6v5 Soccer Drills: 6 Games to Break a Low Block and Finish in the Final Third

Quick answer: A 6v5 breaks a low block when the six attackers stay wide, move the ball in two touches, and turn the spare player into a 2v1 on one side of the pitch. Stretch the five defenders across, switch fast, then attack the gap with an overlap, an underlap or a third-man run — and finish within 10 seconds of breaking the first line.

Six attackers against five defenders should always create a shooting chance. Too often it does not.

The ball stays in front of a compact block, every attacker crowds the middle, and the spare player stands where a defender can already see them. The extra player is there, but nobody uses width or speed to turn them into a 2v1. The same final-third problem decides games in football at every level, and it is solved by a wide first pass, a fast switch, and a run that arrives as the ball does.

These six games teach that sequence. Each one starts with a 6v5, each one ends with a finish, and each one punishes slow, narrow play with a recovering defender or a shot clock.

Session snapshot

• Players: 12–20 (6 attackers, 5 defenders, goalkeeper, plus rotation groups)
• Area: 35 x 30 to 50 x 40 yards, one full-size goal
• Duration: 60 minutes for all six games, or 20 minutes for any two
• Focus: Breaking a low block, width, 2v1s, the final pass, finishing in the final third
• Equipment: Cones, bibs, balls, one full-size goal, two mini goals for Drill 5
• Age: U13–U18 (see age adaptations)

The one rule: the spare player must be wide or beyond

A 6v5 gives the attacking team one spare player. That player is only useful if they are wide enough to stretch a defender, or beyond the block where a pass can reach them.

• Stay wide, stay free. Two attackers must hold the touchlines at all times. Narrow attackers defend themselves.
• Move the ball in two touches. One touch to control, one to pass. A third touch lets five defenders shuffle across.
• Turn the spare player into a 2v1. The overload matters only when two attackers isolate one defender on one side.
• Finish fast once the block breaks. The recovering defenders are already sprinting. Shoot within 10 seconds of the switch.

Start with 5v4 soccer drills if your players cannot yet find the spare player against a press; the 6v5 below adds a fifth defender and a compact low block, so the width must be wider, the switch must be faster, and the final run must be timed to the pass.

Drill 1 — Final-Third Keep-Ball

The starting point for every 6v5. Six attackers keep the ball against five defenders in the final third, and only after ten passes may they attack the goal.

Setup:

• One 40 x 30 yard area, one full-size goal with a goalkeeper at one end.
• Six attackers in blue bibs, five defenders in red bibs, one ball per rep.
• Spare balls behind the goal, and a coach on the touchline counting passes aloud.

How to Play:

1. The six attackers keep the ball against the five defenders, holding both touchlines.
2. Every pass is counted aloud, and the count restarts if a defender touches the ball.
3. After ten clean passes, the attackers may attack the goal at once.
4. The spare player leads the attack, driving at the nearest defender to create a 2v1.
5. The attack finishes first time, or after one controlling touch, within 10 seconds.
6. If the defenders win the ball, they play out to the coach and the count restarts at zero.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Ten, then go!” If the attackers break early, bring the ball back. The lesson is patience first, speed second.

Progressions: Raise the target to 12 passes, then limit the attackers to two touches throughout.

Drill 2 — Wave Game to 6v5

The overload builds wave by wave. Each wave adds one attacker and one defender, until the final wave is a full 6v5 in the final third.

Setup:

• One 40 x 30 yard pitch, a full-size goal at each end with a goalkeeper in each goal.
• Two teams of eleven, with players waiting in two lines behind each goal.
• One ball per wave, spare balls with the coach at the halfway line.

How to Play:

1. Wave 1 is 1v0: a lone striker receives from the coach and finishes in two touches.
2. Wave 2 is 2v1: two attackers enter against the striker, now defending.
3. Wave 3 is 3v2: two more attackers enter, and the two defenders stay on.
4. Wave 4 is 4v3: the next pair enters, and the attack must finish in 10 seconds.
5. Wave 5 is 5v4: the next pair enters, and the spare player must be found wide.
6. Wave 6 is 6v5: the final pair enters, the full block defends, and the attack finishes or the wave ends.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Next wave!” Players must sprint on and off between waves. A slow changeover wastes the overload.

Progressions: Cut each wave to 8 seconds, then require the 6v5 wave to finish from a first-time shot.

Drill 3 — Overlap and Underlap

The five defenders shuffle to the ball side. This game teaches the six attackers to create a 2v1 wide, then choose the overlap or the underlap to break the line.

Setup:

• One 40 x 30 yard area, one full-size goal with a goalkeeper, cones marking two wide channels.
• Six attackers in blue bibs, five defenders in red bibs, one ball per rep.
• Spare balls with the coach on the touchline, and a winger starting in each wide channel.

How to Play:

1. The ball starts with a pivot, who plays wide to the winger in the left channel.
2. The nearest attacker makes an overlapping run outside the winger at full speed.
3. If the defender follows the overlap, the winger cuts inside and plays the underlap.
4. If the defender stays with the winger, the overlap receives and drives to the end line.
5. The wide player crosses low, or cuts the ball back, for two runners in the box.
6. Restart from the opposite channel after every rep so both sides are trained.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Overlap or underlap — decide fast!” The run must start before the pass. A late run arrives after the defender has recovered.

