In this post on set plays for attacking in football, we focus on the technique for corner kicks and long throw-ins. Almost 30-40% of goals in football are scored through set plays. That’s how important they are. We begin with corner kick practice in the near-post area with the ball trajectory at head-height and not higher. This is difficult for the keeper to collect and hence advantageous for the attackers.

Next, switch to targeting the ball in the mid-post area. Slowly progress to targeting the ball in the far-post (away from goalkeeper) area. The fourth variant is short corners. Two attackers have to coordinate to execute this corner. The 1st attacker passes the ball to the 2nd, collects it back (while the 2nd overlaps him), receives the ball and crosses it towards the goal.

We now raise the complexity level by adding in three attackers near the goal, covering the near-post, mid-post and far-post areas. Repeat the previous four exercises in this format with the three additional attackers. The attacker taking the cross can signal to the receiving attackers as to where he is targeting the ball – near-post (raise one hand), mid-post (raise both hands), far-post (stretch both hands to the side).

The receiving attacker covering the far-post can try to play the ball back to the other two (for one of them to score) rather than trying to score himself. An important pointer here is regarding rebounds. Until and unless the ball goes out or the goalkeeper collects it, the three attackers near the goal should keep trying to shoot at goal.

The other thing to keep in mind while receiving the cross is to try and finish in one touch. If you instead try to control the ball first, chances are the defender or keeper will advance and thwart your attempt before you even get a chance to shoot. Be quick, be fluid and you’ll have a greater chance at scoring.

Next, we bring in a game situation by adding two defenders near the goalkeeper, their sole aim being to clear the ball high and away from the goal. The keeper should communicate clearly if he is going to collect or clear the ball, or if he wants one of the two defenders to engage it.

Now we switch the corner kick with a long throw-in, keeping the same formation of attackers and defenders. The overall strategy remains the same. The attackers can try heading downwards into the goal, while the defenders can use heading to clear the ball – far and high.

After reading so far, you would have got a fair idea about dealing with corner kicks and long throw-ins. In the next post, we continue with attacking plays for offence, but moving on to free kicks and penalty kicks. Both are extremely important from the point of view of opportunities for scoring in a game situation. So, keep reading and improving your skills in football.