It does work, but its nowhere near as responsive or diverse as fifas, atleast on fifa you actually get to choose what type of ball you get, eliminating the need for AI to figure which is going to be the best, which lets face it neither game has AI capable of doing.
Erm, in real life, you cant telepathically transmit to your teammate what kind of pass you want to receive, you just yell and raise your hand in the air, just like in the game. The AI decides what ball to play, just as your friends would decide what pass to play you.