I can’t coach you height. It will take me years to coach you technique and it will take you years to develop physically with the right training plan. But you can instantly improve your game with getting better at positioning and movement. And I am not talking about a bit better. You will see the difference of getting the ball and being frustrated again. Positioning isn’t just about where you stand — it’s about how you make the game easier for yourself and your teammates. In 11 lessons, I’ll get you there. We’ll start with the basics, then build up step by step until you’re thinking like the best players in the world

Basic Soccer Positioning – Learn them ASAP

The first 3 lessons are The Basics of Positioning. For most of you, this will be too elementary. However, I still see it at top teams, where a player is too tired or careless and doesn’t do these basic things. They are simple to explain, but not easy to do, especially on a consistent basis. The time to learn them is as early as possible, regardless of the age of the soccer players.

1. Compress on Defense

When your team loses the ball, think compress. Individually, that means you get between the opponent and your goal. You close down space, you deny passing lanes, and you make sure that if they want to score, they have to go through you. If you are marking a player without the ball, they have the advantage of deciding when to make a run. However, your positioning between them and your goal gives you an advantage of being closer to your goal, so there is less distance to cover.

2. Expand on Offense

The opposite is true when you win the ball back. Think expand. Stretch the field, give your teammates options, and create space to play. The wider and deeper you move, the more passing lanes open up. If you receive the ball, you have more space to maneuver it and decide what to do. If you don’t get the ball, then you’ve dragged your opponent further away from your teammate and created space for them.

3. Be Available and pass

The simplest rule: can your teammates pass to you? Positioning is about being seen and found. If your teammate with the ball looks up, are you showing in a way that makes the game easy for them? Don’t hide next to or behind an opponent. And if you have the ball, look to quickly move it. If you are not sure you can dribble or shoot, it’s ok to pass it, it will come back to you.

Intermediate Soccer Positioning Lessons

Now that we know the basics, let’s get into the intermediate positioning concepts. You need to really understand and practice the basics, but that will only get you so far. If you are playing full field 11v11 soccer, only one player has the ball at a time. That means that 21 players on the field don’t. What they do with their bodies can be just as important, if not more, than the player with the ball.

4. Playing Area vs Boundaries

There’s a difference between just being “on the field” and being in the actual playing area. If you are defending team, try to cut out the passing lanes and redefine the playing area. While this team is playing 11v11 officially, they have isolated the right back, center mid and right winger, in a 3v4 situation. The extra defender is there because the other side is completely empty, but they don’t care because that’s not the playing area. By closing the passing lanes, they’ve essentially redefined the playing area into this 3v4 tight area.

5. Third-Man Support

The third man is a key concept. Sometimes the teammate with the ball can’t pass to you directly. But if a teammate comes to help at the right time and the right spot, they can be the support. Instead of the ball going directly from Player A to you, it goes from Player A, to Player B, and then to you. That little triangle unlocks defenses. Check out the deep dive video about this on the channel.

6. The One-Two Instead of Dribbling

Instead of forcing dribbles, think one-two. If you pass and immediately move, you position yourself for a quick return that often beats defenders. Imagine you are facing the defender, so your momentum is forward and the defender is exactly the opposite. Instead of risking with a dribble, use your teammate for a quick one-two and sprint pass your opponent. It’s simple positioning and timing that makes you look way faster than you are.

7. Playing Into Space

Remember: the further you are from the ball, usually the more space you have available to receive. The ball takes some time to travel. If a teammate is nearby and an opponent has closed the passing lane by being in the middle, then it’s really closed. However, if the distance is large, then the passing lane is not really closed because you pass where the player should be by the time they receive the ball, not now. You can pass on either side of the opponent, or even lob the ball over their head.

Professional Soccer Positioning

The concepts so far can be seen on a pickup from some experienced players. They are individual skills that come natural after a few years of playing. However, at the top level, this won’t cut it. It’s like playing chess looking only 2 steps ahead; it’s a good start, but if the opponent is looking 6 steps ahead, you are in big trouble.

8. The Third-Man Run

At a higher level, it’s not just about supporting passes — it’s about running into space while the ball is still played between your teammates at a different part of the field. That’s the third-man run. You anticipate where the ball will end up and get there just as your teammate plays it. You have to make the run, but your teammate must see you and execute that pass at the right moment, too. Check out the video talking about the third-man runs in depth.

9. Inviting Pressure to Create Space

Sometimes, the smartest positioning is not about putting pressure and attacking forward, but inviting the pressure from the defense to stretch the field. You receive the ball knowing defenders will close you down — and by drawing them in, you open up space for your teammates. This is how top midfielders control games. They don’t just keep possession, but they make the opponent believe that if they put more pressure, they can gain advantage. Of course, there is the element of risk, but that’s why only top teams do that well.

10. Switching Sides

If one side is blocked, the best players reposition to switch the attack. Let’s say your winger just got the ball and you come closer to them as a creative midfielder planning for a 2v2 situation. If the defenders all came there very fast and the situation went from 1v1 to 3v5, then your role is not to attack anymore. You need to recycle possession and look to switch the ball to the open space on the far side. There is a 1v1 situation opening there, so exploit it.

11. Just stand there – wait for the opponent to challenge

This is the hardest lesson for players, because they have been conditioned to always be active. Let’s take the example from before where you got a 2v2 potential opportunity. Once you’ve come to support, you think it’s up to you to decide if you should come closer to the ball, do an overlap or drop to receive the ball. Your positioning reacts to what the opponent gives you in some cases. If your opponent is just marking you, your teammate still has the 1v1 situation. If your opponent is marking you very tightly or decided to challenge your teammate, you make an underlapping run straight to goal. If your opponent dropped deeper to support their teammate, then you can receive the ball to play one-two or switch sides. In all of these cases, your opponent decided which risk they are willing to take. In the meantime, you just stood there.

You are never done learning soccer positioning

These were the 11 lessons that you should understand, study and practice, in order to develop your positioning where you benefit from being in the right time at the right place. If you start practicing these steps, your positioning will improve faster than your fitness or your technical skills ever could. Positioning makes the game easier — and that’s why the best players seem to have so much time on the ball. Thank you for watching! See you in the next one!