The best 4.5 and 5 star teams to use in FIFA 22
FIFA 22 is finally here and players are already getting their teeth into the various game modes.
For many, Ultimate Team has now become the main selling point of FIFA, offering players the chance to build their, well, ultimate team. For others, Career Mode and Pro Clubs are the way to go. But, for some, classic 11v11 remains the favourite — especially for offline playing. There isn’t much better than getting your friends around and spending hours going head-to-head on Kick-Off, testing yourself with a variety of teams.
In these crucial matches, there are so many ways to pick your teams. You can leave it all to chance and randomise the teams (three randoms is the ultimate decider) or make things a bit fairer, and stick to clubs at a certain level. If you choose the latter, you’ll want to know all about the best teams to use — assuming you’ve not given yourselves any restrictions. So we’re here you give you the upper hand.
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Below are eight 4.5 and 5-star teams you should be playing with on FIFA 22 (plus one added bonus) to take the bragging rights over your mates in the early stages of the game.
4.5 star teams
Borussia Dortmund
We start with Borussia Dortmund who have somehow remained a 4.5-star team despite boasting some frankly frightening players.
The major selling point here is the android, or Erling Haaland as he is commonly known. Haaland has enjoyed a big boost to his overall of 84 from last season, starting FIFA 22 88-rated, and there have been some key improvements to his stats. The Norwegian now has 89 Pace and 91 Shooting and feels less clunky than he did in FIFA 21 — rendering him unusable for many (at least on the Ultimate Team side of the game).
Haaland is accompanied in the attack by the likes of Donyell Malen, Marco Reus and Thorgan Hazard, but Dortmund also provide for a variety of playing styles. You can use a narrow midfield and wing-backs, drafting Emre Can in as a third centre-back, or use the likes of Julian Brandt and Gio Reyna as CAMs. They’re not perfect, but they’re certainly an exciting team to use. Perhaps the only downside is their goalkeeping options, but with Haaland and co. you can just outscore your opponents.
Sevilla
One of the good things about one-off games on FIFA is that, when picking teams, you only really need 12 or 13 good players. Which is what makes Sevilla a good option for Kick-Off.
Sevilla have a pretty solid starting XI with one or two subs, which should hopefully be enough to get you over the line against your friends. Their default formation is a 4-3-3 Holding and it’s how you’ll get the best out of them, with Fernando providing the defensive shield with his 83 Defending and 82 Physical. Custom tactics making him stick to his position covering the centre will allow Papu Gomez to advance forward and create a four-man front line, cutting through defences with his 87 Pace, 84 Passing, 87 Dribbling AND four-star Skill Moves and Weak Foot.
Joining Gomez in the attack are Suso, Lucas Ocampos and Youssef En-Nesyri, but if marauding full-backs are your thing then Jesus Navas and Marcos Acuna can also be pushed forward with pretty decent Pace, Dribbling and Defending. Talking of defending, you are pretty secure with centre-back pairing Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde ahead of Yassine Bounou in between the sticks. Like we said, a pretty solid starting XI.
AC Milan
More Serie A teams have fallen to the generic name route for FIFA 22, but we do still have one of the big boys in AC Milan thanks to their partnership with EA Sports. And they’re a good 4.5-star team to use.
You probably won’t want to go with the default starting XI with this one as Olivier Giroud is far too slow even if Pace doesn’t feel as important this FIFA. But the good thing is there are options. You could either go for Zlatan Ibrahimovic with his 87 Shooting and better Pace of 65, or move Ante Rebic through the middle with 86 Pace and 83 Shooting, and play Rafael Leao on the wing. That’ll be your main goalscoring threat, but Brahim Diaz is also an interesting player to use despite his rating of 78, boasting four-star Skill Moves and five-star Weak Foot.
Your defence will be pretty solid too with Franck Kessie sitting in front of them, though you might want to use him as an all-round player, as the Ivorian has some of the most balanced attributes in FIFA 22. Then there’s the impressive Mike Maignan in net and Theo Hernandez at left-back, ready to play however you want him — he’s capable either staying back while attacking or joining the calvary.
Real Sociedad
Moving back over to Spain for our final 4.5-star pick, Real Sociedad are another team with a good starting XI that will work once you get the hang of them.
Again, this is more about the attack than the defence, with the use of a 4-2-3-1 freeing a fairly solid attacking quartet. At the moment, the default four are Alexander Isak, Mikel Oyarzabal, David Silva and Adnan Januzaj but you can switch the latter for Portu if you prefer using pace on the wings to Skill Moves. Isak, at the forefront of the attack, can be quite a threat with his 84 Pace and 82 Shooting, but perhaps even more important is five-star Weak Foot and four-star Skill Moves. With the Swede, you’ll be able to make space for yourself on the edge of the area and unleash a competent shot whichever side of the box you are on.
To be completely honest, the defence is pretty thin but just in front of them, Mikel Merino will provide a good shield with 82 Defending and 81 Physical, protecting Robin Le Normand and Aritz Elustondo. There’s also the choice of bringing Asier Illarramendi on from the bench to partner Merino, adding a bit more defensive solidity to give you the freedom in attack.
5 star teams
Manchester United
If you want a team with a great starting XI with little else on the bench, while still being a five-star team, Manchester United are the ones for you.
Man Utd’s FIFA 22 default starting XI is one to envy, with five players boasting overalls of 85+ and a further four at 83 or higher. At the back, David de Gea appears to have benefited from the boost to goalkeeping abilities and can be unstoppable at times, which will frustrate your opponents as they’ll have had to work hard to get through Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire in the first place. With Luke Shaw and Wan-Bissaka either side of them, you can set your full-backs to sit back and protect the defence without hampering your attack — even having Fred or another defensive midfield staying in his position.
