The Ultimate Guide to Soccer Positions

Soccer, popularly known as fútbol around the globe, is the most-played and most-watched sport in the world. Every soccer player needs speed, agility, coordination, and endurance, but each player has their own unique set of responsibilities and specialized skills depending on their position. There’s a wide variety of soccer field positions, not all of which appear in every soccer game. Aside from a few core positions like the goalkeeper, the positions that appear in each game depend on each team’s play style and formation. To fully understand the sport, it’s important to understand how each position contributes to a soccer team’s success. In this article, we’ll discuss the various positions, their responsibilities, the skill sets needed to play them, and some related soccer terms and formations.

Forwards (F)

A forward is an offensive player responsible for scoring and creating scoring opportunities for their teammates. It’s often regarded as the most important position because forwards are essential for scoring goals. Forwards are typically the most skillful players on the field, with top-notch speed, shooting, and dribbling skills. There are a few types of forwards, including:

Center Forward (CF)

The center forward is a versatile position that plays in the centermost position of the forwards. They have a number of important roles, including scoring goals, creating opportunities for their teammates, and making plays to allow their team to advance. Because of their wide range of responsibilities, CF is one of the hardest positions to play, and it’s typically occupied by the most well-rounded player on the team.

Striker (S)

A striker is similar to a center forward, but may play a bit closer to the goal depending on the formation. Strikers hover around the penalty box looking for scoring opportunities and usually score the most goals.

Winger (W)

Wingers are offensive players that operate on the flanks, or wide sides, of the field. There are left-wingers (LW) and right-wingers (RW). Wingers primarily create scoring opportunities for their fellow forwards by crossing the ball into the box and dribbling past defenders. They have exceptional speed and passing abilities, but can also shoot effectively.

Midfielders (MF)

Midfielders play a role in both offense and defense and provide a link between defenders and forwards. They’re responsible for controlling the tempo of the game, distributing the ball to forwards to set up scoring opportunities, and assisting defenders as needed. They need excellent situational awareness and must be very good at passing and dribbling to create scoring chances.

Attacking Midfielder (AM)

The attacking midfielder is a central midfielder responsible for distributing the ball to forwards to create scoring opportunities. They play behind the forwards and usually have many assists, but also sometimes find themselves in a position to score. For this reason, they also need decent shooting skills.

Defensive Midfielder (DM)

The defensive midfielder, also known as a holding midfielder or defensive mid, assists the defense and breaks up opposing attacks. This central midfielder plays a crucial role on defense and acts as a transitional link from defense to offense.

Right Midfielder (RM)

The right midfielder, or right-mid, plays on the right side of the midfield. They provide width to their team's attack as an outlet to help evade opposing defenders and support the right-back side in defense. Right-mids don’t score as much as attacking midfielders, so they must be especially skilled in passing and dribbling past defenders.

Left Midfielder (LM)

The left midfielder, or left-mid, plays on the left side of the midfield. They have the same responsibilities as the right-mid but operate on the left side of the field.

Defenders (D)

Defensive positions in soccer are responsible for protecting their team's goal, slowing down and disrupting attacks to prevent scoring opportunities, and delivering the ball upfield to their midfielders. The tallest and strongest players on the field typically fill defensive roles, and they require excellent on-ball defensive skills and enough passing ability to transition the attack.

Fullback (FB)

Fullbacks (including left and right fullbacks) are defenders who operate on the left and right sides of their goal. They play on the wide sides of the defense and are responsible for defending against wingers to prevent passes that could lead to a score. While they focus on defense, they can provide width to their team’s attack by distributing the ball downfield. 

Center-Back (CB)

Center-backs are central defenders. They’re similar to fullbacks, but play more toward the middle of the field instead of the sides, and help more with initiating attacks.

Wingback (WB)

Wingbacks are similar to fullbacks but have more attacking responsibilities, even though their focus is on defense and preventing opposing attacks. They can operate as wingers when their team has possession of the ball to help on an attack. They’re ideally well-rounded players who are talented in most, if not all, soccer skills. Because the position requires running up and down the field, it also requires excellent speed and endurance.

Sweeper (SW)

This position, also known as a “libero,” operates behind the last line of defenders and is responsible for clearing any loose balls that get past the defenders. Liberos also prevent through balls from reaching the forwards to stop an opposing attack. This position is rarely used in modern soccer outside of highly-defensive formations.

Goalkeeper (G)

The goalkeeper, also known as a goalie, is the true last line of defense. They’re primarily responsible for preventing the opposition from scoring, and also responsible for catching the ball and distributing it to teammates far downfield. They’re the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands, but only within the penalty area. Goalkeepers spend almost all their time in front of their team’s goal in the penalty box, which is why many consider this position the easiest to play for beginners. However, the position still requires excellent reflexes and an ability to anticipate where and when attackers will shoot. 

Important Skills for Each Position Type

Forwards: A forward’s primary role is to score goals, so they need to be skilled at accurately shooting and dribbling past defenders. They must deeply understand soccer strategy to position themselves in the right place to create scoring chances. Forwards should also be speedy and agile.

Midfielders: Midfielders play a crucial role in attacking and defending, so they must be skilled in various areas. From accurate passing and superior dribbling to on-ball defense and positioning, they must be able to contribute in many ways. They also need excellent situational awareness and tactical skills to control the game's flow and react to unexpected situations.

Defenders: With their height, defenders must be able to slow down attacks and prevent opposing goals. Their necessary skills include exceptional on-ball defense, a great capacity for game strategy, and the ability to pass downfield to help their team transition into an attack.

Goalkeeper: Goalkeepers are typically tall. While they don’t need great running speed, they must be very agile so they can make quick lateral movements to block shots. They also need to read the game well, anticipate shots, and have great reaction time to make saves. Goalies also need to be good at communicating with defenders to organize them and direct their movements.

Soccer Position Jersey Numbers

In soccer, the position of a player can often be identified by what number they wear on their jersey. While not all teams follow the same system, some common numbering conventions exist. For example, the number 1 is typically worn by the goalkeeper, while forwards often wear numbers 9 or 10. Defenders and midfielders can wear a range of numbers, depending on the team. It's important to note that while the jersey number can indicate a player's position, it's not a hard and fast rule. Players can often switch positions during a game, or be assigned different positions depending on the team's needs.

Soccer Formations

Various common formations can indicate which positions are on the field, along with the responsibilities those positions may have. For example, a basic 4-4-2 formation has four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards. In this formation, the forwards lead attacks with support from the midfielders. In a 3-4-2-1 formation, there are three defenders (a sweeper and two center-backs), four midfielders, two forwards, and one striker. It’s a variation of a 3-4-3 formation in which one of the forwards plays in the striker position closer to the opposing team’s goal for scoring opportunities. The sweeper in this formation has a huge defensive responsibility, as the center-backs will often be helping start an attack.