Combination play on the flanks and half-spaces

With defensive blocks becoming increasingly compact in central areas, coaches often prioritize breaking down the opponent through the flanks. However, coaches and players frequently face three main challenges :

1) Forcing Play on the Flank: Before attempting to breakdown the opponent, it's essential to first create time and space in the desired flank. So, before working on combined play on the flanks, two key principles must be introduced:

• Drawing the opposing team to the center to free up space on the flanks.
• Drawing the opposing team to one side to switch play to the opposite flank.

2) Lack of Collective References : Difficulties in coordination often arise when creating overloads or numerical superiority on the flanks. Having an extra player or a positional advantage does not always lead to a successful cross or shot.

3) Low Conversion Rate from Crosses : As noted by statistical analysis organizations, the average conversion rate from crosses is often below 5%. This means that only a small proportion of crosses lead directly to a goal. The effectiveness of a cross depends on its point of origin. The half-spaces and crosses close to the byline should be prioritized because they are often the most effective positions.

The goal of the combination play approach that I will present in this article is to find a player capable of creating (crossing, shooting, or combining) from a half-space.

CONTEXT AND ELEMENTS WITHIN THE GAME MODEL

I’ve chosen to work in a 1-4-3-3 with a single pivot (defensive midfielder), high-positioned central midfielders, and very wide wingers. The key relationship to develop is between the full-back, central midfielder, and winger.
 

Different options for creating play in half-spaces are possible:
 

Option 1: Find the central midfielder in the half-space. After locating the wide winger (who is being closed down), they can pass to the central midfielder making a run into the half-space. Alternatively, they can play it back to the full-back or pivot, who can then find the central midfielder with the next pass.

Option 2: Find the full-back in the half-space. Using an underlap run, the full-back looks to be found in the half-space, allowing them to continue the attack in advanced areas.

Option 3: Find the winger in the half-space. Often the player best suited for decisive action in the final third, the winger must look to position themselves between the opponent’s full-back and center-back and request the ball in the half-space.

TECHNICAL-TACTICAL DRILLS: BUILDING COLLECTIVE REFERENCES

To begin, players are placed in a restricted or semi-restricted context (reduced uncertainty) to build clear references for the scenarios mentioned earlier. The three options are practiced in the form of passing patterns, with isolated defenders marking players who are less directly involved in the pattern (for example, central defenders being pressed or attackers preparing to finish from crosses). Training constraints (cones or markers) are used to highlight the half-space that players should aim for. It's also important to cut off the field corners to influence the final pass and runs.

TECHNICAL-TACTICAL SITUATIONS: TESTING COLLECTIVE REFERENCES

Once references are installed and built, it's important to test and manipulate them. The objective of these situations is to put into practice what has been learned and encourage the right decisions based on the positions of opposing defenders.

For this reason, a restricted situation is used, where the coach controls the behavior of the defenders to influence the choices made by attacking players. For example, the coach can set the defenders' starting positions and give them specific instructions on how to behave after the first pass. Gradually, the defenders are given more autonomy, encouraging players to transition toward free play.

• The game starts with the coach (or an outside player) passing to either the winger, the central midfielder, or the full-back (the coach determines this at first). The opposing wingers (red) begin moving as soon as the ball is in play.
• Each time, the coach assigns a specific defensive behavior to the defenders so that the attacking players (blue) must adapt and try to score (3 points).
• If the defenders win the ball, they aim to score in mini goals, earning 1 point.
   

GAME: APPLYING AND EXPLOITING THE COLLECTIVE REFERENCES

To maximize the use of combined play on the flanks, a game with two objectives is put in place:

• The red team is positioned in a 1-4-4-2 diamond in the defensive phase. Their aim is to stay as compact as possible in the middle of the field and seek quick vertical transitions after winning the ball.
• The blue team is positioned in a 1-4-3-3 with a single pivot in the attacking phase. Their goal is to breakdown the red team through flank play, using possession-based movement.

The two objectives within the game are to get the blue team to work on creating width. The 1-4-4-2 diamond is a system that struggles to defend the flanks due to the presence of four central midfielders. Additional constraints will encourage the red team to prioritize defending the middle of the field, which in turn will reduce their ability to defend the flanks. This creates overloads and increases the frequency of the passing patterns practiced earlier.

• The field is divided into three channels. The red team can defend only two of the three channels at a time, with a maximum of three players defending in a single channel.
• In return, the red team earns 2 points if they score on a transition (within 7 seconds). The goal is to encourage them to play quickly and, by extension, give the blue team as much possession as possible.
   

CONCLUSION

The goal of this article is not to provide a protocol or step-by-step recipe, but rather to present a multi-step method for solving a tactical problem.

• Step 1: Define objectives for the principles that have been working on and establish a precise animation within the game model. Link interdependent principles (e.g., drawing and switch play).
• Step 2: Create technical-tactical drills that offer clear references for players and introducing passing patterns is an essential first step to introduce something new.
• Step 3: Solidify the collective references. Game situations serve as a good transition from the drill (passing patterns) to the game because they gradually increase the number of decisions players must make.
• Step 4: Full-Game Application. The final step is to end with a game. This stage is essential for linking everything that was worked on in previous stages and preparing players to execute in a real match context.