CDM, the holding midfielder or anchor. Sits in front of the center backs, screens them, and covers when a defender goes forward. Number 4 in the English tradition, 6 on the Continent.
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1.Defensive midfielder
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Tip: the space bar and the Enter key spin the wheel, and so does a tap on the wheel itself. Press again to skip to the result.
Goalkeeper, sweeper, number ten or striker: this random soccer position generator spins a wheel of 17 positions and prints the job under the winner. It starts in Elimination mode, where a position that has come up leaves the wheel, so the 5-a-side, 7-a-side and 9-a-side chips each deal a whole line-up.
Deal a 5, 7 or 9-a-side line-up
Tap a preset chip, then press Clear results so the wheel starts full. Spin five, seven or nine times: every position in that shape comes out once, numbered in the Results list. Clear results again at the break to deal afresh. For single spins with repeats allowed, tap All and switch to Normal.
What the presets contain, and how to build an eleven
The 5-a-side preset is a 1-2-1 diamond: goalkeeper, a center back as last man, a midfielder on each side and a striker as pivot. The 7-a-side is a 2-3-1 and the 9-a-side a 3-3-2, both common youth shapes. No preset has 11 because every full formation doubles up: a 4-4-2 has two center backs. For a full eleven, open My list and type your formation one position per line, doubles included. Elimination hands out each line once.
Tips
Coaching 7v7: deal the 7-a-side preset again at each quarter break so every child plays a new line.
Training game: spin a position for everyone, then play ten minutes where nobody leaves their own third. Strikers learn how much running a full back does.
Only settling who goes in goal? Open My list, type the players' names one per line and spin once.
Questions and answers
What are the 17 soccer positions on the wheel?
Goalkeeper and sweeper-keeper. In defense: right back, left back, center back, sweeper and both wing-backs. In midfield: defensive, central, attacking, right and left midfielder. In attack: both wingers, second striker and striker. Each line has a chip, and defense has two: Central defense, and Full backs and wing-backs.
How do I use it for 5-a-side when nobody wants to go in goal?
Tap the 5-a-side chip, press Clear results and line the players up. Spin five times and give each result to the next player in line. Nothing repeats, so exactly one of them gets the gloves. Some five-a-side leagues keep outfield players out of the penalty area, so check your organiser's rules.
Is a striker the same as a center forward?
In most usage, yes. The reference behind this list treats striker and center forward as one position, the number nine, with second striker a separate job just behind. Soccer positions are loose: the Laws of the Game name only the goalkeeper. For fixed jobs, spin the NFL position wheel.
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GoalkeeperGK. The one position the Laws of the Game require, and the only player who may handle the ball, inside their own penalty area. Traditional shirt number 1.
Sweeper-keeperA goalkeeper who plays well off the line, coming out to meet forwards who have beaten the offside trap and reading the game like an extra defender. A style of goalkeeping, so the shirt is still number 1.
Central defense 2
Center backCB. Most teams play two, side by side in front of the goalkeeper, marking zonally or player to player. Heading and tackling matter most. Numbers 5 and 6 in England. In 5-a-side this is the last man, the role futsal calls the fixo.
SweeperSW, or libero. A spare center back behind the defensive line who sweeps up anything that gets through it. Central to Italian catenaccio in the 1960s and rarely seen today.
Full backs and wing-backs 4
Left backLB. The full back on the left, up against the other side's right winger. In the traditional role a full back went no further forward than the halfway line. Traditional number 3.
Left wing-backLWB. The name joins winger and full back, and so does the job: the team's width on the left in a back-three shape, defending one minute and crossing the next.
Right backRB. The full back on the right of the defense, whose first job is stopping the opposing left winger. Number 2 in the traditional English numbering. One of the two defenders in the 7-a-side preset.
Right wing-backRWB. A full back with more emphasis on attack, used with three center backs in a 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2. Owns the whole right touchline, so stamina comes first.
Attack 4
Left wingerLW. The old outside left. Dutch and Latin football count wingers as forwards, while English-speaking countries have more often called them midfielders since the 4-4-2.
Right wingerRW. A wide forward near the touchline who beats the full back with pace and crosses, or switches flanks to cut inside onto the stronger foot. The old outside right.
Second strikerSS, also support striker or shadow striker: the old inside forward. Plays just off the main striker, scoring and creating. Number 10 in a traditional English 4-4-2.
StrikerST, also center forward or number nine. The focal point of the attack, judged mainly on goals, and alone up front in a 4-5-1. In 5-a-side this is the pivot, who holds the ball up for the wings.
Midfield 5
Attacking midfielderCAM, the number ten. Plays in the hole between the midfield and the forwards as the main playmaker. Argentina calls the role the enganche.
Central midfielderCM. Links defense and attack through the middle third, the side's engine room. The traditional number 8 is the box-to-box runner.
Defensive midfielderCDM, the holding midfielder or anchor. Sits in front of the center backs, screens them, and covers when a defender goes forward. Number 4 in the English tradition, 6 on the Continent.
Left midfielderLM. Wide left in a midfield four, once called the left half. Traditional number 11 in England. In 5-a-side the wide players cover their whole side, because there is no full back behind them.
Right midfielderRM. Wide right in a flat midfield four such as a 4-4-2: helps the right back, then carries the ball up the flank. Traditional number 7. One of the two wings, futsal's alas, in the 5-a-side preset.
How this list was compiled: The 17 positions, their grouping into goalkeeper, defenders, midfield and attack, and the role notes follow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football_positions. The source lists four kinds of defender (centre-back, sweeper, full-back, wing-back); this file splits them into a Central defense chip (center back, sweeper) and a Full backs and wing-backs chip, so that the printed list files the center back under a position heading and not under the smaller 5-a-side preset. Traditional shirt numbers follow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squad_number_(association_football), English 4-4-2 usage unless the line says otherwise. The futsal role names fixo, ala and pivot follow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futsal, and the five-a-side penalty area rule follows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-a-side_football. All four were checked 2026-09-18. American spellings are used (center back for the source's centre-back). The 5-a-side, 7-a-side and 9-a-side presets are this site's own choice of one common shape per format (1-2-1, 2-3-1 and 3-3-2). They are not official: small-sided rules and shapes vary by organiser. Licence: own work