Welcome to the eFootball Crossing Tutorial.
If your play revolves around fast wingers and a target man, accurate crossing is absolutely necessary to secure your victories. In this tutorial, you will learn about the various aspects of crossing to help you pose a real threat from the flanks.
- Key Crossing Abilities
- Basics to Accurate Crossing
- Types of Crosses
- Stunning Cross
- Meeting Crosses and Scoring
- Crossers Play Styles
1. Key Crossing Abilities
A player with high ratings in these abilities are good crossers of the ball.
Lofted Pass – Accuracy of a player’s high passes.
Curl – Ability to curl the ball when passing and shooting.
The following player skills will help you deliver accurate crosses as well.
Pinpoint Crossing – Enables the player to cross with great accuracy.
Weighted Pass – Enable the player to apply back-spin when playing lofted passes and through balls improving accuracy. This is applicable if you play a lofted through ball from the flanks.
Low Lofted Pass – Enables the player to play a long accurate Lofted Pass with a low trajectory. This is applicable if you play a lofted through ball from the flanks
2. Basics to Crossing
Increase the accuracy of your crosses with the following 5 techniques.
2.1 Cross with Stronger Foot
Crossing with the player’s stronger foot increases the accuracy and speed of the cross. Usually, I will play a left footed player at the left flank, such that he can easily run down the flank and use his stronger left leg to send a cross in. At times, for tactical reasons, we may play a right footed player at the left flank. In this case, when the player is at the left flank, it will be advisable to do a 180 degrees turn such that he can cross with his stronger right foot.
2.2 Face the Direction
Just as we will only take a shot when facing goal, we should cross when we are facing the direction of our target. This greatly increases the accuracy of the cross. Thus when possible, turn your player to face your intended target before charging up your cross.
2.3 Cross when No Opponent Is Around You
One basic of shooting is to shoot when defenders are some distance away from you. Similarly, we should aim to shake off any defender and cross when they are some distance away from us. Attempt to sprint past defenders before crossing to increase the accuracy of your cross.
2.4 Position To Cross
The position of our player when crossing affects the destination of the final ball.
If we were to cross at the edge of the box, there is a greater range for us to aim for.
If we were to cross from the goal line, the range we can aim for is more limited. Our crosses will be sent nearer to the goal keeper, which entices him to rush out to grab the ball.
However, crossing near the goal-line has its advantages too. Firstly, the crosses will be sent closer to goal and it will be easier to score should our striker be able to meet it. Secondly, the cross will curl away from the keeper, which draws the keeper away from goal, leaving a gap for our striker to aim for. Thirdly, even if the ball seems to be going straight towards the keeper, a striker at the near post will be able to head the ball into the net.
As we can see, there are trade-offs between the two options. Variety is the key and we should assess the situation before making any decision.
2.5 Aim the Ball In Front of Our Teammates
We should aim our crosses in front of our teammates, such that they can run forward and meet the ball. Crossing into space allows them to escape from their markers to attack the ball. In addition, rushing to attack the ball will increase the power of his header or volley due to the momentum generated from his forward run.
In contrast, crossing directly to a teammate in a stationary position makes it hard for him to win the header, as defenders are usually stronger, and it is easier to win a defensive header than an attacking header. Tall and strong strikers may be able to win headers from a static position, but if we do not have one in the team, playing a cross into space will be a better strategy.
One trick is ensure that your winger is in a more advanced position as compared to your striker before crossing the ball in. This will ensure that the ball is hit into space for the striker to run towards. If the winger is too far ahead, wait a few seconds for the striker to move forward before crossing.
3. Types of Crosses
Add more variety to your game with these different types of crosses.
3.1 Power of Cross
When you press the cross button, the power bar will appear, allowing you to determine the power of the cross. This means that you can more accurately decide on the power of your cross and send the ball to your preferred spot. As a generic rule of thumb, 1/4 power sends the ball to the near post, 1/2 power sends the ball to the center of goal, and 3/4 sends it to the far post. What I usually do is to take a quick glance at the radar, as well as my players’ position on the pitch, before deciding on the power.
3.2 Ground Cross
Tap the cross button twice to send a ground cross. Some attackers are poor headers of the ball, which reduces the effectiveness of an aerial ball. Perhaps the defence is strong in the air, and high crosses are easily cleared. In such situations, ground cross will be a good alternative. A ground cross will surprise our opponents, allowing teammates to sneak into the box and tap the ball towards goal. It is a good option when you spot a teammate making a late run in the box towards goal.
At times, low crosses may be too powerful for a teammate to receive if he is just a short distance away from the winger. In this case, I will send a low pass to him using the pass button instead of the cross button.
