The wall pass, also at times referred to as the 1-2 pass, is one of the most popular styles of passes a soccer player makes use of.
The wall pass can outwit an opposing player in front of you with little effort because it is relatively simple yet incredibly effective if done at the right time.
The wall pass is one of the easiest ways to beat opponents and may be used anywhere on the field. Other names it goes by are one-two gives & go, and, of course, wall pass.
It may be the oldest trick in soccer history, yet it still works practically well.
What Is A Wall Pass?
The basic idea behind this pass is when player A passes the ball to his teammate, player B, and sprints around the defender; then player B returns the ball to player A.
It is a perfect move when a defender is closely behind you and you want to take advantage of the space behind them. Player A moves forward on the field toward the opposing goal after the defender has been taken out.
The special sauce here is that this pass plays the outplay of the defender like an actual dribble would-by putting the ball into the space behind them-and that’s why it works.
Wall Pass: One of the very first moves coaches show their youngsters is the wall pass. It develops teamwork, a lot safer than dribbling, and also involves the player’s creativity.
Although it is an attacking move meant to disrupt the opponent’s side, it can also be used anytime, anywhere. Leaving the defense, moving across the middle of the field, or into the opponent’s box; even in penalty kicks, it has been incredibly well used.
The wall pass requires a player in possession of the ball to have a supporting teammate diagonally in front; the supporting player acts like a wall since they mostly return the ball right from where they are.
One of the elements of the ingredient of the wall pass includes speed.
Players need to go at a really good speed-the passer and receiver. The initial pass requires firmness and decent acceleration.
On the second thought, after the run required to get in front of their opponent need to be swift too. The return passer has to determine where the location of the return pass needs to be calculated.
SEE ALSO | Triangle Passing Drills In Soccer
Running behind the opponent rather than in front of them is the secret of beating them. If you make the run in front of them, it is too easy for them to follow the play because it is like playing off a point of reference.
If you move at a snail’s pace, you are likely to be read by your opponent who will pursue either the ball or the person making the pass while on the move.
He needs to be close to the player before the pass who has possession of the ball. The farther away he is, the higher the chances of losing the ball because they can read and play against the wall pass with plenty of time to react.
However, be careful not to press too tight; if the opponent is too tight on you, there is the chance of the ball being intercepted and the move thereby neutralized even before it starts.
Even though it is known that the wall pass cannot be intercepted, the defender might still try an interception in order to delay the approach of the player asking for the return pass. It is now the support player’s job to delay the pass or maybe not to pass the ball at all.
The wall pass can also be applied in dribbling. Player A would be running with the ball and would fake the pass of the ball to player B.
The supporting player has a number of options to make the play complete. They can hold the ball and delay the pass, fake the return pass, or even help a third player who lost their mark as a result of the one-two movement.
Why Is It Called a Wall Pass?
The term “wall pass” describes passing to a friend – teammate – as if he were a wall. What happens if you kick a ball against a wall? Of course, the ball would be reflected by the wall and bounce in a direction opposite from the direction where it came.
In soccer, there’s something somewhat related called a ‘wall pass’: you play it to your teammate facing you, opposed to knocking against the wall, though in all actuality it’s very much the same thing- you pass in the ball, and it is gonna come right back out the exact opposite way in which you were passing.
In a soccer game where you don’t have the facility to kick the ball into the wall and get it back, the wall can be replaced by one of your teammates who can let the ball be passed back to you in the direction you are going.
A wall pass is used in playing out opponents while exploiting space farther up the field along with keeping the possession for the starting.
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Types Of Wall Ball Passes in Soccer
A wall pass is pretty much the same thing, the second player acts as a wall, bouncing (passing) the ball to the first player. Any area of the field can be used to move the (1-2 pass) either vertically or horizontally.
The second player can either be stationary or on the move, and the play can be repeated two, or even more, times through 1-2 passes. This will depend on the ability and level of skill of the players along with how well the opponents managed to match up against them.
There are variations of wall passes depending on how inventive and skilful the players involved are. A 1-2 pass could lead to a cross into the penalty area, a goal-bound shot, the third pass to an unmarked team member, among others.
