Dear EA Sports,
It’s that time of the day again where playing the game isn’t an option, so posting on your forums becomes the only gameplay available.
It is becoming increasingly clear that FC26 does not reflect real football logic or understanding.
The gameplay often feels disconnected from how football is actually played. Basic mechanics such as tackling are inconsistent, and the “bruiser” mechanic appears overly dependent on specific PlayStyles (e.g. Bruiser+), which limits its effectiveness across players and situations.
At times, it feels like I am watching the game rather than actively participating in it (You know; I am punching buttons and nothing happens). Matches become repetitive and lack the flow, decision-making, and realism expected from a football simulation. Dribbling can feel heavy and unresponsive, and overall gameplay pace appears artificially slowed, which does not improve control but instead reduces playability.
The physicality and tackling system also feel closer to mechanics seen in other sports. In football, tackling is about timing, positioning, and balance. I would encourage the team to revisit real football references, such as the sliding tackles of Maldini and Ramos, where timing, positioning, and precision define successful defending.
Please see the attached.
Does this look like football statistics to anyone?
I am consistently limited to only two successful tackles per match, which clearly does not reflect normal gameplay mechanics, and definitely doesn't resemble real live football.
What makes it even more confusing is that I’m winning a high number of duels, yet almost none of them translate into actual tackles or fouls. At this point, it feels like I’m playing a mix of hockey or rugby mechanics rather than a football simulation.
I’m out here winning physical battles like King Kong but when it comes to actual defending fundamentals — tackling, timing, control — they are simply broken. You cannot perform a successful standing tackle even when you are right in front of the opponent. You need to fix this.
This is supposed to be a football simulator, not a test of who can shoulder-barge the longest without the game recognising a tackle or a foul.
In the current gameplay, it often feels more like a “bruiser” interaction — similar to body-based challenges seen in sports like ice hockey — where physical contact dominates over technique. This creates a disconnect from football fundamentals.
To be clear, this is not a criticism of other sports, but rather an observation that football has its own identity — and the current mechanics do not consistently reflect it.
I genuinely enjoy both Hockey and Football. However, they are fundamentally different sports, and the gameplay in FC26 increasingly feels closer to one than the other.
If I break it down into three key elements:
Hockey = momentum + contact + continuous pressure
(This closely reflects how FUT currently feels)
Football = space + timing + decision-making
(These are currently missing or heavily reduced)
To be clear, football does involve momentum, contact, and pressure — but these are secondary to spatial awareness, timing, and player decision-making. At the moment, those secondary elements appear to dominate the game, which shifts the experience away from football fundamentals.
FC26 feels closer to the first model than the second — and that is the core issue.
What players are asking for is not an easier game, but a more authentic one:
Match outcomes should reflect player decision-making — both good and bad — rather than being dictated by AI-driven sequences.
When mistakes happen, they should feel like user mistakes, not the result of the system overriding input.
At present, momentum, physical contact, and constant pressure feel overturned. These elements should not be removed, but they need to be balanced appropriately.
Please dial back these mechanics and restore the core pillars of football gameplay — space, timing, and decision-making — so that the game reflects the sport it is meant to simulate.
This game is the worst piece of, you know what, i have ever played at this point.
I barely play my opponents than against the overly manipulated and totally broken glitched "game".
Opps players intercept, block and perfectly tackle everything, even their attackers. Their players are fast and can move perfectly, while my players watch the game, even when i have maximum pressing on.
Balls and players glitch through my players. The opp can make the worst stupid pass just to get it corrected or perfectly bounced back to his players.
I get run into and tackled by my own players, what i have never ever seen in any other sports game.
This game is so broken in every aspect it has to be world record.
