How to move the goalkeeper in EA Sports FC 24

Stopping a goal can be tough in EA Sports FC 24, whether you’re playing online or having a not-so-friendly match with a friend in couch-play. In important games, saving a goal can be just enough to get your team over the finish line, and secure a win.

While there are improvements year upon year to how defending works in EA’s football simulation series, there has always been a mix of AI and manual player input at play. EA Sports looks to improve how smart AI is during defending, and how much it can aid the player. On the other hand, players have the choice to become any defender and manually defend as well, bringing a lot of control over how defending works in FC 24.

Players in FC 24 can move the goalkeeper in any direction by pressing and holding the Right Stick on their controller and moving the Right Stick towards the intended position.

Why moving the goalkeeper is useful in FC 24

As for goalkeepers, the situation is drastically different. Players cannot easily switch to a goalkeeper while defending. Moreover, since the goalkeeper is not an active outfield player, their controls have to invariably be different in FC 24. For Ultimate Team and Kick-off modes, among others, the controls for the goalkeeper are slightly restricted and players can at most influence the positioning of the goalkeeper. Players can neither decide the efficiency nor the type of save they want from the keeper. With limited control, the feature to move the goalkeeper is perhaps the best choice.

Moving the goalkeeper allows FC 24 players a way to predict where the opponent striker will shoot, and taking a few steps in that direction to cover the goal can be enough for FC 24 to prevent a goal. While moving the goalkeeper does not guarantee a save, a 50-50 is still better odds than fully relying on the AI to save the goal.

However, there are cons to this as well. If the opponent notices you’re moving your goalkeeper towards one side of the goal, they may delay their shot and hit it in that area for a clear goal.

Moving the goalkeeper is one of the biggest risk-reward choices you can make during a match in FC 24, and it can pay off if players can read their opponent right and also understand when not to move the goalkeeper.