FM26 Ståle Solbakken 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 | Girona Solo Shot (Patreon)

Girona Solo Shot

This was the real test outside the Norway context.

With Norway, this tactical idea looked extremely interesting. The 4-3-3 turning into a 3-5-2 gave me one of the most interesting shapes of the whole World Cup recreation cycle.

With Girona, the story was different.

Not a bad run at all, but not the same feeling.

Girona Solo Shot Results

🎮 45 games played✅ 24 wins➖ 10 draws❌ 11 defeats⚽ 82 goals scored🥅 49 goals conceded📈 +33 goal difference📊 53% win percentage

La Liga

🏆 4th place🎮 38 games played✅ 18 wins➖ 9 draws❌ 11 defeats⚽ 61 goals scored🥅 41 goals conceded📈 +20 goal difference📊 63 points🎟️ Champions League qualification

Spanish Cup

🥈 Runner-up

So, in terms of results, this is not a failure.

Girona finished 4th, qualified for the Champions League, and reached the Spanish Cup final.

But I want to be honest: I expected more.

No save and reload.Every match played.Same tactical idea.Different squad context.

And this is exactly why these solo shots matter.

With Norway, the tactic looked much stronger. But Norway had a very specific player pool: Haaland, Ødegaard, Sørloth, Berg, Nusa and several profiles that fit the structure very naturally.

With Girona, I had a weaker squad, slower defenders, different attacking profiles, and a much more difficult club environment.

The shape still works. The idea is still interesting. But the performance was not as convincing as I hoped.

Data View

The numbers also explain why I am not fully convinced yet.

Girona scored 61 league goals, but the xG table shows 61.55 xG, so the attack basically performed in line with expectation.

The problem is that it never felt explosive enough.

Defensively, the team conceded 41 goals, with around 42.33 xGA, so again the numbers were realistic, but not dominant.

That means the tactic was not massively overperforming or underperforming.

It was simply a solid recreation that produced a good season, but not an elite one.

And that is important.

Because not every tactic needs to be sold as a monster tactic.

This is a recreation first.

A tactical idea inspired by Ståle Solbakken’s Norway.

It gave me:

→ Champions League qualification with Girona→ Spanish Cup final→ 82 goals scored in all competitions→ A clear 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 transformation→ A system that still needs the right player profiles to really explode

For now, I would not call this a plug-and-play monster tactic.

I would call it a very interesting tactical recreation that probably needs the right squad to show its best version.

And that is why I might continue testing it with another club, maybe Newcastle or Athletic Club, to understand if the issue was the tactic, the Girona squad, or simply the player profiles available.

This is the kind of run I like sharing because it shows the full story.

Not only the wins.

Not only the good screenshots.

But also the limits.✅ FM26 Norway 2026 World Cup tactic✅ Ståle Solbakken 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 recreation✅ Girona solo-shot results✅ Screenshots and data recap✅ Save file / tactic file below