EA FC 25: How to Master Set Pieces, Explained

With many new mechanics added to EA FC 25, scoring set pieces has become more technical than in previous games. However, if you learn and adopt certain routines for each set piece, it can help you score in the crucial minutes of the game. While it sounds daunting, scoring set pieces is made much easier if you adhere to specific variations. 

In this article, we’ll explain how to master set pieces in EA FC 25. We’ll cover everything from penalties to free kicks and help you become a set-piece specialist. 

Mastering Set Pieces In EA FC 25

Similar to a real soccer game, set pieces in EA FC 25 require much practice. If you adopt a certain variation and practice it enough, you should be able to score it most of the time. For each set piece, we’ll focus on different variations and routines, preparing you for all possible scenarios. 

Penalties

To begin, let’s look at the easiest set-piece to score in EA FC 25. Penalties have the highest chance for you to score compared to other set pieces. Since you’re in a 1v1 with the keeper, they’re fundamental and don’t require much technicality. That said, let’s break down how to score the perfect penalty. 

The first thing that you should focus on while taking the penalty is the composure ring. This is a circle around the ball that contracts and expands. Essentially, you want to shoot when the composure ring is at its smallest, making the penalty precise. Keep in mind that the speed of the ring depends on the composure stats of each player. If they have high stats, the ring will contract and expand slowly. However, if their stats are low, the ring will move at an insanely high speed, making timing harder. If you’re awarded a penalty in the game, we recommend taking it with someone who has high composure stats. 

With that out of the way, the next thing to focus on is aiming the penalty. To aim, use your left analog. Here are the five potential areas to aim towards. 

• Bottom left corner
• Top left corner
• Bottom right corner
• Top right corner
• Center

The best areas to shoot are the top left and right corners. These have the highest chances of success. Once you’re confident about where to shoot, press the shoot button (B/Circle) depending on whichever console you’re on. Be mindful that the amount of power is determined by how long you hold the shoot button. So, don’t just tap it and shoot the ball with at least 2 bars of power. But don’t put too much power on the ball as it’ll fly over the crossbar. 

If you follow this technique, you’ll convert your penalties more often. The only way this penalty can be saved is if the opponent moves their keeper from their initial position and then dives in the same direction. However, they’ll have to guess where you’re shooting correctly, which is not an easy thing to do. Just make sure you perfectly time the shot, with the composure ring at its smallest, and you’ll be golden. 

Free Kicks

While free kicks require more precision to score, they can be extremely rewarding. If you’re in a deficit, these provide a great way of getting back in the game. In this section, we’ll focus on different free-kick variations to help you become a dead-ball specialist. Keep in mind that all these variations work with free kicks placed at the edge of the box or within the 25-yard range. Additionally, to keep it simple, we’ll just be focusing on the inside curled freekick, as it is the easiest way to score. 

That said, before getting into the variations, make sure that you’ve chosen the right person to take your free kick. Since EA FC 25 has a ton of playstyles that affect each player, you want to take your freekicks with someone who has a Deadball+ playstyle. This is displayed as a small golden icon at the top of your player. If your player has this playstyle, they’ll be extra good at taking free kicks, making your chances of scoring higher. With that sorted, let’s get into the set-piece. 

Left Sided Freekick With a Left-Footed Player

This is the variation you’ll use when you’re awarded a free kick at the left edge of the box and your player is left-footed. Once you get the free kick, you’ll see a line coming off of the ball. This is the predicted trajectory of the ball. It’ll give you an idea of where your ball will go once you shoot, making aiming easier. 

To aim the free kick, you can move the camera with your left stick and aim with your right stick. As you move your right stick to aim, the marker on the ball will move, changing the predicted trajectory. Since we’re going for an inside curled kick, you want to move the marker to the bottom left of the box, where it’ll say inside foot curled. Now, aim the ball just outside the post and shoot with three bars of power using your designated shoot button (Circle/B). To adjust the power, hold the shooting button. If your player has a Deadball+ playstyle, you can score even if you put too much power. 

Finally, if you want to increase your chances of scoring even more, you can add a timed finish to the free kick. To do this, after you’ve pressed the shooting button and your player is about to shoot, press the shooting button (Circle/B) once again. This will execute a green timed finish and your shot will become even more powerful and precise. However, keep in mind that timing this correctly will take a bit of practice. If you’re able to achieve a green-timed finish, you’ll guarantee yourself a goal. 

Left Sided Freekick With a Right-Footed Player

If you have the free kick in the same spot as before but want to take it with a right-footed player, here’s how to do it. 

• Bring the marker towards the bottom right of the box, executing an inside foot curled freekick. 
• Once the trajectory is set, aim just outside of the wall, towards the center of the goal. 
• Shoot with three bars of power by pressing and holding Circle/B.

Since you’re performing an inside curled free kick, the ball will curl and go towards the top left corner. Again, you can add a timed finish to the free kick by pressing Circle/B just before your player shoots. If you follow these steps, you should convert from this area on more occasions. 

Right Sided Freekick With a Left-Footed Player

As the name suggests, this variation focuses on a free kick placed at the right edge of the box. However, the technique will be similar to what we did before. 

• Aim outside the wall, with the marker at the bottom left, performing an inside foot curled free kick. 
• Press and hold Circle/B to shoot. 
• Fire away with three bars of power. 

Right Sided Freekick With a Right-Footed Player

Finally, this variation is similar to the first one. To score a free kick from the right side of the box with a right-footed player, here’s what you should do. 

• Bring the marker to the bottom right using the right analog, executing an inside foot curled free kick. 
• Aim just outside of the post. 
• Shoot with three bars of power using Circle/B. 

If done correctly, the ball will fly into the top right corner of the goal. This covers everything you need to know about scoring free kicks. Now, let’s focus on how you can score from corners. 

Corners

Corners are the most frequently awarded set pieces in a game of EA FC 25. You might not get a penalty or a free kick, but you’ll get at least one corner every match. So, it’s crucial to know how to score from them. Fortunately, we have an entire guide focused on the best way to score from corners. It covers a ton of different variations and will help you become better at converting corners. That said, we’ll cover one variation here that will help you score from corners more often.  

The first thing that you should focus on is the players assigned to take your corners. Preferably, you want a left-footed player taking your right-sided corners, and a right-footed player taking your left-side corners. On top of that, you want your best header of the ball as your target player. To select all of these players, you can follow these steps. 

• Go to Team Management.
• Go to Tactics, and then Assignments.
• Here, assign your corner taker and your target player.

With that done, let’s focus on the set piece. For both-sided corners, follow these steps. 

• With the marker set to the inside foot curled, aim towards the penalty spot marker using the left stick.
• Press Square/X to shoot, and load up three bars of power. 
• Your target player should be ready at the center of the box to perform the header. Take the corner. 
• Keep in mind that the header is manually aimed, so aim for the center of the goal. 
• Finally, as the ball reaches your target player, time it correctly and perform a header. 

If you follow all the steps, you should be able to score from your corners more consistently. However, if this variation doesn’t work for you, even after practice, we recommend reading our corner guide and using a different technique. It will help you ensure a goal from every corner you take and make attacking easier.