Possession drills for 5v5

Below three a side the game stops containing football. Three is where width, depth and a genuine passing triangle first become possible.

The game the youngest players should play: 4v4, small goals, no keepers. Everyone attacks and defends, nobody hides, and touches go through the roof.

A pass count forces patience and manufactures pointless sideways passes to reach the number. Use it to fix one problem, then take it off.

A directional build-up game from the goalkeeper. Five against three pressers, progressing through target gates: invite the press, then break the line.

The retreat line hands young teams a few unpressured seconds every goal kick. This conditioned 5v5 makes them use it instead of kicking it long.

An extra man guarantees somebody is free and guarantees nothing else. The three defending the overload are getting the harder lesson.

Seeing out a win is under-coached and genuinely contested. Decide where you stand before you run it, because the players will ask.