Free kicks in FIFA 23 are important moments that can significantly impact the momentum of any online or offline match.
This article will teach you how to score free kicks in 23 and ensure you start converting these excellent scoring opportunities into more frequent goals.
EA Sports made plenty of changes when they launched FIFA 23 mode, including additional sprint attributes such as the “Lengthy” attribute and changes to the chemistry system on Ultimate Team.
However, they also made changes to Career Mode in FIFA 23, introducing several new mechanics using the new HyperMotion 2 technology.
As a result, set pieces look and feel very different from older iterations of FIFA, but it is still just as important to master free kicks and turn them into a viable scoring option for your team.
FIFA 23 Free Kick Basics
Before you begin to understand how to score a free kick in FIFA 23, let’s talk briefly about how the new free kick system works compared to older FIFA games.
In the old system, you would aim a circle to the location where you want the ball to end up and then add spin to the ball as you are in your run-up.
In the new system, FIFA has introduced a predictive line, which allows you to be much more specific about what sort of spin you want to add to the ball.
When you start lining up your free kick, you will see a circle appear at the bottom of your screen and a clear line that seems to be coming out from the ball.
You have the power to move the circle using your left analog stick and change the initial high of your free kick. This aspect also allows you to add a curve to the ball.
The line represents what direction your shot is going to go in. You might think that the line should point to where you want the ball to go, but that isn’t always the case.
For example, if you are putting a lot of curve on your shot, you need to aim your line outside of the goal to allow the ball to curve back in.
The final element of the free kick is still very similar to previous FIFA games. The power gauge shows you how hard you are hitting a free kick.
There is one small change here, though, as the power level needs to work well with the type of free kick you want to take. Some spin types require more power than others. You all need to add more power depending on how far away from the goal you are, but not too much that the ball ends up in row Z.
How to Score Free Kicks in FIFA 23
Now that you have a strong grasp on the new free-kick mechanics introduced in FIFA 23, we can start looking at how you can use these as opportunities to score goals.
When you play online against tough opposition, they might use tactics to try and slow down your attacks and prefer to give away free kicks that allow your striker to get a shot on goal.
That is why it is so important for you to become consistent with your free kicks and show opposition players you are not going to get bullied on the pitch.
Standard Free Kicks
The first and most obvious free-kick technique to focus on is the inside-foot curled shot. This technique is the most popular one and is set as the default free-kick option each time you are standing over the ball.
This is the type of free-kick that is deemed as the standard one, and it uses the inside of your player’s strong foot and dips over the wall, searching for the corner on the far side of the goalkeeper.
To achieve success with this type of free kick, you need to bring the line higher than it is by default and aim for the ear of the player on the outside of the wall.
From there, you need to use around two and a half to three and a half bars of power to help the ball soar into the top corner of the goal.
You can make your free kicks more accurate by hitting the shoot button again right before the player kicks the ball.
Outside of the Foot Free Kicks
The second free kick option you should consider executing in FIFA 23 is the outside-of-the-foot shot, also known as a trivela.
We have a guide on how to do a trivela that shows how strong the standard version of this skill is when executing a shot or a cross. It is no different from the free-kick version.
You can try this shooting technique from any angle, and if you get the dimensions right, it will likely end up in the back of the net. However, it is a little trickier to line up compared to a standard free kick.
To give yourself the best chance of success, you need to move your curl slider to the opposite side from where you would have it for a standard free kick.
Once you have lined up your curl slider, you need to move the line about a meter past the outside of the post and add around three bars to the power gauge for the best chance of success.
For best results, try to use players that have a high curve statistic and the Outside the Foot Shot trait.
Practicing Free Kicks in FIFA 23
While getting your head around the information in the previous section is one thing, it will be nearly impossible to execute the perfect free kick in a game without putting in some practice. Here are the two ways you can practice your free kicks in FIFA 23 and take your skills to the next level.
Practice Arena
If you want to hit plenty of free kicks without any downtime in between attempts, the Practice Arena is a perfect place for you to get plenty of repetitions in. However, one downside to the Practice Arena is that it doesn’t emulate a match situation, and you may still find that you struggle in games if you only use this practice option.
To get to the Practice Arena in FIFA 23, head to the Play Modes main menu and select Quick Play Modes. From here, you will see Practice Arena is located at the very end. Once you enter the arena, hit the start button and choose the Free Kick option from the menu.
You have the ability to move the position of your free kick to practice from different angles or scenarios if necessary.
FUT Moments’ Free Kick Frenzy’
To get more real-game scenario practice under your belt, the Free Kick Frenzy challenger is an excellent option you can try.
To get to the Free Kick Frenzy mode, you need to head to the weekly challenges tab under FUT Moments. Be wary that this game mode may disappear or relocate as new weekly challenges are introduced.
Final Thoughts
Now you have all the information you need to score free kicks in FIFA 23 and ways that you can hone your skills before testing them out in matches.
Once you become effective at scoring free kicks, your opponents will be much more cautious when tackling you, as they will worry about giving away free kicks.
As a result, you may find you have more time on the ball in-game, which can open up other ways of scoring as well.
For your next trick, check out this guide on how to score direct corner kicks in FIFA 23. It’s another pretty handy skill to have if you’re looking to become a top player in FIFA Ultimate Team. Best of luck!
