The back five can be a blessing or a curse in FC 24. A blessing for the player, a curse for the opponent. The problem: the formation does not reflect the actual complexity of the game – and there are few ways to counter it
Clear agreements: Who pushes out when? On the real pitch, the five-man backline is quite complex to implement. As there are fewer players up front compared to the back four, the opponent gets very close to their own danger zone. It is therefore important to have clear agreements within the defensive line as to who pushes out when. This looks different in EA SPORTS FC 24
Many goals conceded? Five-man back line provides a remedy
If you’ve previously conceded a lot of goals and then switch to a five-man backline, you’ll quickly realize: The zero stands. But what can be beneficial for you is frustrating for opponents of this formation. Because cracking the back five is often extremely difficult.
“This is mainly due to the full-backs and the general structure of FC 24,” former national team coach Matthias ‘STYLO’ Hietsch explains to eSport: “With a five-man backline, a line of four is formed in midfield in addition to the back row. The problem here is how quickly the players switch from attack to defense and take up their positions again.” Accordingly, you have to “first play over the outside midfielder and then the full-back”. Once you’ve done that, “the central defenders come on top of that, who are then three in the center.”
The five-man backline also benefits from the new PlayStyles introduced for FC 24. “As soon as an opponent sets up central defenders who also have the Block PlayStyle”, you “can’t even look for the finish at the smallest gap because it would be blocked”.
Not just a direct hit defensively
It sounds as if the five-man backline is limited to defending. But that’s not the case. In a 5-2-2-1, for example, there is “a very similar division in the attacking line to the 4-3-2-1”, explains ‘STYLO’: “The two full-backs, who are very wide, make it easy to play forward on the outside. And if a ball is lost, the full-backs are promptly at the back again.” EA SPORTS may have wanted to tone this down in the Christmas update, but there have been no major changes so far.
In general, the formation with five defenders does not require a great deal of know-how. Player instructions do not need to be given. “Nevertheless, the defense is solid. That has nothing to do with the actual complexity that prevails on the real pitch,” says ‘STYLO’. The way the five-man backline is programmed in FC 24, “it is simply unfair to other formations and is therefore quite rightly banned in official competitions”.
However, this also means that the back five can still be used in Division Rivals or the Weekend League. Mirza Jahic revealed tips on how to crack the bulwark in a video on X. “Either you mirror the formation” or go with your favorite alignment “in tiki-taka. Or – even better – you go for finishing shots”. These in particular “can crack the back five”. With tiki-taka, it is important that the team is also set up for it.
