How to Defend - FIFA 22

Knowing how to defend in FIFA 22 is pretty important, as you might imagine. If you don’t, you’ll see that score tilt to your opponent’s favor real fast, especially on higher difficulties. If you’re new to FIFA, you might not know what the proper controls are and whatnot, and even if you’re a veteran, there have been a few changes that you should be aware of. We’ll explain it all in our How to Defend – FIFA 22 guide.

How to Defend in FIFA 22

To defend in FIFA 22, the first thing you need to know is how to jockey your opponent, aka how to apply pressure to them. You do that by holding L2/LT, and it basically makes the defender you’re controlling stick to the opposing attacker. You can also perform a fast jockey by holding L2 and R2/LT and RT.

The second thing you need to know is how to change which defender you’re controlling on the fly. You don’t want to let the AI be your main defense. You can use AI in a pinch by holding R1/RB to close in on the attacker, but that’s not super reliable. To manually switch between your defense players, press the right stick and then flick it in the direction of the player you want to select.

Once you position yourself near an opposing player that has the ball, you have several methods to take it. Be aware of all of them if you want to know how to defend in FIFA 22 efficiently. You can press Circle/B to stand tackle, or hold the button for a more harsh tackle. Be careful how hard you go for the ball, lest you make a foul. You can use the same command to shoulder-check the opponent when you’re side by side as well as step between them and the ball. Last, but not least, you can use Square/X to slide tackle. Be really careful and precise with these if you don’t want your player back on the bench.

Those are the basics that you need to know. If you have any other advice on how to defend with the best efficiency, let us know in the comments below. I’m sure a lot of people are going to be grateful.