Pressing Triggers: 6v4 Build-Up vs Press
A goalkeeper and five players try to build up and dribble through a gate, while four pressers wait for a trigger — a pass to the full-back, a back pass or a bad touch — to press together.
- Age
- U13–Senior
- Players
- 11–14
- Duration
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Intensity
- High
- Area
- 40 × 50 m
- Type
- Tactical
- Approach
- Global
- Format
- Positional game
- Objectives
- Tactical: Pressing, Defensive organisation, Build-up play
- Concepts worked on
- Tactical:Build-upPressingCompactnessCover
Training diagram
Legend
- Attacker
- Defender
- Goalkeeper
- Pass
- Run without ball
- Ball
- Cone
- Goal
Pressing works when the whole unit goes at the same moment. This exercise teaches the four front players to recognise pressing triggers and jump together, using the touchline as an extra defender. The build-up team, meanwhile, practises playing out under pressure. Freeze the game early on to show the trigger and each player's job.
Objective
Press as a unit on agreed triggers, close the passing lanes around the ball and win it high up the pitch.
Organisation
- 40 × 50 m area: goal with goalkeeper at one end, two 4 m cone gates on the far line.
- Build-up team: goalkeeper, two centre-backs, two full-backs and a midfielder.
- Pressing team: two forwards and two wingers.
How it works
- Every attack starts with the goalkeeper.
- The build-up team scores by dribbling through one of the gates.
- The pressing team scores in the goal after winning the ball.
- Agreed triggers: a pass to a full-back near the touchline, a back pass to the goalkeeper, a poor touch or a player receiving facing their own goal.
- 4 × 5 minutes. Swap the pressing team after two sets.
Coaching points
- Before the trigger: stay compact and curve your runs to block passes inside.
- On the trigger: the nearest presser sprints, the others move at the same time to cut the nearest options.
- Use the touchline: press the full-back from the inside so the only way out is down the line.
- Forward on the far side covers the pass back to the other centre-back.
- If the press is broken, recover behind the ball immediately.
Progressions
- Add a fifth presser (a midfielder) to mark the build-up midfielder.
- The build-up team scores by passing into a target player instead of dribbling.
Regressions
- Only one trigger: the pass to the full-back.
- Build-up team limited to two touches.
Variations
- Mid-block version: pressers cannot press until the ball crosses a line 30 m from goal.
Key principles
- Press together or not at all.
- Cut lanes, then press the ball.
- Use the touchline.
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