Pressing and covering session: pressing for glory

Session

England Football Learning

2 mins - Mar 2, 2026

Session intentions

This is week two of the press and cover to defend programme. Check out the whole six-week programme here.

This session will help players:

press with intensity in the final third
work in units and as a team to win the ball back quickly
identify and react to triggers from the opposition and teammates.

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.

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.

44x30-yard pitch

11-12 players

Mini-goals

Flat cones

Spots/flat markers

Bibs

Week two: pressing for glory

Small-sided games: Create appropriately sized parallel pitches for the numbers you have and split them into thirds. Players take part as they arrive. Progress this arrival activity by adding the following challenge: if teams win the ball in their attacking third and score, they get three goals.
1v1 duels: Both players put down a starting cone and a cone either side of it. One player starts as an attacker and the other as a defender. The aim is to get past the opponent and dribble to one of their cones. Reaching their starting cone is worth three points. The side cones are worth one point.
The defender passes the ball to the attacker to start. The defender aims to win the ball or stop their opponent from reaching the three-point cone. If the defender wins the ball, they try to get to a cone. And if they succeed in doing that, they defend again. If the attacker wins, they swap roles.
Press for success: Split your whole pitch into thirds with a goal at each end. If a team wins the ball in their own defensive third and scores, they get one point. If they do that in the middle third, they get two points. If they do that in the attacking third, they get three points.

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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:

make the areas smaller in 1v1 duels so players find it easier to press
add a rule where the in-possession team must play through each third before scoring to increase opportunities to press during defend for glory.

Make it harder

To make this session harder, you could:

make the areas bigger in 1v1 duels so defenders have more space to cover when pressing
give teams a time limit to win the ball back when they lose possession, increasing the physical demands on them and the urgency of the press.

Coaching points

Ensure that your players always look to stop the opponent from playing forward. They should try to force the opposition into playing the ball backwards or sideways.

Encourage your players to look for triggers to press. If the opponent is facing their own goal, takes a heavy touch, or is going to receive a longer, slower, pass, players should try to press. It can help force their opponent backwards or help them win the ball back.

Ask players to consider when they should press and when it’s wise to offer cover. If two defenders jump in to press at the same time, the attacker could play it round them. But if one presses and one picks up a good covering position, they can defend more effectively.