How to beat 4-4-2 wide diamond

[pcmacdaniel]

The biggest problem w/ defeating the wide diamond, is countering both the formation and the orders; it's easy to fall into the trap of applying a good counter formation, but having the wrong set of orders. For example using attacking + short w/ a narrow formation, meanwhile the opponent is long balling the flanks.

4-1-3n-2/4-1-3w-2 defense w/ long balls is probably the safe play, since it's pretty much guaranteed the opponent is attacking, which will leave him vulnerable to long balls.

The key to the Wide Diamond is to watch the match statistics to figure out what type of passing the opponent is using (short, mixed or long), to ensure your orders aren't being countered. If mixed or long, defense + counters should keep him in check. If opponent is using short passing, the defensive bunker will most likely break, so change to attacking + long balls to hit him quickly in transition (especially if opponent is high pressing) is what I recommend.