Why I don't like World Cup, but I do love transition games.

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One of the all-time favorite games that players want to play is called World Cup. There are variations on how to play it, but basically everybody on the team pairs up (so if you had 14 players, you would have 7 teams). Each team chooses a country to represent. One player plays in goal and the teams try to score. The GK plays a ball out and then there is a free-for all as the team play 2 vs everyone else. When a player shoots, they are supposed to shout out the name of their country. If they score without calling out the name, then the goal doesn't count.

When a team does score, they get to sit out until there is only one team remaining that hasn't scored. Then you start round 2 with 1 less team. If played properly, then this game lasts 6 rounds. With each round seeing more players out, it very quickly becomes a game that has more watchers than participants. In addition, it takes a long time to play. If you counted the average number of touches each participant takes during the time frame of the activity, it doesn't measure up well.

So, in summary, it takes a long time to complete, there are a lot of players not participating and the average number of touches per participant is very low. For those reasons, it sounds like a poor activity.

How would I tweak this activity to get more out of it? Or, better yet, how can I use a different activity to achieve similar goals? First, let's define the goals for the activity:

  • close to goal (in the final third if we are using coach speak)
  • high pressure
  • quick decisions
  • limited time to complete. 
With these goals in mind, one of the best activities is a transition game. In a transition game, there are 3-4 teams of players and a team earns the right to stay on the field by winning. In the case of World Cup, winning means scoring goals. So this activity should feature lots of chances to score and a penalty for giving up goals. It should also be more game-like than World Cup and involve the players thinking and making quick decisions. 

This game is called 4 v 4 transitions to goal. I like to use a space of about 20-25 yards long and the width of the penalty area. Set up a goal at each end. GK's have balls by the goal to keep the game going. 

Break your team up in half. so if you have 14 players, you would have 1 GK and 6 field players/team. The field players for each team are broken up into two groups (i.e. Blue 1 and Blue 2). Blue 1 and Yellow 1 go on the field and the GK starts the game. 

Because the space is tight and anybody can score, the players are in a high pressure environment. To keep the intensity high, limit their time on the field to 1 minute or until a goal is scored. If neither team can score, replace them with the teams waiting behind the goal. Make sure to call out (blue or yellow) who has possession to start. 


Players will be asked to solve problems rapidly or get punished by giving up goals. I usually play this game for about 10 minutes at a time as part of my small sided or expanded small sided activities. 

There are also several modifications you can add to make it more game-like. Put wingers on the outside of the box and require that teams play through those players before scoring. You can add targets to the side of each goal so that players can play a penetrating pass to a teammate who lays it off for a shot. 


You can fill those roles with the players who are off or you can reduce the number of players in the main grid to fit your particular situation. 

What you would do next from here is to expand the game by including more players (5 v 5 or larger) and the field size so that they will have to work together to create scoring chances. 

Not only will this sequence be more realistic, it will also provide players with a chance to stay involved in the practice and not get eliminated and spend 10-20 minutes off the field waiting to play. With players waiting to transition back onto the field, you can also emphasize the immediate counterattack which is part of a successful attacking philosophy. Even when they are off the field, kids have to remain alert or miss an opportunity to score an easy goal. 

So try this approach and see if you get better results. I can guarantee you that your kids will like it better than World Cup. 

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