FM26 Zeman - Mathijs 4-3-3N | Swansea (Patreon)

Another season in the Swansea wonderkids project, this time with a very aggressive 4-3-3 narrow.

This one had a clear identity.

Three high attackers, aggressive wing-backs, a deep playmaker behind two midfielders, and a structure that was always looking to create chances. It produced some excellent football, some big scorelines, and another season where Swansea kept moving forward.

Season Results

✅ 9th in the Premier League

🏆 UEFA Conference League Semi Final, eliminated by Fiorentina

🏆 Carabao Cup Semi Final, eliminated by Arsenal

🏆 FA Cup Third Round, eliminated by Leeds United

Every match was played.

Tactical Shape

The system used a narrow front three and a back four supported by adventurous wide defenders.

Main shape

Kochanowski as a CHF

Izekor as a CFD

Campbell as a CHF

Mohanraj and Shabalala as the two central midfielders

Reid as the DLP

Fitzgerald and Sebelebele as AWBs

Van den Heuvel and Siwe as BCBs

Turi in goal

The structure was built to attack with numbers and keep the front line constantly involved.

That worked quite well.

Premier League Performance

Swansea finished the league season with:

9th place

55 points

16 wins

7 draws

15 losses

73 goals scored

65 goals conceded

+8 goal difference

This was a solid season overall.

It was not quite the jump to Europe through the league, but it was still another respectable Premier League campaign for a Swansea side built around young players.

Home vs Away

One of the strangest parts of the season was the split.

Home

6 wins

6 draws

7 losses

40 goals scored

33 goals conceded

Away

10 wins

1 draw

8 losses

33 goals scored

32 goals conceded

That is a very unusual pattern.

Swansea were actually much better away from home in terms of wins, while the home form was far less reliable. That probably held the team back from pushing a bit higher than 9th.

Conference League Run

This was one of the real positives of the season.

Round of 16

Gil Vicente 0-1 Swansea

Swansea 6-2 Gil Vicente

Quarter Final

Swansea 5-1 Randers

Randers 0-4 Swansea

Semi Final

Swansea 2-0 Fiorentina

Fiorentina 3-0 Swansea

That means Swansea went all the way to the Semi Final, but let the tie slip after putting themselves in a very good position with the first-leg win.

Still, reaching the last four in Europe is a very good season marker for this save.

Cup Runs

Carabao Cup

A strong run overall:

Reached the Semi Final

Eliminated by Arsenal

FA Cup

A much shorter run:

Eliminated in the Third Round

Lost to Leeds United

End of Season Form

The team finished the season with some very good attacking displays.

Notable results included:

Swansea 4-3 Manchester United

Swansea 4-1 Southampton

Swansea 6-1 Leeds

Those scorelines say a lot about the tactic.

When it clicked, it could be devastating.

Best Performers

Cole Campbell

The standout attacking player again.

Final season numbers:

57 appearances

29 goals

16 assists

7.40 average rating

That is a huge season and easily one of the biggest reasons the tactic performed so well.

Mateusz Kochanowski

A massive season for a 16-year-old.

Final season numbers:

58 appearances

18 goals

12 assists

7.10 average rating

That is an excellent return, especially given his age.

Kamogelo Sebelebele

Excellent production from a wide role / wing-back role.

Final season numbers:

51(3) appearances

10 goals

12 assists

6.93 average rating

Dean Fitzgerald

Another important contributor from the left side.

Final season numbers:

47(7) appearances

8 goals

11 assists

6.93 average rating

Mohammed Mohanraj

Strong numbers from midfield.

Final season numbers:

57 appearances

7 goals

11 assists

6.88 average rating

Darron Reid

Useful balance and output from deeper areas.

Final season numbers:

57 appearances

5 goals

6 assists

6.84 average rating

Defensive Side

The attacking output was good.

Scoring 73 league goals and reaching European semi finals confirms that.

But the defensive record was still a bit too loose:

65 goals conceded in the league

15 league defeats

Too many chaotic games

Too many matches where the team needed to outscore problems

That is probably the main reason this system stopped at 9th instead of going higher.

It could blow teams away, but it did not always control games well enough.

Overall Verdict

The Zeman - Mathijs 4-3-3N was:

fun

aggressive

productive in attack

capable of big scorelines

good enough to take Swansea to a UEFA Conference League Semi Final

good enough to finish 9th in the Premier League

At the same time, it was not a fully balanced setup.

The home form was shaky, the defence still allowed too much, and the lack of control in some games cost Swansea a higher finish.

Still, for a wonderkids project like this, the season was clearly positive.

A top-half Premier League finish plus a European semi final is a strong return.

Download Package

The release includes:

FM26 Zeman - Mathijs 4-3-3N tactic

Swansea game save

Season screenshots and stats

Squad overview

Team Instructions and Player Instructions video for console players