Third-player run: pass and arrive
Transcript
Pass, then run beyond, and the third player finds you in space. Here's how. Warm up first. You need three players, a ball and five cones in a Y shape, with fifteen metre arms. Watch. Pass it in and go. They lay it off first time, and the third player plays you in. First, run beyond the middle player. Then, time it, so you arrive as the ball does. Not this. Getting there early and waiting. Our target is four blocks of two minutes, resting a minute between. Rotate roles every rep, and change sides every two minutes. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
The third-player combination at match tempo: pass into the middle player, run beyond, and the third player plays it into your run. FIFA breaks it into four phases: the initial pass, the bounce pass, the run into space and the final pass.
Set up
- 3 players
- 1 ball
- 5 cones in a Y
- 15 m arms
How it works
- Warm up first. On flat grass, set 4 cones in a Y: a 15 m stem and two 15 m arms forking forward. Put a 5th cone about 6 m to one side of the stem, 5 m short of the junction, for C. Size 5 ball, plus 2 spares.
- A starts at the end of the stem with the ball, B a few metres in front of the junction, C by the side cone.
- B checks towards the ball as A passes in along the ground. B lays it off first time to C, while A runs on past B, on the side away from C.
- C plays it along the ground into the space by the far arm. A arrives on the move and carries it on towards the end of that arm.
- Rotate roles every rep. Every 2 minutes, move C's cone to the other side and run into the other arm. Play 4 blocks of 2 minutes, 1 minute rest.
Coaching points
- Run beyond the middle. As soon as the ball leaves your foot, go. Run past the middle player on the side away from the third player, into the space beyond them. Don't stop to watch your pass.
- Arrive as the ball does. Glance over your shoulder as the ball is laid off and adjust your speed, so you meet the pass on the move. The third player plays it into the space in front of you, along the ground.
Not this
Sprinting into the space early and waiting there. A runner standing still is easy to track, and you take the ball standing instead of on the move. FIFA's sessions ask runners to run onto the ball, not to reach their spot before the pass.
Dose
- 4 x 2 min, 1 min rest
- Rotate roles every rep
Our target: 4 blocks of 2 minutes, 1 minute rest, changing sides every 2 minutes (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
C plays the pass into your run first time, as FIFA's combination practice does. Then add a defender behind B: first passive, then trying to intercept the lay-off, never tackling.
Easier
Two touches for everyone, and walk the pattern through at half pace until the timing feels right.
Safety
- Warm up fully first. Flat, dry grass with space all round, never a road or a driveway.
- Keep the area clear of other groups. Every pass stays on the ground: nothing lifted into the air.
- In the progression the defender stays on their feet: no tackles.
- Stop if anything hurts. Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run, tell an adult; a GP or physio can help.
Sources
- FIFA Training Centre - third-player combinations (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - finishing: 3-player combination play (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - Hediger: balls behind the defence (up-back-through) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - passing and receiving: connecting with teammates (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - passing circuit: receiving on the half-turn (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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