What are the four new Player Roles in FC 26?

Wide Back, Inverted Wingback, Box Crasher and Ball-Playing Keeper. EA added them so a side can be pushed past the shape its formation draws.

What does the Box Crasher role do?

It is a defensive midfielder who makes trailing runs into the box and is slow getting back. EA says it does not treat defensive actions as a priority, which is the opposite of every other role at that position.

What is an Inverted Wingback?

A fullback who moves inside and high up the pitch while the team has the ball. Its two Focuses send it in different directions: Build-Up plays it as a playmaker, Attack plays it closer to a shadow striker.

What is the Wide Back role for?

A centre-back who opens wide to cover the fullbacks, built for a back three. EA says it will take the fullback position when the formation has none or when the fullback has gone up for the attack.

Does your role change your match rating?

Yes, and that is the whole idea behind Role Rating. EA gives two central midfielders with identical games, one Box-to-Box and one Playmaker, and scores the Playmaker higher because creating chances counts for more in that role.

What happened to the Complete focus?

Versatile replaced it. EA put the new focus on Fullback, Classic 10, Winger, Poacher and Advanced Forward, so those roles can do whichever job the moment calls for instead of holding to one.

Is Trequartista a role in FC 26?

EA has published the roles it added and the ones it reworked for FC 26, and Trequartista is in neither list. The complete role list sits on the tactics screen in game, which is the only place it can be read in full.

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What are the new Player Roles in FC 26?

Your role now decides which of your actions the rating pays for. Two central midfielders can play the same game and finish it on different numbers, and EA says so with an example.

From EAUpdated 29 August 2026

Four

Player Roles added in FC 26

Wide Back, Inverted Wingback, Box Crasher and Ball-Playing Keeper. Each one exists to push a side past the shape its formation draws.

The four, in EA’s words

Wide Back is a centre-back who opens wide to cover the fullbacks, meant for a back three. EA says it will occupy the fullback position when the formation has none or when the fullback has gone up for the attack. Its Focuses are Defend, Aggressive and Support.

Inverted Wingback is an attacking fullback that moves inside and high up the pitch while the team has the ball. Two Focuses, and they point in different directions: Build-Up plays it as a playmaker, Attack plays it closer to a shadow striker.

Box Crasher is a defensive midfielder who joins the attack, making trailing runs into the box when the chance appears, and is slow getting back afterwards. One Focus, Balanced.

Ball-Playing Keeper supports the build-up as a passing option and stays on the line when the team is defending. One Focus, Build-Up.

Your role decides which actions get paid

Match Rating in Clubs is Role Rating now, and it scores the actions that matter to the role you were given. EA sorts those actions into groups: goalkeeping, defending, dribbling, shooting, passing, and one shared group holding things like the team’s goals and red cards that lands on everybody equally.

EA’s own example is two central midfielders who played identically, creating chances and providing an assist, defending the same. The Box-to-Box finishes on 8.0 and the Playmaker on 8.5, because creating chances counts for more in the second role.

The same logic runs through the back line. A centre-back on Defender or Stopper is scored mostly on defensive work, while a Ball-Playing centre-back also has their passing weighed. Two players in the same shirt, judged on two different things.

Box Crasher changes a defensive midfielder’s evening

Read the description again and the interesting phrase is the one about priorities. EA says the Box Crasher does not consider defensive actions a priority, which no other role at that position can say.

Not enough archived players in each position yet to show what a midfielder records defensively against a defender. It fills in as clubs get looked up.

Versatile replaced Complete

The Complete focus is gone and Versatile took its place. A role set to Versatile does whichever job the moment calls for instead of holding to one, and EA added it to Fullback, Classic 10, Winger, Poacher and Advanced Forward.

Other focuses moved too. Box-to-Box gained Ball Winning, aimed at recovering the ball between the two boxes. Half-Winger gained Support for central midfield and Roaming for attacking midfield, and Roaming will switch the side it attacks from during a single move. False 9 gained Attack, which makes runs into the box from deep and worries less about the defensive side.

Wide Mid was reworked to be the more defensive option, built for three at the back. Sweeper Keeper was pulled the other way: it rushes out to recover balls in defence and no longer comes out to support play as much.

What is still unknown

EA published the categories that feed Role Rating and none of the weights, and added a line saying the ratings and weights shown are subject to tuning. So the shape of the system is public and the arithmetic is not.

This archive cannot close that gap either. EA sends the position a player filled and never the role they were given, so nothing measurable on this site can tell you what a Playmaker earns against a Box-to-Box for the same game.

Questions people ask

What are the four new Player Roles in FC 26?: Wide Back, Inverted Wingback, Box Crasher and Ball-Playing Keeper. EA added them so a side can be pushed past the shape its formation draws.
What does the Box Crasher role do?: It is a defensive midfielder who makes trailing runs into the box and is slow getting back. EA says it does not treat defensive actions as a priority, which is the opposite of every other role at that position.
What is an Inverted Wingback?: A fullback who moves inside and high up the pitch while the team has the ball. Its two Focuses send it in different directions: Build-Up plays it as a playmaker, Attack plays it closer to a shadow striker.
What is the Wide Back role for?: A centre-back who opens wide to cover the fullbacks, built for a back three. EA says it will take the fullback position when the formation has none or when the fullback has gone up for the attack.
Does your role change your match rating?: Yes, and that is the whole idea behind Role Rating. EA gives two central midfielders with identical games, one Box-to-Box and one Playmaker, and scores the Playmaker higher because creating chances counts for more in that role.
What happened to the Complete focus?: Versatile replaced it. EA put the new focus on Fullback, Classic 10, Winger, Poacher and Advanced Forward, so those roles can do whichever job the moment calls for instead of holding to one.
Is Trequartista a role in FC 26?: EA has published the roles it added and the ones it reworked for FC 26, and Trequartista is in neither list. The complete role list sits on the tactics screen in game, which is the only place it can be read in full.

Measured from 111,220 players and 46,985 matches, kept since 17 September 2026. EA returns the last ten. Look up your own club and see where you land.

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