Positions and lineups
Legal formation limits, all 15 positions, the eight presets, role variants and the bench.
A legal XI
Every side needs one goalkeeper and ten unique outfield players. The same shared validator runs in the editor, API and live conditional-order engine. Selecting a player already on the pitch swaps the two slots instead of duplicating him.
If there is no usable saved lineup, the match assistant fills the usual position groups using role quality and current form. Goalkeepers are judged by their goalkeeper skills. The forward pair is chosen to cover ground and aerial routes. The captain is chosen for the experience boost he gives the fielded team, independently of list order; referee influence and rally break ties. This fallback keeps natural positions; it does not search for the best formation or opponent-specific plan.
Formation limits
Goalkeeper
exactly 1A natural goalkeeper must occupy GK; outfield players and keepers cannot cross that boundary.
Attackers
FW 0–3 · ST 0–1At least one attacker — FW or ST — is required; a lone ST with no FW is legal. ST is the single directed target role.
Central defence
CB 1–3At least one central defender; up to three.
Flank defence
one left, one rightEach side uses LB or LWB on the left and RB or RWB on the right.
Central midfield
DM ≤2 · CM ≤3 · OM ≤2At least one central midfielder is required; each variant respects its own cap and the total is bounded by the eleven slots.
Flank midfield
one left, one rightEach side uses LM/LW or RM/RW.
A slot is a job
A role changes action eligibility, channel, opportunity costs and assistance. Position variants can be changed only inside their physical slot family: LB/LWB, RB/RWB, LM/LW, RM/RW, DM/CM/OM and FW/ST.
Role families
CB
Central box defender and the core of defensive box assistance.
LB / RB
Flank defenders who assist their own midfield channel at full weight and the defensive box at quarter weight; attacking box support opens only for a lone attacker.
LWB / RWB
Advanced flank defenders with Constitution-based personal runs and extra injury exposure; each overlapping wing back adds Fun Factor.
DM
Withdrawn central midfielder. One or more DMs give the opponent one opportunity and count as sitting deep for Fun Factor.
CM
Neutral central midfield job used in control, assistance and advanced orders.
LM / RM
Wide midfield channel without the advanced-role opportunity cost.
OM / LW / RW
Advanced midfield roles that can carry without a clear win, arrive in the box and give the opponent one opportunity each.
FW
General attacker; normally owns one personal opportunity per 90 minutes, adjusted while a side leads by four or more goals. FW/ST play only in the box: a team-mate plays their personal opportunity to them there, they never contest a midfield reception and they do not pass in open play. Own recoveries start with a carry. The current role applies, including substitutes; set-piece deliveries are exempt.
ST
Plays like FW but is the unique target of Feed the striker; the role receives no automatic finishing bonus and has the same personal-opportunity rate as FW, including the big-lead adjustment.
Formation presets
Presets arrange legal slots; the engine does not award a hidden “4-4-2 bonus”. You may specialise the variant roles and the saved shape still belongs to the same visual preset.
Available starting shapes
4-4-2
Back four, four midfielders, two forwards.
4-3-3
Back four, three midfielders, three forwards.
3-4-3
Back three, four midfielders, three forwards.
3-6-1
Back three, five ordinary midfield slots plus one OM, one forward.
4-5-1
Back four, four ordinary midfield slots plus one OM, one forward.
3-5-2
Back three, five midfielders, two forwards.
5-3-2
Back five, three midfielders, two forwards.
5-4-1
Back five, four midfielders, one forward.
The bench is tactical
Bench order supplies the players used by substitutions and emergency corrections. Match scenarios can replace, swap or move eligible players, but goalkeeper and outfield jobs remain mechanically separate.
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