Training drills are essential in FIFA career mode for two major reasons.
One, they help to increase the match sharpness of your players to ensure that they perform at optimal levels during games.
Two, they help to improve the attributes of the players, especially if you personalize each session depending on the positions of the players.
In both manager and player career modes, there are specific training drills that are must-haves in your selections for each zone of the pitch. This guide briefly discusses them and explains why they are the best training drills in FIFA 23 career mode.
Best Drills for Manager Career Mode
The most important factors to party attention to when selecting drills in FIFA 23 manager career mode are the relevance of the drill to the selection of players, the projected increase in match sharpness, and the projected decrease in fitness.
When match sharpness increases in training sessions, it usually comes at the cost of some fitness points.
This is perfectly normal as the players are expected to be a little tired after a session. However, it also stresses the importance of finding the drills that provide the perfect balance of an increase/decrease in those two key areas.
More detailed instructions about how to get high match sharpness in FIFA 23 career mode should be useful if you need more information on this topic.
There are five drills in this section, each one covering a different category of training. These categories include dribbling, defending, passing, shooting, and set-pieces.
Dribbling Maze
The dribbling maze drill is one of three drills under the “dribbling” training category. It is, in my opinion, the best drill of the three because it offers the highest level of increase in match sharpness.
This comes at the cost of medium-level fitness drops, but it is worth it. In comparison, “Gate rush” costs you the least amount of fitness points, but it’s not the best option if you’re trying to get match sharpness up as high as possible.
Although “Collect the trophies” also allows you to involve one more player than the dribbling maze does, there is too little to separate the match sharpness gains from the fitness level drop to justify naming that drill the best one.
The dribbling maze only involves two players at a time, and I would recommend using your wide midfielder/forwards for the drill as they play in the zone of the pitch where the most dribbling occurs.
Extreme Hot Potato
Extreme Hot Potato (EHP) is a passing drill in FIFA 23 career mode. The drill involves three players at a time and offers the highest level of match sharpness gains.
This drill is great for your midfielders occupying the central positions as it involves passing accuracy and moving the ball forward toward the attacking zones.
If your players’ match sharpness is already at a reasonably high level and you want to involve more players in the drill at once, then you may consider “Pass to the target” as an alternative.
Fast Shots
“Fast shots” is a fantastic shooting drill for strikers and wide forwards. If you’re playing with two strikers or the more commonly used attack trident, you can involve all your starting attackers at once with fast shots.
The drill is pretty much regular shooting practice, timed to see how many goals you can score while it lasts. It’s straightforward and simple, and that fact is worth extra points because it means you can get an excellent grade fairly quickly.
PK Against The Keeper
If you’re looking to get a good grade in the set-piece category very quickly, then there is no better option than this one.
The penalty system has been revamped in FIFA 23, and the new system makes it very hard to miss a penalty. As long as you can time the shot accurately, you’re almost certain to score most of the time.
The drill involves three players, and it offers the highest levels of match sharpness increase among the lot. If your team is unfit and you’re worried about fitness levels dropping even further, then you may consider “precision penalty” as an alternative.
I will say though that unless you’re a professional set-piece taker on FIFA, the other options might not be worth it.
Run and Block
Run and block is a defending drill for…defenders. “Defending scenarios” actually offers the highest levels of match sharpness in this case, but I think “Run and block” just pips it to the “best defending training drill” title because you can involve twice the number of players.
The drill allows you to include four players, which is excellent as you can add your entire backline if you play with a four-man defense formation.
You get medium levels of match sharpness gains, but your players’ fitness levels are barely affected, so it’s generally a good trade-off in my opinion.
Best Drills for Player Career Mode
The rationale behind selecting the best training drills in FIFA 23 player career mode is different from what we’ve discussed in the previous section.
This time, the focus is on the drills that can earn your pro the highest amount of XP. XP is absolutely crucial for player growth in FIFA 23 career mode, so you want to make sure that you maximize the gains from each training drill/session.
That said, the drills below offer the highest amount of XP in their various categories, and every one of them also offers bonus XP when you play them for the first time, and each time you play them by yourself after that.
Dribbling Maze
Dribbling maze somehow manages to make it into both player and manager career sections!
If your pro is an attacker, then this is one of the most important drills for you. It offers up to 1000XP if you manage to achieve an “A” grade, 625XP the first time you play the drill, and 250XP more each time you play it again by yourself.
You also get Maverick personality bonuses, and these add up to contribute to improving your pro’s attributes in specific areas.
Dribbling maze offers the highest amount of XP in FIFA 23 player career mode, so it might be worth adding it to your pro’s training regime even if he’s not an attacker.
Defending Scenarios
We don’t have to worry so much about match sharpness here, so “Defending Scenarios” takes the cake as the best defending drill for FIFA 23’s player career mode.
The drill offers up to 500XP for a perfect “A” grade, 625XP for the first time you play it, and 250XP more for subsequent sessions that you play by yourself.
If the drill is a bit more difficult than you’d like and you’re finding it hard to get an “A” grade, then you can play the “Novice Defending Scenarios” alternative that offers the same amount of XP.
Hard Header
Technically, this is a crossing drill. You’re charged with whipping them into the box where a couple of teammates are making runs, and then you try to score from the shot that follows.
In terms of XP gained, this drill sits in the mid-range with 750XP for an “A” grade. However, you can boost that number (and the numbers for any other drill, really) by shopping for items that give you training boosts.
You’ll see in the attached sample that the “Activity Boost” is activated, so I earn extra XP each time I train. The “Shopping” section of the player career mode regularly presents the options that you have in this regard, so you should always keep an eye on it.
Novice Attacking Scenarios
This shooting drill probably offers the most bang for your buck of any drill in this guide. Just keep attacking, taking shots, and scoring goals. With multiple players involved in the drill, it should not be difficult to get an “A” grade for the 1000XP gains.
I like the “Power Shot” drill too, and if you’ve learned how to use it, then you may go for that one as an alternative. It also offers 1000XP so you’re good with either choice.
Those bonus Maverick points are useful too.
PK Against The Keeper
I already discussed this drill in the manager career section. It is also one of the options that offer the highest amount of XP for your pro in the player career mode, and it also offers Virtuoso points.
If your pro is an attacker and you create a training preset that includes “Dribbling Maze”, “PK against the keeper”, and “Novice attacking scenarios”, you can get nearly 5000XP with an “A” grade in each one the first time you play, and 3750XP for subsequent sessions.
If you choose to simulate subsequent sessions, you will still bag a cool 3000XP with each one.
However, I always recommend playing the training drills by yourself until you get a perfect grade in each one first. This way, the simulated sessions can mirror the perfect grade that you got.
If you’re trying to get maximum XP as often as possible in player career mode, then those bonus points earned for playing the drills yourself each time might be worth considering.
Final Words
In most situations, the drills discussed in this guide will offer you the most value for player growth, but you should also check out the full guide to improving your players’ ability in FIFA 23 career mode to get the best results in that area.
You may adjust your sessions under certain circumstances, but the suggestions made here should be the template.
Remember to mix the drills up as well so the players’ growth is not limited to one specific aspect of their game. Find the combination that works best for you and have fun with it. Good luck!
