FIFA 21: What Professional eMLS Players Would Like to See

FIFA 21 is set to be released Oct. 9 as professional players shared what they would like to see in this year’s upcoming release.

FIFA 21 was officially announced by EA Sports alongside Madden 21 in June with official covers just being released July 22. Superstar Kylian Mbappe features on all three editions as the game as pre-orders are now open for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

FIFA 21: What Professional eMLS Players Would Like to See

Every player has their own wish lists for FIFA 21 and pro players are no exception. A change in the style of play or abused tactic in FIFA Ultimate Team could top their lists while casuals or content creators may want Career Mode changes. 

Vancouver Whitecaps’ eMLS representative Alex ‘exraa’ Gonzalez-Aldana, who has quickly risen in FIFA 20 has stated that in FIFA 21, he hopes that some gameplay changes are made. In particular, scoring directly from a corner and the excessive auto tackling is something the pro player would like to see removed from FIFA. 

In regards to auto tackling, Exraa believes that defending should not be computer or AI controlled. “When defending, it should be you defending not relying on the computer to defend for you. It’s a big skill being taken away,” Exraa stated.

On top of the slower paced gameplay and auto tackling, Exraa would like to see long shots being improved. Overpowered and abused in previous years, this year it has seen a dramatic decrease in action or use.

To combat this, Exraa, a player who likes to keep possession and have the ball on the ground, expresses his discontent with not being able to take accurate long shots. Stating that the issue was the main concern at the beginning of FIFA 20, he acknowledges that not all long shots will go in but just testing the keeper or hitting the goal post will unlock the defense. This would be easier or a different tactic than just waiting and passing the ball around for 40 out of 45 minutes per half.

Similarly, the newly crowned eMLS Champions Cup winner and New York Red Bull eMLS representative George Adamou stated that he would like to see a more attacking style in FIFA 21. The lack of goals compared to previous years was a big talking point for both Adamou and Exraa, as Adamou is constantly looking for a chance to attack the opposition's defense. 

The eMLS Cup winner also has the same views as Exraa for auto tackling for FIFA 21. Adamou commented that he believes it, “would differentiate and create a huge skill gap,” as manual pressing and tackling would revolutionize the defending tactics and mechanics of the game. This would further help his attacking style of play as sitting back with 10 players isn’t his play style. 

Once FIFA adopts the manual tackling and manual pressing defensive options, it will not only give players more freedom for tactics but also give the game a more realistic feel. 

The eMLS is rapidly growing and is seeing viewership increasing each year. The future of the eMLS looks bright, just like FIFA esports as a whole, but there might be more issues to fix. This includes the fairness of the game, the idea of pay-to-win or pay-to-play and ‘pack luck’ that seems to always float around the game and the FIFA community.