World-Class Tactics: Own-Half Kick-In with the Goalkeeper Joining as the 5th Outfield Player

When you analyze matches played by top European teams, one clear trend is the goalkeeper joining the attack as the 5th outfield player.

The reason is simple: by creating even more numerical superiority, teams try to compensate for any qualitative disadvantage.

Having the goalkeeper join the attack does come with the risk of leaving the goal empty, but if the team executes it with shared understanding through a set play (jogada), they can attack decisively without hesitation and connect it to a finish.

In this article, I will introduce examples actually used by Sporting, who won the 2020/2021 Champions League, as well as a tactic adopted by Benfica, who reached the final four.

Initial positioning

The initial shape is the same orthodox 3-2 structure used in a standard own-half kick-in with the goalkeeper joining the attack.

Pattern where the negative support player runs through

Forming a 2-3 (2-1-2) shape

The negative support player, red no. 2, makes a run forward.

1. Look for the front pivots (red no. 3 and red no. 4)
2. If the pass cannot go forward, play it to the goalkeeper instead (square pass)

Goalkeeper square pass -> create a 2v1 on the 1st line