Progressions: The overlap must be timed to the first touch, then the finish must be first time from the cutback.

Drill 4 — Low-Block Breaker

Five defenders sit in a compact 4-plus-1 block in front of goal. The six attackers must break it with a bounce pass, a third-man run and a shot from the edge of the box.

Setup:

• One 35 x 30 yard area, one full-size goal with a goalkeeper, a line of cones 20 yards from goal.
• Six attackers in blue bibs, five defenders in red bibs set as four across the box and one pivot in front.
• One ball per rep, spare balls behind the goal.

How to Play:

1. The attackers start behind the cone line and move the ball side to side in two touches.
2. A pivot receives with their back to goal and lays the ball off first time.
3. The third-man runner sprints beyond the pivot as the lay-off is played.
4. The runner receives in the half-space, drives at the nearest defender and creates a 2v1.
5. The pair finishes first time, or after one touch, before the block can reset.
6. If the defenders win the ball, they must play it past the cone line within 5 seconds.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Bounce and run!” The third-man run is the drill. If nobody runs beyond the pivot, stop the rep and show the run.

Progressions: The finish must come from outside the box, then the block may press two at a time.

Drill 5 — Beat the Recovery

The 6v5 starts as a 6v3. Defenders sprint in one by one after each pass, so the attackers must break the block and finish before the numbers reach 6v5.

Setup:

• One 40 x 30 yard area, one full-size goal with a goalkeeper, two mini goals on the far end line.
• Six attackers in blue bibs, three defenders in red bibs inside the area, two recovery defenders on the far line.
• One ball per rep, spare balls with the coach on the touchline.

How to Play:

1. The attackers start with the ball and play their first two passes against three defenders.
2. After the third pass, one recovery defender sprints into the area.
3. After the fifth pass, the second recovery defender sprints in, making it 6v5.
4. The attackers must finish before the second recovery defender gets goal-side.
5. If a defender wins the ball, they counter to either mini goal within 10 seconds.
6. Rotate the recovery defenders every two reps so every player feels the sprint.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Before they arrive!” If the attackers pass sideways twice, the recovery defenders win the race. One switch, one 2v1, one finish.

Progressions: The recovery defenders start closer to the area, then the attackers must finish in two touches after the switch.

Drill 6 — End-to-End Final-Third Game

The overload runs both ways. Whichever team wins the ball attacks 6v5 at once, and the team that lost it must sprint back and defend the spare player.

Setup:

• One 50 x 40 yard pitch, a full-size goal at each end with a goalkeeper in each goal.
• Two teams of twelve, with six attackers and five defenders on the pitch at any time.
• Spare balls behind both goals, and a coach on each touchline to restart play fast.

How to Play:

1. The coach plays the ball to the blue team, who attack 6v5 against the red defenders.
2. The blue team must find the spare player and finish within 10 seconds of the first pass.
3. If the red team wins the ball, they attack the far goal 6v5 at once, with no reset.
4. The team that lost the ball sprints back, and the spare player is the runner they must track.
5. A goal from a 6v5 attack scores double, and a goal from a counter after winning the ball scores triple.
6. Play for 4 minutes, rest for 1 minute, then swap which team starts with the ball.

Coach’s note: The cue is “Win it, go!” The transition is the drill. A team that jogs back after losing the ball concedes the spare player twice in one rep.

Progressions: Cut the shot clock to 8 seconds, then require the counter-attack to finish in three passes or fewer.

Coaching points

• “Stay wide!” Width is what turns six against five into a 2v1. Narrow attackers defend themselves.
• “Two touches, then pass!” Speed of ball movement beats the defenders’ shuffle. A third touch gives them time to recover.
• “Switch fast!” The far side is where the spare player lives. A slow switch is not a switch.
• “Make it a 2v1!” Isolate one defender with two attackers. The overload is only useful when it becomes a 2v1 somewhere on the pitch.
• “Bounce and run!” The third-man run breaks a compact block. The runner must go as the lay-off is played.
• “Finish within 10 seconds!” Every 6v5 has a clock. Train the finish that follows with a 1v1 finishing drill.
• “Win it, go!” The counter-attack is decided in the first two seconds after winning the ball.

Common mistakes

Age adaptations

How to run the 60 minutes

Use the full hour as the main practice phase in the 60-minute youth soccer session plan, or run Drills 2 and 4 only as a 20-minute final-third block.

From 6v5 to full-team overloads

When the spare player is found wide and the block is broken cleanly, the same principle scales up: create the overload on one side, then move the ball to the spare player on the other. The 4v3 soccer drills teach the smaller overload decision inside the 6v5, and switching play drills teach the long switch that opens the far side: use these switching play soccer drills once Drill 3 is clean, so the switch in a 6v5 arrives at full speed and on the correct foot.

Sources

These drills are based on, and in line with, the FIFA Training Centre session on creating and exploiting overloads, which stresses using the spare player at all times, creating 2v1s inside overloads, and the timing, weight and accuracy of the final pass; and with the FIFA Training Centre session on creating and exploiting overloads (Badela), which stresses creating 2v1s or 3v2s as quickly as possible, driving forward to open space, and using overlaps and underlaps to penetrate a defence. No FIFA approval, endorsement or affiliation is claimed.

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