Creating Space

Develop movement, positional awareness, and decision-making to create and exploit space in attacking play.

• Divide the pitch into three zones: defensive, midfield, & attacking thirds. • Use 18 players: two teams of 9 players, ensuring each has a striker in the attacking third. • The game starts with the defenders in the defensive third, building play. • Striker drops deeper into the midfield third to create overloads. • Play begins from the defensive third, focusing on building out from the back under pressure. • The striker drops into midfield, helping to create a numerical advantage and offering a passing option. • If defenders follow the striker, midfielders and wide players should exploit the space behind by making forward runs. • If defenders hold their position, the striker links play and helps progress the attack into the final third. • The aim is to progress the ball effectively into the attacking third and create goal-scoring opportunities. • The team in possession retains the ball within structured build-up play while the defending team looks to press and recover possession.