How do you break down a 3-5-2 formation?

[soccermgr13]

team A plays in a 3-5-2 formation against team B in a 4-4-2 formation. What are the keys in attacking thru the midfield if you are team B? Assume team A has an advantage in skill level. What tactics does team B need to employ to neutralize the extra midfielder?

[Unregistered]

GOOD SPACING!!!!!!!!
Build up out of the back with your outside backs.

[Unregistered]

Wow great question that is a little difficult to answer without knowing the players you might have and if the other teams style of play aka strong at possession passing.

Did they play one the mid more as a withdrawn striker? If so id play as if they were in a 3 4 3 formation which is more managable to counter with a 4 3 3.

[Unregistered]

If it's kind of like a 3-2-3-2 (or double stopper) type of arrangement, the team has more depth and less width.

A 4-4-2 team will have more width.

So the short answer is to play to to the outside where you have more strength.

The outside backs in 3-2-3-2 can get isolated (i.e. no support).

I like 3-2-3-2 for the younger age groups where the play is more direct (and since it is sometimes challenging to find kids who want to play in the back).

[Unregistered]

Hmm other team has skill advantage and more players in midfield -- obvious answer is to play direct to the forwards to bypass the congested midfield area (or at least play through it as quickly as possible) and take advantage of the lower number of defenders. Maybe also place one of your forwards high and wide on the weak side to force the defense to choose between leaving that player wide open or creating gaps in the center of the defense.

[Unregistered]

Here's a thought -

Place two forwards somewhat in between the three defenders. Have Beckham like outside right midfielder play to the head of tall left forward. Have left forward head the ball over to the right forward who is making a run behind the defense. Have right forward score.

Rinse, lather, repeat, ...

[Unregistered]

Play your game in a formation that you are strongest at and used to. I've watched thousands of games and the team that wins is almost always the team that forces the other team to play their style of play. Impose your game on them and don't worry what they are doing for a formation. Formations are just something that we use as a jumping off point. Very rarely does it hold in youth soccer, just keep your general shape, move the ball and play your style of play and you will be successful. All to often good teams will "play down" to the level of their competition. A truly good team doesn't do that.

[Unregistered]

I love the response to play direct. This is just what you do not want to do against this formation. The strength of this formation is clogging the middle of the field times 2. What this means is if you look at the field as a tic-tac-toe grid (9 grids) where you have your defenders in all the middle boxes (5 grids) and the only boxes that are open are the corners. It is hard to score from these areas. This formation makes it very difficult to switch the field quickly and/or play directly up the middle. The 3 backs have to be very discipline in playing 1st, 2nd and 3rd defender. They also need to stay connected with holding midfielder on the strong side. If a team truly can play this formation correctly the backs and the strong side holding midfielder will form a rhombus behind the ball. The weak side holding midfielder will lock the ball in and keep them from quickly switching the field. The weak side outside midfielder will now have time to drop in as the 4th back. The weakness of this formation is getting the ball into the flanks behind the outside midfielder quickly and on the ground. I would recommend the formation you are used to playing but you have to be able to win 50/50 and counter quickly before the other team can get organized. Teams usually do not play 3-5-2 due to the lack of discipline in the back and also do not understand how to use it effectively in the attack. I would not recommend using this formation at the younger ages unless your players are used to playing 1-3-1 (6v6), 2-4-1 (8v8). These formations will train the outside midfielders to get back and support the backs as needed in this complicated formation. Good luck and I hope this helps.

[Unregistered]

There are two answers to the 3-5-2 format. Either change to the same formation which is unlikely to be successful because your team is not prepared for it, although the numbers match-up make sense in the midfield. OR more likely stay in the 4-4-2 but use pace of play to brake down their advantage in the middle. Move the ball quickly and possess the ball in order to find holes in their formation as you move the ball around. If in fact their team is more skilled and plays at a better pace you have no answer. You will have to play more compact staying in formation and counter quickly when the opportunity presents itself.
As to the idiot who said a 3-5-2 is really something else, he/she is clueless. The 5 in the middle give both width as well as numbers on the middle. No one asked about a 3-2-3-2 and no one around here is playing a 3-2-3-2 as it is an attacking formation that exposes large amounts of space.

[ForzaAzzurri]

Play your game in a formation that you are strongest at and used to. I've watched thousands of games and the team that wins is almost always the team that forces the other team to play their style of play. Impose your game on them and don't worry what they are doing for a formation. Formations are just something that we use as a jumping off point. Very rarely does it hold in youth soccer, just keep your general shape, move the ball and play your style of play and you will be successful. All to often good teams will "play down" to the level of their competition. A truly good team doesn't do that.

