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Popular Youtuber Zealand has recently showcased a set piece tactic in FM24 that is guaranteed to cause chaos and help make any team more effective from corners. Zealand picked up the trick after seeing competitive player WorkTheSpace pull it off at the Football Manager World Cup.
During the World Cup, WorkTheSpace’s side racked up over 50 goals from set pieces using this tactic while managing Sporting Lisbon, relying on one man – Sebastian Coates. Many will recognise Coates from his time in England, where he played for both Liverpool and Sunderland before moving to Portugal to revive his career, becoming captain under the current Manchester United manager, Ruben Amorim.
Now that I’ve got my hands on this tactic, thanks to Zealand publishing it in a recent video, I can dive into what you need to know and how to ensure you’re getting the best out of these set-piece scenarios.
How the set piece tactic works in FM24
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Football Manager always comes down to the finest margins, but with this tactic, you’re an even bigger threat than ever before. There are two attacking tactics and a slight variation on the first one, which Zealand recommends is best used late in the game when a goal is needed.
Routine 1
| Delivery | Type: Inswinger Aim for: Near Post |
| Aerial Threats | A1: Attack near post A2: Attack far post A3: Lurk on the far post |
| Box Threats | B1: Mark the Keeper |
| Creators | C1: Lurk outside area (near side) C2: Lurk outside area (centre) C3: Come short |
| Recovery Defenders | D1: Stay back D2: Stay back |
This tactic draws the rest of the defenders away from your primary threat in the box, meaning they get a one-on-one header against their man. The goalkeeper is busy while the rest of your players are attracting the other defenders, giving your main man more space. The extra players outside of the box work similarly, dragging the defending players out. This prevents the massive cluster of players traditionally seen in the box during set pieces that cause the scenario to be messy and often wasted.
Routine 1 (variation)
| Delivery | Type: Inswinger Aim for: Near Post |
| Aerial Threats | A1: Attack far post A2: Lurk on the far post A3: Attack the near post |
| Box Threats | B1: Mark the keeper B2: Attack Near post |
| Creators | C1: Lurk outside area (near side) C2: Lurk outside area (centre) C3: Come short C4: Lurk outside the area (far side) |
| Recovery Defenders | Leave this empty |
The second variation relies on the ball not leaving the opposition’s box. It’s works best if your opponent’s best defender is covering your attacker, so instead of aiming for your best player, you’re now aiming for your third-best player.
Hopefully, this will exploit your aerial dominance against the opponent’s whole team if you have multiple threats in the box. It’s particularly effective for teams with big fullbacks, three defenders, or midfielders who are also great in the air like Tomas Soucek. You’ll also have open players on the edge of the box if the ball does spring out, so you can quickly recycle play and not waste the chance.
Routine 2
| Delivery | Type: Inswimger Aim for: Far Post |
| Aerial Threats | A1: Attack far post A2: Attack near post A3: Lurk at the near post |
| Box Threats | B1: Mark the Keeper |
| Creators | C1: Lurk outside area (far side) C2: Lurk outside area (centre) C3: Come short |
| Recovery Defenders | D1: Stay back D2: Stay back |
This routine is more effective when used against a team marking zonally and working to prevent opportunities at the near post. It inverts the first routine, aiming to do damage at the far post instead of the near one. It also relies more heavily on a strong corner taker, so if you want to get this tactic singing, you’ll need a player that’s accurate from dead-ball situations. If, like me, you don’t want to faff around in the set piece menus, then you can download the tactic from this link and it’s good to go.
Why it works in FM24 and our experience so far
The tactic exploits how the AI marks set pieces, spreading them and creating space for your key players to showcase their aerial prowess. You’ll need at least one tall player with a very high Jumping Reach, ideally 16 or more, to get the most out of the tactic.
When I saw this, I knew I had to give it a whirl to see how I got on. I loaded up an old save and tested the new set piece routine. My first game was against Southampton, who, under the leadership of Frank Lampard, were somehow 5th in the league in the year 2028. I didn’t even have a shot in this game, so it was onto the next one.
Next up was Crystal Palace, who I hopefully would have better luck against. In this game, I won 5-0, scoring two corners, and on the third corner, I won a penalty. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It works. As someone who has never really bothered with the set piece screen, I can’t wait to give this a proper go. A fresh save targeting big boys who are outstanding in the air and scoring goals with a squad packed full of players pretending to be salmons. Lorenzo Lucca, here I come.
About the Author
Football Manager 2024
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s): Management, Soccer, Sports
