2v1 & 3v2 Attacking Overlaps

This 2v1 & 3v2 attacking overlaps exercise is the perfect way to have your team work on the combinations and movement required to create chances and score goals in games. Again, because this is such an important part of the game, it is essential that you work on it regularly during training.

There is versatility in terms of player starting positions and the starting position of the ball, as well as the size of the space, all of which impact how the play potentially progresses.

This example is 20 yards wide and 35 yards long and we’ll begin with the 3v2 setup (3 attackers, 2 defenders). The play can begin from any of the three attacking players or the ball can be passed in by the coach or another player to kick off the move. You should vary this to keep your players challenged and engaged.

In this example, we have 4 defenders. Two are involved for a couple of plays and each play runs until the ball goes out or a goal is scored. After a couple of plays, you can rotate the defenders. If the defenders win possession, you can have them either clear the ball to target players or introduce mini goals that they can potentially score in.

Run the exercise for around 4 minutes and then rotate the group of defensive players. You can go longer than 4 minutes if you wish but this time limit means you can push players to really play at high intensity as it’s only a short period.

To make the attacking team play quicker and more direct, you can add a time limit for them to score, 10-15 seconds for example. This way they have to go quickly to goal before the time runs out. If you want to be really strict with the offside line, have one of your players or assistant coach call offside.

Encourage your players to make overlaps and diagonal runs so that they are not simply a predictable line of 3 attacking players.

For the 2v1 version, the size and space setup in this example is the same. To encourage overlapping runs, you can make an overlap mandatory for each play, as you see in this example. It automatically speeds up the attacking play and makes it difficult for the defender.

For the player in possession, they should run at the defender at speed and make them commit either to a potential tackle or to tracking the overlapping player. If the defender tracks the overlapping player, the player in possession drives to goal. If the defender attempts to engage the player in possession, they make use of the overlapping player. It is a simple concept but hugely effective in games if you can get your players used to doing it.

This is another exercise that your players will love and it should be one that you use regularly during training sessions.

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