Knuckle Ball Trophy Guide
Score a goal with a knuckle shot
Trophy - Bronze

A knuckle shot is where the ball is struck without any spin at all. In a slow motion replay, the ball will stay almost perfectly still as it moves through the air. This means the ball does not turn much to either the left or right (if at all), but it will take more of a dip downwards at the end than usual shots. Cristiano Ronaldo is the most famous player who regularly tries this type of shot, often from free kicks.

To do the shot in game, you will need to shoot while pressing the flair button (L2). The power bar will have to be somewhere between half and full power, as you have to really hit it to have a chance to pull this one off. Shoot from well outside the box, and try to get it to dip just under the crossbar. This will pop once you manage to score without the ball spinning in the air.

To increase you odds of success, you can try these two methods:

Method 01: Use a player known for striking the ball with power: Ronaldo, Rooney, Ibrahimovic, etc. Decrease shot power to 25% in User Gameplay Settings in the options menu. This will decrease the overall spin imparted on the ball when you hit it at high power, making it more likely for the ball to remain static in the air.

Or

Method 02: Use a player known for striking the ball with power: Ronaldo, Rooney, Ibrahimovic, etc. Edit them in Edit Player, maxing out all of their stats to 99, EXCEPT for Curve in the skill section. Minimise this to 1. This eliminates any player imparted spin when striking the ball, so any spin will be caused by just the ball and surroundings. Get a clear shot centre on to goal about 30 yards out, and you will have a high chance of producing a Knuckle Ball shot. See video below:




Lastly, while I recommend using L2 to increase the change of getting this shot to happen, you should know that any reasonably powerful strike could potentially produce a knuckle ball. So you may get this without using L2 at all. But using L2 and a decent ball striker will increase your odds in general play. When grinding this one out, you should take every advantage you can to try to speed things up.

Important: do not use R1 when trying for a knuckle ball. It will add way too much turn and spin to the ball, which is the opposite of what you are looking for.