The number of forwards in football?

it depends on what formation the team is using. a standard formation could consist of 1 goalie, 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 forwards. however, some teams choose to only use 1 forward and others choose to use 3, just like some teams will have 5 midfielders and 3 defenders. It's really a matter of preference for the individual team and it's skill set.