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Look, I get it. Everybody wants to be a striker.REMATCH, thelatest AA game looking to find success this year, will allow you to live out all your Cristiano Ronaldo fantasies for those that dream of the glitz and glamor that goal scoring brings.
REMATCH: How To Do All Dribble Skill Moves
Lots to juggle.
The thing is, you’re not always going to get to be the star of the team. REMATCH swaps players into different positions with each goal scored, so you’re going to have plenty of moments where you need to slot into some of the more unsung hero-type roles on the pitch.
Other times, you’re going to be matched with teammates that force themselves into striker roles despite their spawn point on the field. Whenever this happens,someoneneeds to hang back and captain the backfield to ensure you’re positioned defensively to thwart any attacks from the opposition.
Playing defender is crucial to a team’s success, and you should be proud to be the last line of defense between the bad guys and your lonely goalkeeper. Below, I’ve compiled all the tips and strategies you’ll need to help keep your goalie’s clean sheet intact when push comes to shove.
Defender Controls
The tutorial of REMATCH will give you the basic tools you need in order to be a proficient enough defender, but there are some points that are worth reiterating. Mainly, you need to focus on ingraining your tackling and passing controls in order to win the ball back and mount a counterattack that can quickly turn into offense on the other side.
You’re able to perform both slide tackles and standing tackles. Here’s how each works:
Once you win the ball, you’re likely going to need to pass it ASAP to a friendly player in order to prevent the opposition from tackling you back. Here’s how each pass works when you’re in control of the ball:
Additionally, don’t forget about your extra effort sprint, a short burst speed boost on a cooldown timer that’striggered by double-tapping L1when you need to close distance quickly.
Tips For Playing Defender
It can be easy to feel like you’re stuck in a bit of no man’s land, just waiting for the on-field action to unfold if you’re committed to a defensive role. Here’s everything you need to know in order to be best prepared for that inevitable attack from the other team.
Stay In Position
When playing defense,your positioning on the pitch is crucial to your success. One of the most basic rules of thumb is making sure youstay between the attacking opponent and your own goalkeeperas best you can. You also don’t want to be overly-aggressive and immediately rush the attacker, as doing so can leave too much of the backfield open for others to sneak into.
Be mindful of your angles. If the other team’s striker is moving down the left side of the field, strafe left yourself while remembering to stay between the opponent and your goal. It’s a fine balance between letting the opponent come to you, and rushing in for a tackle and hopeful interception.
Stay calm, andstrike when it feels like the opportune moment. If you get blown by, now is the perfect time touse your extra effort boost to chase down in pursuit, launching a last-ditch slide tackle from behind to poke the ball free.
It can also be tempting to switch to offense when your team is on the attack. Thiscanbe the right move at times to give your team an advantage to score, but be mindful that you’re then leaving your goalie all alone and extremely vulnerable to a quick counter.
If you’re playing 3v3, you’re likely going to be needed on offense too. 4v4 or 5v5 allow for a defender to truly hang back since the other non-keeper players can be your offense.
You’ll get the feel for this, but there’s nothing wrong with sticking around midfield while your team is on offense to either be a nice safety outlet if the play breaks down, or if you need to quickly get back in a defensive position.
Also, Offsides aren’t a thing in REMATCH. Because of this, it’s absolutelyparamountthat you don’t lose an opponent behind you. You should always be the player closest to the goalie in most cases.
A great way to keep an eye on where your opponent is when they are on your shoulder or lingering behind you is by using the mini-map in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
Start A Counterattack
As the defender, it’ll often be on you to launch your team into a successful counterattack once you win the ball from the other team. Do not attempt to simply take the ball the length of the field yourself unless you’re truly wide open. You’re slower with the ball than other players, sodon’t try to be a hero if the situation doesn’t allow for it.
Instead,find a quick outlet pass to one of your teammatesfurther downfield. Look for a teammate sprinting down a sideline to mount an attack, then use your best judgment to choose the type of pass that’s most likely to reach them safely.
If you have the momentum, now’s the time to decide if you can join your teammates on the attack or if you should hang back in case the other team quickly wins the ball back.
Use Standing Tackles More Than Slide Tackles
I can’t stress enough thatstanding tackles should be the main skill at the forefront of your defender skillset. Many novice players will get tricked into spamming slide tackles, which are much riskier and typically have a much lower success rate than a basic standing tackle.
No, you don’t have to worry about any yellow or red cards in REMATCH, so there’s no referee penalty for botching a slide tackle or two. Still, the distance a slide tackle animation forces you to cover, along with the recovery time to get back into position if you miss, makes slide tackles dangerous.
They have their time and place, to be sure. If you get beaten by an attacker and don’t have the stamina or extra effort to sprint back to catch them, a well-placed slide tackle can still poke the ball free. It just shouldn’t be your first choice.
Instead, mind your positioning andlock into your defensive stance with L1 to await the perfect standing tackle. Once your opponent is within range, deploy your standing tackle to win the ball outright and mount your counterattack. If you miss, at least you’re not locked into a 20-yard slide animation that takes you entirely out of the action.
Think about prime Paolo Maldini, that man never got his shorts dirty, because he rarely needed to make a slide tackle. He was just always in the right place. So, embody Maldini and you’ll be fine.
Don’t Get Fooled By Rainbow Kicks
There aren’t a ton of particularlygreat dribble moves in REMATCH, so you’ll most often find the opposition spamming rainbow kicks more than anything to try to sneak behind the defense. These can be deadly if you get caught napping in defense and let a well-timed rainbow soar over your head.
It’s also justhighlyembarrassing to get cooked by one of these.
If you’re approaching a competing ball-handler as a defender to go for a tackle or interception, you’ll need toimmediately reverse course the moment you see them launch into the rainbow kick animation. You’ll almost always be able to intercept the kick if you time this well, since you’re now between the opponent and the ball while it’s in the air.
Turn around ASAP, thensprint to claim the ball before your enemy can recover it. It ispossibleto physically wall off the opponent after their rainbow kick and hold them up enough to prevent them from recovering, but it works less often and still leaves the ball unclaimed for anyone else to swoop in and pick up, friend or foe.
When In Doubt, Clear It Out
You’ve won the ball, and you want to get your team started on a counterattack. Great idea. But sometimes, you won’t have time to eventhinkabout what you should do with the ball, let alone track down a teammate in time to send them an accurate pass.
In these instances,there’s nothing wrong with simply clearing the ballback to the other side of the field if you don’t have time for anything else. At the end of the day, your job is to keep the backfield clear, so do this by any means necessary.
If you win the ball and are pinned near the sideline,angle a pass and just send it downfield. If you’re positioned properly, you can also choose to launch a full R2 kick all the way down the field just to ensure you clear your goalkeeper from any immediate danger.
In a perfect world, one of your teammates will be able to track down your clearance and cobble together an effective counter. Worst case, the other team gets the ball back, but at least they have to come back down the entire field before they’re a threat again.
If you opt to clear the ball with a full R2, try not to send it straight to the other team’s goalie. Aim for the sidelines/corners of the field to give your team a chance to recover the ball before the keeper can get to it.
