After more than 50 matches with Erling Haaland in EA FC 24, I am convinced that the cover star is one of the best strikers in Ultimate Team. However, the path to this was arduous, as I first had to make a small adjustment so that the Norwegian superstar could unleash his full power.
Why was I disappointed? As much as I was happy to pull Haaland, the disillusionment after the first matches was just as great. I knew beforehand that the Norwegian wasn’t a technical wizard. Haaland’s strength lies in his physicality, which he uses to create space for powerful and precise shots.
However, there was no sign of assertiveness at the beginning, especially at a price of almost 500k coins. Haaland was often caught by opponents and easily pushed aside in duels, prompting me to think about a small change in his chemistry style. With success.
Haaland with even more physicality shows: Lengthy still OP
What was that small change? If you play Haaland at full chemistry, you have many options to further increase his physicality. The chemistry styles ‘Hawk’ or ‘Marksman’ are certainly the most suitable, as both chemistry styles improve the physicality as well as the shot, essentially maximizing them.
The magical threshold that you need to reach with Haaland’s strength stat is 96. With a strength of 96, the gap to his agility, which stands at 76, is 20 higher.
What does the change bring? The crux of the matter is that at this distance, Haaland’s running style changes. The (mostly) sustained running style now becomes a sustained running style, which last year at the beginning of FIFA 23 was the dominant acceleration type and long considered the benchmark (keyword Lengthy-Meta).
It also seems that Lengthy is OP again this year, because after I switched Haaland to this running style, his influence on the game changed dramatically. What changes exactly I was able to observe, you can read below.
By the way, Haaland is also a prominent part of the first Road to the Knockouts team in EA FC 24. Check out his improved card in our overview of Team 1.
With Lengthy running style, he is the machine we know
What exactly changed with the Lengthy running style? I could immediately notice the effect in the first running duels, because once I got past the opponent, it was significantly more difficult for him to keep up with the long, expansive steps of the Lengthy mechanic.
The best defenders in EA FC 24, such as Virgil van Dijk, already have this acceleration type automatically, as they bring as much physicality as Haaland. However, what Haaland has over them with the Lengthy sprint style is his good start combined with his explosive top speed. With the chemistry style Hawk, Haaland reaches a staggering 98 sprint speed.
With Lengthy, you basically beat the center-backs at their own game and create enough space to utilize Haaland’s strengths in the game.
What other strengths does Haaland possess? There are no doubts about the finishing skills of the wonder striker. The 93 on his shot value feels just as good. Whether under pressure or not, Haaland strikes hard and precisely at goal.
His acrobatics are also impressive. He is one of the eleven cards in Ultimate Team that have the Playstyle+ in acrobatics. This makes his volleys from the air incredibly precise, and he can utilize crosses, no matter what height they are coming in.
However, you also need to be aware of some small weaknesses. The gold card only has three stars for skills and weak foot usage. Additionally, due to his stature, Haaland is not particularly agile and dribble-strong in tight spaces.
If you are aware of these weaknesses, then it’s best to play him as a target player who can hold the ball and distribute it with one or two touches to start again in open space. As soon as you are near the goal, press the shot button. Haaland will take care of the rest for you.
It’s best to leave dribbling to players who have mastered the new OP dribbling in EA FC 24.
