Roles are part of the new FC IQ system introduced in the previous game, and in FC 26, they dictate how your players move off the ball. It essentially tells them their role in a literal sense and gives them direction on which area of the pitch to cover.
Say you have a winger set to the Inside Forward Role. Your player will then drift inwards whenever you're in possession, seeking an opportunity to score, but at the cost of holding width on the flank.
Head to the Tactics menu in Team Management and flick your right stick to see how your players will position themselves on the pitch depending on possession.
We already touched on the best PlayStyles+ earlier. Below, we go over the best Roles for each position in FC 26.
Best Roles for All Positions in FC 26
While FC 26 has far too many options to create your own style of football, the more expressive you get, the fewer chances of achieving better results.
Like, you can choose to go "anti-football" and play five at the back, but you will still fail to stop rifling top-bin from opponents spamming Finesse Shot+. What we mean is that some things are just more effective than others, and that extends to Roles.
These are the most reliable Roles for every position in FC 26:
Goalkeeper
Roles do not matter as much for goalkeepers as they do for other players on the field. You're free to pick any you want. Set it to Sweep Keeper if you want them to be a little aggressive, or just set them on Defend.
We didn't find much difference in either. It is always better to manually command them for things like rushing or sending them to the far post.
Center Back
The best Role for CB is Defender set on Defend. No matter the formation or the style of football you play, they should cover their natural area and focus solely on defending. Do anything else, and you'll leave space for attackers.
Right Back / Left Back
The best Role for both RB and LB is Fullback set on Defend or Balanced. Defend offers safer play, while Balance offers width in case your formation lacks it. You can put them on Versatile, too, depending on how much you want them involved in the buildup. But be warned about being exposed on a few occasions.
Wingers are some of the fastest players in the game. If your RB/LB is caught in possession, wingers will be in the final third within seconds. You never want to be overwhelmed in your own half, so it is best to have most of your defenders set to defending.
Attacking Roles will also drain stamina, as your wingback will be doing two duties. Your first choice to catch wingers on the counter is going to be them. That'll have them gassed in the first half itself.
Even worse, you'll be on low stamina against potential freshly subbed-on attackers in the dying minutes of the game. Sure, Relentless or subbing your LB/RB will solve the stamina issue, but leaving space makes you extremely vulnerable to counterattack.
Defensive Midfielder
For CDMs, the best Role is Deep-Lying Playmaker set on either Defend or Roaming. If you want to play it safer, Defend is better. Holding on Defend is another equally good choice. Your fullbacks are already in a defensive duty, so your opponents won't find any space on the flanks. Having a CDM in the said Role will make it tougher to breach through the middle as well.
The center of the pitch is also where most of the passes and through balls are played. Intercepting lanes thus becomes much more important. While defending with CDM is crucial, ultra-defensive Roles like Center Half can be too much. It'll then feel like playing with three CBs with no one or one less player covering the space in front of the back four.
A Deep-Lying Playmaker finds the perfect balance. You'll be in a position to initiate every buildup, bring those long and through balls to play, and never get caught out of position.
All that said, depending on your formation and the other midfielders' roles, you might not find many safe passing options in front. Forwards and CAMs may be too high for you. So if you're struggling with it, set them to Roaming. This is especially useful in formations with two CDMs.
Central Midfielder
It is better to play a formation of CDMs and CAMs instead of CMs. But if your setup has CMs, the best role will be Box-to-Box set on Balance. It's important, especially for players in the latter half of the pitch, to retain the 'shape.' If any of your players in those positions tries something adventurous, you'll create an exploitable space.
You want to make sure your players are evenly spread out across the pitch to offer good passing opportunities. A Box-to-Box role will ensure that all position players will have a passing option.
Likewise, in setups with two CMs, it is ideal to have one Playmaker and one in a defensive role, depending on whether you're using a CDM or CAM. For ones with two strikers, you can have both CMs on Box-to-Box Balance.
Attacking Midfielders
The best Role for CAMs is either Shadow Striker or Playmaker. For a formation with two CDMs that are defensive-focused, you'd want your CAM to be on Playmaker. If you set them at Shadow Striker, there might be a big space in the middle that'll have all your passes intercepted regularly.
For narrow formations that have no wingers and instead all CDMs, CMs, and CAMs, it is best to set the CAM on Shadow Striker. In setups like these, you have no shortage of players in the center of the pitch, and your forward line might be a bit too isolated with a lack of wingers.
Wingers and Wide Midfielders
In most formations, players are best as Inside Forwards. Set it on either Balanced or Attacking, depending on the areas you want them to cover. Formations with a proper frontman and Shadow Striker in CAM are best in Balanced; the others should be set to Attacking.
Traditional wingers aren't of much use, as crossing isn't very strong. You've got a much better chance of scoring by having more players inside the box than just mindless hoofing to your target man. Inside Forward remains the best in pretty much all formations. It offers both width and scoring opportunities.
Strikers
The best Role for the ST position is Advanced Forward set on Attack. Another option is Versatile if you want your attackers to be more involved than simply converting chances. You can't really go wrong with Advanced Forward, as it allows your striker to play the natural role of scoring while not being restricted just to it, like Poacher.
False 9 is another good Role in setups where your ST is very involved. Of course, this means you'll need players who have suitable stats and PlayStyles.
Those were the best Roles for every position in FC 26. Roles+ and Roles++ will mean players will perform the things we mentioned above even better.
While the mentioned roles were all reliable, they might not be the best in every situation of the game. It is good to switch things up depending on what the game demands. Like, attacking fullbacks aren't generally good, but sometimes match situations need them.
Keep in mind that the meta constantly changes, and sometimes things just don't work as intended because of bugs. Most of the time, however, the mentioned Roles will fare well, even if they aren't the best at the time.
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