The 3-4-3 shape has increased in popularity in the last five years as one of the best alternatives to the classic 4-3-3, which has dominated worldwide since the turn of the century.
The advantages of the system include vertical balance, solid defensive structure, and an ability to counter-attack quickly.
Admittedly, with just two central midfielders, it can suffer overloads against teams whose formation includes three midfielders. The system is also inherently flat and linear, so unless used in the right ways, is susceptible to opposition players getting between the lines. However, there are ways to disguise these weaknesses, and when the qualities of the system are optimised, a 3-4-3 can be very dangerous.
The formation, as we know it today, experienced an initial rise in Italy, due to the structural nature of the Italian game, which has less emphasis on transitional play. Transitions in a 3-4-3 are simple and quick to carry out, along with being easy to coach. The diagram below illustrates the main movements required in a defensive transition.
For this reason, Italian coaches working with teams abroad (such as Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur) have opted for this formation, as a way to deal with the increase in transitional importance.
Difficulty can arise when gaps are left between the lines, so teams deploying a 3-4-3 tend to defend very deep in a low block. The wing-backs and wide forwards drop back to create a 5-4-1 shape. Once in this low block, teams are incredibly hard to break down. The five-man front lines used by attacking teams are nullified by a five-man defence, and the bank of four in midfield are able to fill the gaps, leaving no space for opponents in any of the five vertical zones shown below.
Just as defensive transitions into this shape are straightforward, an offensive transition can be performed with speed too — lending itself to counter-attacking football.
Every player on the pitch has a similar number of passing angles in a 3-4-3 (unlike a 4-3-3 in which the holding midfielder must orchestrate the play, with seven short passing angles). This means that a 3-4-3 is particularly effective for teams who have no stand-out player, around whom everything should revolve.
When attacking in the final third, the wing-backs should push up level with the opposition’s defence. This creates an overload of 5 v 4 with the front-three as well, and more importantly 2 v 1 against the opposing full-back, making it very difficult for them to know which players to track or where to stand. Some teams tend to add an extra defender during this phase, so that the 3-4-3 can’t create this overload. Usually a winger will become a wing-back or the defensive midfielder will become a centre-back temporarily.
As mentioned earlier, a 3-4-3 is not the best formation for controlling the ball, as central midfield is the obvious area of weakness. However, most recently seen with Graham Potter’s Brighton, Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea and Joachim Löw’s Germany, when the two wide forwards drop into midfield, it can create a box around the opposition’s midfield-three.
While a 3-4-3 system is usually used to completely bypass central midfield against a 4-3-3, with progression through wide areas, tactics like this are helpful when challenging in the central zone for possession and control.
Teams who want to do this continually against a 4-3-3 often set up with a 4-4-2 ‘narrow diamond’, as it offers a natural four-man midfield and numerical superiority in the central zone and half-spaces. The caveat there however, is that their full-backs have to have real technical quality in a one v one battle on the flank, as they are the only players occupying the wings.
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