics is going to give you that last 10% difference, that you will need to find yourself. I go through and explain the roles and most different variations in my youtube channel.

Key Takeaways

Use players with high sprint speed
Find players that have the jockey playstyle
Run to where the ball is going to be not where the ball is
Defend with your CDMs first
Keep your defensive line in shape
If you are unsure, see my tactics list of codes and formations.

Neal Guides

I am NealGuides, I run a Youtube Channel with over 300k+ Subscribers helping people get better at FC 26. We have helped millions of people improve.
I am part of the EA Design Council, in which I have played EA FC 26 early and provide feedback on the game to help shape its future.
I have coached many players in FC from the average casual, to pros, to real life footballers. If you want to improve at FC join my FC school series.