Players should use the outside of the foot to dribble so that the player can keep the ball away from the defender and make it difficult to steal the ball. To attack the goal in 1v1s the attacker must use skills and creativity to get past the defender and attack the goal. The defender's focus should be on the ball not on what the attacker is doing Once they have beaten the defender it is good practice to get players to look up and see where the goalkeeper is and shoot in the part of the goal furthest from the keeper Attackers should protect the ball using the foot furthest from the defender putting his/her body When the opponent is defending up close, the attacking player should protect the ball with the foot furthest from the defender and use his body to block off the defender.

Defend from Behind

Difficulty

Written by Dave Clarke

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1v1 is one of the key battles you will see in any youth soccer match and success in these battles are key to winning games

Coaching Objectives

In these 1v1 drills the defender must react to the movement of the attacker and try to anticipate which way the player will go, trying to stop the attacker scoring.

Drill Setup

15 Mins
7 Players
1 Goals
30 x 30 y

What the Players Do

Set up with defending players at cones 2 and 3 next to the goal and attacker 1 outside the penalty area. The goalkeeper starts the session with a pass to the attacker who goes against defender 3. Once…

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