Introduction
This is the one, the 442 Diamond FM26 Tactic. Diamonds are not just a girl’s best friend, but mine too! Well in footballing terms anyway.
If anyone knows me they know I love pizza, goals, analysis and……….. 442 Diamond formation.
It works in so many different ways, but it helps me in an area I struggle, defence. It keeps a great shape, defends the centre well and flips into numerous attacking shapes like 4231, 442, 442 wide diamond, 433 etc.
The world is your oyster with this one.
Tactic Overview
Here we are, my 442 Diamond FM26 tactic which is inspired mainly by Ancelotti, but also his time at Real Madrid. It’s pretty straight forward as a shape, the wing backs make the difference. When they get forward they create a 5-7 man attack with width, meaning they are stretching the defence.
I have gone with a positive mentality as the board and fans want Europe, and the only way to get there is scoring goals. Also Rennes tend to be a very central team when looking at their players best positions. This then caused me to pick Gegenpress as the tactical style of the team.
In essence we are creating the typical 325 resting defence that you see with a lot of the big clubs. It’s not too attacking, but you are support the attack more when going forward.
Key Player Roles & Instructions
Defence
Obviously the key role here are the wing backs. Think Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Marcelo or even Valencia. These attack minded wing backs are there to engine up and down the field in this 442 diamond fm26 tactic. They will be the players with the top physical attributes, potentially the stars of the team. This is also the reason the DM sits back, he is effectively screening the defence so they can join in.
Midfield
In midfield, I think the most important role is the AM, they are the player who is going to act as the point of reference. They will put the through balls to the forwards or even out to the wing to stretch the player. Everything they do will be dangerous around the box.
Attack
Both of my striker roles scored a lot of goals, which indicates they are both very good at scoring and were getting the support they needed. I have swapped the positions around between in possession and out of possession to cause chaos. They will swap position and hopefully drag a defender with them, perfect to create an overload.
Team Instructions Explained
In Possession
You should recognise this by now, I’m not entirely keen on the tiles on this screen, but I suppose they look pretty. It’s basically the standard gegenpress team instructions, no real changes on this screen yet.
Out of Possession
Here we are again with the gegenpressing tactic. Obviously we need to have fit defenders to deal with the high press, high line and triggers too. Youthful teams tend to be better at this due to the physical fitness required. So get your wonderkids ready!
I will be updating these blogs with the official release of the game, these fm26 tactics are based on how the beta is now.
Strengths of the 442 Diamond FM26 Tactic
While you are thinking that this tactics main strength is the goals judging by the goals. The actual strength of the 442 diamond fm26 tactic is the defensive stability. It cannot be overestimated how important that central block of defenders is. This includes whether you are countered or just on the back foot.
Once the gegenpress is activated it will lead to your next attack and let the goals flow.
Weaknesses & How to Fix Them
The weakness in the team isn’t so much the 442 diamond, but the players in it. You have to have a required skill set in order to make this work efficiently, so the focus needs to be on your recruitment.
I would take a leaf out of the old Borussia Dortmund model and buy young players between 18-23, with high physical attributes to make this work. This is especially true of the wing backs in the team.
Best Teams/Saves for This Tactic
So the 442 diamond fm26 tactic is most useful with team’s that are trying to go from good to great. They are the teams stuck in the midtable mud, Rennes were a great choice. You could also look at other midtable teams you want to push on like Gladbach in Germany, Fiorentina in Italy, maybe even Sevilla in Spain.
The other factor to think about is that the 442 diamond fm26 tactic is very narrow. As a result you will be letting wingers go in favour for stability and non stop full back action.
Results & Testing
I am still tactic testing with a number of clubs at the moment and it seems to be going well. Here you can see that we nearly knocked PSG off their dominant perch in Ligue Un. We nearly outscored them, and if we didn’t lose to Marseille on the last day we may have won the league.
Download the 442 Diamond FM26 Tactic
To make life easier for you, I have created this download for you to plug and play.
Final Thoughts
You are going to have some fun with the 442 diamond fm26 tactic, especially as it is a remodel of one of our favourite coaches. There are plenty of goals to be scored and if you can find the right defender you will be onto a winner.
The tactical system in FM26 is allowing us to have so much fun and create some truly hilarious tactics. Whatever you do with this game, have fun and enjoy the learning. Good luck guys!
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