3.3 Early Cross
Early cross is a good alternative to normal crosses, due to the difference in angle and trajectory of the delivery.
Hold L1 (PS) / LB (XBOX) and press the cross button once to send an early cross in. Charge up the power as you will when sending a normal cross
This type of cross is useful as it saves us the time and effort to work our way to the edge of the flank. Before making an early cross, we should ensure that there are teammates either in the box, or running into the box.
When your winger is in the final attacking third, and find that the box is very crowded, send a pass back to the sideback (who should be just a few steps behind the winger) for him to send an early cross in. The difference in angle of the cross will surprise the defenders and cause confusion in the box.
Early cross can also be used in combination with ground cross. Simply hold L1 (PS) / LB (XBOX) and Press the Cross button twice.
3.4 Sending Lofted Passes Into The Box
This is not exactly a cross, but is included in this section as it involved sending a high ball into the box from a position on the field. Sending crosses from the flanks might be too predictable and we want to spice things up. If our striker possesses strong heading abilities, we can send in high balls from the midfield, and there are two ways to do so. We can either use the cross button, or the lofted through pass method. At times, this may just be a hopeful punt into the box, but when used in conjunction with other attacking methods, it can surprise the defenders and create goal scoring chances. As mentioned at the beginning of the tutorial, using a lofted pass enables your player to apply the skills ‘Weighted Pass’ and ‘Low Lofted Pass’ if he possesses them.
4. Stunning Cross
Stunning cross is a new feature in eFootball. To execute stunning cross, hold R2 (PS) / RT (XBOX) and charge up your cross at the same time. If done correctly, the power gauge will be purple in colour. Stunning cross requires more time to the animation to fully play out, so ensure your player has time to space. The reward is that the cross will travel faster. With sufficient practice, you will be able to send stunning crosses and meet them with a stunning header shot.
5. Meeting Crosses & Scoring
Accurate crosses count for nothing if they are not received well by our strikers. This section will show you how to attack aerial balls.
5.1 Position and Attributes of Our Striker
After sending in a cross, our striker will automatically run to meet the ball. You will have to ensure that your striker is running into space, and that you play an accurate ball in front of him, such that he can meet the ball in his path and head the ball towards goal.
Players with high ratings in ‘Offensive Awareness’, ‘Heading’, and ‘Jumping’ are ideal recipients of crosses. Player skills such as ‘Acrobatic Finishing’, ‘Heel Trick’, and ‘Aerial Superiority’ are also useful to attack aerial balls.
5.2 Timing of Pressing Shoot
The timing of pressing the shoot button affects the shot on goal. If we press the button too early, we will either miss the ball, or the resultant header will go over the bar. We can wait for the ball to reach chest level before shooing, which leads to a volley instead of a header. Pressing the button too late will allow defenders to win the ball unchallenged.
This timing is less crucial if our player is unmarked, but when there are opponents challenging for the ball, as is usually the case, it becomes important. We should press the shoot or pass button and charge up for the header after the ball has reached the highest point, and is descending downwards. The button should be released as the ball approaches our player, giving him ample time to jump and make connection with the ball. For header shots toward goal, we should press the shoot button earlier, such that more power will be accumulated for the shot. Defensive headers are generally easier to win than attacking headers.
You can also use stunning shots or stunning headers by fully pressing R2 (PS) / RT (XBOX) and the shoot button to attack crosses.
6. Crosser Play Styles
eFootball play styles replicates players real-life positioning and movements. The following describes the different types of play styles for wingers.
6.1 Cross Specialist
A player who hugs the touchline, waiting for a chance to cross the ball in.
As the name suggests, this is the ideal play style if you play a crossing game. The player will stay at the touchline to wait for a pass. His crosses will often be accurate, with a nice arc and curl to find his target.
6.2 Prolific Winger
A player who positions himself on the wing to receive passes, occasionally cutting into the center when the opportunity arises.
I would say this is the ‘standard’ play style of a winger. He will not be at the touchline, but will find space along the flanks to receive a pass.
6.3 Roaming Flank
A player who tends to cut inside from the wing to receive passes.
This player offers a different option to regular Prolific wingers. He cuts in towards goal to receive a pass.
Have a combination of the above 3 play styles to make things unpredictable.
6.4 Offensive Full Back
An attack-minded full back who will run upfield and join the attack when presented with a chance.
An attacking full back will charge up the flank and present you with another source of crosses. Send in early crosses or regular crosses, depending on his position on the field.
7. Conclusion
The tips highlighted in this tutorial helps you improve on the two aspects necessary for scoring from crosses: sending accurate crosses, and winning headers in the box. Add unpredictability over the type of crosses you send in, and you can pose a real threat from the flanks.
All images credit: Konami