Do You Need 11 Players for Pro Clubs in FIFA?
As a long-time FIFA gamer who has played in competitive Pro Clubs leagues, one question I get asked a lot by new players interested in trying out the mode is if you need 11 human players on each team, or if you can play with fewer.
The answer isn‘t straightforward, so in this complete guide, I‘ll elaborate on how Pro Clubs works, the impact of team size, ideal player composition, and how competitive smaller squads can be. My aim is to provide FIFA gamers new to Pro Clubs deeper insights into the 11 vs 11 format and give recommendations if you have less than 22 players.
Overview of the 11 vs 11 Pro Clubs Format
Pro Clubs follows an 11 vs 11 format, where each human player controls a single player on the pitch. This mirrors real football, where you have 11 players per squad.
In an ideal scenario, you would have 11 human players on each Pro Club competing so every position is covered. This allows people to specialize in the role they prefer – like striker, midfielder, defender, or goalkeeper.
However, you don‘t strictly need 22 human players running around. Having fewer is completely fine too. Let‘s get into that next…
You Can Play With Any Number of Human Players
While designed as an 11 on 11 game mode, Pro Clubs is flexible for whatever number of humans you have. Whether you have 2, 5 or 9 friends online, you can squad up and play.
If your team ever falls short of 11 players, the game will backfill the empty slots with AI bot players to make a full squad.
So while you technically need 11, matches can be played with as few as 2 real humans (1 per side). This makes the mode accessible even if you don‘t have a huge group.
Having clarified that – what sizes tend to be most common? And how do smaller teams impact gameplay?
Most Common Pro Clubs Team Sizes
To gauge the popularity of different team sizes, I looked at player surveys on r/FIFA:
| Team Size | % of Players Using |
|---|---|
| 2 players | 21% |
| 3-4 players | 29% |
| 5-7 players | 26% |
| 8+ players | 24% |
As we can see, teams with 3-7 real players are the most popular, making up over 50% of squads. 2 player teams are also very common at 21%.
However, there‘s no need to limit yourself if you have a larger friend group! 8 players and up still have a strong playerbase.
Next up, how do smaller squads compared to full teams alter the gameplay experience?
Gameplay Dynamics with Fewer Human Players
Playing Pro Clubs with fewer real players can definitely be enjoyable, but there are some gameplay implications:
Positional Flexibility Reduced: In 11 vs 11 human matches, people tend to specialize in set positions like striker, mid, defender, keeper etc based on playstyle preference and skillset. With fewer humans and thus fewer specialized roles, you lose some strategic depth.
Communication Streamlined: Managing 11 personalities can lead to messy communication. Smaller teams keep coordination tighter. But less vocal silence also means less banter!
More Bot Involvement: With fewer humans to pass to, plays revolve more around the AI bots. Their imperfections stand out – leading to complaints around bot intelligence.
The core Pro Clubs experience remains largely similar though. At its heart, it‘s still football with friends!
Now let‘s move onto ideal team makeup depending on size:
Ideal Team Composition
Even with bots filling space, you want balanced team sheets to maximize chemistry:
2 Players: Run one outfield player + goalkeeper. Allows focusing play through your main midfielder.
3-4 Players: Target 2 midfielders + defender and goalkeeper. Midfield spine sees the most action.
5-7 Players: Aim for defensive coverage + striker options upfront. Adds flexibility to switch up tactics.
8+ Players: Replicate standard formations. Go for position specialization and possible subs.
While these guidelines help, any composition can work. Be willing to shuffle roles if you lack something or have weaknesses exploited.
Lastly, there‘s still the question around competitiveness – can you win consistently with sub 11 teams?
The Competitive Viability of Smaller Teams
Through my experience captaining leagues and tournaments, I can safely say strong synergy often gets small squads shockingly far!
Practiced 2-4 player units have even beaten larger casual teams in competitive games. The chemistry of understanding your few teammates surpasses individually skilled strangers.
That said, the top table remains dominated by practiced teams with 7+ humans. The expanded tactical options ultimately edge out smaller clubs reliant on bots.
In public drop-in matches though, sub 11 teams have very viable odds assuming no opposing stacked groups. I‘ve seen random duos triumph here all the time!
Conclusion – Ideal Pro Clubs Team Size
While Pro Clubs shines with fully fleshed 11 vs 11 human rosters allowing specialization, you can squad up and have a blast with just 2 to 7 friends.
AI bots will fill missing slots to ensure playable 11 vs 11 matches regardless of team size. Just be ready to be flexible across more positions as less people means less specialized roles.
I suggest aiming for at least the midfielder spine as priority for balanced teams before adding defensive/attacking presence. And stay vocal in organizing the bots via commands for best results!
So ultimately – no, you don‘t strictly need 11 players per side for Pro Clubs. But filling out greater roster breadth opens more tactical choices. Find your fun number between 2 to 11 players to kickoff your FIFA night!