So, that attack. Paul Pogba is in the deeper position but you’ll be using him to add to the attack with his five-star Skill Moves, excellent ball control and deceptively good shooting. On the wings, Jadon Sancho is excellent on FIFA despite having a slow start to life at Old Trafford — though he definitely should be a bit faster — while you can either stick with Mason Greenwood or bring Marcus Rashford in from the reserves to help support your striker. Of course, that man is Cristiano Ronaldo, the second-best player in FIFA 22, with his five-star Skill Moves, four-star Weak Foot, 94 Shooting, 88 Dribbling, 95 Jumping and 95 Finishing. And there’s Bruno Fernandes, too…
France
Want a solid team with some good rotation options? Pick France.
They’ve got a solid defence including Varane, Presnel Kimpembe and Lucas Hernandez with Hugo Lloris in goal (plus the additional options of Kurt Zouma and Jules Kounde). But, obviously, France are all about what happens further up the pitch. Pogba can play the same role he does for your Man Utd team as, this time, he has N’Golo Kante to protect the defence. The midfielder is now 90-rated, boosted for his role in Chelsea winning the Champions League, and has 87 Defending, 83 Physical, 82 Dribbling and NINETY-SEVEN Stamina… He’ll do anything you need him to do from minute one to 90, just don’t be shooting with him.
You won’t need to, to be honest, as you have three ridiculous attackers in the default XI that you can bring a lot closer together in-game if you’d prefer to play narrow. Thanks to his recall in the real world, Karim Benzema is back in the France team without having to edit the squad, and starts in his centre-forward role (though again you can change that). The Real Madrid forward is lethal with 86 Shooting and 87 Dribbling, which more than makes up for his Pace being slightly lower at 76. And that won’t matter, because you can use FIFA 22 cover star Kylian Mbappe to break through the defence. Mbappe is the fastest player in FIFA 22, with 97 Pace which is accompanied by 88 Shooting, four-star Weak Foot and five-star Skill Moves.
Italy
Thanks to their Euro 2020 win, a lot of Italian players have enjoyed a ratings boost for FIFA 22 and it’s made the Azzurri a good team to use.
Where to start with this team? The defensive trio of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will help protect your goal, allowing the midfield and attack to dominate. Italy’s midfield trio offer a nice balance in defence and attack for the one-off games, with Jorginho the default in the holding role coming with 73 Defending. You won’t want him to be the sole holder, but when combined with Marco Verratti’s 79 Defending and Nicolo Barella’s 75, it’s good enough. But you’ll also be using them to get the ball up the pitch, and they’re all great passers, with Barella and Verratti also excellent dribblers.
Then you get to the front three. Ciro Immobile is still 87-rated with 86 Pace and 87 Shooting, four-star Weak Foot and impressive 83 Dribbling, capable of working himself out of tight spaces. If you prefer to do your work on the wings, Lorenzo Insigne has 87 Pace, 90 Dribbling, four-star Skill Moves and Weak Foot with 87 Short Passing — you’ll want to use him to cut inside and pass rather than crossing, but he’s still effective. The same goes for Federico Chiesa, whose attributes are all fairly high despite his lower rating of 83.
Paris Saint-Germain
If you want ridiculous quality for your FIFA 22 usage, head to Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG had a busy summer and it has made them arguably the best real team in FIFA this year. This section really writes itself, as wherever you look there are stars and positives, ways to simply beat your opponent into submission. The defence, boosted by Sergio Ramos, looks unbeatable even with the slightly weaker full-backs. The midfield will be marshalled by Idrissa Gana Gueye and his 83 Defending, perhaps an unfair rating given how good he is, while Verratti and Georginio Wijnaldum provide the passing strength.
But let’s get onto the massive elephant in the room: that attack. It was frightening enough last year with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, both boasting five-star Skill Moves while the latter also has five-star Weak Foot. As mentioned, Mbappe is a ridiculous player and everyone has to play with him at some point this FIFA, while Neymar isn’t too shabby himself, joining the Frenchman with a 91 rating, 80+ Shooting, 90+ Pace and 90+ Dribbling. Then there’s the small matter of Lionel Messi on the right wing, the highest-rated player on FIFA 22. His Pace may be 85, but he boasts 92 Shooting, 91 Passing and 95 Dribbling and is another player, like Mbappe, that you just have to use. This team is a cheat code. But there’s one better.
Soccer Aid
Remember when FIFAs used to have the Classic XI tucked away in the Rest of World? Well, it’s back, with a new name and is immediately available to use on FIFA 22!
The names are different to the Classic XIs of yore, with the likes of Thomas Ravelli, Abedi Pele, Zico and Roger Milla no more, but they have been replaced by some stars. The default XI has the likes of Fabio Cannavaro (92-rated), Roberto Carlos (91), Ruud Gullit (93), Zinedine Zidane (96) and Ronaldinho (94) involved — not to mention PELE (98) AND DIEGO MARADONA (97).
Then there’s the bench and reserves. Alan Shearer, Eric Cantona, Marcel Desailly, Claude Makelele, Paul Scholes, Sol Campbell, Figo, David Ginola… The list goes on. The best thing about this is that you could do Soccer Aid vs Soccer Aid, pick two completely different XIs sharing the players and have a great series. Do it, seriously. It feels as if you’re playing FIFA 22 with 100x speed.
