What are the keys to playing a successful 4-4-2 soccer formation?

Question

I'm a junior in high school and we just got a new coach for our girl's soccer team. He has decided to switch from our 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2 formation and i was just wondering what my different responsibilities as a forward are..? He also says we are going to try to "slow" the game down a bit...but im so used to being super quick and just trying to score and get passed the opponent's defense...so it's hard for me to slow down! Any tips, suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Answer 1

Where are you going to play? In the 4 4 2 combo the coach would want one of the forwards to have the strength and skill to hold the ball up, ie get feed the ball to feet, have the back to goal, while waiting to lay off to either the quick forward, or the midfield coming forward on attacking runs. He probably also wants the backs, mids to be more controlled leaving the back line, in terms of shorter sharper passes than a kick and hope approach adopted by many amateur teams with to many attackers. It is pretty much the standard formation these days - Newcastle (under Keegan) and to a degree Everton with Cahill as really a striker  are about the only two I know using a 4 3 3. Most use a 4 4 2 or a 4 5 1.

Answer 2

the 4-3-3 is considered the old attack formation that you see mostly on teams that have talented wingers. The new and improved attack system is mostly based on the 4-4-2. this reinforces the mid field which usually serves both purpose offense and defense. this new formation has also for goal to allow the 2 forwards (that's you) to roam a little more freely in offense and utilize more space which creates more confusion on the opponent defense. If you pay attention closely you will see that some teams who play a 4-4-2 have two midfield dedicated to offense and two to defense mostly recuperating balls and stopping the opponent midfield. you will also see that it is the right and left defenders who run up the field to play in a winger attack position ... by having the two defensive midfield they can now go down a notch and cover for those who move up in attack.

It is a system i prefer because it gives you a wider range of options. For you it means more space, more opportunity and the ability to create gaps and utilize your speed. Good luck.

Answer 3

Well, in your new formation, there's obviously one less striker at the top. However, you gain an extra wing/mid so the chances of winning a ball  in the midfield for your team are greatly increased. Which means, it will be easier for one the mids to play a good ball to you or the other girl up front. You'll also get the ball a bit more in a 90 minute game, cuz there is one less of you up front.

With 2 up front, it means that you have less help on a breakaway, translating to more dribbling and thus less passing. what this means is that your speed and ball control should be at the top of your game now. Now when you get the ball, you can just dribble and cut your way through and maybe cross it into the middle...

What your coach means by "slowing down" is have more passing and sharing of the ball in the lower 2/3rds of the field. This strategy tends to get the other team into a calm state, so they're not expecting a quick pass to a striker. So when you receive the ball, there's a better chance the defenders are caught off guard.

hope this helps!