We start the new year with some fantastic 1 v 1 drills for strikers. The aim of these soccer drills are to improve your strikers capability to be more decisive and to learn the basic tactical principles of play.
For this we have set up a grid of 6 fields in the final third of the soccer field.
The areas within the grid are set-up that correspond to the attacking areas throughout the field’s final third (18 x 25 metres) each. In the following three exercises we will always have a regular goal with a goalkeeper. The striker always needs to beat the opponent before shooting.
To make this drill even more dynamic, if the defender wins the ball, he dribbles towards zone 14 and the striker has 6 seconds to recover the ball and strike again! You can also impliment additional time pressure for the striker to score a goal.
Striker Drill 1 v 1 diagonal pressure and striker with the ball
SEQUENCE
- The coach indicates the grid where the striker must run from (15 – A) to shift toward the center and take control of the ball.
- The defender in front of him (18 – B) must run diagonally to position himself beside the striker (1), and to counter him inside the goal’s zone and force him out of the goal space. The striker must be able to dribble the ball inside the same zone (2) and win the 1 v 1 duel to shoot on goal. He can do it in two ways:
Black arrow: beating on time and in space the defender to shot just inside the zone 17 (3), driving the ball toward the available space.
Red arrows: beating the defender with feints (4) before shooting on goal (5), if he is on the ball and he can cover the goal’s space.
COACHING POINTS FOR STRIKERS
- Dribble the ball maintaining it under control.
- Drive the ball away from the defender.
- Beat the opponent in time and space.
- Shot on goal quickly.
- Feint to escape the pressure.
Striker Drill 1 v 1 sideward pressure and striker with the ball
SEQUENCE
- The coach indicates the grid (13) where the striker must run toward (1 – A) to take control of the ball.
- The defenders (B, C, and D) are placed inside the three further zones of the space with a ball each.
- As the striker runs beside one of them (B), the defender touches the ball on his run direction (2) before tracking him along the goal side (3).
- The striker must dribble the ball inside the goal’s zone, win the 1 v 1 duel to shoot on goal. He can do it in two ways:
Black arrow: beating the opponent maintaining the ball under control with the outer foot and shooting toward the near post (4) or the further one with a crossed shot ( 4 – white arrow).
Red arrows: beating the defender with an inside feint (3) before shooting on goal (4) toward the further post (4 – 5), if the opponent is able to cover the goal’s space, at the beginning .
Note: if the striker must take control of the center ball, he must beat the defender on speed, time and space.
COACHING POINTS FOR STRIKERS
- Dribble the ball maintaining it under control under pressure with the outer foot.
- Position the body between the defender and the ball.
- Shot on goal as the defender leaves a pocket of space.
- Feint to escape the pressure with quick changes of direction.
Striker Drill 1 v 1 sideward pressure and the striker is without the ball at the beginning
SEQUENCE
- The coach indicates the grid (13) where the striker must run toward (1 – A) to receive the pass from him (2).
- The defenders (B, C, and D) are placed inside the three further zones of the space with a ball each.
- As the striker runs beside one of them (B), the coach passes him the ball at his feet and he must be able to prevent the defender from tackling, dribble forward inside the goal’s zone (3) and shot on goal. He can do it in two ways:
Black arrow: beating the opponent maintaining the ball under control with the outer foot and shooting toward the near post (4) or the further one with a crossed shot ( 4 – white arrow).
Red arrows: beating the defender with an inside feint (3) before shooting on goal (4) toward the further post (4 – 5), if the opponent is able to cover the goal’s space, at the beginning . - The defender must track the striker, to retreat and save the goal space and to tackle him as soon as possible.
Note: if the striker must take control of the center ball, he must beat the defender on speed, time and space.
COACHING POINTS FOR STRIKERS
- Receive and dribble the ball maintaining it under control under pressure.
- Drive the ball away from the defender with one touch.
- Position the body between the defender and the ball.
- Shot on goal as the defender leaves a pocket of space.
- Feint to escape the pressure with quick changes of direction.
We hope you will find these drills useful and can implement them in your training! More are available in the excellent eBook – Individual and Small Group Training for Strikers, written by Luca Bertolini!
