Until now, there was no alternative to the 4-3-3 in TOTY or TOTS matches – EA SPORTS has broken the tactical shackles. As a result, the developer has solved several problems in FC 26.
With the ball or against the ball? Against a cellar dweller or a top team? Focus on possession or counter-attack? Many factors determine which formation a team plays in and when. Most clubs also have different tactical tools in their toolbox for different scenarios – EA SPORTS’ ultimate FUT teams have been different so far.
Whether Team of the Year (TOTY) or Team of the Season (TOTS): For years, the selection has always been rigidly 4-3-3. Four outstanding midfielders deserved to be included in the first eleven? Too bad, only three can receive a vote. A voting mechanism that did not do justice to the reality and complexity of modern soccer.
Not another meta jam à la TOTY
The problem with TOTY voting in FC 26 became particularly clear: EA SPORTS had placed attacking wingers such as Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Michael Olise in midfield, probably for meta reasons. As a result, both they and more central colleagues such as Vitinha, Declan Rice or Joshua Kimmich had less chance of a TOTY card.
Strong track players such as Alejandro Grimaldo or Denzel Dumfries are less able to develop as full-backs in a back four than in a back three or back five. Nevertheless, EA SPORTS wanted to see them in the defense of a 4-3-3 formation. A considerable disadvantage, as their real showpiece positions simply do not exist in this formation.
Multiple formations, flexible positions
The developer seems to have understood these gaps in logic himself: In the voting for the Bundesliga TOTS, you can choose from as many as five different formations: In addition to the traditional 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-1-2-1-2, 3-5-2 and 5-2-3 are now also options. But that’s not all – EA SPORTS goes one sensible step further.
Depending on the formation, the part of the team in which the professionals have to be selected can also change. So if you really want to play Grimaldo on the left wing, you can do so in a 3-5-2 – the Spaniard then counts as a midfielder. Olise, on the other hand, belongs to the midfield in a 4-4-2, but to the TOTS pool of attackers in a 4-3-3.
Undav will not become a Bayern victim after all
This also prevents EA SPORTS from making Deniz Undav a potential Bayern victim. With 18 goals, the VfB striker is the second-best goalscorer in the Bundesliga after Harry Kane (31) – and would certainly have deserved the TOTS card in sporting terms. In a 4-3-3 with no alternative with Olise and Luis Diaz as attackers, however, there would hardly be any room in most votes.
While a few more players than just the first eleven usually make it into the Team of the Season. However, Leipzig’s Yan Diomande would also have been a promising forward candidate. It would probably have been tight for Undav – although many FUT and soccer fans would certainly have wanted to vote for him. EA SPORTS has resolved this dilemma, which has been prevalent for years.