The four phases of play in soccer

OUT OF possession/Defending

This is when your opponents have the ball, putting them at an advantage, with a possibility of creating goalscoring opportunities. 

The key to good defending is denying, delaying and restricting your opponent’s space. Defending is primarily about stopping your opponent doing things.

Some principles that teams might employ when out of possession include:

• Being compact and protecting central spaces.
• Delaying the opposition and preventing them from playing forwards.
• Pressing the opposition by putting pressure on the player on the ball and cutting off passing options.
• Providing cover by filling gaps when players press.
• Being patient and waiting for the opportunity to win the ball.

transition to attack

This is when your opponents give the ball to you, or you win possession from them. It is sometimes also known as counter-attacking. 

In this phase, the opposition team will likely be out of shape and out of position. Playing forward and attacking quickly can help to exploit this.

transition to defence

This is when your team gives the ball to your opponents, or they win possession from you. It is sometimes also known as counter-defending. 

In this phase, your team will be at its most vulnerable. Individual players must recover and the team must regroup quickly, getting behind the ball and into a defensive shape and slowing the opposition’s attack down as much as possible.

As players progress, they should learn more about the phases of play, and the team and individual roles within them.

At the younger age groups, simply getting to grips with what the phases are may be enough; different tactics, approaches and strategies will start to be applied at the older age groups.

The use of language across the age groups is also important. 

For example, rather than saying: "Can we penetrate the defence quickly?" to an under-8s group, you might say: "How quickly can we move up the pitch when we have the ball?’. And, rather than asking an under-6s team to "be compact", you might say "Can you protect the goal and stop the other team from scoring?".

It’s important to note that all of the phases of play involves all of the players on the pitch – the attacking phases don’t just involve attackers, nor do the defensive phases just involve defenders. Players must understand all phases regardless of their position.