What is a wing back in football?

Wing backs appear in formations such as 3-5-2 and 3-4-3, where three centre backs hold the middle and each wide area belongs entirely to one player. The wing back starts higher than a full back, close to the halfway line, and shuttles up and down the touchline for the whole match.

Because the back three covers the centre, the wing back's duty changes with the game state. In possession they are the team's width and its main crossing threat; out of possession they retreat to complete a five-man defensive line.

A full back belongs to a back four and usually has a winger ahead to share the flank. A wing back has no such cover: the entire corridor, roughly seventy metres of grass, is a single player's responsibility in both directions.

That changes the player profile. A full back can succeed as a pure defender; a wing back must cross, dribble and finish moves like an attacker while still recovering into defensive shape. Many modern wing backs began their careers as wingers rather than defenders.

Stamina comes first: repeated sprints in both directions for ninety minutes are this position's daily work. Delivery quality comes next, since a large share of the balls a team sends into the penalty area leaves a wing back's foot.

Tactical timing is what separates good wing backs from great ones. Arriving too early leaves the flank exposed to a fast break; arriving too late wastes the wide overload that a back-three system exists to create.