Make sure your players' skills are as balanced as possible. That makes a team as strong as possible on both ends of the pitch.

A striker can help the defence and win the ball back for the counter. A central defender can feed the ball to the attack and provide assists.

At the other end of the spectrum, a defender whose attacking skills are not up to par may be unable to build from the back. A striker with low defensive skills may make bad tackles and concede free kicks. You don't want that.