---
title: "1v1 to a Line"
description: "Beat one defender and stop the ball in the end zone: the simplest duel in football, played in pairs side by side so nobody queues."
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/one-v-one-to-a-line
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# 1v1 to a Line

> Beat one defender and stop the ball in the end zone: the simplest duel in football, played in pairs side by side so nobody queues.

U8 to U13 · 2 to 2 players · 8 × 15 m · 12 min

Also called The World Cup, Back-to-back, 1v1 ally.

![Diagram of 1v1 to a Line](https://hobbit.football/api/game-library/diagram/one-v-one-to-a-line)

## How to play

1. Mark channels 8 metres wide and 15 metres long, side by side, with a 2 metre end zone at each end. Two players and one ball per channel.
2. The defender stands on their own end line and passes to the attacker on the opposite line, then comes out to defend.
3. The attacker scores by dribbling over the defender's line and stopping the ball inside the end zone. If the defender wins the ball, they can score the same way at the other end.
4. After every duel the two swap roles. First to 5 wins; then winners move one channel to the left and losers one to the right, so everyone soon meets someone close to their level.

## The decision it trains

The attacker has two questions to answer: when to go, and which side. Go too early and the defender has time to recover; leave it too late and there is no room left. So the attacker watches the defender's feet and weight, then picks the moment and the side, with a change of pace or a change of direction. The defender decides when to tackle, when to slow down and wait, and which side to leave open.

## Make it harder or easier

- **Too hard:** the defender may only leave their line once the attacker has touched the ball, which gives the attacker a head start.
- **Too easy:** narrow the channel to 6 metres, so there is less room to go round.
- **Younger players:** no end zone: dribbling the ball over the line is enough to score.

## What to ask at the breaks

- "What did the defender do just before you got past?"
- "How did you choose which side to go?"
- "When you were defending, when did you decide to go for the ball?"

## Where it comes from

There is no documented origin: a 1v1 duel to a line is played in many places. The Italian federation writes it up as 1 contro 1 "Supero l'avversario", one of the duels in its competition models for children from U8 to U13. The Dutch federation's exercise database has it as 1 tegen 1 lijnvoetbal, and it appears in FIFA Training Centre material too.

## Documented by

- Italian FA (FIGC) (Italy): 1 contro 1 "Supero l'avversario", Supero l’avversario
- FIFA Training Centre (International)
- Royal Dutch FA (KNVB) (Netherlands): 016A 1 tegen 1 lijnvoetbal
- Football Australia (Australia): Back to Back
- Canada Soccer (Canada)
- Danish FA (DBU) (Denmark): Snyd din modstander, 1V1 - MED AFSLUTNING, 1 V 1 - RETVENDT, 1 V 1 - UDEN BOLD, Retvendt
- Royal Belgian FA (Belgium)
- US Youth Soccer (United States)
- German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (Germany)
- Sport Australia (Australia): Back-to-back
- Irish FA (Northern Ireland) (United Kingdom)
- Ontario Soccer (Canada): The World Cup, 1v1 ally, Creative alley
- Massachusetts Youth Soccer (United States): 1v1 Dribble Challenge

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