"Stay calm, and wait for the right opportunity"


Ever felt like you've dominated a game of FIFA 21, but just didn't get the rub of the green in front of goal?

Well, that could be down to not maintaining your composure in the final third, or electing to go for the wrong type of shot.

We've called in the help of Lisa "NFG_Lisa" Manley, pro player for NoFuchsGiven, to make sure you find the back of the net.

"Stay calm"

"The key thing to take into account when in front of goal is to stay calm, and don't just shoot straight away," Lisa says.

"There's a lot of AI blocks in FIFA so if you rush your shot, it's just gonna get blocked - I highly recommend just staying calm, and wait for the right opportunity.

"I try to shoot when I know it's 100% going to be a goal, I might do an extra skill move like a La Croqueta or a La Croqueta-cancel, and then make sure I'm in a perfect position to either pull it near post, or if they move the keeper, then I like to go far post - just whatever is best at that moment."

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SEE YA - La Croqueta is very hard to defend and can open up space in the box

Goalkeeper movement can be the bane of many players - especially if Nick Pope has anything to do with it.

It's imperative you take your time.

"The first time against an opponent I might make a mistake, as I'll normally go far post - and then next time you think "okay, well last time they actually moved the goalkeeper across goal".

"So when you get into the box, just take an extra second, wait for them to move their goalkeeper and literally just go the opposite way."

Make your choice

Of course, there's an array of different shots in FIFA 21, from low driven, to finesse, chip and timed - but when should you use them?

"There are some types of shots that are better than others, it just depends where you're on the pitch.

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UNSTOPPABLE - Having the finishing ability of Lewy gives Lisa the upper hand

"I have a TOTY Lewandowski (99 finishing) - he's very good at finessing from outside the box.

"So with him, I do tend to shoot outside the box, because some people don't really expect it.

"Obviously, if they bring the goalkeeper out, then I highly recommend chipping and especially with players like Lewandowski."

Get in range

As much as the key to finishing is staying patient, some players will be tempted to let fly with a long shot.

"In terms of shooting from range, it just depends on the moment of time.

"I've got Ryan Kent (FUT Birthday - 86 long shots) and everyone's always talking about him and how good he is.

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BE REALISTIC - Unless you're feeling lucky, try to get close to the goal

"But it's better to make sure you're 100% going to score, especially when you've got players like TOTY Lewandowski - he's obviously going to score.

"It's always good to get close to the goal, because you're more likely to score the closer you are.

"So it's best if you can get in into the box and do a skill move to open up space.

"If your opponent is defending quite deeply, then you can take that random shot from range - and you never know it might go in the back of the net."

Attacking firepower

As much as having the right technique down to finish is, you still need some help from your players.

Making sure you've got some lethal predators in front of goal is half the battle.

"At the start of the game, I had Cristiano Ronaldo (OVR 92), who was my go-to player, as well as Kylian Mbappe (OVR 90) because I had a lot of coins to play with.

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CAN'T GO WRONG - With CR7 in yours side, you won't have trouble scoring

"Ronaldo can shoot from distance (93 long shots), whereas Mbappe (92 dribbling) was the one that I would do certain skill moves to get into better positions to actually score.

"Now I have TOTY Lewandowski, and mid-Eric Cantona (88 finishing) - he's clinical but he does miss a couple of opportunities.

"Lewandowski has scored more goals and then games for me, he literally scores everything."

To time or not to time?

Timed finishing was brought into the FIFA series two years ago, and after initial success - it is becoming difficult to use, especially online.

"I don't use time finishing - it does obviously help, especially on penalties in my opinion, because if you "time finish", even if the goalkeeper goes the right way, as long as you have that in the bottom corner, it's going to go in the back of the net.

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LOCK & LOAD - Penalties is where timed finishing is necessary

"I don't really use timed finishing sort of outside the box or in the box really,

"I think the most overpowered shot for me this year is just the near post / far post or literally just "banging it" really!

"Timed finishing is perhaps best outside the box, just to make sure it's going to go in.

"I like to do it with headers from corners - especially if you press LB+RB (or L1+R1) when you head the ball it goes down, so it's like in real life you get told to head the ball down, which makes it harder for the goalkeeper to save it.

"That's what I do with corners I actually you know time finish it then because it makes it especially when you hit it down as well. It's gonna be hard for a goalkeeper to save it."

Whipping it in

Crossing has been a fruitful way to score in previous FIFA titles, but less so this time around.

"No one really like crosses it this year, I don't really score much from corners as well, even though have the likes of Cantona and Lewandowski.

"What you can do this year is use RB+X (R1+▢), where you just "low driven" it across the box, and it's unbeatable, you're not going to be able to stop it.

"You run down the line either left or right and you literally just whip it across the box and it goes straight to your players' feet and you've literally just got to tap it in.

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SPEED DEMON - Adama is a familiar sight in the centre of defence

"It's why this year most people are using fullbacks as centrebacks this year. You can get away with using them in defence as it's all about pace, pace, pace even though they aren't that tall.

"In my defence, at the moment I have Fabio Cannavaro and he's actually 5'9" but it doesn't really matter for me using a small player.

"Normally I would say not to [have a smaller player) but Cannavaro can still win headers, and he has 80 pace, so he can still catch up to the likes of Ronaldo, Mbappe, Neymar if you put a Shadow chemistry style on him.

"Most people this year, are using fullbacks [in central defence) like Theo Hernandez, Kyle Walker and Rhys James."

Flying the flag

Lisa is one the pioneers in FIFA esporst - being the only female to qualify for the ePremier League - doing so for Crystal Palace last year, and making the quarter-finals of the eLions tournament two years ago.

"I think my goal in FIFA esports is to get more known, maybe do some commentating, and just showing that females can be just as good as men.

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PIONEER - Lisa is the leading female in FIFA esports

"My ultimate goal is to represent my nation, whether they do that via having females on their team, or just by winning the current tournament."

Lisa plays competitively for NoFuchsGiven - an esports team owned by Leicester City's Christian Fuchs.

"We talk on Zoom and he's very supportive.

"He did go to an event where a couple of the boys were playing, and Christian was there showing his support for the team and that's what he does a lot.

"He tries to get around to people and make sure you're alright, so he's a great person to be our leader!"

You can catch Lisa on commentary duties for the European Qualifiers as part of the FIFA 21 Global Series - taking place on 24-25 April from 5pm BST.

For more articles like this, take a look at our FIFA page.