Inter Football Formation

Starting Lineup

JOSEP MARTINEZ (Provedel) · BASTONI (Augusto) · AKANJI (Stones) · ROMERO (Bisseck) · CALHANOGLU (Stankovic) · BARELLA (Mkhitaryan) · SUCIC (Zieliński) · JONES (Diouf) · DIMARCO (Henrique) · LAUTARO (Bonny) · THURAM (Esposito)

Inter plays with a high press and quick transitions in a 3-5-2. This formation is built to control the center of the pitch and use wingbacks to stretch the defence. The team looks to win the ball high up the pitch to attack immediately and catch the opponent out of position.

JOSEP MARTINEZ stays between the posts to command the area and keep the line. The back line features a back three consisting of AKANJI, BASTONI, and ROMERO. BASTONI acts as a ball playing defender to play out from the back and progress through the thirds. ROMERO is dominant in the air and uses his aggression to win the second ball and defend zonally. AKANJI stays as a covering defender to sweep behind the line when others step up to press. The unit holds a compact formation to deny the turn to strikers.

The midfield functions as a five-man unit with a deep lying playmaker pairing. CALHANOGLU sits deep to recycle possession and uses his set piece delivery to create chances. DIMARCO acts as an attacking wing back to provide width and whip it in from the flanks. JONES and BARELLA occupy the half spaces to connect the defence and attack. BARELLA uses his work rate to press in a mid block and carry the ball forward. SUCIC moves between the lines to help win the second ball and support the attack.

The attack features two forwards in a partnership with LAUTARO and THURAM. LAUTARO shows high pressing intensity to force a long ball from the opposition. THURAM looks to run in behind or hold up the ball to lay it off to teammates. They work to combine in tight spaces and use the width provided by DIMARCO. The forwards press from the front to trigger a press and pin the last defender.

A major advantage for Inter is the numerical superiority in midfield during the attacking phase. The team creates wide overloads when DIMARCO overlaps the winger. They also show great speed of transition when they win the ball in the middle third and break quickly.

The 3-5-2 formation relies on central control and vertical play. It is best suited for games against teams that play with a single pivot or wide wingers.