DEFENDING GUIDE
When it comes to defending in GOALS, the first thing to master is player selection.
PLAYER SELECTION
While your opponent has the ball, you can select and player switch in two different ways. By pressing the L1 (PS5) or LB (XBOX) button on your controller, or by flicking the right analog stick in a direction.
The key is knowing when to use one type of switching over the other. They are complementary and knowing how to integrate them both will allow you to seamlessly select who you want depending on the situation.
In general, using the L1/LB switch is for situations where you want to select someone near the ball holder. This is incredibly useful if you're in a chaotic situation, you've lost your bearings, and need a bit of a reset.
As easy and accessible as it is, only using this way to switch becomes limiting as you'll not only slow yourself down, but you remain at the mercy of a set of selection constraints.
Sometimes, you'll want to break out of those constraints and select someone far away, and that's where using the right analog stick comes in.
When using the right analog stick, the first thing to consider is what settings you prefer. Under GENERAL and then GAMEPLAY settings, you can choose between two different types of switching settings under the ADVANCED SWITCH TYPES option: Player Relative and Ball relative.
These settings directly impact your experience when using the right analog stick. Which one you prefer is subjective.
Player relative uses your current selected player as the center point for right stick switching. This means that if you flick your right analog stick up, you will select the player directly above your currently selected player.
Ball Relative on the other hand uses the ball as the center point. That means that if you flick your right analog stick up, you will select the player directly above the ball.
Test out which one you prefer, as this is very subjective. But when it comes to switching with the right analog stick, this is to be used interchangeably with the L1/LB switch. It's great when you know exactly who you want to select, particularly when they are far away from the ball and you're trying to track an offensive run.
The most advanced players use the right analog to switch the majority of the time, if not all the time. Doing so offers a lot of control, but is very difficult. For that reason, incorporating the L1/LB switch alongside the Right Analog switching offers you peace of mind to reset everything anytime things go south.
JOCKEYING
Once you have your desired player selected, you're going to be able to press the ball holder, cut passing lanes, and perform tackles. When doing so, it's important to know you can either move within the normal movement states of simply using your left analog stick in combination with the Sprint button (R2 on Playstation, RT on XBOX), or also in the Jockey State.
The Jockey State is accessible by pressing and holding the L2 button on Playstation, or the LT button on XBOX. The player will lower their center of gravity, widen their stance, and offer you more precise maneuverability. If you also press and hold the R2/RT (Sprint) button, you will enter a Sprint Jockey State.
This is a useful state to be in when you've already cut a passing lane and want to hold your position in a controlled manner. When you're man marking the ball holder in the box and you want to mirror their movements, or when you want to close in on a ball holder in a slower, but safer way.
TACKLING
To regain the ball and thus tackle, there's a few different ways to go about it. A Manual Tackle is performed by pressing the O Button on Playstation, or B button on Xbox. When it comes to tackling in GOALS, it's also important to know your approach angle. Depending on that you will get different types of manual tackles contextually chosen for the situation.
Approaching from the front will typically result in a standard Lunge Tackle where your player will reach out and try to take the ball from the opponent.
Approaching from the side will increase the chances of a Physical Tackle, where your player will use their body, and barge into the side of the dribbler and dispossess the ball holder through physicality .
Timing your tackles is important. Mistiming will lead to you being punished and left behind as the dribbler will fly by. So another option, when you're not 100% sure you have time to tackle your opponent before they take a touch away from you, is to simply move as close to the ball holder as possible and try to trigger an AUTO TACKLE.
An AUTO Tackle is simply a tackle that occurs automatically without you having to actually press a button. This is reserved for situations where you have moved so well that you are extremely close to the ball holder.
While not having to press a button sounds amazing, the drawback of exclusively relying on autotackles means that you're fighting an uphill battle, always forcing yourself to get incredibly close to the ball holder.
On the one hand it's a safe way to try and dispossess your opponents, particularly inside the box when trying to avoid fouls or missing the ball holder entirely. On the other hand, it's also going to make it so much easier for your opponent to retain possession.
The key is thus improving your timing, manually tackling as much as possible without making mistakes, and using the auto tackle for those tricky situations where you need to play conservative.
Finally, you also have the option to Slide Tackle by pressing the Square Button on the Playstation, or the X Button on XBOX. A slide tackle, as the name suggests, leads to your defender sliding into the ball holder in order to win the ball back.
The main benefit of Slide Tackling is its increased reach. When you know you can get to the ball, you'll be able to surprise your opponent with it and dispossess them quite aggressively. The downside of course is the risk associated with such an action. Your aim will have to be on point to avoid missing the ball entirely. Messing this up will lead to either sliding by the ball holder, or giving away a foul.
There are cases where you may actually want to foul your opponent, in which case then the slide tackle can become useful for different reasons. But be careful, as a slide tackle foul will likely result in a Yellow Card, or even a Red Card if from behind!
Second Player Press
When you're defending, you will want to balance a lot of things: Pressuring the ball holder, cutting passing lanes, and tracking enemy offensive runs.
To help you distribute the work load, the Second Player Press mechanic can come in handy.
To activate Second Player Press, while defending, simply press and hold the R1 button on Playstation, or the RB Button on Xbox. What will then happen is one of your team mates will press and follow the ball holder.
They will never tackle for you, they do not have the ability to mirror the ball holder as well as a manually controlled player, and how close they get depends on their aggression stat. This limits your ability to rely on Second Player Press excessively. Its utility lies in buying yourself some time in situations where you need to take the attention off the ball holder, and more towards threats elsewhere on the field.
For example, when you're busy tracking a run away from the action, it can be a good idea to activate Second Player Press so that the ballholder isn't completely abandoned. Again, be sure not to over rely on it, because although your AI will offer some support, they can easily be beaten.
These are the main things to know when it comes to Defending in GOALS. How to use these mechanics to your advantage is subjective, and everyone will have their preferred approach.
As soon as you become comfortable with each aspect mentioned in this article, the experience gained from calibrating through multiple games played will teach you what works best for your specific defending style against a wide variety of opponents.
By Valerio Di Gregorio - Game Designer at GOALS