In EA FC 24 free kicks can be a viable way to score goals. We show you what to look out for with set pieces to increase your success rate.
Which free kicks are we talking about? The focus is primarily on the set pieces that you are awarded relatively centrally in front of the opponent’s penalty area. With our tips, you can score from both 18 m and 30 m away from the goal.
Below, we reveal how free kicks work in EA FC 24 and what adjustments you should make to take the most dangerous set pieces.
Free Kicks in EA FC 24: What You Need to Know
What matters with free kicks? Several factors play a key role in a successful free kick. In addition to the alignment of the trajectory before the free kick and loading the shot power just before the run-up, it’s mainly the spin that gives the stationary ball the necessary kick.
First, we explain how free kicks generally work, how you can give your shots spin, and which spin is particularly effective in EA FC 24.
How do free kicks work in EA FC 24? The animation for free kicks has mostly remained the same compared to FIFA 23. After a free kick is called for your team, the camera angle changes so that you view your set piece taker from behind, provided you are within range for a direct attempt.
A line appears above the ball, which allows you to indicate the approximate direction of the free kick by positioning it with the left analog stick. This direction line extends a bit further for players with the playstyle “Stationary Ball”. Generally, it is advisable to have at least one player with this playstyle in your team, as these players take their free kicks with more speed, accuracy, and spin.
Speaking of playstyles: They play a significant role not only in free kicks. We introduce you to the most important playstyles.
And since we just mentioned the spin, we will now reveal how you can give your free kicks the necessary spin.
Free Kicks in EA FC 24: How to Give Your Shots the Necessary Spin
In addition to the direction line above the ball, a square appears in the lower center of the screen with a smaller square cursor (see image). This smaller square helps you determine which side of the foot you will use to take the free kick (inside or outside), as well as which spin (top or back-spin) you will give the ball.
Top and Back-Spin: The upper area of the large square indicates that you want to hit the ball high, causing it to travel towards the goal with top spin. In-game, this area is referred to as a low shot. Low strikes can indeed be charged with a lot of shot power and remain low over the grass edge, but they have a lower success rate and are, in our opinion, not recommended.
The lower area of the large square is interesting. This is where your struck balls are given back-spin, allowing them to fly over the wall in a high arc. However, the flight curve drops steeply due to the spin just before the ball reaches the goal. Thus, with the correct execution, the ball falls into the goal at the last moment.
Inside and Outside: Additionally, you can impart lateral spin to the ball using the inside or outside of your foot. Here again, the positioning of the cursor before the free kick is crucial.
An example: Right-footed players strike the ball with the inside of their foot when they hit it on the right side. Consequently, you need to position the cursor on the right side of the square. If you move your cursor to the left sector of the square, your right foot will shoot the ball with the outside of the foot.
For left-footed players, it is the other way around.
The lateral spin through the inside or outside foot plays only a secondary role for our promising variant. What matters is that you give your free kick the perfect back-spin and sufficient shot power. How to do that, you can read below.
To get into such promising positions, you need an idea of how to combine through to the opponent’s penalty area. Feel free to check out our tips for guaranteed more goals in EA FC 24.
Guaranteed Free Kick Goals through Back-Spin and High Shot Power
How to Take the Best Free Kicks in EA FC 24: The theory is followed by practice. You take the best free kicks in EA FC 24 by giving the ball back-spin and sufficient shot power.
1. For the perfect spin, you can orient yourself by the lower corner markings of the large square. The bottom side of your cursor should be level with the top end of the marking. In the image below, you can see where your spin cursor should be positioned so that the free kicks receive a dangerous spin. After you have positioned your cursor as shown in the lower area, you should also position it as centrally as possible to achieve only a slight lateral spin.
2. The game will automatically give your ball a slight spin. You can balance out this minimal curve by not aligning your direction line completely into the corner you wanted to shoot into, but rather slightly off; best between the two players standing inside the wall (see image). For an even higher success rate, you should ensure that your player curls the ball away from the goalkeeper; in this case with the outside of the foot.
3. Finally, all you need to do is charge your free kick with a shot power of three and a half bars, and you will see with what spin and power the ball flies towards the goal.
At first, you should initially stick with back-spin, as additional inside or outside foot spin requires a bit more experience and feel.
If you feel confident with our guidelines, you can gradually incorporate lateral spin to curl free kicks around opponents. You can practice different free kick situations in the Ultimate Team Moments mode to secure a few extra stars during training.
We can only recommend the training arena for practicing free kicks to a limited extent, as the shot display and execution of free kicks differ from the normal game. Aside from that, the training arena this year has a few useful additions to improve your gameplay . We show you how to use them correctly.
