Here, we’re going to take a look at the most important basic skill moves that you need to work with. 

Since defending got a lot harder this year, these skill moves became a lot more efficient if you can use them in the right spots. 

1. Ball Roll

Even I am really delighted to say this, but Ball Roll is the most efficient skill move for the start of the game. It is most probably the easiest skill move in the game, which allows you to shield the ball while changing its direction.

With the help of it, you can create new passing and shooting angles and the only requirement it has is that you do it with a player with at least 2-star skill moves. So, almost every player can execute it. Even if you don’t have such a player, as long as you have enough EA FC 24 Coins, you can easily achieve such conditions.

To be able to perform a Ball Roll slightly, push the right analog stick either towards your players’s left or right. You need to make sure that you’re not sprinting if you want to execute the skill move. If you’re running, make sure to let go of the sprint button. Otherwise, you won’t be able to execute this move.

With the Ball Roll, you can dodge incoming defensive movements. This year, Defenders can change directions that easily if they sprint too much or overcommit to a direction. So, with the simplest Ball Roll, you can dodge them.

Take a look at the spot they want to defend in which they will make their defensive move and execute the Ball Roll away from that direction. 

You can also create new passing lanes and massive goal scoring angles with the Ball Roll. Changing the ball’s direction can easily create a new passing angle towards your intended target and this can eliminate the threat of the Defender that could intercept the pass.

Or, if you think like you don’t have the proper angle to shoot the ball towards the goal, a simple Ball Roll can create the perfect angle to blast it in. 

As you can see, Ball Roll fulfills multiple purposes and opens up a lot of space ahead of you. It is then important what to do with that space. 

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2. Stepovers

You might probably need a skill move, which helps you accelerate in the open and therefore we have Stepovers.

Stepovers are again very effective. They require players with 2-star skill moves. And since they consist of two parts, they have a lot of combinations. The first part is the initial move that you execute with the right analog stick and the second part is to execute it from the move, which is given by the input of your left analog stick.

If you move the right analog stick towards your player’s front and rotate it 90° towards his left or right, you do a normal Stepover. If you start to stepover from your player’s left or right side and push the right analog stick towards its front by rotating it 90°, you initiate the reverse Stepover.

Even though you can change the ball’s direction on the second step of a Stepover with the help of the left analog stick, I find the variation of going straight forward the most useful. 

If the Defender is being sloppy on the wing and covers you only from the side allowing you some space ahead of you, don’t hesitate execute the Stepover towards forward and make sure to use your sprinting button after the first step to get the full acceleration you need.

3. Heel To Heel

Let us continue with our third skill move, Heel To Heel, a 4-star skill move. It gives you a fast push towards the direction you’re currently facing and it can be really effective in tight situations.

To be able to execute it, simply push the right analog stick towards your player’s front side and then once more towards his back. 

With this quick skill move, you rapidly push the ball on a short line, which could be very effective against the Defenders who only try to get the ball from the side.

But be aware, if the opponent makes a move towards the ending point of the move, you may easily lose possession. So, watch the Defender’s behavior and if you think he is not capable of denying the space ahead of you, go for the Heel To Heel.  

4. Drag Back 

Next up, we got a very old skill move, the Drag Back.

For the last couple of years, I see people always forget about this move with the introduction of the new ones and this makes it quite deadlier because nobody expects it. It is once again a 2-star skill move, which consists of two parts.

In the first one, you pull the ball back as you hold on to the L1& R1 buttons together while pushing the left analog stick towards your player’s back. And in the second, you select an exit with your left analog stick either towards the back or to the sides or towards forward. That means we get more variations and can use them in different situations.

The most common usage of the full Drag Back is the move, which allows you to switch towards the opposite direction. That means the left analog stick should point towards your player’s back while exiting from the Drag Back, forcing the defense to cover one angle opens up the other one.

So, with the full Drag Back, you can easily turn around and find the open space you desire. 

5. Fake Shots

Last but not least, Fake Shots.

In the previous titles, they lost their effectiveness quite a bit except for the Scoop Turn variation. But I see that they’re quite exceptional at the start of this year. 

Once again, since the Defenders are not that agile with their movements, sharp turns with the Fake Shots are reliable.

Since Fake Shots have a lot of variations, I’m going to introduce only two of them, the normal Fake Shots and Scoop Turn. They are very easy to use. 

Press or cross your shooting button first, which is followed by the passing button. You can perform the Fake Shots in any direction. But I find it most useful with 90° either towards left or right. This can allow you to make sharper turns and get rid of the Defender easily.

As a special variation, Scoop Turn could be much more effective. You could perform a standing Scoop Turn with players with 4-star skill moves or a running Scoop Turn with players with 5-star skill moves.

All you need to do is to execute the Fake Shot with a 45° angle.