Passing and receiving session: combinations to play forward

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Feb 2, 2026

Session intentions

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

This session will help players:

play progressive, forward passes
consider weight and direction of pass to create goal scoring opportunities.

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 and alter training plans accordingly.

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.

35x25-yard pitch

13 players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Spots/flat markers

Bibs

Combinations to play forward

Set-up zones: Create a 25x20 yard pitch with goals and an end zone at each end. Split your players into two teams. Each team has two target players in one of the end zones. Teams combine to pass to their target players. After receiving a pass, target players turn and score unopposed.
Through the gates: Using cones, place loads of ‘gates’ around your pitch. Vary the size and angle of the gates. Split players into pairs or threes. Challenge them to pass through the gates to a teammate using different techniques. Players move around the area to pass through different gates.
Set-up zones: Return to the original practice but this time, add goalkeepers. If players need a further challenge, add a defender in the end zones, too.

0/0

On the pitch

Looking for a bit more detail? Check out this video to see what it can look like on the pitch.

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 gates bigger in ‘Through the gates’ and space them out to make it easier for players to pass and move
add in neutral players in wide areas to help the in possession team combine to play forward.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

allow defenders in the end zones so the target players have to receive under pressure in ‘Set-up zones’
assign a scoring system to the gates or give each team ‘home gates’ to protect from other teams
use the offside rule when returning to the main game at the end if you're working with U11s.

Coaching points

Get your players to consider techniques and the weight of pass.

Support players to have a positive first touch to help the next move.

Ask players to think about their positioning in ‘Through the gates’. If the receiver stands a bit behind a gate, rather than in it, it will encourage the passer to play a longer pass.

To keep the intensity high, challenge players to not let the ball stop.

Whole-part-whole session allows for players to work on key areas, so keep an eye out in the first section for what they may need to work on in the technical practice.