Round review: Building up in a back three and exploiting inside channels

After 24 matches in quick succession, the first round of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ has given coaches and analysts plenty to study.

In this tactical review, FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) breaks down two key themes from the opening round: how teams are using a back three in build-up play, and how they are attacking the inside channel. The TSG experts providing the overview are former Wales manager Jayne Ludlow and former Blackburn Rovers and Sweden head coach, Jon Dahl Tomasson.

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01:00
Exploiting the inside channels
The first part focuses on how teams use width and movement to stretch the opposition before attacking the space between their centre-back and full-back. This includes runs from wide players, centre-forwards and midfielders, as well as the use of positioning to pin defenders and create space in dangerous areas. For coaches, analysts and anyone working in football, this video explains how some World Cup teams are using structure, spacing and movement to access dangerous space using this channel.

Teams like Canada invert their full-back – Richie Laryea’s run (indicated by the arrow) is one example – into the inside channel to create additional challenges for the opposition’s defence. This movement requires coordinated movement from surrounding team-mates to open up the channel effectively.

04:30
Building up with a back three
The second part of the analysis looks at how teams, in different formations, were building play from the back using three players. Was it with two centre-backs and a defensive midfielder? Or two centre-backs with one low full-back? Or with three centre-backs? Ludlow and Tomasson also look at some of the solutions that emerged and how these same three players provided rest-defence cover in moments where their team lost possession.

In the first half against Senegal, France switched from building in a back four to a back three. By dropping their deep-lying central midfielder, Adrien Rabiot, between the two centre-backs, Les Bleus had more control in possession and gained greater resilience against Senegal’s high press.