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Creating chances in the final third

Creating chances is turning possession near the opponents' box into a shot from a good position.

The final third is where defences are most compact and decisions most rushed. The players who create the most choose well between the final pass, the cutback, the dribble and the shot, often in under a second.

Good chances usually come from making a defender choose: a run that drags a centre-back, a cutback behind defenders running towards their goal, or a pass into the space a runner is already attacking.

What to look for

  • A runner already moving into space behind
  • The cutback behind defenders running back
  • When the shot is better than one more pass
  • A teammate in a better position than you

The common mistakeShooting from a poor angle when a simple pass would have made an easy chance.

Worked plays

14 plays from Footy Eye's training pool, with the best read and why.

  1. Play 1

    The situation
    Winger, faced up in their third. Their full-back opens his hips to show you the line; your full-back overlaps, your eight underlaps.
    Best read
    Slide the underlap through the gap inside
    Why
    His body has told you where he wants the ball, and the overlap goes there: into the lane he still covers, with their centre-back sliding to meet the cross. The underlap runs where his hips can’t turn and arrives behind the back line, and a cut-back from there beats a byline cross every time.
    The other options
    • Release the overlap for the cross Your full-back crosses into their centre-back, who clears it.
    • Take the full-back on down the outside He runs you down the line and blocks your cross.
    • Cut inside and look for the shot You cut straight into him and the shot is blocked.

  2. Play 2

    The situation
    Head up in the middle third, ball at your feet. Your striker has gone early: a stride offside and still drifting.
    Best read
    Hold a beat, let him get onside
    Why
    The run is right, the timing wrong, and only the timing can be fixed: a beat on the ball lets him check back and start from behind their line, and the same pass becomes a chance rather than a free kick. Playing it now gives the ball away by rule, however well it’s struck.
    The other options
    • Play it now and trust the linesman The flag goes up for offside, and it’s their free kick.
    • Forget the run, give it to the winger The winger has it safely, but the run in behind is gone.
    • Touch forward and drive at their midfield Their midfielder steps across and nicks it as you drive.

  3. Play 3

    The situation
    0–0 in the 68th. Their full-back is off having a dead leg treated. Their ten have shuffled across to cover.
    Best read
    Attack that side now, before he returns
    Why
    A man short for ninety seconds is still a man short, and their whole back line has slid over to hide it — the space is on that touchline and it has an expiry date. Kicking it out is for a head injury, not a dead leg treated safely off the pitch.
    The other options
    • Put the ball out so he can return Play stops, their full-back jogs back on, and the gap closes.
    • Keep the ball and wait for eleven Their full-back returns, and the space on that side is gone.
    • Switch away and attack their strong side You attack where they’ve crowded, and the empty flank goes unused.

  4. Play 4

    The situation
    A pass is coming and their centre-back is glued to your back. How do you lose him?
    Best read
    Check short, then spin in behind
    Why
    The check isn’t the run — it’s the bait. Drag him towards the ball with a hard show for feet, then spin off his front foot into the space he just left. Sitting on his shoulder gives him nothing to react to; one movement lies so the next can score.
    The other options
    • Sit on the last man’s shoulder He stays tight on your shoulder, and the pass has nowhere to go.
    • Come short and hold it up You get it with him on your back and have to play it back.
    • Drift into the wide channel He follows you wide, and you receive facing the touchline.

  5. Play 5

    The situation
    Your pivot bounces it into the striker’s feet and their line steps up. You’re arriving late from midfield.
    Best read
    Make the third-man run into space
    Why
    The wall pass beats the block: one bounce and you’re through. The striker’s job is to set — yours is to already be running as he lays it off, into the space behind the line. Third-man runs are unmarkable because nobody tracks the man who didn’t touch it.
    The other options
    • Call for it back to feet He sets it to your feet, and their line squeezes up in front.
    • Pull up and hold your position The striker has no run to find, and their centre-back wins it.
    • Peel wide to stretch the play You drift wide, and the striker is left to hold it alone.

  6. Play 6

    The situation
    You drive into their box. Your striker is beyond the last man; a midfielder arrives from deep, behind the ball.
    Best read
    Delay, then roll it to the late runner
    Why
    The pass everyone wants is a flag — he is beyond the last defender before the ball leaves your foot. The man arriving from deep is behind the ball, so he cannot be offside, and nobody tracks him: both defenders watch the runner. Shooting early into two bodies is the same impatience with worse odds.
    The other options
    • Slide the through ball to the striker The flag goes up as your striker runs onto it.
    • Shoot early across the keeper Your shot hits the nearer defender and bounces clear.
    • Take on the last defender Both defenders close you, and the chance is smothered.

Train it

Short untimed sessions with the reasoning after every answer.

Train Creating chances in the final third

Test it

Ten plays, twenty seconds each, one Football IQ from 60 to 140.

Take the Football IQ Test

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