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 The Futsal 3-1 System Of Play - See Futsal 1-2-1 System Below

Small sided soccer training games played in small areas have been played worldwide under many different names for over a century. These games evolved from static games with players assigned positions they couldn't leave to the modern game of Futsal with dynamic player exchanges.

Static 3-1 System of Play

The 3-1 system, with 3 defenders and 1 attacker, can be played as a static system (see below) with all players playing in the same positions all of the time. A 3-1 static system makes things very easy for opponents because they only have to defend the same players in the same positions for the entire game.

Static 3-1 System in Futsal has players who play assigned positions.
3 Defenders (center, left, right) 1 Attacker and a Goalkeeper.

Dynamic 3-1 System of Play

Starting in the 1950's the static 3-1 system started to evolve into today's modern dynamic 3-1 system of play with constant player movement and exchanging of positions that forces opponents to have to defend up to 24 different dynamic attacking combinations of attacking players exchanging positions.

In dynamic 3-1 system features 2, 3 and 4 player exchanges designed to create attacking spaces and opportunities to score. If the goalkeeper joins the attack it becomes a dynamic 3-2 attacking system with over 100 different dynamic combinations of attacking players to defend against. 

​Dynamic Futsal systems are an opponent's worst nightmare because, as defenders, they must all instantly work together without any errors and correctly anticipate:

• what combinations of attacking players will be attacking, 
• when each attacking player will join the attack, 
• where on the court each attacking player will move,
• who on the attacking team is being set up for the shot,
• why each attacker is moving where they are moving, and
• how the attackers are going to put all of their movement fragments together to create spaces and opportunities for shots on goal.

The dynamic 3-1 and 4-0 systems in Futsal have become so successful some national and professional teams in Europe and Latin America have used a dynamic 4-6 attacking system (4 defenders - 6 midfielders and/or strikers) in their 11-a-side soccer games. For example, in Euro 2012 Spain played a 4-6 system successful against most of their opponents.

In a dynamic 4-6 attacking system 2, 3, 4, 5 and in theory as many as 6 attacking players dynamically exchange positions with each other to create open spaces and opportunities to score. And their opponents are forced to defend against many of the 720 possible attacking combinations of 2 to 6 players exchanging positions in the run of play.

Futsal 3-1 System Positions of Play

In the Futsal 3-1 System there are 3 defenders and 1 attacker. The Center Defender usually plays slightly behind the outside defenders. The outside or lateral defenders play on each side of the Center Defender. The single Attacker (also know as the Striker, Forward, Point or Pivot) moves in any direction that creates space and opportunities for their team to score.

In the dynamic Futsal 3-1 System all players, including the Goalkeeper when the team needs to score, attack when their team has the ball and defend when their opponent's have possession of the ball. All players also freely exchange positions with their teammates to fool opponents, create spaces and generate shots on goal. 

In training, cones can be placed 2 meters in from the sideline to create a lateral line for training.  This creates a wide center area that is 70% to 80% of the width of the court. In practices and training games left and right side players are taught to play outside the cones on the attack and to use the space in the middle of the court to create spaces for attacks and shots on their opponent's goal. 

In Soccer and Futsal practices and training games adding an extra line with cones or in a different color of paint creates narrow outside lateral lanes that help players learn to play wide and to use the space in the middle of the field as the area for creating space and shots on goal. 

Position names vary by language, country, system of play, player experience and in some cases by player personality. If all 4 players are slow to come back to defend they may be called center defender, left defender, right defender and attacking defender to remind players of their roles when their team does not have the ball.

The Futsal 1-2-1 System of Play

The 1-2-1 System is the same basic system as the 3-1 with the same basic movement patterns except the outside defenders are assigned outside midfield positions to play. They still go forward on attack and come back to defend on defense. 

The advantages of the 1-2-1 are:

• improved ability to instantly press the opponents to win the ball back closer to their own goal which improves your team's chances of scoring.
• energy is saved when you win the ball back close to your opponents goal because you do not have to run back to defend. The theory of instant pressing to save energy was advocated by Rinus Michels, FIFA's coach of the 20th Century, Coach of the 1974 Dutch National team that played Total Soccer in the 1974 World Cup Final, Ajax FC Coach and FC Barcelona Coach.

The advantages of the 3-1 are:

• there are automatically more players behind the ball defending when your opponent wins possession.
• there is more open space in the opponent's end of the court for quick counter attacking.
• there is a wide central channel in the opponents end of the court for creating spaces for shots on your opponent's goal, especially if the attacker pull to one side of the court or the other to draw opponents out of the center of the court.

Futsal 1-2-1 System with 1 Defender, 2 Midfielders and 1 Attacker

Futsal 3-1 - 24 Player Exchanges
Futsal 3-1 Instructor Web Pages
Futsal 3-1 Training Web Pages
Futsal 1-2-1 Instructor Web Pages
Futsal 1-2-1 Training Web Pages

Instructor Web Pages for coaches, teachers and group leaders are at SoccerGameSense.com

Training Web Pages for coaches, teachers, group leaders and players of all ages and levels are at
SoccerDevelopmentCenter.com

Each training page is a single visual lesson without ads or links. The leader assigns pages to be viewed by posting the links on a website or in emails. Training pages are either:

• Online exercises to improve vision, breathing, decision making speed, game understanding, etc.
• Not with team or class exercises to improve vision, decisions, speed, skills, physical conditioning, etc.
• Practice Improvement Visuals ​- Studies show players who view a visual of what they will do in a practice learn faster and remember longer.​