Intercepting session: table football

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Jun 23, 2025

Session intentions

This is week four of the marking and intercepting session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session will help players:

become positive and enthusiastic defenders
understand what intercepting is
work on their positioning
read the game and anticipate where the ball may go.

If you're short on time, this structured training programme can be used as it is. Pitch sizes in this programme are shown as how long the pitch is x how wide it is, but these are just suggestions.

To make the programme more effective, adapt it to suit your players, your numbers and the space you have. If you want to skip, repeat or amend these sessions – that's fine. It’s up to you how you use this resource.

If you like this idea, download the session plan 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.

If you’re coaching U7s, please note that from the 2026-27 season, changes will be made to the formats to improve the experience young players get across the country. Check out the Future Fit digital content hub to find out more.

Session setup

In our example, this is what we’ve used to set up this session. But adapt it to suit your team and the space available to you.

Quarter of a pitch

12 players

Goals

Flat cones

Bibs

Table football

Create parallel 15x10-yard pitches with end zones for 3v3 table football. Have a 2v2 in the middle with each team having a target player in their own end zone. Teams aim to get the ball to their target player for a point. If this happens, the opposition restart the game with the ball.
Create a 30x20-yard area with end zones at each end and a zone in the middle. Two interceptors start in the middle zone. A passer starts in each area between the zones. Passers aim to pass to each other without the ball being intercepted. They score a point for every ten successful passes.
If an interceptor cuts out a pass they get a point, but they can also break out to create a 1v1. If they manage to get to the end zone with the ball, they score two points and the teams swap roles. You can also change the teams around so players experience facing others.
Create a pitch that’s split into thirds and has a goal and keepers at each end. Have two defenders and an attacker in each final third, and a 2v2 in the middle. Players are locked into their thirds. Teams aim to play through the thirds to create a chance for their attacker to score.

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Tactics board

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out Loz's tactics board video for this session.

Make it easier

Using the STEP framework (Youth Sports Trust, 2002) can help keep things fun, engaging, and appropriate.

To make this session easier, you could:

make the table football pitch smaller to give defenders a greater chance of intercepting a pass
add another interceptor in the middle zone during the second activity
allow the attacker in the final third of the last activity, to drop into the middle zone to create a 3v2 when defending.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

make the table football to make it increase the challenge for defenders
only have one interceptor in the middle zone during the second practice
allow the player that’s passed the ball to their attacker to join them in the final third during the last practice.

Coaching points

Encourage players to constantly scan the pitch to be aware of the positions and movements of both their teammates and opponents. This helps them anticipate passes and be ready to intercept.

Teach players to position themselves between the ball or the player they’re marking and the goal. Their body should be oriented in a way that allows them to quickly move towards the ball but also be aware of the goal they’re protecting.

Ask players to think about the timing of their movement. This is vital for intercepting. They need to consider not moving too early to encourage more dangerous passes. But if they move too late, they may not be able to get to the ball.

Encourage players to look up and assess their options once they’ve intercepted the ball. Whether it’s passing to a teammate, driving forward or even clearing the ball, players need to quickly decide what to do next.