Three-Zone Game by Rulani Mokwena (Patreon)

Training Context Description:

This is a tactical game with three distinct zones.

Zone 1 is played 5v4, and the build-up team must keep possession for 12 seconds before progressing the ball into the next zone.

Zone 2 is divided horizontally with an offside line to encourage a high position for the defending midfielders. In this zone, players are limited to two touches to promote pressing and faster decision-making in possession, increasing the ball’s tempo and speed. The defending midfielders can choose to send an extra player to make it 5v5. However, if they do, the 12-second possession rule is removed, allowing the build-up team to progress quickly into Zone 2 and exploit the 3v2 superiority.

Before entering Zone 3, all three midfielders must touch the ball, using dynamic rotations.

The offside line also challenges midfielders to make forward runs, breaking beyond the midfield line to get in behind the defence.

Once the ball enters Zone 2, players from Zone 1 can push forward into Zone 2 again to maintain compactness.

Zone 3 offers opportunities for centralised direct attacks. It also has two large side goals with goalkeepers, where a clearance aimed at the goal counts for two points.

• An attack with an uninterrupted passing sequence is worth 3 points.

• A goal scored from a counter-press is worth 1 point.