Progressive Attacking Drill | From 1v0 to 4v4

Overview

• Run this with a group of 10 players
• Field size is roughly 40m x 36m
• Split into attackers and defenders and crank up the difficulty stage by stage

Objectives

• Sharpen the reads your players make when building an attack
• Learn how to move with a numbers advantage and how to actually cash it in
• Get your players playing accurately under pressure
• Speed up their decisions and put more shots away

Setup

This drill starts at 1v0 and adds defenders stage by stage, so the attacking problem gets tougher a little at a time.

1) Groups: 4 attackers, 4 defenders, and 2 subs

2) Phase 1 (1v0): One attacker on the ball. No defender — just play through to a shot. Check individual technique and finishing here

3) Phase 2 (2v1): Two attackers vs one defender. Use the extra man and combine with passing and movement to get a shot off

4) Phase 3 (2v2): Two attackers vs two defenders. Even numbers now — read it quick and break them down at a good tempo

5) Phase 4 (3v2): Three attackers vs two defenders. Use the numbers advantage to attack the space and move the ball forward fast

6) Phase 5 (3v3): Three attackers vs three defenders. Even numbers — get creative and make your own chances

7) Phase 6 (4v3): Four attackers vs three defenders. The key is reading how to squeeze the most out of the numbers advantage

8) Phase 7 (4v4): Four attackers vs four defenders. Everybody’s involved — play a balanced attack with all four in the game