Help Advanced Forward vs Inside forward

[iXfeirce]

Hey guys,

I have a question regarding the advanced forward vs the inside forward. I have looked  at different videos but can’t make much of it. 

When a player is capable of playing in both positions, how do you guys decide in what position he will perform better in? What attributes wise etc? 
cause when I look it up on the internet they all say more or less of the same.. dribbling, finishing, movement, technique, decisions, pace..

can somebody maybe help to make me understand the role more in detail? Like Which attribute suits more or less a certain role (Key attribute? Preferred?) what to focus on with the If vs what to focus on the Af?

I know it is a long question and maybe a little bit to detailed but really want to understand the 2 roles! 

thanks guys

Edited July 25, 2022 by iXfeirce

[Rob]

The main difference, for me, is simply that an IF genuinely always wants to cut inside.

Ultimately it all depends on what you want to achieve in that save as to which to use.

[iXfeirce]

Okay, but attribute wise? Me also like the fact that he cuts inside / starts wide… but say I want an inside forward but he also can play up front.. how do I like know in which role he will ‘perform better’… I know that this is dependent on his overall attributes. But which are the ones you look for in a Af vs If.. more so I can distinguish these 2 roles and thus determine if a player is ‘better’ as a IF or a AF.. hope the question is clear?  

[DanEnglish]

Great question - for me they are very similar, except for a few small considerations … 

Example - when using a 41221 setup (with an AF, IF + IW) - I make my decision based on the two players (plural!) I’ve got to pick between - i.e. who to put as an AF + who as IF…

• One slow, one fast - I’d have the much slower / much lower stamina player (like Ronaldo) as an AF - so they can stay more central + don’t need to run as much between the wide + central positions. 
• One natural, one accomplished - Martial starts out as a natural ST + only accomplished in the AML position, whereas Rashford is the opposite. So I’d have Martial as an AF + Rashford as an IF.
• One better, one worse - I think (but bizarrely haven’t tested) that the AF gets more shooting opportunities, so if I’ve got a speedy star (Rashford) + a speedy youngster (Elanga), then the star goes upfront as an AF, with the youngster wide as an IF.

[iXfeirce]

Thanks for your opinion! 
I just started testing 10 matches against the same opponent but only the first half, closed the app and repeat. And then I decided to ask the community.

what I’ve noticed: 

- passing

The IF completes seems to be more involved. (Average 10 matches: IF - 11.5 passes and 1.8 decisive. AF - 6.8 passes and 1.6 decisive.

- dribbling

IF - 1 dribble. AF - 0.7 dribble.

- shooting

IF - 2.5 shots. AF - 4.5 shots.

And due to this ‘very little testing’ I thought:

- IF gets more involved passing wise, so more creativity / passing / decisions should help him there. (More than the AF.)

- AF gets more shooting opportunities, so more shooting, movement off the ball, speed?

But then you have all these general attributes, technique to give a desicive pass but also to put the ball in the back of the net. Speed, decisions.. off the ball, heading?

that’s when I decided to ask haha. 😄 what do you think?

[DanEnglish]

Great testing - nice work. Love the fact you did it 10 times, and only the first half. Its perfect.

Agree that IF needs better creativity / passing, while an AF needs better shooting. 

Specifically about aerial - you only need good aerial if you're going to play a tactic style with lots of crosses (e.g. with a winger or with wing backs). So the better aerial player should be the AF - e.g. for Man Utd, I put Ronaldo as an AF (as has better aerial and shooting), with Rashford as an IF (as has better pace & stamina to move / transition between the wide flank and cutting into the center.