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Soccer IQ for Full-backs

A full-back's job changes every few seconds: width in attack, cover in defence and the timing to do both.

Full-backs decide when to overlap and when to stay, how to defend a winger one-on-one, and whether to tuck in when the ball is on the far side. The reads are about timing and the space behind them.

Worked plays

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

  1. Play 1

    The situation
    You’re the full-back. Their winger presses your centre-back and shades off the touchline. Where do you go?
    Best read
    Invert into midfield behind his shoulder
    Why
    Inverting turns your back four into a 3-2: you leave the touchline he’s shading and step in behind his shoulder, already past the first line. Your centre-back gets a clean pass into midfield and you receive facing forward. Hugging the touchline waits for a pass down the line he already has covered.
    The other options
    • Push high and hug the touchline The pass down the line never comes; the winger has it covered.
    • Overlap outside and stretch the pitch You stretch the pitch, but the winger still cuts the pass out.
    • Drop flat with the centre-backs You’re flat beside the centre-back, and the winger presses you both.

  2. Play 2

    The situation
    Full-back, ball arriving on the touchline. Their winger closes from behind your shoulder; your centre-back has stepped into space. First touch?
    Best read
    First time back to the centre-back
    Why
    A defender arriving flat out behind your shoulder has decided for you: one touch back and his momentum removes him from the next three seconds, leaving a centre-back facing the pitch with the far side open. Turning out is where he’s shepherding you; the touchline defends for him and the throw is theirs.
    The other options
    • Touch inside and drive into midfield The inside touch runs into their midfielder, with the winger on your back.
    • Turn out and go down the line The winger pins you to the touchline, and it’s their throw.
    • Clip it long into the channel Your winger chases it into the channel with his marker alongside.

  3. Play 3

    The situation
    86th minute, 1–0 up. You’re the full-back. Your winger screams for the overlap; their midfielder is sat behind you.
    Best read
    Stay level — hold the rest defence
    Why
    Four minutes up, the man you cannot be missing is the one behind the ball. Their midfielder is already stood in the grass you would vacate, so an overlap that does not end in a goal ends in their counter down your side with nobody home. The underlap takes you into central traffic instead.
    The other options
    • Overlap outside him to the byline The cross is cleared, and their midfielder breaks into your empty flank.
    • Underlap into the half-space You’re crowded out centrally, and their midfielder is free down your side.
    • Tuck inside to help your centre-back You’re safe inside, but your winger is left with no outlet.

  4. Play 4

    The situation
    You’re the full-back behind your winger. Their full-back is tight on him at the touchline; their centre-back has stayed central.
    Best read
    Underlap into the gap inside their full-back
    Why
    Their full-back is glued to the touchline, so the grass is inside him, not outside. The underlap runs the seam between him and the centre-back and forces one to leave the other. The overlap only offers a pass into the lane he is already covering.
    The other options
    • Overlap outside him, hugging the touchline The pass outside runs into the lane their full-back already covers.
    • Sit behind him for a square pass Your winger plays it back to you, and the attack resets.
    • Tuck in and leave him the one-v-one Your winger is left one-v-one against a set full-back.

  5. Play 5

    The situation
    Your winger pins their full-back, who clips it to their winger checking in front of you. You’re the full-back, pressing high.
    Best read
    Jump out and press him against the touchline
    Why
    The back line is the last link in a press: refuse the jump and everything your winger earned is wasted. Go with him. He’s wide, facing the wrong way, the touchline halves his options and your centre-back has already shifted across. Dropping off is the instinct a pressing team can’t afford.
    The other options
    • Drop off and protect the space behind He turns and runs at you with the whole flank open.
    • Jockey and delay until your winger recovers He gets time to turn and plays it back out of the trap.
    • Tuck in and screen the pass inside He turns down the line and races into the space behind you.

  6. Play 6

    The situation
    They break through the middle. You’re the full-back caught high on the far side, sixty yards from your goal.
    Best read
    Recover on the inside diagonal, toward goal
    Why
    A recovery run is measured to your goal, not your starting position. The inside diagonal drops you in front of your box, where the ball is heading, goal-side of anything played across. Running your touchline home arrives two seconds after the shot; chasing the carrier takes you out of the play.
    The other options
    • Sprint straight back down your touchline You’re back in your position just as their shot goes in.
    • Chase the carrier and get in front He slips it to the other runner, and you’re out of the play.
    • Stay high and pin their full-back Your lone centre-back faces two of them, and they score.

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