1 Circle Cut-Through and Fill

Verified in part · checked against Ryan Boyle and Belgium’s national team playbook

The play, beat by beat

1. 1Top passes to Right HighTheir Top defender sags
2. 2Left High fills Top's spotTop cuts through
3. 3Left Low fills Left High's spot
4. 4Top fills Left Low's spotTheir Top defender marks Top

Coaching points

• Cut through the middle, then rotate over and go backside: the next man round fills your spot.
• This shows the rotation only. What it gives you: a flat outlet, an outlet behind, a cutter in the high crease in case a defender slides, and natural skip passes.
• If the cutter's man watches the ball, hit the cutter going through the middle (Belgium: cutters through the middle).
• From the top: both high wings pinch in so the top man can go either way, off a pick or a cut-through (Boyle).
• No crease man, so expect their adjacent defender to slide, not a crease slide.

How it was checked

A standard play the sources back, but a step or detail of it rests on a single source or on our own reading of them. Verified in part · checked against Ryan Boyle and Belgium’s national team playbook.

More settled offense

• 2-3-1 Alley Dodge and Rotate
• Dodge, Pass, Pass, Dodge
• Pass Down, Pick Down