Defending Outnumbered - Key Points & Considerations

Each session within these pages contains individual coaching points relevant to that specific session. The below are general, defending (outnumbered) coaching points, presented in line with the FA's 4 Corner model.

A couple of key points:

When defending outnumbered, your first job as the outnumbered defender is to hold up the play (delay) and give your team mates time to recover and allow us to defend matched up.
Positioning is key - if you're one defender on your own, you can't go to the ball or the player will pass. You can't mark the other attacker(s) as the player on the ball will just dribble through and shoot. Your position needs to make it hard for the player on the ball to get a shot on target AND give you a good chance of getting across to stop a shot from any player he/she might pass to. Often there isn't a perfect solution - you are trying to deny the opposition a blatant chance to score until your team mates get back.
Recovery players HAVE to make the effort to get back and help or you're going to have some very demoralised defenders.

Defending Outnumbered (FA's 4 Corners)

Technical	Psychological
Delay - can you delay the opposition to give your team mates a chance to recover and help you? Body shape - don't get caught "flat" - stay side on, able to move backwards with the play whilst still watching what's ahead of you. Show the attackers into wide areas if you can. Don't dive in - if you do then the attacker can just pass to their team mate. Only look to win the ball if you're sure you can. Deny - your position should deny the player with the ball a direct shot at goal, whilst also giving you a chance to get across and do the same if the ball is passed to another attacker. In a 1v2, can you take up a position where you can block the goal and still see both opposition players? Keep the play in front of you. Angle and speed of recovery run, plus the position the recovery player takes up. Tackling skills - once your team mate has recovered or if you get an obvious opportunity to tackle.	Individual decision making - recognise when to hold the play up and let our team mates recover and when we really do have to do it all on our own! Communication between players (goalkeeper can help the defender with their positioning for example) Concentration - defending effectively requires enormous concentration - if outnumbered, positioning is key and requires concentration. Awareness of where the danger is (runs from opponents off the ball, the player with the ball, where the space is etc.) Mental recovery skills - a defensive mistake can lead to a goal, own goal or penalty conceded. How do you help your players bounce back from these situations?
Physical	Social
Speed and fitness to keep pace with attackers or to recover (recovery runs are hard work!) Balance & agility to tackle, recover and block	Working as a team Encouraging team mates to be work hard and not blaming others for mistakes. Communication Have fun!

Considerations for Setting Up Defending Outnumbered Sessions

A few things to think about for any defending outnumbered session...

Size and shape of area - if you're just working on the skills of the outnumbered defender then a small area where you can play 2v1 is fine, but the exact size will depend on the age, ability and confidence of the players. If you are working on recovery runs, you'll need to use a long area that allows realism - if the recovery player gets back too quickly, the outnumbered defender will never get the chance to practice their defensive skills when up against an overload.
The make up of the teams / groups - keep an eye on whether one player or group are consistently having a tough time and adapt accordingly.
Avoiding queues and lines - this goes for virtually any kind of session, especially in cold weather and especially for younger players.
Developing everyone - are you trying to develop everyone equally on this topic...? If so, go with rotation of roles (probably more at the younger age groups) or are you trying to develop patterns of play with specific groups of players to whom those patterns are relevant (perhaps more with older players)?
Make things game realistic - having players practise the techniques involved in defending outnumbered on a small scale is useful to introducing the topic and building an understanding of what's involved, but on match day they will have the chaos of a real match to deal with. They may end up outnumbered in 1v3 situations or even 1v4. Mixing up the practices and giving them a chance to experience being outnumbered in a game-like scenario is going to give them a much better chance of being able to cope on game day.