Tactics / Pressing
Press the throw-in
When they throw it in, we mark every short option tightly and use the touchline as an extra defender. A short throw is a chance to win it; a long one is often a loose ball.
Why it works
The player who receives a throw usually has their back to play and the touchline on one side. If every short option is marked goal-side, the thrower has nowhere easy to go, and a throw is one of the few times we know exactly where the ball will start.
What players do
- Mark every short option, goal-side and close.
- One player stands in front of the thrower, at least 2 m away, to block the throw down the line.
- There is no offside from a throw-in, so keep an eye on runners behind you.
- As the throw goes in, the nearest two close the receiver against the touchline.
- Players on the far side move across to cut off the switch.
Common mistakes
- Standing closer than 2 m to the thrower: under Law 15 that is a caution.
- Marking in front of players, so a throw over the top finds them.
- Everyone watching the thrower instead of their own player.
With young players
In 5v5 and 7v7 the restart is a pass-in or dribble-in, not a throw, but the idea is the same: mark the short options and stand the distance the rules ask.
Drawn on a 105 × 68 m pitch, showing the part where it happens. Orange attacks left to right and the other team is in blue; numbers are the usual shirt numbers for each position.
Put it into your own team's plan in the team builder, and see what it asks of each player.
What it asks of each player
The same idea, from every line of the team. Set it up for your own team in the team builder.
- GKGoalkeeper
- Come off your line a little: a long throw down the line may need sweeping up.
Position guide: Goalkeeper
- DEFDefenders
- Full-back: mark the throw down the line. Centre-backs: stay with their striker, there is no offside.
Position guide: Centre-back · Full-back
- MIDMidfielders
- Mark the short options goal-side, and close in together when it is thrown.
Position guide: Holding midfielder · Central midfielder · Attacking midfielder
- ATT
Practices that train it
Start with the first, and build up to the game.
defending · 18 min · 8 to 14
Win it high
A small-sided game where a goal scored within ten seconds of winning the ball in the attacking third counts triple. It rewards pressing together.
defending · 12 min · Pairs, any number
Defend the gate
The defender learns to close down fast, slow down, and stop the attacker getting through a gate.
defending · 10 min · Just you
Close down and jockey
Sprint out to a ball, brake with short steps, arrive side-on an arm's length away, then back off slowly showing it to one side. The footwork for pressing and for defending one against one.