Passing and receiving session: passing to penetrate

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Jan 26, 2026

Session intentions

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

This session will help players:

develop understanding on penetrative passes
look at the timing and techniques for when these passes can be made
consider how penetrative passes can help them score goals.

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.

40x30-yard pitch

11 players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Spots/flat markers

Bibs

Passing to penetrate

Passing gates: For this activity, set up an 20x15 yard area with two gates across the middle and a mini-goal at each end. Teams have their own half, and one starts with the ball. They pass it between themselves before passing through a gate to the other team.
Progress the activity by adding competition. Teams score one point if their pass through a gate goes beyond the end line, and multiple points if they can pass into the opposition’s mini-goal. This gets teams to start thinking about how to play a through-ball beyond defenders.
Breaking the line: On the same pitches, have two attackers and one defender in each half. But adjust the teams and pitches to match your numbers. In this practice, attackers combine to beat the press and pass to the attackers in the other half. They get a point each time they successfully do this.
Defenders always have one screening on the halfway line with the other defender going to press. They swap roles when the ball goes into the other half. If the defenders win the ball, they try to score in a mini-goal.
Table football: Split your whole area into thirds and have a goal at each end. Players are assigned a third and locked into them. The aim is to work the ball through the thirds to get it to a forward who tries to score.

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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:

increase the size of the gates in the 'Gate game'
allow an extra player in each half during 'Breaking the line'
use a bigger pitch for the 'Table football' game to make it easier to pass and receive.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

challenge players to make a first-time pass through a gate in the arrival activity, or add a touch restriction for when the players receive the ball
add in incentives during 'Breaking the line' to encourage players to wait for the right moment to break the line, for example, earn an extra point for making three passes first
use a smaller pitch for the 'Table football' game to challenge players to pass and receive in tighter areas, or add in more channels to restrict players’ movement.

Coaching points

Get your players to think about the timing of their passes.

Encourage your players to think about how you can help other players to pass forward with the previous pass or movement.

Explore how to best use body shape and receiving angles to play forward.

Use the right terminology for your players to encourage them to scan and pick their next pass. Reminding them to “keep the ball away from the fire” can be a good phrase for young players. It encourages them to see where the danger is (opponents) and make a good pass selection to beat the press.