mark sampson

HEAD COACH england women’s national team

Attacking The key elements

of the session:
• Positioning

in a 4-4-2 • Passing
• Support

diamond
Overview
The objective of this practice
is to educate players in the
principles of attacking when “Theplayerin
setting up tactically in a 4-4-2 possessionis
diamond. Specifically, this
means creating different encouraged
lines of passing for the player tobeawareof
in possession, as well as
exploring the decisive factors thepositionof
that dictate the choice of pass. his/herteam
It’s important to practise this
with the England national matesand
women’s football team opponents
because although our
principles of play remain the before
same no matter where we
are on the field, the midfield
selectingthe
diamond represents one of rightpassfor
the four key tactical structures
we adopt as a team, such is its
theteam.”
perceived importance in the
modern game.
This and other practices aim
to help further the players’
understanding of our core
principles as well as teaching
them the key tactical team
movements within the
diamond itself.
As a result, we have developed
an engaging practice that
moves quickly and offers
maximum ‘take out’ for
players.

SET-UP
Area
Up to 72x44 yards
Equipment
Balls, cones, goals
Session time
48mins

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mark sampson england women’s national team
Attacking in a 4-4-2 diamond
Key

What do I get the players to do? Ball

movement
Player
movement
We begin in a 30x25-yard area. Dribble

Players are split into three teams

of four with two acting as common
players who only play for the team
in possession. One team of four
sets up with two players on each
end line (to help the players relate
the practice to the match as these
would be the central defenders
and strikers). A 4v4 situation now
occurs inside the rectangle with
both teams working in a diamond
formation, with the common
players on the sides representing
full-backs. 30
The objective of the practice is for 25
teams to work the ball from end to
end with a point being scored each Reds begin by working the ball from
one end of the practice to the other
time this is achieved.
Players on the outside are able to
pass to each other but can also be
tackled. The only condition at the
start of the practice is that these
outside players are limited to two
touches of the ball. The normal
‘work to rest’ ratio is 1:1 with a
working time of two minutes and
recovery time of two minutes (six
sets).
The four players on the outside
would then swap with a team in the
middle with the common players
remaining on the side.
What are the key things to look
for technically/tactically?
The first thing we look for is the
positioning of the players so they 30
25

are not on the same horizontal or

vertical line as any of their team
mates. This automatically creates Upon making it to a target yellow
player the passing plan see the ball
a number of different passing lines return in the opposite direction
for the player in possession.
Players need to constantly scan the
pitch to be aware of their position
in relation to what’s happening
on the ball (whether pressure or
no pressure), the position of their
team mates and position of the
opponents.
We encourage team mates to
provide the player in possession
with various types of support: a
team mate who has come off an
opponent to offer a short pass, 10
moving in between opponents to
offer a more penetrative pass, and
moving in behind opponents to
offer a longer pass.
30
Other supporting players would
adjust their position based on this
movement, what is happening Adding scoring zones and goals
25

offers players a further dimension

on the ball and the positions of
opponents. 10

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mark sampson england women’s national team
Attacking in a 4-4-2 diamond

The player in possession is Key

Ball
movement
encouraged to be aware of the Player
movement
position of his/her team mates and Dribble

opponents before selecting the

right pass for the team.
How do I progress the session?
B
As an initial progression, we restrict
players in the middle to only one A
touch of the ball. To enhance the
challenge further, for a goal to 18
count the end player receiving the
ball must play a successful pass
one-touch to a supporting player A 18
inside the rectangle.
Next, we can add goals 10 yards B 18
behind each end line to give the
In the main small-sided game, the
44
forward the option of moving in
red team are seen here building
behind to score , with the end line
then acting as an offside line.
18 from their keeper

How would I put this into a

game situation?
We’d set up a small-sided game
played on a pitch the size of two
penalty boxes, with an area the size
of a penalty area behind each goal.
The game is 8v8 with two players
from each team on the opponent’s
goal line either side of the post B
(acting as strikers). There are two
common players, one on each
side (acting as full-backs) and four
A
keepers (one in each goal).
18
The remaining six players are set
up into a 2-4 formation with the
two players at the back (acting as A 18
centre-backs) and the four players
in midfield (as a diamond set-up).
Teams can score in either of the B 18
two goals their team is attacking.
44

Here, they combine with a ‘common

Strikers are limited to one touch player’ to score in goal A
when playing to a team mate, or can 18
take more touches if they decide to
attempt to score in goal B.
We won’t play offside unless the
striker wishes to receive a pass
then move towards goal B - he/she
would need to move onto the pitch
to an onside position to then attack
the goal. If the striker decides to
attempt to score in goal B his/her
strike partner can support with two B
players from the middle section,
but two defenders can recover also. A
There are no throw-ins or corners –
the ball would always start with the 18
keeper in goal A. We would play this
match with a ‘work to rest’ ratio of
six minutes play with two minutes A 18
recovery (three sets).
B 18
44

In this example, the decision is made

to break the line and go for goal B
18

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