How to defend crosses in soccer

To defend crosses in soccer, start with the player on the ball. The nearest defender closes them down and makes the cross harder to deliver. Behind that, the center backs protect the space in front of the goal, one toward the near post and one toward the far post, while midfielders drop to the edge of the box for anything pulled back. The keeper decides early whether to come for the ball or stay in goal. When the ball comes in, the first defender to reach it clears it high and wide.

How to defend crosses in soccer as a team

The defender facing the wide player has a simple job: get close enough to make the cross awkward, stand side on, and keep the attacker going toward the end line rather than cutting inside. A cross from a wide player who has been pushed outside often has to be hit at a tight angle, under pressure. That defender won't stop every cross. Making the delivery a little worse is still useful, and the approach is the same as in 1v1 defending.

In the box, the space comes first and the runners second. Attackers want to arrive late and running, while defenders often end up watching the ball and backing toward their own goal. The near post area is the first job, because a low, hard ball across that space is difficult for a keeper to reach. Whoever takes it should stand where they can see both the ball and the attacker, on the side the ball is coming from, so that they get there first. The other center back and the far full back protect the far post area and should stay goal side of their runners.

Coaches can choose whether defenders mark zones, mark players or do some of each. For a youth or rec team, a simple rule tends to help: the center backs defend areas and pick up whoever comes into them, and the rest of the back line and midfield track their own runners. What matters is that everyone knows the rule before the game.

The two central midfielders have a job as well. They drop to the edge of the box to deal with a ball pulled back and with any clearance that comes out. If they stay upfield, the attackers get a clear shot at the second ball.

The keeper should stand a few yards off the line and a little toward the near post, then decide as soon as the cross is hit. A high ball that hangs in the six yard area is the keeper's to claim, and a loud, early call lets everyone else get out of the way. A low, driven ball toward the near post is usually for the defender, and the keeper stays in goal in case it gets through.

Step by step

O attacks to the right, with the ball on the wing near the bottom of the picture. The center backs are D2 and D3, D4 is the full back on that side and D1 the far full back.

O8 carries the ball down the wing. D4 goes out to close them down, and the center backs drop toward the goal.

D4 shows O8 outside, toward the end line. D3 takes the near post area, D2 and D1 cover the far post, and D6 and D7 hold the edge of the box.

O8 crosses toward the near post. D3 is on the side the ball comes from, ahead of O9, and the keeper stays in goal.

D3 heads the ball high and wide, away from the middle. D8 gets to the clearance first, and the defenders step out of the box together.

The ball is out of the danger area. O's forwards have had to come back out of the box with D's line, and D8 has the ball.

To practice it, put a wide player on each side with a supply of balls, and have them cross against your back four, two midfielders and a keeper while two or three attackers make runs. Walk through the first few so that defenders can check their positions when the ball is wide and again when it is crossed. Then play it at full speed and count clean clearances. Adding a second ball straight after each clearance teaches the line to step out and then get set again.

The full play

You can take this playbook into your own account and change it for your team, for example drawing a far post cross for the keeper to claim, or having your own wide midfielder help the full back. If your team usually defends deep, this fits with the low block, where the ball is often allowed to go wide.

If you coach a youth or rec team, you can also put your roster on Playspedia so everyone knows who is playing each week.