1. My team are playing 4-4-2 and winning 2-1 with 10 minutes to go, what can I do to protect the lead?
- Compact defending
- Evaluate the opponent's threat
- Change formation (4-4-2 to 4-5-1)
- Change personnel (striker off defender on)
- Keep possession of the ball
- Hit the correct areas with long balls (corners)
- Slow the game down
You can find the Defensive Compactness session here.
2. My team are playing 4-5-1 and losing 2-1 with 10 minutes to go, how can we chase the game?
- Change formation (4-5-1 to 3-5-2)
- Change personnel (defender off striker on)
- Play a more direct style of play (hit the forwards early and get runners off the forwards)
- Move the ball quickly and exploit spaces left by opposition
- Get the ball into wide areas and create crossing opportunities
You can find the Breaking Into The Final Third session here.
3. My team are losing 2-1 with 10 minutes to go, the opposing team has just had a man sent off, how can we take advantage of the extra player to create goal scoring opportunities?
- Make the pitch as big as possible to stretch the opposition
- Change formation (4-5-1 to 3-5-2)
- Change personnel (defender off striker on)
- Get the ball out wide as early as possible to create 1v1 situations or 2v1 overloads
- Patient build-up play and play penetrating passes
- Expose the opposition's weakness
- Press high up the pitch to regain possession as quickly as possible
You can find the Attacking Overloads session here.
4. My team are winning 1-0 with 10 minutes to go, we have just had a man sent off, how do we defend the lead?
- Change personnel (sacrifice an attacking player for a defensive player)
- Change shape (4-4-2 to 4-5 formation)
- Compact defending
- Defend centrally
- Counter-attacking
- Maintain defensive shape (do not over commit players forward)
- Slow the game down
Find the Defending out of Balance session here.
5. We are top of the league and are playing a team who are bottom of the league. We drew 0-0 in our last game against them as they were compact and sat behind the ball. What can we do to break them down?
- Formation that will allow your team to be expansive and creative (3-5-2)
- Make the pitch as big as possible (use width)
- If you can"t play through or over, go around
- Use quick combination play in the final third
- Be patient and wait for the opposition to commit which will allow penetrating passing opportunities
- Encourage forward players to use movements to move the defenders (encourage interchanging positions)
Find the Creating Space In Wide Areas here.
6. My team are playing a 4-4-2 formation against a 4-3-3 and their midfield are controlling the game. What can I do change it?
- Match the formation of the opposition and play a 4-3-3
- When out of possession, one of your forwards drop into midfield to create a 4-5-1
- One of the central defenders steps up and marks the opposition number 10 who is in between the defensive line and midfield line
- Wingers defend narrow and compact
- Counter-attack when gaining possession by exploiting the space in wide areas.
Find the Coaching Defenders In A 4-3-3 session here.
7. My team are winning 1-0 with ten minutes to play in the semi-final of a tournament and the opposition have just had a player sent off. Do we attack to try and score again and ensure we go through, or do we try to see the game out?
- Keep possession of the ball (make the pitch as big as possible when in possession)
- Compact defending
- Play counter-attacking football when opponents overcommit
- Slow the game down by keeping possession of the ball
- Create overloads when in possession
- Do not over commit players forward when counter-attacking
Find the Defending To Counter Attack session here.