Jockeying is how you defend one-on-one without lunging: you close the attacker down, get low and side-on at about an arm's length, and steer them away from goal while you wait for the right moment to win the ball. It buys time for your teammates and keeps you from being beaten by one touch. The app can't score this from a solo clip, because there's no attacker for the camera to judge your position against.
Get goal-side
Get goal-side: stand between the ball and the goal you're defending before you do anything else.
Close them down while the pass is travelling. The pass into the attacker is your cue to go. Aim to get there before they take their first touch, so they can't settle the ball and set up their dribble.
Slow down as you get close. Cover the ground quickly, then brake with short, controlled steps so you arrive set and balanced, not still running.
fast, then short steps, then set.
Stop at about an arm's length from them. That's close enough to put them under pressure. Further away gives them time; closer gives them a chance to knock it past you.
Defensive stance
Get side-on and low. Turn your hips and shoulders so one foot is ahead of the other, and bend your knees to stay down.
low and side-on, weight ready to move.
Come in at an angle, not straight on. If you face them square, they can go either side of you. An angled, side-on approach takes one side away.
Keep your eyes on the ball, not their shoulders or step-overs. The ball is what you're trying to win.
Be patient
Show them one way. Use your side-on angle to push them wide and away from goal, or onto their weaker foot. Angling toward their inside leg forces them outside.
Don't dive in. Stay on your feet and don't commit past the ball, or you open space for them to run into. Keep moving your feet with them and hold your distance.
patient: you're waiting for them to make the mistake.
Tackle on a trigger. Go when they take a heavy touch or the ball gets away from their feet, timing it for the moment they've just touched it. Win it with the inside of your foot or a toe poke, and stay on your feet.
If they get past you, stay in the duel. Turn and recover to get goal-side again rather than giving up the chase.
Feel it
You arrive set, not sprinting: low, side-on and balanced, about an arm's length away, ready for their first move. The attacker is going where you showed them, wide or onto their weaker foot, and you're watching the ball for a heavy touch.
Fix-its
- You get beaten by their first touch You arrived running. Brake earlier with short, controlled steps so you're set and balanced when they control the ball.
- They can go either side of you You're square-on. Come in at an angle and stay side-on so one side is closed off.
- You dive in and they skip past Don't commit past the ball. Stay on your feet and wait for a heavy touch before you tackle.
- You're standing too tall to react Bend your knees and stay down when you're close to them.
- You sit too far off and they play freely Close to about an arm's length so they're under pressure.
Drill
- Pass and press 1v1: you pass to the attacker, then close them down, brake and set side-on at an arm's length. They try to dribble over your end line. Play it in a narrow area first, then a short wide area, then a long wide area. Swap roles each go.
- Cone duel: the attacker scores 3 points for dribbling to the cone behind you and 1 for a side cone. Your job is to show them to the side and stop the 3-pointer, or win the ball.
- Press on the pass: in a 10 x 10 m box with a mini-goal, a feeder passes into the attacker and the pass is your cue to step out. Get low and side-on, show them wide and away from goal, and pass into the mini-goal if you win it.
- Close before the first touch: in a 30 x 10 m channel, close the receiver down before their first touch, go side-on to show them onto their weaker side, and use your hips to get across in front of the ball when you win it.
By position
Defenders and defensive midfielders face 1v1s most often. But every outfield player has to close down and delay an attacker when their team loses the ball, so it's worth learning whatever position you play.
Sources
- England Football Learning — Session programme: press and cover to defend (2025)
- FIFA Training Centre — Defending in 1v1: Orientating attackers away from goal (2025)
- FIFA Training Centre — Building the foundations of collective defending (2026)
- FIFA Training Centre — Irene Paredes: Timing the tackle (2024)
- US Youth Soccer — Skills School Manual (2017), tackling pp. 46–47
Last checked 2026-10-26.