Corner and free kick routines that create an advantage
Corners and free kicks are moments of the game you can rehearse in advance. Each corner and free kick routine on this page looks for a moment of advantage: a free player, a 2v1 or a goalkeeper who sees the ball late. None of them needs a long ball into a crowded box. Every routine is animated, so players can watch the movements before they try them, and there are always defenders or a wall to beat, so you can see why the routine works.
From short corners to free kicks and restarts
Corners first. In the short corner routine, the supporting player comes towards the flag and draws the nearest defender out of the penalty area. The ball goes back to the taker, who has moved about eight metres from the corner, and from there the cross can go in low between the near post and the goalkeeper. The short corner routine with three players takes the idea further: the first touch goes to a third player arriving from the edge of the area, the second defender has to come out too, and the cut-back from the end line finds a brief 2v1 in the box. Then come the free kicks. In the routine with a fake argument, two players act out a dispute over who will shoot while a third walks to a new angle. The pass is played when the walker is one step from the shooting position, and the walker shoots first time. In the routine with a splitting wall, your own line of three stands in the goalkeeper's line of sight, at least one metre from the wall as the law requires. A decoy runner goes over the ball, the line splits on the shooter's final step, and the shot goes low through the gap. That leaves two restarts: a futsal kick-in through the pivot, taken within four seconds, and playing out from a goal kick in 8v8, where the goalkeeper and two centre-backs play first without pressure, then against one and finally two pressing players.
Timing decides every routine
Timing and disguise are the main coaching points here. Go short at a corner only when the taker is ready, because if you move too early, you take the defender with you before there's any space. The walker gives the free kick away as soon as they glance at the ball, and a line that splits too early reveals everything. At the kick-in, the pivot moves to the flank at the moment the ball is kicked and takes the marker away from the goal. If the passing lane to the pivot is blocked, the deep player switches the ball to the left-sided player. The key questions teach players to read the defence: how do you recognise that the defender is following you, that the second defender has come out, or that the passing lane to the pivot is blocked? At the goal kick, the blue team scores by getting the ball to the wide gate, and the centre-back also has a choice to make: when to dribble forward and when to pass back to the goalkeeper.
For which ages
The corner and free kick routines are marked from U10. Playing out from a goal kick is marked from U9 and follows the 8v8 rule for 10 and 11 year olds: the goal kick may be taken from the ground anywhere in the penalty area, and the opponent only has to be 5.5 metres from the ball, so the pressing players may stand as close in the drill as in a match. The futsal kick-in routine has no age marking. The corners are played against two defenders, the free kicks against a wall. The routines need five to seven players each, and you can adapt any of them to your own team on the board.
Short corner routine
The corner is played short. The supporting player comes towards the corner flag and receives a pass, which makes the nearest defender come out of the penalty area to apply pressure. The ball is then played back to the taker, who has meanwhile moved from the corner to around eight metres away. The angle for the cross is better from there, and the ball can be delivered low between the near post and the goalkeeper. The player running to the near post finishes one-touch, and the run to the far post starts at the same time. There are two defenders: one applies pressure to the short corner, the other defends the area. Without the defender coming out, the pattern does not show why the short corner works.
Short corner routine with three players
The corner is played short between three players. The player closest to the flag comes short and receives the pass, which brings the first defender out. Instead of the ball being returned to the taker, it goes first touch to the third player, who has come from the edge of the penalty area into the same corner. Now the second defender also has to come out, and the third player dribbles between them to the end line. From the end line, the ball is played back low towards the penalty spot. The finisher times the run so that they move towards the ball rather than waiting for it standing still. The player occupying the near post takes the goalkeeper with them. Two defenders out means there is briefly a 2v1 in the penalty area. That is the whole idea of the move: the short corner is not looking for a cross but for numerical superiority.
Free kick routine with a fake argument
Two players stay over the ball and begin to act out a disagreement over who will shoot. Meanwhile, a third walks calmly towards his own position off to the side, without looking towards the ball even once. In the middle of the argument, the ball rolls into his path, and the shot is taken with the first touch from a new angle that the wall cannot turn to in time. The pattern lives or dies with the walker: as soon as he glances at the ball or breaks into a run too early, the defending reads the pattern. The pass is played only when the walker is one step away from the shooting position.
Free kick routine with a splitting wall
Direct free kick from around 20 metres, where your own line of three players stands in the goalkeeper’s line of sight, at least one metre away from the wall, as the law requires. A decoy runner goes over the ball, and at the same moment the line splits to the sides. The shooter strikes low through the newly opened channel into the far corner, where the goalkeeper only has time to look once the ball is already moving. The role of the line is not to cover the whole goal but to take away the goalkeeper’s moment of release: a goalkeeper who reacts late will not reach the low corner. Practise the line splitting so that it happens exactly on the shooter’s final step — if the line splits too early, it reveals everything.
Futsal kick-in routine through the pivot
In futsal, the ball is put back into play from the touchline with a kick-in, and you have four seconds. That is why it is worth having a routine ready for the kick-in. Here the kick-in is taken in the attacking half from the right flank. There are four blue outfield players, three red defenders and a goalkeeper. The kicker plays a short pass to the deep player waiting further inside and immediately makes a diagonal run towards goal. At the same time, the pivot moves from in front of the goal out to the flank, and the marker follows. The deep player passes to the pivot on the flank, and the pivot plays the ball into the middle, where the kicker has run. The kicker shoots. If the passing lane to the pivot is blocked, the deep player switches the ball to the left-sided player. Once the routine is working, add a fourth defender to mark the kicker.
Playing out from a goal kick 3v2
Practise the goal kick in an 8v8 game, where play is started with short passes. The goalkeeper and two centre-backs play against two players pressing. The centre-backs spread out wide level with the corners of the penalty area, and the goalkeeper kicks the ball from the ground to the one who is free. The blue team scores a point when they pass or dribble the ball through the wide gate about 24 metres from the goal line. The reds try to win the ball and score a goal. When the player pressing closes down the centre-back, the centre-back passes the ball back to the goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper switches play to the other side. Start without players pressing, then add one and finally two. In 8v8 for 10-11-year-olds, a goal kick may be taken from the ground anywhere in the penalty area, and the opponent does not have to retreat: it is enough to be 5.5 metres from the ball. The players pressing may therefore stand just as close in the drill as in a match.