Manual FIFA - 4-3-3

4-3-3 


Strengths

The beauty of this formation lies in controlling the middle of the field (or hole) where the 3 center mids play more compact and move laterally or vertically across the field almost as a single unit.

The LW and RW keep the width on the attack and are largely responsible for not only attacking with width but also preventing wide threats from your opponent when turning over the ball.

The other strength of this formation is the ability to have your CM take a more defensive posture (like a stopper), and your RCM and LCM more of an attacking posture bringing great balance to your defence (and at the same time more numbers for the attack). 

Weaknesses

If the LW or RW players do not get back to mark the wings, it forces one of the forwards to drop back, thus converting it to a 4-4-2 and losing the power of the attacking strength upon regaining possession. Also, if the LW or RW do not get back when possession is lost, your opponent can attack with width and break up your CM trio, leaving holes for your opponent to build a center field possession attack.

Tips

If the forward wingers successfully get up and down the wings and the 3 center mids can stay compact, this formation will dominate a traditional 4-4-2. This is because the traditional 4-4-2 only leaves 2 true center mids and two wing mids, giving the 4-3-3 numerical superiority and allowing a lot of possession due to frequent 3v2 situations. The 4-3-3 is even good against the midfield dominant 3-5-2 because of the 5v5 in the middle of the field, and more importantly, the 3v3 for your opponent’s defence. If you can spring one more attacker of the three CM, you have you now have a distinct 4v3 advantage, which Chelsea runs successfully for the Barclays Premiere League.

Best Formations to Counter the 4-3-3

The 3-5-2 can be used as mentioned above to force the 4-3-3 to have to shift to a 4-4-2 and lose attacking strength. The 3-4-1-2, the 3-4-2-1, and the 5-4-1 all provide a threat to unbalance the center 3 CM trio of the 4-3-3.