Football
What is a second striker, and where do they play?
Supports a higher striker, often finding the ball underneath them. The area may overlap with a No. 10’s, but combinations and responsibilities must be read within the specific system.
The diagram uses a 4-4-1-1 setup, attacking from left to right. Yellow markers identify the position being discussed; they are not average match coordinates. For left/right pairs, the top of the diagram is the attacking team’s left side.
Responsibilities in three phases
- In possession: Connect with the highest striker and find receiving space behind the opposing midfield.
- Out of possession: Coordinate with the higher forward to form the team’s first defensive line.
- Transitions: Find an outlet that connects a counterattack, or a position that screens a pass away from the area where possession was lost.
The tactical discussion draws on Coaches’ Voice — Gianfranco Zola: playing as a second striker. The wording and exercise below are FootballCap’s own.
Position versus role
A second striker is not the same as a false nine. The former usually supports another forward ahead, while the latter begins as the center forward and drops away.
Historical data: the Forward group
| Measure in the historical dataset | Result |
|---|---|
| Records labeled Forward | 720 |
| Records with height greater than zero | 704 |
| Records without a valid height | 16 |
| Median height, cm | 182 |
Source: Players — Pappalardo et al. (2019), CC BY 4.0. FootballCap recalculated these values from the original file. This is a transformed summary, not a table supplied by the authors.
Limitations: The dataset uses four broad labels and does not isolate SS. These are historical player records pooled across competitions, not appearances or current-season statistics. Height does not measure tactical ability and is not a selection threshold. Do not use this figure as a standard height for this position. See the methods, four groups, and downloads.
What to watch
To assess link play, count combinations that progress the ball and review unsuccessful attempts too. Do not infer support-striker effectiveness from the Forward group’s median height.
A position-reading exercise
Place the SS behind the ST on a different passing line. Have the ST receive back to goal, then move the SS to an angle for a layoff. Switch who runs in behind and watch the space between them.
Use three columns: what you see, alternative options, and what you cannot yet conclude. These are original exercises; repetitions on the tactics board are not player-performance data.
Keep exploring: third man run · All football positions · Open the tactics board.
References
- Coaches’ Voice — Gianfranco Zola: playing as a second striker
Source checked: 2026-09-09 - Pappalardo et al. (2019) — Players, CC BY 4.0
Source checked: 2026-09-09 - Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
Source checked: 2026-09-09
FootballCap summarized Pappalardo et al. (2019), Players, CC BY 4.0, excluding missing heights and calculating medians. Coaching sources are paraphrased and linked; their images and videos are not reproduced.