Does anyone know why the gameplay is so bad?

Are you from South Africa?  There is a huge thread in the technical section with ea looking for more info as they are looking into it being a server problem. 

@no_way_mad_thai have many of the same problems you mention here.
For me it varies how it feels from game to game and many times it changes from 1 to 2 half to. i know its not my connection. its the same if i play UT - Seasons _ squad battles and even kick of games. i felt it last year to and im guessing its something in the coding in the game that makes it unstable. Remember that the way the opponent feel is probably the same as you even if it dont look like it on your screen.

Only thing for sure is that ping"MS" has absolutly nothing to say about this issue.. The Ping is just related to pure buttonlag in millisecond= MS
Heavy touches, strange AI behaviour and all the things you mention is in the making and coding of the game. Even the National players spoke openlie about it in Fifa 23 how the game changed from day to day about heaviness etc

 just wanted to add WHY its NOT connection issue.. 

Connection dont make you players ai run into eachother and fall over.

Connection dont make your AI smarter or dumber

Connection dont make your selected player make bad reciving, double touching, slower sprint speed 

Connection dont make your keeper save or not save more shots

Connection Ping MS is only the response from what you push on the gamepad to when it happens on your screen ingame.   

if you have 100 ms in a game it would take 1/10 of a second from when you push pass on the gamepad to when it actualy happens on your screen. 

All the randomness and inconsistentnes in this game is not about connection from your side at all

This has 0% to do with connection issues and not sure why it keeps being used as an excuse to cover up what is a disaster mess of a game. The gaping wounds have been fixed with tiny plasters which cannot stem the tidal spamming and exploiting of a hopeless game from the start. So all it has done has turned what was a terrible game into an absolute shambles and disgraceful game. 

there is NO single word from any  SOCALLED DEV,s or any donkey ea person here for 3 YEARS why this game is like this. just the same answer connection crap answers. '

but i still bought the game even i kinda know what i was getting so we just have to take the game for what it is, an arcade soccer game and not a esimulator fotball game because its not. 

All i kinda want is for the people behind this game is to step up and take some .... responsebility and speak up about this game and saying they gonna fix it and that they are aware.

but i guess thats to much to expext.

The op has a lot of connection issues as he has posted many videos with the input overlay on. The mass influx of South African posts suggests it’s either a server problem or mass isp problem and was hoping your issue would be solved if from there.  If the others from uk are not having issues like the above few posters maybe it’s your isp or setup causing it. 

Watch his videos he has posted them for at least a year at two I believe. He was on the old forum. He is one of the few people to provide evidence of his connection issues. I wish more would do it as ea already said they will look into it but nobody report it. Well besides people who live in South Africa they are reporting it in large numbers which I was hoping op was from. 

So basically almost everyone who plays this game have the same complaints but it's our connections....