It goes without saying that every new FIFA game also introduces a new meta. While it appeared for a brief time that FIFA 23 may have evaded this trap, there is always one aspect of the game, a configuration, or a tactic that dominates everything else. In a nutshell, everyone must bow down to FIFA 23 Lengthy players.
Being referred to as "Lengthy" may seem intimidating and open to innuendo, but in truth, it is perhaps the most crucial characteristic in FIFA 23 at the moment, and long players—especially attackers and defenders—are saturating the early meta.
Here's a brief explanation for anyone who is still unclear what a Lengthy FIFA 23 player is. One of the three new acceleration kinds included in FIFA 23's AcceleRATE system is Lengthy (along with Controlled and Explosive). Players with the Lengthy trait are characterized as powerful and tall (van Dijk, Lukaku, and Pogba are examples). Theoretically, this means that they will take longer to reach their highest speeds than other players, but they will be able to maintain them for much longer, which might be useful when pursuing a striker who is through on goal.
It turns out that long players are currently quite busted. The disadvantages aren't really noticeable in-game, allowing you to produce powerful strikers and towering center backs who can outpace most opponents despite having lower acceleration and pace numbers. This video of Gerard Pique totally destroying 95-pace Vinicius Jr. serves as an excellent illustration of what is currently taking place.
The beauty is that you can actually grant the Lengthy attribute to dozens of meta players that lack it based on their regular numbers by using Chemistry Styles to change your players' stats.
The new FIFA 23 meta: Lengthy players
If given the proper Chemistry Style and quantity of Chemistry in your team, players like Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Federico Valverde, and Marquinhos can all grow lengthier, either elevating their position as coveted cards or simply making them much more dangerous than they already were.
Although this blog post on Futwiz does an excellent job of describing the math behind AcceleRATE, you usually want to enhance your player's strength so that they can acquire the Lengthy attribute (note that players have to also be over 174cm tall to get the trait). Although there are other chemistry styles that increase your strength stat, the best ones for doing that are Architect, Anchor, and Marksman.
Positively, the Lengthy acceleration style makes it possible for players with slow sprint speed stats to compete in the meta (which cannot be stated for prior FIFA versions), but it also makes players who were already swift become unstoppable Usain Bolts.
There's a good potential that this will be nerfed in a future patch, but for the time being, build your team up with Lengthy players, study the best FIFA 23 formations and strategies, and watch the Division Rivals victories roll in.
