A two-player combination to get past a defender without dribbling, also called a wall pass or give-and-go. You pass to a teammate, run around the defender into the space behind, and your teammate plays it straight back to you first time. It works when you commit the defender first, move the instant you pass, and the return goes into the space you are running into.
Engage
Scan before you commit. Look up to find the defender, your teammate and the space behind the defender that you want to get into.
heads up: see the defender and the gap behind them.
Carry the ball at the defender to engage them. If they hold off and don't step out, keep driving at them until they have to react.
Let the defender get close before you pass. Once they step out or commit toward you, that is your cue. Pass too early and they can simply turn and recover.
wait for the step, then release.
Teammate (the wall): get into a spot where you can play it back first time. Show for the ball at a supporting angle and distance where you can see the ball and the space behind them.
can you see the ball, and can the ball see your feet?
The 'give'
Pass to the wall with the inside of your foot. Plant beside the ball with your toes pointing at your teammate, lock your ankle with the toes slightly up, push through the middle of the ball and follow through toward them.
Get the weight right and keep it hidden. Play it firm and accurate enough for your teammate to return it first time, and don't show the pass or your run before you make them.
The 'go'
Move the instant the ball leaves your foot. Run around the defender and into the space behind them. Standing to watch your pass gives the defender time to recover.
pass and go, one action.
Show your teammate where you're going. Point or call for the space you are running into so they know where to play the return.
Receive
Wall: play it back first time into the space ahead of the run. One touch gives the defender the least time to recover or step in and intercept the return.
Collect it beyond the defender and play on. You're now past them; shoot, cross or keep the attack moving before they can get back.
Feel it
You hold the ball until the defender steps toward you, release, and you're already moving. The ball comes back into your stride on the far side of the defender without you having to check or wait. If you have to slow down for the return, either the run was late or the ball went to where you were, not where you were going.
Fix-its
- Defender just turns and tracks you You passed before they committed. Carry the ball at them and release only once they step out toward you.
- You pass, then stand Make the pass and the run one action. Start moving around the defender as the ball leaves your foot.
- Wall takes a touch and the defender recovers Wall, set your position and body before the ball arrives so you can return it first time.
- Return goes to where you were, or to your feet Runner, point or call for the space you're attacking. Wall, play it into that space ahead of the run.
- Defender reads it early Don't look at your teammate or start your run before the pass. Disguise both until the moment you release.
Drill
- Unopposed pairs: pass and move up and down a channel (about 20x15 yd), playing one-twos as you go and finishing into a mini-goal. Use both feet.
- Groups of three with one passive defender: play the one-two around them, then rotate roles.
- 2v1 to mini-goals in a small area (about 10x15 yd). Start with the defender allowed to intercept but not tackle, then make it live. If the defender wins it, they attack the other end.
- 1v1 plus 2 wide neutrals (about 15x30 m, goalkeepers in both goals): the attacker must play at least one one-two with a neutral to get behind the defender and finish. Neutrals one or two touch; rotate every minute. Progress to 2v2 plus 2.
- 6v6 possession game (about 30x20 m): any defender a one-two is played around goes to an end zone until a team-mate's pass brings them back. A team loses when all its players are eliminated.
By position
Useful anywhere on the pitch. Around the box it gets an attacker behind a defender and into a scoring position; further back, a team can use it to play around a pressing defender and keep the ball. Players who scan more tend to complete more passes, though in elite players the effect was small.
Sources
- England Football Learning — Two-player core football moves (2023)
- England Football Learning, Grover — Passing and receiving session: combine with a partner (2026)
- FIFA Training Centre — 1v1 plus 2 small-sided game: wall passes in tight spaces (2025)
- FIFA Training Centre — 6v6 possession game: perfecting wall passes (2025)
- Maas, UYSA Technical Director — Combination: wall pass session plan (2003)
- US Youth Soccer — Skills School manual: push pass (2017)
- Jordet et al. — Scanning, contextual factors, and association with performance in English Premier League footballers, Frontiers in Psychology (2020)
Last checked 2026-10-31.