We continue our look at the best of the 3 at the back series with today’s episode, lads. The 3-4-3 formation is one of the better formations to use in terms of if you have a fetish for wide play… It provides a numerical advantage in the wide areas with your wide D(C)’s, M(R,L)’s, and F(R,L)’s all making it possible to cause your opposition trouble via stretching their defence as wide as possible which could potentially open up some space in on goal. This formation also has decent amount of protection which means that it can be effective in any defensive strategy that you intend to use. Unfortunately, it only really allows for wide play type of football which means that there is a limit to our attacking tactical innovation compared to other formations.
DEFENCE
This formation is less focused on possession and more focus on creating overloads and isolations in wider positions. Therefore, The most important trait that your GK should possess will be his long ball and kicking ability and in Jordan Pickford, we have one of the best in the game from this regard. It is EXTREMELEY important that your back 3 is filled with players who are all mobile and have the ability to go 1v1 against thier oppostion during the defensive transition. If they have some pace then that is a bonus. I mention this to say that the D(C)’s outwide will need to already know how to play in the D(R,L) positions since they will be joining in on the attack whenever possible via making both ‘underlaps’ and ‘overlaps’ in addition to getting involved in build up play in controlled possession. From the 3 we have within this XI, Pavard and Martínez are both excellent at running with the ball, half space crosses, and, in Martínez’s case, progressive passes. Upamecano is a brilliant progressive dribbler who has elite dribbling skills for a D(C) and has really good short to mid range passes. He’s lacking in the long ball compartment, but that won’t be such a big issue since there is a player within the middle of the park in that solves this conundrum.
MIDFIELD
Since the main emphasis of this formation will be to play in the wide areas, there will be a huge importance on having a primary conductor who has the ability to play every type of pass on the planet and in Joshua Kimmich its safe to say we have the star on the team who could do just that. Since the centre of the park is a bit light, the player next to our ‘Playmaker’ has to be both an energetic one but also possess some defensive abilities since he’ll be tasked with doing a lot of the dirty work, and in N’golo Kanté we have arguably the best partner for Kimmich within this formation. The first batch of players outwide are solely about providing the width, and we’ll need to have players who are comfortable hugging the touch line for almost the majority of the game which is why we’ve chosen both Jesús Navas and Kieran Tierney who will play as traditional ‘Wingbacks’ within this set up.
FORWARDS
Up front, we have 3 players who all possess different attributes that make them form a decent amount of balance. Although we want to provide as much width as possible, the act of playing extremeley wide will open up gaps in the opposition’s defence which is why a player like Phil Foden will be crucial as he possesses the ability to take the ball in tight spaces and run at the opposition at pace. As our ‘T.W’, he will primarily collect the ball to feet and has more freedom to come centrally if needed. Marcus Rashford is the complete opposite on the left hand side as he will start out wide but always aim to make ‘out to in’ runs to aim to be a goal scoring threat alongside the main F(C). Speaking of that F(C), Kolo Muani is very much similar to Lukaku in that he has pace, power and strength which will assist him in leading the line to the best of his ability. He is also quite mobile and likes to drift outwide when given the chance, but based on this formation, he will aim to lead the line via staying in more central positions.
DEFENSIVE TRANSITION
The one factor that separates the 3-4-3 from other 3 at the back formations (besides the 3-5-2) is the fact that oppositions who prefer to play outwide won’t cause that much of an issue since this formation is well equipped in dealing with that dilema. It can swiftly be converted into a 5-2-3 which will nullify any impact of wing play from your opposition. Now, the biggest issue will be the lack of numbers within the midfield as this can cause a central overlaod (especially against formations that play with a sole no.10 like the 4-2-3-1). So, this means that your players will need to have a high level of energy since there cannot be any slackers within this XI wether you’re choosing to press all over or within your own half.
With this newly found information, you can organize a team that will cause any Managers within your gameworld a whole heap of problems since they won’t be used to playing against it. The same thing will occur with this week’s final episode tomorrow, as long as you’ve got the right players within your squad!
Oh, remember to check out our ‘SMB Stories’ series on our Facebook page over the weekend!
The Soccermanager Experience 