1vs1 Defending guide FIFA 23

Video guide at the end of the article

1vs1 Defending guide FIFA 23

If you're having problems while defending the attackers in one versus one situations then this is the exact guide you need to improve yourself. We are going to give you the core elements of one versus one defending to let you become a brick wall, so let's get going.

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Why defending 1vs1 is important

Your defensive problem might already start a step earlier with understanding when you have to take charge and go for a manual one versus one defense against the attacker.

There are a lot of players, who hold themselves back defensively and try to cover the back area or they just try to let the AI defend the attacker. Both of these are going to give the opposition tons of space and they might do whatever they want without getting blocked.
Here, as we receive the ball with our attacker, our opponent is away from the player who actually needs to defend him and he lets the AI do his work. However with the skill move we beat the defender in square nice goal, which could be prevented by a manual one versus one defending. So that means you have to take control, be confident, confront the opponent by yourself and try to block as many opportunities as possible.

In a counter-attack situation we know that we need to take responsibility as danger grows. We get close to dribbler and also cover the passing lane at the same time, and once the other thread is over we make our final move towards them in a one versus one and safely get the ball back

We can safely say taking responsibility, observing what the opponent does and taking action accordingly brings you to success in your defense.

Positioning defenders

Positioning your defender is the most important thing in a one versus one situation. However, it is not easy since you have to watch out for different aspects. Attackers will have different opportunities: they can dribble the ball, pass it to another teammate or even shoot it if they find the chance. Analyzing the occasion and seeing the next potential steps will decide your optimal positioning. 

We tend to position our defender directly in front of the opponent in a one versus one situation. You can always imagine a line between the attacker and the keeper and position yourself directly on it.

We've seen that this method helped our fellow players a lot, so it might be also useful for you. Instead of getting directly at them we keep a safe distance between his attacker and ourselves as long as he has the full control of the ball. This distance allows us to control all of his potential moves. If the attacker tries to shoot, we are already between him and the goal so we block it. If he tries to go left or right, the distance we give him will allow us to do the same movement so that we can mirror his movements.

There is one specific mechanic that will help you with the mirroring, which is to get the jockeying. Holding onto the L2 LT button will let you go into jockey, which is a magnificent defensive stance that allows you to keep your defensive positioning, especially in tight 1 versus 1 situations. Jockeying will help you avoid getting beaten by attackers. You can also use the jockey with the sprinting mechanic to go for a fast jockey, if you see that the opponent is pacing up to things. Let's see an example.

As the opponent approaches our box patiently, he looks for an opening, but we need to make sure that we use the imaginary line between the ball and the keeper and remain on it. Pressing the L2 and jockeying allows us to do little moves towards the sides, which doesn't break our defensive positioning and we remain in front of the opponent all the time, blocking every single opportunity right after he decides to go for one of the directions and pushes the ball away. We chase him down confidently and get the ball away from him.

After getting into the perfect position it is time for you to decide when to execute a defensive move to retrieve the ball.

When to execute defensive moves

In a one versus one you will eventually have the opportunity to go for a defensive move, but if you do it too early or too late, you can give your opponent an unnecessary opening and concede an easy goal. That is why waiting for the perfect moment is important.

But when it's actually okay to execute the defensive moves? The answer is simple. The attacker is most vulnerable right after he pushes the ball away from his feet. So between two consecutive Wall contacts there is a very short moment that he's not in full control of the ball and you need to catch this moment.

Let us show you what we mean with this. Here as we received the ball with our striker inside the box, the defender positioned himself in a good spot between us and the keeper. However he remains impatient with his tackling. He doesn't pay attention to our ball contact and in the end he goes for it in the wrong way, loses his defensive shape and concedes an easy goal. 

In another scenario we quickly take a look at the ball contact of the opponent. Just because we see that he sprints and pushes the ball away, we know that this will delay his second contact on the ball, so we decide to select our defender, go on a one versus one challenge with him and retrieve the ball dominantly.

So that means keeping your good positioning and patiently waiting for the attacker's vulnerable moment are the core elements of a one versus one defending position.

We hope this tutorial will enhance your defending skills in one versus one and lets you easily dominate the opponent defensively without giving away any chances. 

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