There are many different soccer formations and soccer tactics that can be applied. Whether you’re playing 5-a-side or 11-a-side, there is one underlying factor that should always influence which soccer formation and what soccer tactics you employ – and that’s the strength of your players.

Playing the right soccer formation and employing the correct soccer tactics based on your teams strengths will help get the best from your players and stop the opposition from getting the best from theirs.

Tactically organized teams can beat teams with better players. Teams often lose not due to the lack of effort or technical ability but because of lack of organization or not getting the best from the players they have.

We’ve picked 5 common soccer formations and tactics detailed the qualities players need in each position to play the formation effectively.