Some footie managers probably consider winning leagues more important, but most trophies you can win in Football Manager 2024 are cups. For example, the Charity Shield, FA Cup, and League Cup are three of the four domestic trophies the bigger clubs can win in English football. The UEFA Champions, Europa, and Conference Leagues are also primarily European cup competitions with knock-out rounds, irrespective of what their competition titles suggest. Here are some tips for winning cups in Football Manager 2024.
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Hold Team Meetings Before the Cup Finals
Boosting morale ahead of finals will enhance your chances of winning cups in Football Manager 2024. Football Manager 2024 always gives you the option to hold a team meeting before a major cup final, which isn’t something you should pass on. One of the best team meeting dialogue options that will always boost morale when selected is, “I know how special cup finals are, so enjoy the occasion, drink it, and do everything you can to make it a memorable day with a win.”
Cup final team meeting dialogue options
Although there are numerous other options, selecting that positive line for a team meeting never fails. That’s usually all you need to say for a morale-boosting team meeting. Then your team will walk away from the meeting with generally boosted spirits before the big match.
Sign Players With Higher Penalty Attribute Ratings
Penalty shootouts can have a big impact on the outcome of cups in Football Manager 2024, much the same as in real-world football. For example, Man Utd sneaked past Coventry in the 2024 FA Cup semi-final by winning a penalty shootout en route to glory, which probably kept Erik in the Old Trafford hot seat a little longer. Argentina became world champions after beating France on penalties in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Those teams wouldn’t have won their cups had they lost the crucial penalty shootouts.
Thus, the importance of penalties to winning cups in Football Manager 2024 cannot be understated. This makes the sometimes overlooked penalty-taking attribute more important for cups than leagues. Signing more players with high penalty-taking attributes is the best way to enhance your team’s shootout performances, giving you a better chance of winning more cups in Football Manager 2024.
A player’s attributes screen
Substitute Players on Yellow Cards
Having a player sent off in a league game can cost your team a few points. However, red cards for your players in knock-out cup matches can cost you trophies. You can reduce the chances of your players getting sent off in cup matches by substituting those booked. Substitute booked players at the interval so they can’t get sent off with double yellows in the second halves. It’s all the more important to do this when your team has two or even three booked players who could see red in the second half of a match.
The Tactics options
Rest Players Before Cup Games
A tired team won’t be at its best for a cup game. Keeping your best players in tip-top condition for cup matches will give you a better chance of winning them. The best way to do this is to rest players in league fixtures before cup games. Sure, doing this could have a slightly negative impact on your side’s league form, but keeping first-choice players fresh for cups will give you a better chance of winning them nonetheless. So, where do your priorities lie?
How many players you can afford to rest for a cup game boils down to managerial judgment. If you’re playing a weaker side in your league before a cup match, you can probably leave more first-choice players out without costing you points. However, leaving out many of your star performers for a match against one of the strongest teams in a division could be more costly.
Don’t Underestimate Teams One Division Below You
The beauty of domestic cup football is that underdogs can sometimes have their days playing teams in divisions above them. Teams in the division just below the one your side is in are the underdogs most capable of pulling off upsets. Don’t underestimate teams one division below your own by resting first-choice players in cup matches against them. The best lower-division sides could spring a surprise by dumping your side out of the cup if you do.
The next cup opponent
Keep Your Best Penalty Takers on the Pitch
You must start thinking about penalties when a cup match goes into extra time. You’ll probably have quite a few tired players on the pitch at the end of regular time. However, don’t substitute the best penalty-takers in your team even if they are very tired. Your best penalty-takers should remain on the pitch for a potential shootout after extra time.
Bringing on better penalty-takers during extra time can also increase your chances of a cup shootout victory. Check the penalty attribute ratings of the players on your substitute’s bench. Then select to bring on players to replace some of the poorer penalty-takers on the pitch.
The penalty taker selection
Check Cups’ Rules
Different cups can have variable selection, substitution, and even match rules for when games are drawn after 90 minutes. Some cups can have slightly peculiar rules. For example, Portugal’s League Cup has a selection rule for including at least two under-21 players from Portugal in your starting 11. Many cups restrict the number of non-EU players you can include in your squads for matches. Your club can even get booted out of the Champions League during a season for non-compliance with Financial Fair Play rules.
So, it’s important to know the rules for the cups you compete in. You can give yourself a better chance of winning cups by signing more players who full within their selection rules. For example, having eight non-EU players in your squad won’t be much good if you can only select four of them for your domestic cup matches. It’s also important to be clear about how many substitutions you can make during cup games.
The Portuguese League Cup rules
You can check the rules for a cup by clicking Competitions and the title of the tournament. Click Overview and Rules on the menu. Then have a good read through the squad selection, match, and substitution rules for the cup.
Winning cups, be it the Charity Shield or Champions League, is the best way to fill up your club’s trophy cabinet in FM24. So, are you ready to lead your teams to cup glory? The tips above will give you a better chance of winning more cups in Football Manager 2024.
