FC 25 Player Roles explained: Best Player Role for each position

Here’s how they work, alongside our best Player Roles for each position and which players to use.

Read on for everything you need to know.

What are Player Roles in FC 25?

Player Roles contribute to how individual players in FC 25 behave when off the ball.

As part of the FC IQ system, EA introduced 31 different Roles, influencing their movement, positioning, and overall play.

While any player can use any role, certain players will have a higher familiarity with certain roles, known as Role+ or Role++.

For example, Bukayo Saka has a high familiarity with being an Inside Forward on the right wing, and so has the Inside Forward++ Role.

So, now that you know the basics, which Player Roles should you use?

Best Player Roles in FC 25

Our top Player Roles in FC 25 are Falseback, Defender, Holding, Shadow Striker, Inside Forward and Poacher.

The Roles you should prioritise heavily depend on your style of play, formations, and tactics, so this shouldn’t be the only thing that informs your squad decisions.

They only form a part of a player’s behaviour on the pitch, so you should also look at their PlayStyles and general attributes, too.

We wouldn’t suggest discarding Kylian Mbappé or any of the highest-rated FC 25 players just because they don't have the Player Role you want.

With that in mind, here are our favourite Player Roles in FC 25 so far, alongside some players with these roles.

Best Goalkeeper Player Role in FC 25

There are only two GK Player Roles in FC 25, and our favourite so far has been the standard Goalkeeper Role, over Sweeper Keeper.

Sweeper Keeper sees your GK move off the line and out of the box more frequently than they often do in real life.

However, as FC 25 is such a fast-paced game, having your GK anywhere outside the box to collect the ball could be risky.

Some of the best players with the Goalkeeper ++ Role include:

• Gianluigi Donnarumma
• Jan Oblak
• Gregor Kobel

Best LB and RB Player Role in FC 25

The best Player Role for an LB or RB in FC 25 is Falseback.

This Role will see your player acting more like an inverted full-back, moving into the midfield when attacking.

However, we’d only suggest having one Falseback in your starting 11, with the other full-back taking a more traditional defensive position with the regular Full-Back Role, for example.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only non-Legend/Hero player with the Falseback++ Role at either LB or RB, but there are plenty with the Falseback+ Role.

Best CB Player Role in FC 25

While the Ball-Playing Defender Role is effective, we’ve found more success using the Defender Role to maintain our defensive shape and prevent players getting in behind.

Some of the best CBs with the Defender++ Player Role are:

• Antonio Rüdiger
• William Saliba
• Jonathan Tah
• Kadeisha Buchanan

Best CDM Player Role in FC 25

If you’re running a CDM or a CM, we’d suggest prioritising the Holding Player Role to give yourself more defensive cover.

A player with this Role will stay back when attacking and aim to prevent counter-attacks, sitting just in front of the two CBs.

The best CDMs and CMs with the Holding++ Role are:

• Declan Rice
• Palhinha
• N'Golo Kanté
• Georgia Stanway

Best CAM Player Role in FC 25

The best Role for your CAM depends on your formation, but the Shadow Striker is a great all-round pick if you want them to join the attack.

The Shadow Striker Role does pretty much what you’d expect. The CAM will attack from just behind your forwards, making runs into the box on the overlap.

The best CAMs with the Shadow Striker++ Role are:

• Florian Wirtz
• Rose Lavelle
• Jamal Musiala
• Paulo Dybala

Best LW and RW Player Role in FC 25

For LM/LW or RM/RW players, you should use the Inside Forward Role.

This will let you cut inside much easier so that your wide players can provide more of a threat centrally.

There are plenty of the best wingers in FC 25 with the Inside Forward++ Role. These include:

• Vinicius Jr
• Caroline Graham Hansen
• Mo Salah
• Bukayo Saka
• Lauren James
• Cole Palmer

Best ST Player Role in FC 25

While we like playing with two strikers - one as a Poacher and the other as an Advanced Forward - the Poacher Player Role has been our most effective.

The Poacher role isn’t what you traditionally think of as a poacher in football. This role replicated part of the classic FIFA/FC player instructions of 'Stay Forward, Get in Behind' that was firmly the meta.

Stick a pacey striker up top in a Poacher role, and they’ll be running behind the defenders in no time.

The strikers with the Poacher++ Role include:

• Erling Haaland
• Victor Osimhen
• Rachel Daly

EA Sports FC 25 is scheduled to launch on 27th September 2024 across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.

Read more on FC 25:

• FC 25 ratings: The very best players
• FC 25 soundtrack: Full list of songs
• FC 25 wonderkids: Best young players
• FC 25 strikers: Best forwards to use
• FC 25 midfielders: Best CDM, CM and CAM
• FC 25 defenders: Best CB, RB and LB
• Best kits in FC 25: Our favourite shirts
• FC 25 evolutions: Who should you upgrade?

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