Finishing session: techniques to score

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Apr 27, 2026

Session intentions

This is week three of the receiving and finishing to score session programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session will help players:

learn a variety of finishes to score
improve their confidence in using these finishes.

If you're short on time, this programme can be used as it is. But it’s a template you can build on. So, to make the session or programme more effective, adapt it to suit your players and their needs, as well as the numbers and space you have. If you want to skip, repeat or amend individual practices or the whole session – that's fine. It’s up to you how you use this resource.

Any pitch sizes in this programme are shown as how long the pitch is x how wide it is, but these are just suggestions.

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 and alter training plans accordingly.

Session setup

Here’s an example setup for this session. But adapt it to suit your team and the space available to you.

Third of a pitch

6-18 players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Spots/flat markers

Bibs

Techniques to score

Through the gates: Set up a large area and fill it with different sized gates. Players work in pairs to pass and receive through as many gates as they can in a set time. To progress this activity, add competition by using a scoring system for each size gate and seeing which pair got the most points.
Finishing carousel: For the remainder of the session, use a carousel approach with three 2v2 pitches. Explain the rules of each pitch to the whole group. Divide into teams and remember to rotate players every few minutes.
Pitch one: Create a diamond area with a goal at each end for this 2v2 practice. Put three footballs in each goal and start with one ball in the middle. Teams aim to empty their net before the other team by scoring. If a team scores, they grab a ball from their own net and start the game again.
Pitch two: Create an area with a goal in an end zone on both ends – place cones and footballs at the side. Two defenders start on their end line. They pass to the attackers who are in their own zone. When the pass is made, the defenders can press. Attackers can only shoot when out of their zone.
If the attackers score, or the ball goes out, the defenders need to run around the cones and back onto the pitch, while the attackers grab another ball and start an attack. Play two rounds then swap roles.
Pitch three: Set up a pitch with a goal at each end and a halfway line. Have two defenders at one end and two attackers at the other. A defender passes to an attacker to start the 1v1. The attacker can’t shoot from their own half. If a goal is scored, or the ball goes out, the next pair have a go.

0/0

On the pitch

Wondering what this could look like? Check out the video to see how a coach took this session idea and adapted it for a group of players.

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:

space out the cones in the ‘through the gates’ arrival activity.
allow attackers to shoot from anywhere on pitch three during the finishing carousel.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

introduce passive defenders to add interference in the ‘through the gates’ arrival activity.
play around with the area sizes of your pitches. If players are technically capable, make them smaller to force quicker decision-making and tighter control. If players are scoring too easily, make the pitch longer to encourage more combinations before a shot on goal.