How to do manual headers in FIFA 23

In FIFA 23, players get to score a goal through various methods, and heading the ball is one of the fundamental skills you need to learn in soccer. Performing headers requires your player to jump up in the air to catch the flight of a lofted ball and shoot it with force in a certain direction. Corners, Free Kicks, and crosses from your teammates can be converted into goals with a powerful header. Similarly, headers become crucial while defending against corners and crosses. You need to have a Center Back with good aerial abilities to perform clearing headers.

Headers, like several other rudimentary moves, have a default assistance feature in FIFA 23. Essentially this means that your player will get a bit of assistance whenever they are trying to contest an aerial ball. While this can be a good feature for beginners, veteran FIFA players prefer to use manual heading controls. The reason is simple: with manual headers, you have the freedom to move your player and jump for the header at the proper time. Although manual controls can be difficult to learn at first, it is the best method to perform headers in FIFA. 

Here’s how to do manual headers in FIFA 23. 

How to perform manual headers in FIFA 23 

To change how you hit headers in FIFA 23, head over to the Customize tab, select Settings, and choose Customize Controls. Scroll down and you will find the Assisted Header option. This feature is turned On by default, and you need to toggle it to Off to perform manual headers. Remember, when this option is disabled, players on the pitch will perform manual shots, crosses, and passes. Choosing to disable this option makes heading much more accurate and skill-based. 

There is another feature called Clearance Assistance, and under this, you will find the Classic and Directional options. Choosing the Classic option means that Clearances will have assisted power and direction, and it wouldn’t consider directional input. Likewise, choosing the Directional option means directional input will be taken into consideration, however, power is fully assisted. The Directional option also automatically picks the player that will contact the ball first. We recommend keeping the Directional option as it has fewer assistance features. 

The ball needs to be in mid-air to do a header in FIFA 23, preferably at chest height. Predict the flight path of the ball and move the directional control to take your player close to the area where it will eventually drop. Once the ball is close to head height, press the shot button along with the directional input to guide the header in a specific direction. The timing makes a massive difference for headers, and it is easy to get it wrong. Make sure to do Crosses and Corners Training drills in the Practice Arena to get better at manual headers in FIFA 23.