Unveiling the Advantage: Why Teams Deploy Attack-Focused Players with Minimal Defensive Duties
Modern football is often characterized by systematic pressing and team-wide defensive responsibility. Yet, at the highest level, select teams intentionally design their tactics to allow a star player minimal defensive obligations. This approach, showcased during the 2022 World Cup finals by both finalists, has sparked debate—and offers fascinating lessons on the balance between collective defense and individual offensive brilliance.
Redefining Defensive Responsibility in the Professional Game
For most players, contributing defensively is considered an absolute must, regardless of position. However, in elite football, role specialization enables managers to optimize talent. Rather than seeing non-defending attackers as tactical liabilities, many top teams structure their system to allow the likes of Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappé a near-exclusive focus on attacking duties. The fundamental question: Can this imbalance actually become a strategic asset?
The Cat-and-Mouse Dynamics: Exploiting Advanced Attackers
Deploying a high-caliber attacker with limited defensive responsibilities changes defensive structures. When such a player stays forward during opposition attacks, the defending team must cover ground with just nine or ten outfield players. The principal benefit? The team always has a rapid transition outlet—someone who can receive the ball in space as soon as possession is regained, launching dangerous counter-attacks.
Offensive-minded fullbacks, now so critical as creative forces, are often vulnerable to this tactic. When they surge forward, their opposing winger or striker can stay high and wide, exploiting the vacated space after turnovers. This creates a constant dilemma for opposing managers: push your fullbacks up and risk defensive instability, or hold them back and reduce your own attacking threat. Teams with elite offensive outlets, therefore, create a strategic “cat and mouse” scenario, forcing opponents into difficult choices.
Managing Transitions: Rest Defense and Midfield Structure
Countering attack-focused stars requires a robust “rest-defense”—the configuration of players left behind when their team is on the attack to protect against transitions. Top clubs and national teams often deploy a double pivot or similar system, anchoring midfielders ready to shift immediately and cover wide areas if possession is lost.
For example, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea frequently used a 3+2 structure (three defenders plus two holding midfielders) to safeguard against quick counters. When confronted with a player like Mbappé or Messi, the key is to deny the initial pass into them on transition. England’s deployment of Kyle Walker in a deeper role against France was a rare success, illustrating how meticulous positioning can mitigate the threat—though, even in such cases, truly exceptional attackers can still find ways to exploit any windows of opportunity.
Leveraging the Channel Runner and Positional Flexibility
Some teams maximize the counterattacking potential of their offensive outlet with role-specific adaptations. The “Channel Runner,” for instance, operates in the half-spaces, drifting into zones where they can receive direct balls after turnovers rather than hugging the touchline. Barcelona Femeni’s Asisat Oshoala excels at this, using her pace and timing to become an immediate threat. The key advantage: these players remain detached from late-stage defensive work, saving energy to break with devastating speed and purpose as opportunities arise.
Energy Conservation: Attacking Efficiency Over Collective Work Rate
There’s another substantial benefit beyond tactical structure: managing an elite attacker’s energy for maximum attacking output. Erling Haaland, for example, has demonstrated an uncanny awareness of when to press intensively and when to conserve his energy, often shifting into action during counterpressing or when teammates falter.
At the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi’s selective defensive role with Argentina allowed him to maintain high levels of performance deep into matches. Rather than chasing lost causes, he spent defensive phases mentally analyzing his environment—studying rivals’ movements, identifying exploitable spaces, and positioning himself strategically for when Argentina regained possession. This champion-level game intelligence transforms so-called “walking” periods into valuable reading of the match, directly benefitting the team during transitions and attacking phases.
Turning a Perceived Weakness Into a Winning Formula
While critics may argue that all eleven players must defend as a unit, recent trends illustrate how a carefully managed exception can deliver huge rewards. The presence of a world-class forward with limited defensive responsibility has helped teams like Argentina and France reach the World Cup final—proving that tactical flexibility at the highest level requires a willingness to break from convention.
Key benefits of this method include:
– Constant availability of a rapid transition outlet.
– Greater energy reserves for star attackers at crucial moments.
– Pressure on opposition fullbacks and defenders, often altering their attacking strategies.
– Opening avenues for positional rotations and unpredictable attacking patterns.
However, success hinges on the entire team’s discipline, smart “rest-defense,” and the irreplaceable quality of the designated attacker. Without a Messi, Mbappé, or similarly gifted player, this tactical risk carries far greater drawbacks.
Conclusion: Embracing Tactical Evolution for Competitive Edge
Allowing a specialist attacker to forego defensive duties is not a universal strategy—but in the right context, with world-class talent and strong supporting structures, the upside can be decisive. Teams that strike this balance force opponents to adapt, dictate transitional moments, and maximize the unique strengths of their offensive focal point. As the game continues to evolve, such tactical innovations are driving the modern era’s most defining moments and spectacular successes.
