Attacking corners: Attacking the near post against zonal defences

This routine placed a heavy emphasis on overloading the area around the front post, and was designed to counter an opposition trying to defend using a zonally-based setup. They started with four players concentrated around the goal area (six-yard box), all making runs towards the front post. Behind them, there was a second wave of attackers, including one player who would run towards the back post, and two more whose job was to cover the edge of the box.

For these corners to be effective, Cameroon had to either score directly from the first contact with the ball in, or flick the ball across goal to the player making the back-post run. This meant that both the quality of the ball into the area and the timing of the players’ runs had to be perfect.

The clips below show three examples of how Cameroon targeted the front-post area when playing against zonal defensive setups. Their first step was to send four runners into the area where the opposition had fewest defenders, ensuring they had numerical superiority in that zone. Once that supremacy was established, it was imperative for the delivery  to beat the first defender and get into the zone where Cameroon had sent their four runners. If this worked, the zonal defender behind the zone Cameroon were attacking was powerless to deal with the cross, and none of the other defenders could get across to affect the situation at the front post. 

Clip 2 features a corner from Cameroon’s match against Switzerland . Here, Cameroon have moved two players out of the penalty area to take the corner (with the aim of drawing the Swiss defenders out of position). This time they send three runners towards the front post, with two players further back making runs to the back post and the penalty spot, respectively. Unfortunately for Cameroon, the out-swinging delivery is off target on this occasion, and the ball is cleared by the second zonal defender.

Against Serbia, the Indomitable Lions were finally rewarded for their persistence, as a corner led to the opening goal. In this example, the delivery gets in behind the first defender, Ndoulou (3) wins the flick-on at the front post, and Castleletto (21) makes no mistake with the finish at the back post.  The delivery, Cameroon’s starting positions and timing of the attacking runs are all impeccable, resulting in a well-worked goal.