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A player looks to get past an oncoming defender

Session programme

Session programme: press, tackle and cover

Session

England Football Learning

5 mins - Nov 4, 2024

Programme intentions

This six-week programme aims to help your players:

think about what to do before, during and after pressing or tackling
work on both individual and team actions of pressing and covering.

If you're short on time, this structured training programme can be used as is. But to make it more effective, adapt it to suit your players and the space you have.

If you like this idea, download the whole programme and give it a go. And don't forget to share your experience on the England Football Community. We'd love to know how you got on.

Week one: press, cover and balance

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Set up a pitch with footballs around the edge. Have four attackers and two defenders. The two attackers start at each end of the area, and two defenders in the middle.
The attacking team starts with the ball and tries to keep possession by passing it to one another. The defenders work together to press the player with the ball. They can intercept or force the attackers to kick the ball out of play, but they aren't allowed to make a tackle.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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Week two: press for success

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Use two pitches split into thirds with a goal and goalkeeper at each end. Scoring after winning the ball in the attacking third earns three goals. If there’s a goal or the ball goes out, play restarts from the goalkeeper, and the ball must be played to a player in their defensive third.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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Week three: pressing zones

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Two teams, including a goalkeeper, are on one pitch which is divided into nine even zones. The aim is to press and win back the ball. The number of players in the zone from the same team when the ball is won equals the number of goals the team gets if they then go on to score.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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Week four: challenge, recover and stop

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Split your area into four stations. Place a goal at the end of each one. At station one, create a gate away and to the side of the goal. Put a starter cone for the attacker further away from the gate. Next to this lay out three flat markers that get progressively closer to the goal.
The attacker starts with the ball and runs through the gate before trying to score. The defender starts on a flat marker of their choice and tries to catch the attacker before they can score.
At station two, set up a square with cones and a flat marker away from the goal. Both players start back-to-back at the marker. The attacker runs to the edge opposite the goal, the defender to the square's other side. The attacker tries to score and the defender aims to win the ball back in the box.
Station three is similar to station one, with two cones added closer to the goal. The attacker and defender start opposite each other on these added cones. The attacker aims to go through the gate before trying to score, while the defender runs to a chosen marker and turns to catch the attacker.
Station four is set up the same as station one. The difference is that this station should be set up so the attacker runs to a different side. If the attacker runs to the left in station one, they should run to the right in station four.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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Week five: small-sided duel

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Set up a small area. Put four cones down to create a diamond shape. A cone should be at the edge of each side. Place two mini-goals at both ends of the area.
The attacking team starts the game with the ball. They aim to score points by working the ball to any of the three cones across from them. Before scoring, they dribble to either of the side cones for one point or the far side for three. The defenders must stop the attacker from reaching the cone.
If the defenders win the ball back, the practice goes to a four-goal game. They can quickly counter to score in either of the opponent's mini-goals. If they lose the ball, the opposition counters to score in the mini-goals at the other end. Play until a goal is scored or the ball goes out of play.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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Week six: challenge, read and react

Set up three pitches for a small-sided game on each. On the first, winning the ball and scoring on the counter is worth three goals. On the second, winning the ball in the opponent's half and scoring is worth three goals. On the third, keeping a clean sheet is worth three goals.
Split players into pairs and set up small gates with cones. One player starts with the ball in their hands and passes to their partner across the gate. Then, the partner dribbles to a cone while the thrower attempts to get there first.
Pair up players and set small gates with cones. Each pair stands across from each other at a gate. One player throws the ball to their partner, who then tries to dribble around one of the cones. The player who threw the ball tries to stop their partner from getting around the cone.
In the longer area, the defender stays in the half closest to the end zone. The attackers line up outside the area. One attacker starts with the ball. The ball is played into the defender, and the attacker enters the opposite half. The defender then plays the ball back to the attacker.
The two players then have a 1v1. The attacker aims to get into the end zone. If the defender wins the ball, they must play it to the next attacker and the 1v1 repeats.
In the shorter area, the attacker starts with the ball, aiming to get into the end zone. If the defender wins the ball, they aim to take it out of the back of the end zone or over the front line.
Progress the session by setting up a pitch with goals at either end. Have a 5v5 with six neutral players outside the pitch who help the team in possession. Scoring a regular goal is worth one point. If the ball is regained and a goal is scored within four seconds, it is worth five points.
Mark out your pitch into even thirds. Play a regular game, but teams will be awarded goals depending on where they win the ball. Three points are awarded in the attacking third, two in the middle third, and one in the defensive third.

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