Progressive Overloads: 1v0 to 3v3

This finishing game grows by one player at a time. The area is 25 m wide and 30 m long in front of a full-size goal with a keeper, with a mini-goal in each far corner. Six players line up on a start line near the far end, the two teams alternating, each with a ball.

The first player comes on and goes 1v0 against the keeper. As soon as a goal is scored or the ball leaves the area, the next player comes on with his ball and his team attacks: 1v1, then 2v1, 2v2, 3v2 and 3v3. Nobody goes off, so every phase starts with the players already on the field still in the positions the last phase left them, and the defenders are often out of shape. With the order alternating, one team gets the overloads (1v0, 2v1, 3v2) and the other gets the even games (1v1, 2v2, 3v3). Swap the order on the next round.

For the attackers, the first job is to count. In an overload, go fast: carry the ball at a defender, make him commit, then play the free player before the cover can shift. In an even game, the player on the ball has to beat his man or combine to create the extra player. Supporting players give width or a run in behind, staying level with the last defender until the pass is played, and finishes go across the keeper.

For the defenders, it is about delaying and reading the moment. Show the ball carrier away from goal, buy time for help to arrive, and step in when a touch is heavy. When they win it, the mini-goals are right there: counter at once while the attackers are still committed. That makes the attackers react the moment they lose it, which is the transition habit the game is built to train.