Hey guys, I am enjoying the more realistic play in Fifa this year, but there are a few things that are quite frustrating. The biggest problem I am having is even though I am quite practiced now at the way the game plays this year I am having a problem with my defenders. The only way my opponent ever scores is to get the ball near my box and deak around 2 of my defenders EASILY, even though I am jockying them and not diving in. Now at the other end it's next to impossible to deak around my opponents defenders. Am I doing something wrong? I am playing on Pro difficulty with keepers at Semi Pro. What are the best difficulty settings combo you guys have found?

Honestly, the most realistic settings I've found (not necesserily the best or most challenging, but most realistic to the actual game) are to have the CPU on pro and the 'keeper on amateur. Bear in mind that I was smashing Barcelona 4-0 with Torquay regularly in '07 on World Class difficulty.

I think having keeper on semi pro is the best setting, on amateur the goalie always rolls the ball short and it's easy to intercept.

Ya, like Wayne8Rooney said, semi pro is the best setting for me.

The only way my opponent ever scores is to get the ball near my box and deak around 2 of my defenders EASILY, even though I am jockying them and not diving in
Have you tried using the Pace control/walk defense key/button in combination with jockeying?? I don't use it all the time, but I do find that it can be more effective at blocking the opposition's runners, especially when playing against better teams (which is pretty much all of them, since I'm playing as Dagenham and Redbridge!!)

I have the same problem. Seems my defenders inevitably miss every first attempt at tackle, it's so consistent that I don't even try to make a tackle anymore, I just wait for them to run around me and wait to try to intercept. Of course, I can't juke any of the cpu's players, but that's Fifa...

pah! winning balls is easy - you need to jockey and position and wait til the ball is not under your opponents control then tap tackle then distribute into midfield... The slide tackle is also far more useful than 07. you can time them to perfection with practice and nail opponents while still winning the ball (or just winning the ball). plus you only get yellows for coming in from behind or very late.

being beaten by tricks is one of those things... I play a CDM so typically he's the man making all the tackles on strikers but if i keep him close to the striker running towards or across goal, he can make a challenge and be beaten and i still have my 2 central defenders to clean up.

as for beating the computer with tricks, i agree that it's difficult, but it's far from impossible. the lane change is pretty useless as are the step overs, but the "step over and change direction" beats defenders more often than not. I also dig the kick and chase - holding the trick stick as you sprint and using it to change direction. doing this from a diagonal run and then heading straight down a channel is a great way to beat the last man.

pow!

Yeh don't be afraid to slide tackle.

As always, first touch is useless in fifa because it allows defenders to catch up so easily. Because i play on computer, skills are EXTREMELY tough to execute because if you try to do anything tricky like rainbows which i can do on xbox really easily, its as if your moving the left and right joysticks in the same direction, which means you change direction mid-trick, which means you don't do a trick at all

I am playing prof gameplay and prof GK, and i tell you its very tough to score. I get plenty of shots on, but the GK's are so unrealistically good. I can rarely score (although i can from FK's and occaisionally from corners) and only occaisionally when i'm 1 on 1 and in line with the post do i score. I think i'll switch back to pro play and semi-gk, then eventually move up to WC gameplay and semi-gk

as chachaldinho said, i think playing a CDM is very useful, and i neva play a team without one. they make majority of tackles and win the ball. your formation and team mentality is very important when it comes to defense, not just how good you are at timing tackles. just keep tweaking things around untill it works!!!