eFootball is, in my opinion, the best soccer game I have ever played. And if you are a long-time reader of CareerGamers, you know that I love soccer games and have played them all.
But when I first started playing eFootball, I had a hard time deciding on a formation. I just did not know what the best formation in eFootball was.
Thinking that I couldn’t be the only new player with this problem, I decided to conduct a few experiments to find eFootball’s best formation. This is what I found:
The best formation in eFootball is the 433 formation combined with the counterattacking strategy. The 433 formation offers attack and defence flexibility. It also provides a solid defensive base and lots of attacking options.
Okay, now you know what the best formation is. But there is so much more to talk about.
In the following sections, I will discuss the following:
- Why you should use 433.
- How to use the 433 formation in eFootball.
- What strategies you can use with the 433 formation.
- How to defend with the 433 formation.
- How to attack with a 433 formation.
If you’re interested in the best formation in eFootball, you’re probably interested in the best team playstyles too. If you are, I highly recommend checking out my eFootball Team Playstyles guide.
Okay, that’s a lot of ground to cover. In the first section, I’ll look at the 433 attack formation.
The best-balanced formation and strategy in eFootball: 433 counterattack.
I would say that the 433 formation with a single defensive midfielder is the best-balanced formation in the game.
From the back, this formation consists of:
- 2 center backs
- 1 left-back
- 1 right-back.
- 1 defensive midfielder
- 2 central midfielders
- 1 Left-winger
- 1 Right-winger
- 1 striker
You can see the formation below.
Why you should use the 433 formation
The 433 provides an outstanding balance to any team that uses it. With the 433, you have enough defense protection, enough midfield players to support build-up play, and you have enough targets in attack to counter effectively.
The formation can be quickly switched for more defensive or offensive situations.
For example, at halftime of a match, you can withdraw one of the central midfielders to bring in an additional defensive midfielder to offer extra protection to your back 4.
Conversely, you can also play more offensively if necessary. For example, you can turn both central midfielders into attacking midfielders, which means you have extra runners rushing into the penalty area.
Since many real-life soccer teams use the 433 formation, there are many great players suited for this formation in the game.
You do not need a great team to make the 433 formation work. But as with all formations and systems in soccer, the better the players you use, the better the formation will work.
I recommend a team full of 4-star or higher players in all positions. But even if you play with lower quality starters ( 1-2 stars), you can make the 433 work for you. Just try to play a bit more carefully with 2 defensive midfielders. You can also bring the wingers deeper by making them left and right midfielders. This will give you even more defensive protection.
This is especially important when you play online against other players who have a strong team pack with many fast and skilful superstars.
Okay, in this section, I mentioned why you should use the 433 formation. It is a very balanced formation that can easily switch between a defensive, balanced and offensive mentality. Also, like all soccer formations, the formation is more effective with better players. But you can also use the 433 formation with 1-2 star players. Just make sure you set up the formation a little more defensively.
In the next section, I’ll go over how you can use the 433 formation with your team.
How to use the 433 formation in eFootball
In the last section, I explained why you should use the 433 formation. It is well balanced and can quickly switch between offense and defense.
In this section, I explain how to use the 433 effectively.
Setting up the defensive core
Here I explain how to set up your 433 defense to stop counterattacks.
When you set up your 433, you should first make sure that you always have 5 players sitting deep in defense.
You want a flat-back 4 defense consisting of the two center backs and the right and left-backs. The defensive midfielders should be deep in front of the four defenders to intercept passes.
Prevent your left-back, right-back, and defensive midfielder from rushing forward and attacking by going into the individual instructions in the game plan menu and asking them to play defensively and not roam forward. This way, you can be sure that you will have 5 players standing deep if you lose the ball.
If you do not tell your left and right backs to stand deep, they will advance to the opponent’s penalty area when you attack. If you lose the ball, and the opposition counterattacks, you may be left with only 2 center backs and a defensive midfielder defending your half of the pitch. This leaves the wings open and easy for the opposing player to exploit.
If you want to make the 433 formation a little more defensive, you can field 2 DMs and 1 CM. In the Individual Instructions section of the game plan, you can specify that both defensive midfielders must stay deep when defending to cut off passing lanes.
This way, you have 6 players defending and 4 players, the striker, central midfielder, and two wingers, attacking.
Setting up the midfield
In this section, I’ll show you how to set up your two central midfielders.
