In 2026 Football as an overall sport has what feels like an unlimited tree of spin off variations; Beach Soccer, Futsal, 7v7, 6 a side, 3v3 Street Football, and so many more. Yet they all have one major similarity that can't be missed, they all require a teammate. X1 stands on its own in this regard. It's just you and your opponent, no where to hide, and it's all up to you to earn your win.

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THE FORMATS

Let's break this down before we go any further. Yes, there are formats to Street Football Australia's X1, and they make a huge difference to how you play the game. I'll start with what I consider the OG, it's what I based X1 Australia off of, and that is Brasil's X1 Combate. This is a Full court (I use a Futsal Court) where both sides also have a keeper. This already sounds like it's 2v2, yes I know, and you really could make an argument for it, but honestly I'm not going there. You'd think having the keeper makes this the easiest form of X1, but honestly it's quite the opposite. Quick rules on Goalkeepers. They aren't allowed out of their box, and you can't pass to your own keeper, but they can throw you the ball in any way they wish. This is where this format shows its true difficulty.... It's the stamina and endurance required to be able to think almost like you're playing chess. Let's say you get around your opponent, you better score otherwise the keeper can set his athlete off on an uncontested 1v1 with your own keeper. What this immediately teaches is the value in picking your moments and exploiting it, as well as being able to finish under pressure. It's not all attack; you also need to ensure your opponent doesn't pass you as well. So a true balancing act of a sport.

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The next format is the full court with small goals. No keepers this time, you play every role on the court. In this variation it's purely you and your opponent, where a single wrong micro-touch of the ball can leave the opponent with an empty net. This is the most punishing variation if you ask me. Every single gap in your defense becomes a liability. Don't position yourself well enough, your opponent passes it past you or runs around you to score, over-extend in a challenge and again you're punished. Defense is everything, you have to be willing to contort your body in as many weird ways as possible to keep your opponent from scoring, and once that's been achieved, you need to be clever enough to get past him and find the gap in their armour to score yourself. This version is what I personally grew up playing with cousins and friends. It taught discipline but also creativity. You need to think like you're playing high level Mortal Kombat, "Train him to go left by going left 3 times, then get him by going right on the fourth", it's a mind game.

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Half Court is the final format. 1 goal shared between both athletes, where a goal can be scored once possession has been obtained and you have exited the 3 point area of a basketball court (or passed half way if not on a basketball court). The immediate difference with this variation is the need to pass your defender every single time, you don't get any easy goals, none. This is the highest pressure version of X1. The high press is a common tactic, but step too high and you give your opponent an easier goal, but if you press just right you get the ball already outside of the region with an empty net ahead. Footwork is everything, the ball needs to be glued to your foot to make last second adjustments to make something great happen. This is as in your face as it gets, no personal space, every single touch is of extreme importance. A lot of the time the defenders back is to the goal which is less than a meter behind, the creativity or speed to make a difference is what really sets athletes apart here.

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WHY DOES X1 MAKE YOU GREAT

It's the simplest reason, it's all on you, you have the ball a ridiculous amount of time compared to any other form of football, and when you don't have the ball your decisions I'd argue are even more important. It teaches discipline, playing intelligently, footwork, defense, creativity, fitness, and a warrior's mindset.

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Sydney Street Crew have always found a way to train and incorporate X1, even more so since late 2025, and it has been a major reason for our athletes improving and moving higher into the global footballing pyramid.

Many more X1 tournaments coming soon to Street Football Australia, all of which can be found here on Contraband.