- Short-pass-long pass
Similar to the wall pass play, there are two short passes between the first and second players. The difference is that once the first two passes are finished, a third player is given a first-touch long ball.
- 1- 2 delay pass to finish
The supporting player in this move plays the wall pass by delaying the second pass a little and playing the ball inside the box ready to strike. The first pass in this style eliminates the first defender and the second, the delayed pass kills the final defensive line.
- Double 1- 2 pass, then shoot
There are three players participating in this wall pass version. Player B and C switch roles where B is now the support player and player A leads the movement shoot to the goal.
At the start, player A passes the ball to player B, who instead of passing it back to player A, passes it to player C the third player.
Player C is now the supporting player and plays the ball out to Player A who is preparing to shoot into the box.
- Wall pass & Third-man run
The first man in this play passes the ball out to a third man who is making a through-the-pass-wall opening run, after receiving the ball from the support player. Here is a great example of this third-man run.
Things to Consider Before Making a Wall Pass
- Early Pass
The wall is your teammate, so make sure they are ready for an incoming pass. The way you’ll know they’re ready is when they are hanging low and covering who is marking them.
Make eye contact with them and then pass the ball to the foot that is close to you (furthest from the opponent ) You don’t want their defender to intercept the pass in front of your waiting teammate and counter you the opposite way.
- Taking up a Teammate’s Space
In order to avoid crowding your teammate after the initial pass, try to cut to the left or right first. Your aim is to open up space, not close it down, so give your teammate space to play and avoid crowding the space and making the defenders’ task easy.
- Passing High
Passing the ball to a teammate’s knee, thigh, or the ball bouncing all over the place will only make their job harder and undermine your teammates’ chances of making that wall pass back to you or another player successfully.
- Slow incoming Pass
Pass the ball effectively when it’s time to do so! An efficient wall pass won’t work when the ball is slow enough that a snail could outrun it. Hit the ball hard enough with some real pace and then find space to receive the incoming ball.
- Standing still
Passing while standing defeats the purpose of a wall pass. Standing won’t help you in this situation because the whole point is to find space without the ball in order to subsequently receive the ball again.
Pass and move, 1-2 !
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What To Remember When Trying a Wall Pass
- Look for available Space
The wall pass will only be effective when you find space where the defender is not after you pass it into your target. Sometimes, know where to run even before you make an initial pass. This is because it may be either to your left, right, in front, or even at the back of where you are.
- Pass and Move
Move forward as your next step when you pass and even just before trying to step into the pass so you can start running as you proceed to receive the lay-off pass. Standing still as you pass will lose you valuable seconds in terms of running past the opposing marking you
- Hold back and seal the defender
If you are the player receiving the pass, make early contact if a defender is on your back. As the ball approaches you, take a good, solid positioning and move to lay off the ball in the direction your teammate is moving.
To make the opposition’s next movement into a defensive position that much more difficult, step back into the defender after you release the pass.
- Move forward with one touch
After receiving the ball from your teammate take your next touch one time and out in front of you.
The whole concept of a wall pass is to beat the defender who is trying to protect the ball, and if you are too late to react once you have received the pass then the defender will readjust themselves, and steal the ball off of you.
Take that one touch quickly and out in front of you so the only thing the defender will see is your back.
What positions can use the wall pass?
Any player can start it at any given time if the conditions and time are right. For the most part, players who uses the ball a lot are midfielders connecting with strikers.
The wall aspect of the pass is usually done by the strikers, who then return the ball to a midfielder, run in, and receive the ball back to latch into the net.
This kind of pass is exploited to execute successful attacks and take possession irrespective of your level.
Can a goalkeeper and defender do a wall pass?
In the beautiful game of soccer, there is no such thing as CAN’T DO or NEVER, but for a goalkeeper to make a wall pass-1-2 pass-to a defender or a defender to a goalie is less likely than any other position on the field.
This is due to one understandable reason: the risk ” versus ” reward of those players attempting such a pass in that particular area of the field.
A normal pass from A to B does have a fair % chance of misjudgment from either defender or goalkeeper; now trying a wall pass in that area will create more problems in place due to the absence of any sort of defensive structure and near about goal post.
