What are the best Skill Moves to learn in FIFA 23? While recent iterations of EA Sports' soccer sim have been more about moving the ball effectively than dribbling your opponents to death, you're still going to want to know the best Skill Moves to learn in order to beat defenders and make space for yourself.

FIFA 23: Best Skill Moves to Learn

FIFA 23: Best Skill Moves to Learn
Image: Push Square

On this page, as part of our FIFA 23 guide, we're going to introduce the best Skill Moves to learn. For the purposes of this page, we're focusing on a combination of both new and old techniques to create a list of the best Skill Moves to learn. If you're planning to play a lot of FUT Rivals and FUT Champions then you'll need these in your arsenal, but also consider that these manoeuvres can do damage against the CPU as well.

All of the controls listed below assume you are attacking from left to right with your Player facing the opponent's goal. You will need to alter your inputs to reflect the direction you are facing, otherwise these Skill Moves won't work. You'll also need to ensure the player you're using has the Required Skill Rating.

Skill Move Required Skill Rating Controls Notes
Fake Shot N/A Circle then X Technically not a Skill Move but still one of the most useful techniques in the FIFA 23 toolbox, the Fake Shot will allow you to get around defenders and goalkeepers by sending them the wrong way, especially if you dribble out of the move by pushing in the direction you subsequently want to go.
Knock On
 N/A
 R2 + Right stick to the desired dribble direction
 Running with the ball at your feet is slower than running without, so defenders can easily catch up when you're in possession of the ball. Use the Knock On to push the ball into space and chase it down. You can knock it even further by pushing the right stick in the desired dribble direction twice.
Stepover
Right stick to the right and then rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise to top or bottom
 Stepovers can be a great method for psyching out defenders and getting them to bite on a particular movement, allowing you to dribble around them once they commit to gain space.
Ball Roll
Hold right stick either up or down
 If you're up against defenders who are constantly trying to close you down and block off passing lanes, Ball Rolls can be used to retain close control of the ball and change the angle, allowing you to find teammates more easily.
Drag Back
L2 + R2 + Left stick flick to the left
 If all you ever do is run directly at your opponents, you're going to become extremely predictable to defend against in FIFA 23. Try to change the pace by stopping with L2 + R2 and then when your opponents come out to meet you, Drag Back and beat them.
Heel Flick
Right stick flick to the right then flick to the left
 Similar to Stepovers, the Heel Flick can help you to psyche out defenders and blow past them by forcing them to commit and subsequently buying you space.
Heel to Ball Roll

L1 and then right stick flick to the right then to the left Almost identical to the Heel Flick, the Hell to Ball Roll is a technically more demanding dribbling technique that will help get you to commit defenders and then beat them.
Elastico Move the right stick down and then rotate it all the way around clockwise As a five-star Skill Move, the Elastico is quite a demanding dribbling technique, but it's deadly in the box when it comes to creating space. Remember, you can also perform the Reverse Elastico by inversing the instructions. (I.e. moving the stick up and rotating it down counter-clockwise.)

What do you think are the best Skill Moves to learn in FIFA 23? Step over the comments section below, and be sure to refer to our FIFA 23 guide for more help with this year's soccer sim.