An end-to-end game to teach your midfielders how to pick up the ball and drive forward with it, creating attacking openings for the team in the final third of the pitch.
The midfield players run this game. They must be the creative ones who receive the ball in all areas of the pitch and, either through team play or individual skill, get it into the attacking third.
Set up an area of 50x40 yards with a goal at each end. Split the area into three zones: two end zones of 20 yards and a middle zone of 10 yards. You need bibs, cones and balls.
This is an 8v8 game, with three defenders and a keeper in the back zone, two midfielders in the middle zone and two players in the attacking zone. Defending and attacking players are locked in, but midfielders are free and must press the opposition to win the ball and move it into the attacking zone. They should work through the three zones, always aiming to take the ball forwards.
Midfielders should be in a position to see the ball and both goals. This helps them make forward moves on and off the ball to get their team moving in the right direction. In counterattacking situations the midfielder should turn and go with the ball, catching the opposition on the back foot.
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