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Runs behind

RUN BEHIND

Start the run so you are level when the ball is played and past them when it lands.

Go to the lab ↓or read the 2-minute lesson first

A ball over the top is two decisions that have to agree. Your #6 decides when to play it; your #9 decides when to go. Get them wrong in one direction and the flag goes up. Get them wrong in the other and the ball rolls through to the keeper with nobody near it.

The only moment that counts

Offside asks one question, at one instant: where was the runner when the ball was played? Not when it arrived, not when he touched it. Here your #9 sets off the moment his midfielder looks up, and by the time the pass leaves he is three metres beyond their back four. The run was fast, the pass was fine, and the move was over before the ball moved.

Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
Target area#9offside line13452861011971345211867910
Starting straight away: at the moment of the pass your #9 is already past the line, so the pass is dead whatever happens next.

Hold the run by eight tenths of a second and the same pass is a chance. He is a metre the right side of their back four when the ball is played, and past them when it arrives.

Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
Target area#9offside line13452861011971345211867910
Timed: at the release your #9 is still behind the line — level enough to be onside, close enough to reach the channel.
Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
Target area#9offside line13452861011971345211867910
The same move a second later: he arrives with the ball, and their centre-back — turning only when the pass was played — is chasing.

Late is not safe either

The instinct after an offside is to wait. Wait too long and the geometry tells you plainly: the ball reaches the channel and your #9 is still six metres away from it. There is no defender to blame, no flag, and no chance. Between "too early" and "too late" the window here is about half a second wide, which is roughly how long a good striker spends watching the passer's hips.

Move the pass and the run moves too

The window is not a fixed clock. Play the ball a touch earlier and the run has to be already under way; take two touches first and the same run is offside. The two are one action, agreed before the ball moves — which is why the striker looks at the passer, not at the space.

The model in one sentence: offside is judged at the instant of release against the second-last opponent — their keeper included, level counting as onside — their back four holds its line until the ball is played and turns 0.3 s later, and a pass counts as received only if the runner is within a metre and a half of it when it arrives.

Live lab

Lab

Only the instructions that matter for runs behind are here. Solve the challenges, then explore.

How the lab measures Player positions, distances, and how fast your players can reach each part of the pitch. It doesn't model the ball, marking, body shape or decisions, so treat the numbers as a way to see the idea, not as a verdict on a real match.

Challenge 1 of 2

Your #6 will play the ball into the channel after 1.8 s. Choose when your #9 starts his run.

Your #9 starts
Live lab4-3-3 · Custom setup
Target area#913452861011971345211867910

Dragging is off for this challenge. Tap a player for instructions, or use the controls.

Challenge 1 / 2

    Saturday checklist

    Watch for it this weekend

    • Freeze the moment the pass is played and look at the runner’s feet against the last defender. That is the only moment offside asks about.
    • Watch a striker who starts a stride too early: the flag goes up and the pass was never the problem.
    • Notice how often the runner and the passer look at each other first. The timing is agreed before the ball moves.
    Next: The final ball →