Lineups & tactics without a headache

You do not need a coaching badge. Six formations, six team instructions, a lineup of eleven and a bench of seven. Here is what every lever actually does inside the engine — and what it costs — so you can stop guessing.

Formation. 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-5-2, 4-1-4-1, 5-3-2. It decides the eleven slots you fill and the position each starter is asked to play. Pick the shape your squad has the bodies for.

Instruction	Options	What it moves	What it costs
Mentality	All-out attack · Attacking · Balanced · Cautious · Defensive	Shooting ×1.5 / ×1.3 / ×1 / ×0.75 / ×0.55; how many players push forward; the whole block slides up or down the pitch	Open at the back when you push; toothless when you sit
Pressing	High · Medium · Low	Pressure on the ball ×1.5 / ×1 / ×0.6 — more forced errors, more fouls	Legs: drain ×1.4 on high, and it turns brutal once a player drops under 70% stamina
Tempo	Fast · Normal · Slow	More moves per minute → more shots, both ways	Drain ×1.3 fast, ×0.7 slow
Passing	Short · Mixed · Long	Short passes ×1.3 or long balls ×1.4 more likely to come off	The other kind gets worse
Width	Wide · Normal · Narrow	Crosses ×1.4 / ×1 / ×0.6; the lanes spread or squeeze	Wide leaves the middle thin; narrow gives up the flanks
Defensive line	High · Normal · Deep	The back line steps up or drops; the offside trap lives here	High: space behind you. Deep: the opponent's forward runs cost him less

Roles. Every slot can carry a role from the catalogue (a playmaker, a target man, a ball-winning midfielder…). Today a role nudges what the player prefers to do and how high he sits; the deeper role behaviours are the next step. Set them, but don't expect miracles from the label.

The lineup. Exactly eleven; one goalkeeper in goal; at least three defenders, two midfielders and one forward by slot. The bench is seven. If you never set one, the game picks the best eleven for your formation at kickoff — and if a starter got injured or suspended after you saved, he is swapped for the best available man. A player out of position gets a warning on the page. It is advice, not a fine: the engine plays him with his real attributes in the slot you gave him.

Captain and takers. The armband steadies the room (it softens the bad moods and lifts the young players' training); it is not a stat boost. Name your penalty, free-kick and corner takers in order — the first one on the pitch takes it.

During the match. Mentality once every five minutes. Tempo, width, pressing and the line — any time, but a change that actually moves something leaves the side a mess for three minutes at ×0.97. A shout every ten minutes breaks the opponent's momentum; too many and your own legs go. Formation and passing style do not change live. Five substitutions in three windows; half-time is free.

If you plan to be away. A match plan — up to eight “if this, then that” rules: at minute 60 if losing, go attacking; if a player's condition drops under 35, sub him. With no plan, the bench still covers the exhausted from the hour mark.

My honest advice for Round 1: Balanced, medium press, normal tempo. Learn your squad first. The levers are for when you know what you are pulling.

Tomorrow: a season, in days — 133 of them, with the real dates of Season 1.