As international football has drawn to a close and club football edging nearer and nearer, fans will be eager to get their hands on the launch of FIFA 19 this autumn.
This new edition of the popular video game will introduce three new key features in addition to the World Cup expansion that was part of last year's release, which paves the way for the game to become its most stellar iteration yet.
Ahead of the autumn release of the new game, Goal takes a look at three new key features in Timed Finishing, Active Touch and Dynamic Tactics.
How will Timed Finishing work in FIFA 19?
One of the new and innovative features to be introduced in FIFA 19 is Timed Finishing, a new technique that enables players to turn any shot into one that is world-class with just one extra tap of a button. Timing is crucial to this new addition, which will be adding a new layer of risk and reward to the method of shooting.
The process for shooting at its very basic remains unchanged, but if users want to make shots unstoppable, they will be able to use the accuracy and power boost of timed finishing in their favour. All users will need to do is to tap the "shoot" button a second time after the first hit of the button.
That is the easy part, however – the challenging part of the addition is the timing of the second tap. If the button is tapped too early or too late, the shot will lessen in quality.
With FIFA Trainer turned on, users will see a coloured bar over the player's head with sliders. The second tap should come when the sliders hit the green zone in the centre – so if a Timed Finish is successfully unlocked, a short message will appear above the bar that says, "Great Timing!”
How will Active Touch work in FIFA 19?
Active Touch is another great feature to be added to FIFA 19 and will revolutionise the way in which players can handle the ball at their feet, springing open areas of gameplay that have yet to be explored.
With Active Touch, new methods of receiving, striking and moving the ball will come off as completely natural and seamless. It will enable players to find new and creative ways to handle the ball while also achieving closer control, injecting more player skill and personality into ball movement, allowing players to try new tricks, flicks and feints to make their handling of the ball more fluid.
Additionally, with FIFA 19, more tools and animations have been added to the ball control system to allow for more variety and freedom in moving the ball. There are now multiple methods of trapping the ball – called the "disguise trap" – which is a trick used to fool defenders into moving the wrong direction with the very first delicate touch of the ball.
Users will be able to replicate the movements of Toni Kroos and Kylian Mbappe with Active Touch particularly – with Kroos' ability to creates space and send defenders the wrong way and Mbappe's endless slew of tricks built into the new game.
How will Dynamic Tactics work in FIFA 19?
In FIFA 19, users will be able to gain more control over team tactics as well as the ability to delve into more intricate tactical details that real-world managers get involved with every week. With Dynamic Tactics, users will have more advanced control of their team's tactics both before and during matches. Users will be able to make changes and adjustment no matter how small or large, executed by the team during play.
Pre-match tactical preparation will make a comeback with the same in-depth and custom features that are already ingrained – picking players, setting up a formation, assigning roles, giving instructions and customising tactics. But with Dynamic Tactics in the new FIFA 19, users will be able to formulate multiple game plans that can be switched during a match.
Each option that users have when creating pre-match plans will be able to be assigned to one of the custom game plans, so users aren't always having to return to the pause menu when needing their team to change styles.
Dynamic Tactics will also allow for more intricate and in-depth tactical customisation, with users able to use an array of sliders to alter the different aspects of the team's offensive and defensive abilities. Custom game plans will be mapped to the D-Pad (on gaming consoles) so users can quickly alternate between plans.
New tactical changes have also been added to FIFA 19 based on player feedback to help combat some more popular and difficult tactics – such as when a team tends to "park the bus", users can select the option of "Pressure on Heavy Touch" to enable their players to block opponents and challenge them into making riskier plays.
Will VAR be in FIFA 19?
VAR will not be making an appearance in FIFA 19 – mostly because it has been there all along.
EA Sports is never wrong when it comes to offside, corner kicks, throw-ins or any decision that involves knowing precisely where the ball is, who the players are or which player touched the ball last. With FIFA being a simulation, it is always accurate with its calls for offside and corners.
Additionally, FIFA also automatically decides what is and isn't a foul and when simulation takes place. Penalties are determined at the exact point of contact, and the motions of referees running over with cards are merely for show. Therefore, there would be no point to have a debate about whether or not a foul or a penalty should be called – FIFA can't be wrong on their own decisions.