Much of defensive decision-making depends on which part of the field the attacker is in.

If the attacker is in his own defensive third of the field, the defender usually should try to force the attacker towards the middle. Why? Because, if the defender gains the ball right in front of the attacker's goal, the chances of scoring go up dramatically. Even in 1 v 1 situations, the defender may want to apply heavy pressure in front of the opponent's net, because of the potential rewards involved.

 

If the attacker has the ball in the middle third of the field towards one touchline, the defender would do well to force the attacker towards the touch, thereby restricting his options. Note that some upper-level teams tend to try to force attackers inside, into the path of their own defenders and mids, because the space is more congested and they believe that this reduces the chances that any attack will be successful. This strategy is probably too risky to use with beginners.

In the defensive third, most teams will try to take the attacker as wide as possible, or keep him as wide as possible (because it is harder to score a goal from narrow angles than if looking right into the mouth of the goal from the center). If a defender is deep in the defender's territory with an attacker close to the touchlines, the defender should not over-commit and allow the attacker to beat him along the goal line because the attacker is almost guaranteed to get to the goal before he can recover.

 

If the attacker is in the central area in front of the goal, the defender should try to stay between the attacker and the goal, and try to keep the attacker moving laterally. If possible, the defender should take the attacker towards his weaker side (if he has one), but not give up a shooting angle by getting to one side of the attacker to force him in a direction. However, once it becomes clear that the attacker is going to get off a shot, the defender may be forced to take the risk of a tackle. This is often the case in 1 v 1 games (and is one of the reasons to give players plenty of work in such games). As the defenders will learn from 1 v 1 exercises (where no support will ever be forthcoming), they often have better luck when they choose the time to close down the attacker instead of letting the attacker select the moment for the shot.  When they decide to go in for the ball, they must go in with everything which they have (short of committing a major foul) in their push to get the ball.