In FIFA 11, Free Kicks are rather easy to score, at least in comparison to previous versions. There is a wide variety of ways you can score a free kick, and this tutorial will go over the most useful, but also alternative free kick methods if you want to get a bit creative. The only types of free kicks you will really need are the Dipping Free Kick, the Driven - Dipping Free Kick, the Driven - Curled Free Kick, the Curled Free Kick, and the 2nd Man Free Kick. I will go over these in more detail within this tutorial.

I have made a video tutorial for those of you who would prefer that. It includes the only three free kick styles that you will really need in order to score from most locations closer than around 40 yards (exluding certain areas on the sides of the box. Also note that there are other types of free kicks to utilize that aren't included in the video, but if you would like to know about those then they are in the written tutorial below the video.
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Dipping Free Kick (20-28 yards out)

I would call the dipping free kick the most effective of all. The problem with just shooting with free kicks in FIFA 11 is that if you give the shot enough power to get over the wall, they will most likely also go over the net too. It is nearly impossible to score a free kick from just holding the shoot button alone. To solve this problem, we want to apply drop to our free kicks so they make it over the wall and drop enough after passing the wall in order to stay below the crossbar. When choosing your kick taker, look for a player with high curve and free kick accuracy stats. Keep in mind that although I recommend this shot from distances of 20-28 yards, it is possible to score from past 28 yards, but you need a player with a pretty high power stat, while still having a decent free kick accuracy stat.

First, you need to aim your shot properly. There are four scenarios for aiming:

Preferred Foot of Kick Taker Position of Wall and Goalkeeper Where to Aim
Right Wall: Right, Goalkeeper: Left Aim between the heads of the first and second men from the right side of the wall.
Right Wall: Left, Goalkeeper: Right Aim between the heads of the second and third men from the left of the wall.
Left Wall: Right, Goalkeeper: Left Aim between the heads of the first and second men from the left side of the wall.
Left Wall: Left, Goalkeeper: Right Aim between the heads of the second and third men from the right of the wall.

The hardest part about this is getting the power right. You want to hold down the shoot button just enough that it is all still green, but just about to be yellow. You can still get by with just a bit of yellow though. See below for the proper power for the dipping shot:

The next part is simple. As you are finishing powering up your shot, you want to hold the left analog stick straight up. This ensures that your shot will achieve the dip it needs to drop into the goal.

 

Driven Dipping Free Kick (35+ yards out)

From any distance past 35 yards out that you still think is possible to score from, you should be using the driven free kick. However, you should remember that once you reach around 40 yards out, it becomes very difficult to get it in, but it is still possible from that distance. To score this type of free kick, you want to aim where you would for a dipping free kick (See table above).

Power is the most important part. You want to nearly the entire yellow portion in, and you might even be able to manage with a tiny bit of red. For distances of around 40 meters out, you will want quite a bit of red in, but not too drastic. See the images below for a visual display of this.

Keep in mind that this a very ambitious type of free kick, only attempt this if you have a player with a very high power stat, maybe 87 or so at the least. A decently high curve stat helps as well because you need quite a bit of dip with this type of shot. Obviously, free kick accuracy will help.

 

Driven Curled Free Kick

To fill that void between where you should take a Dipping Free Kick or a Driven-Dipping Free Kick, you should use the Driven-Curled Free Kick. This kind of free kick is just that, a driven free kick with inside curl applied to it. When choosing your kick taker, look for a player with a high power stat, and a decent curve stat. Obviously, good free kick accuracy couldn't hurt.

If the wall is to the right and the goalkeeper is covering the left side of the goal, choose a right footed player and vice versa. Aim as close as possible to the side of the wall without hitting the wall. Power up your Power Meter to just where it has a tiny bit of yellow, and you can manage with a little more or less. Hold down LB on Xbox or L1 on Playstation and apply inside curve so that it bends around the wall. See below for an image of what the power should look like.

 

Curled Free Kick (18-25 yards)

Although this can be scored from almost identical distances as the Dipping Free Kick, I would usually prefer the dipping shot as it seems more accurate. However, curled shots are very nice to look at and are still very effective, provided your player has good curve and power stats. The Power stat helps as it helps gets the ball to the goal before it has risen over the bar.

There are two scenarios for aiming the curved shot:

Preferred Foot of Kick Taker Position of Goalkeeper and Wall Where to Aim
Right Wall: Right, Goalkeeper: Left Aim just next to the last man in the right side of the goal. You will need to experiment to find out how far away it needs to be to just get around the wall with out hitting that last man. This all depends on the curve stat of your free kick taker.
Left Wall: Left, Goalkeeper: Right Aim just next to the last man in the left side of the goal.You will need to experiment to find out how far away it needs to be to just get around the wall with out hitting that last man. This all depends on the curve stat of your free kick taker.

Power is not much of an issue here. You really want to just tap the shoot button as quickly as you can. It should be about 3/4ths of what you would power up for the dipping free kick. This is because there is no dip in the shot and it will go over quickly if you power it up as much as you did for the dipping free kick. This is why having a powerful kick-taker is useful, as it gives the shot power while keeping it low. As you are finishing powering up your shot, hold down the analog stick in the direction you want to curve the ball. See below for an image of what the power bar should look like.

 

2nd Man Free Kick (18-23 yards out)

Although there are many ways to score with your 2nd man which you can call up using the LT on Xbox and L2 on Playstation, this is the only one you will really need to use, and it is very useful. If you have the free kick from the right side of the goal and the keeper is covering the left side, your lay-off man will be right footed, and vice versa. Note that even though this free kick is recommended from 18 to 23 yards out, this distance doesn't apply the same if you are too far off to the sides, I recommend only trying this if you are close to the penalty arc, but it is still possible to score further to the sides.

For aiming, I'm going to use right footed as the example, if shooting with a left footed player from the other side, just apply the same method, just switch the sides on everything. Aim just to the right of the goal, as close as possible without hitting the wall with the shot. Hold down both LT and LB for Xbox or L2 and L1 for Playstation, and power up the shot with the full amount of green on the power bar, but you can manage with a little bit of yellow, and push the left analog stick left to apply the left curve. This should produce a low shot that curves away from the goalkeeper. See below for an image of what the power bar should look like.

Don't be surprised if he gets a hand on it but just bats it into the goal, this is actually very common for this method. This method also works with the regular free kick taker, but I've found that it is far more effective with the lay-off man as he gets more curve, somewhat surprisingly.

 

Practicing Free Kicks

The Practice Mode that was released in FIFA 10 and returns to FIFA 11 provides an excellent way to hone your free kick skills. You can practice each of the free kicks listed above in Practice Mode, from all different distances until you get used to the power, aiming, etc. If you spend a good amount of time practicing these free kicks, you take advantage of the plentiful opportunities to score offered from free kicks during actual games. Click here for more information on the Practice Mode.

 

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