Positional Game: Five Vertical Lanes
A possession game on a pitch split into five vertical lanes. No more than two attackers in the same lane and never two on the same line, so players learn to occupy width and the half-spaces.
- Age
- U15–Senior
- Players
- 14–18
- Duration
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Intensity
- Medium
- Area
- 50 × 40 m
- Type
- Tactical
- Approach
- Global
- Format
- Positional game
- Objectives
- Tactical: Build-up play, Ball possession, Combination play
- Concepts worked on
Training diagram
Legend
- Attacker
- Defender
- Pass
- Ball
- Cone
Good positional play gives the carrier options at different heights and in different lanes. The lane rule stops players crowding the ball and forces the team to keep width with the wingers and to occupy the half-spaces between the defenders' lines.
Objective
Occupy the lanes and heights correctly to create passing options and break lines.
Organisation
- Area of 50 × 40 m divided into five 8 m lanes. Six attackers (one starting player behind) against five defenders.
How it works
- Attackers score a point by playing a pass into a player who receives between the defenders' lines in a half-space lane.
- Rule: max. two attackers per lane, never at the same height.
- Defenders score by winning the ball and dribbling out of the area. 4 × 4 minutes.
Coaching points
- Wide lanes: stay wide and high to stretch the defence.
- Half-space lanes: receive half-turned between the lines.
- When a teammate enters your lane, change lane or height.
Progressions
- Two touches.
- A point only counts if followed by a pass forward.
Regressions
- Four defenders (6v4).
Variations
- Add two goals at the end for a finish after the line-breaking pass.
Key principles
- Occupy the space, not the ball.
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