I'm with you with regards to just worry about your own team. As a U13 MAPLE team, we're in our second year of 11v11 now and I honestly can't tell you the formation of a single team we have played against in league games, tournaments or scrimmages. I've never noticed (not even at kick-off) and I really don't care...I simply try to teach my kids (at practice!) how to play soccer. And when we have the ball, that translates to recognizing where the opportunities are, i.e., what the opposition is giving you and exploit that, whether it is up the middle, wide, on the ground, through the air, direct, indirect, etc. Each possesion is different. So that is some of what we work on in practice when the topic is attacking, from 1v1 activities all the way up to end-of-practice all-in intrasquad scrimmages.

On match day, if the kids are having trouble penetrating as a result of not being able to recognize that the other team is overloading a certain way or favoring a certain shape, whether it is playing many across, or high or congested in the middle, or whatever it may be, then during individual substitutions and at half-time us coaches will point it out, along with, of course, reminders (i.e., advice) on what might work best as a penetrating option if they continue to encounter more of the same. Then we leave it to them to hoepfully make the needed adjustments.

[That said, as a soccer fan, I can appreciate the millions of hours afficionados spend discussing the merits and disadvantages of the various formations, and the evolution of favored setups over time, if only because such dialogue brings out the passion for the sport that we all share].

[Unregistered]

Attack the flags and go baseline

[Unregistered]

I'm with you with regards to just worry about your own team. As a U13 MAPLE team, we're in our second year of 11v11 now and I honestly can't tell you the formation of a single team we have played against in league games, tournaments or scrimmages. I've never noticed (not even at kick-off) and I really don't care...I simply try to teach my kids (at practice!) how to play soccer. And when we have the ball, that translates to recognizing where the opportunities are, i.e., what the opposition is giving you and exploit that, whether it is up the middle, wide, on the ground, through the air, direct, indirect, etc. Each possesion is different. So that is some of what we work on in practice when the topic is attacking, from 1v1 activities all the way up to end-of-practice all-in intrasquad scrimmages.

On match day, if the kids are having trouble penetrating as a result of not being able to recognize that the other team is overloading a certain way or favoring a certain shape, whether it is playing many across, or high or congested in the middle, or whatever it may be, then during individual substitutions and at half-time us coaches will point it out, along with, of course, reminders (i.e., advice) on what might work best as a penetrating option if they continue to encounter more of the same. Then we leave it to them to hoepfully make the needed adjustments.

[That said, as a soccer fan, I can appreciate the millions of hours afficionados spend discussing the merits and disadvantages of the various formations, and the evolution of favored setups over time, if only because such dialogue brings out the passion for the sport that we all share].

Thanks FA, I have loved, played and now coached the game for about 35 years. While it does make for great conversation, the bottom line is that good players play off one another and that formation is just a very basic starting point. I don't sweat grids or formations. I now have a HS team and do look to exploit and defend against mismatches but that only causes me to change players not formations and to be honest kids will play where they play and giving them a formation isn't nearly as important as making sure they get into and out of the right spaces on the field.

[Unregistered]

I love the response to play direct. This is just what you do not want to do against this formation. The strength of this formation is clogging the middle of the field times 2. What this means is if you look at the field as a tic-tac-toe grid (9 grids) where you have your defenders in all the middle boxes (5 grids) and the only boxes that are open are the corners. It is hard to score from these areas. This formation makes it very difficult to switch the field quickly and/or play directly up the middle. The 3 backs have to be very discipline in playing 1st, 2nd and 3rd defender. They also need to stay connected with holding midfielder on the strong side. If a team truly can play this formation correctly the backs and the strong side holding midfielder will form a rhombus behind the ball. The weak side holding midfielder will lock the ball in and keep them from quickly switching the field. The weak side outside midfielder will now have time to drop in as the 4th back. The weakness of this formation is getting the ball into the flanks behind the outside midfielder quickly and on the ground. I would recommend the formation you are used to playing but you have to be able to win 50/50 and counter quickly before the other team can get organized. Teams usually do not play 3-5-2 due to the lack of discipline in the back and also do not understand how to use it effectively in the attack. I would not recommend using this formation at the younger ages unless your players are used to playing 1-3-1 (6v6), 2-4-1 (8v8). These formations will train the outside midfielders to get back and support the backs as needed in this complicated formation. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Not the OP, but you lost me at rombus.... and my head hurts from reading the rest of your post.

[soccermgr13]

I am the OP and thanks for the repsonses. It's refreshing to actually see some informative discussion. I should have mentioned the teams I portrayed are Womens College Div 2 both play a possession style and build from the back. My daughter and I were talking about the upcoming match and what the best way for her team to attack 3-5-2. I'll check back with tactics her team ultimately employed and whether it was successful.

[Unregistered]

I am the OP and thanks for the repsonses. It's refreshing to actually see some informative discussion. I should have mentioned the teams I portrayed are Womens College Div 2 both play a possession style and build from the back. My daughter and I were talking about the upcoming match and what the best way for her team to attack 3-5-2. I'll check back with tactics her team ultimately employed and whether it was successful.

Please do, I just hope her coach does not start talking about a rhombus or anything like that. At most I would ID the formation for them and let them know what spaces on the field are important to attack and to sit in and defend.