Free kick: splitting screen

Description

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.

Quality Factors

Timed visual screen and direct shot: the line splits only on the shooter’s final step, and the shot is struck low through a channel the goalkeeper did not see.

Key Questions

• When can the line split, and how does the player splitting it know?
• Why must the decoy run look like a genuine shot?
• Which corner do you aim for when the goalkeeper sees the ball late?
• What happens if the line stands less than one metre from the wall?

Training Info

• 6+ players
• Age Group: U10+