false nine

American  

[fawls nahyn] / ˈfɔls ˈnaɪn /

Or false 9

noun

• false nines
  plural

1. Soccer. a center forward player who drops back into the midfield to receive the ball, creating space and opportunity for teammates further up the field by drawing the opposing team’s defense out of their positions.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• false nines
  plural

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

false nine

At Real Madrid, Bellingham played frequently as a false nine in his first season for the club, with Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo offering penetration from the wide positions.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

That Plan B could be deploying a false nine, which Tuchel tried out in the international friendly against Uruguay in March.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Tuchel fielded experimental line-ups against Uruguay and Japan, with Manchester City playmaker Phil Foden featuring as a false nine against the latter in the absence of injured Bayern Munich striker and England captain Harry Kane.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

The idea of having Foden as Kane's central striking understudy is now a non-starter after the experiment of using him as a false nine against Japan was cut short after less than an hour.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

Foden was deployed as a false nine against Japan but made little impression before Tuchel brought on striker Dominic Solanke in the 59th minute.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

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