Next, you want to make sure you have plenty of attacking options when you go forward. First, line up your two central midfielders as central midfielders rather than attacking midfielders. To do this, in the formation editor click triangle/Y on the midfield player and then press triangle/Y again. You should see that the position has changed at the bottom of the player stats menu.
You might think that you can attack more and get more chances with two attacking midfielders, but that’s not true. In eFootball, the attacking midfielders tend to rush to the edge of the opponent’s penalty area and never come deep again to get the ball. They just sit on the edge, just like the striker.
2 CMs help with the build-up play more. After a run from deep into the opponent’s penalty area, the CM usually drops back into the midfield to help build up the attack.
Setting up the attackers
This section explains how to set up your 433 formation with the attacking wingers and striker.
First, set your striker as a counterattacking target in the individual instructions menu in the game plan. He’ll be waiting high up the pitch for counterattacking opportunities when you defend.
Place your striker as low as possible on the formation screen while still keeping his active position as a striker. When counterattacking from a defensive position, your striker should be a few yards away from the opposing defense so that you have the opportunity to play the ball into the striker’s feet.
There are two good strategies for counterattacking from deep. The first is to play a through-ball to a free winger. The second is to play a low, hard pass into the feet of the striker and immediately pull the left trigger to shield the ball. You can then play the ball to the onrushing midfielders in the second or two that shielding has bought you.
The wingers should be ready to take advantage of any counterattacking opportunity and get behind the defense. Do this by placing your wingers high up the pitch on the formation screen.
You can either move your wingers inside to support the strikers or as far out towards the throw-in line to exploit empty space on the wing. I prefer a balance.
In this section, you learned how to set up the defense, midfield, and attack of the 433 formation.
In the next section, you will learn how to use the 433 formation with different strategies.
What strategy to use with a 433 in eFootball.
The best overall strategy for the 433 formation in eFootball is the counter-strategy. In my opinion, this is the best strategy in the game because your players will constantly try to press and counter, just like Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool. This is highly effective.
How to defend with the 433 counter-strategy
When defending with the 433 counter-strategy, I recommend two forms of defending. These two forms are
- Pressing in your opponent’s half.
- Defending deep your own half.
Let us look at both of them below.
Pressing in the opposition’s half
When your opponent has the ball in their own half, I recommend that you constantly pressure the opposing players and passing lanes. This accomplishes two things:
- When you press the player, they’ve less time to make a good decision. They’ll rush and make mistakes often.
- If you constrict the passing lanes, you have a chance to intercept the ball and initiate a quick counterattack. You also limit the opposing player’s options.
Heavy pressing at the top of the pitch is a very effective tactic. It gives you the chance to intercept the ball high up the pitch and initiate a quick counterattack, but it also hinders the opposing team from playing their natural game.
Just look at how effective this system is in practice at Liverpool. They press so hard that the other teams often abandon their game plans and hit the ball long.
Just remember that constant pressing will tire your players. Therefore, you should have a backup striker and winger on the bench to make substitutions in the 60th-70th minute.
Defending in your own half with 433
It’s important to know that some players are very good at playing the ball out of their own half. If you come across such a player online, you should stop pressing and pull back a bit more as soon as the ball crosses the halfway line into your own half. Instead of pressuring these players, you should cut off the vertical passing paths to suppress the opponent’s through-balls.
If a player is good enough to play the ball out from the back while you’re pressing hard, he’s probably good enough to play the ball through your defense. Don’t keep pressing in your own half like a crazed Roy Kean. You will drag your players out of position, leaving gaps for through balls. Instead, defend patiently, stay organized, don’t pull your players out of position, and wait for your opponent to make mistakes.
Attack with 443 counterattacks.
As the name suggests, the 433 counterattack system is designed to counter the opponent.
So how should you attack?
On a counterattack, after you win the ball back, you should immediately look to see if any of your front three players are free for through-ball Your wingers have the greatest chance of being free, so quickly scan the radar.
If no player is free for a through-pass, try to play the ball into the feet of the striker. Hold the ball up and wait for other players to offer support. Once that support arrives, play a pass across the field to the wingers or back to the central midfielders.
Also, play 1-2 passes with L1/ LB or R1/RB. This is a good way to push your players forward and catch your opponent off balance.
If other players on your team aren’t offering support fast enough and the opposing team has time to regroup and readjust, you should slow down the pace.
Be patient. Don’t try to force the counterattack if the opposition has had a chance to regroup and position themselves. Instead, try to regroup yourself and play the ball across the field until one of your players loses his attacker in the opposing defensive line, and then play a through ball.