How to Score a Goal in a game of soccer:
This post was originally to answer the question on how to become prolific in scoring goals in a game of soccer/football as was posed on Wikihow but was never used, thus; the need to post it here perhaps it will appear on the first page of Google and perhaps, help people find steemit too. If you havent join steemit yet, please don't be left behind! The internet is paceyly advancing! Here are things you will learn on steemit and way more!
For this topic, i spoke from my experience of playing football/soccer on the streets and even though i now play basketball, i know football like bread and butter!
Scoring in the face of little to no defense:
Penalty kick:
Ofcourse, our tutorial should start with scoring when there exists no defense. You are allowed time to have composure for a shot against a goal keeper; and a very wide post, hahaha, But even this is hard, let alone during the normal flow of the game when there are defenders everywhere. Inanycase, scoring a goal should start here!
So how would you score a penalty?
How about an empty post without a goal keeper? Do you think you can take that shot and put it in? Well, yes! But you can still fail to score, I tell you! If you had just one shot, just one strike to take at the ball, then you can definitely fail to score in an open net.
Yes, you can slip; you can place too much hit on the ball and have it go over the bar or be inclined to shoot leftwards or rightwards and that requires technique to pull off!
Where you hit the ball as well matters! If you hit it, too towards the top, the ball may not move; You hit it too low like a sweep or swipe, it may go over the bar and same applies if you lean back too much as you are jabbing the ball side-footed. Hence, Many times, to score a penalty; too much power isn't recommended! One reason is, the ball is stationary and that's different from a moving ball. In this case, you’ll have to move towards a stationary ball and take a shot.
Many times during a penalty, you are a bit tired. When you are tired, your body tends to exert more force because it feels it needs some extra force to compensate for tiredness. Now, this affects composure during a penalty, making it still a bit hard to successfully execute. And like I said, brute force isn’t too good during a penalty even if you are just so good.
A penalty kick is also usually crucial, thus, added pressure! You just may be carrying an entire nation on your head during this penalty kick, thus, if you go for brute force in how you take the kick; a heavy shot; you just may put too much into it.
So here: In some cases you want to let the goal keeper dictate how you play the ball! Look at his eyes; knowing a little about the keeper may help as well, like ‘is he south-pawed or always more readily diving to the left or to the right etc’. Sometimes you can engage him with your eyes, to give him no clues on where you will play the ball and sometimes you can just choose your spot and go for it; in this case, brute force or a heavy shot will do!
What is most important here, is what you have set you mind to do. Amidst all the pressure, your conviction has to be strong, whether you change to plan b on the go, your conviction for plan b has to be strong as being stuck between two minds, may affect how you play the ball direly negatively.
Now as for shooting the ball, when your mind is made up; you can either jab the ball at its centre; this will normally play the ball to the centre of the post! Goal keepers in general, are more likely to dive left or right. Some people say this (THE CENTRE OF THE GOAL POST) is the safest place to put a penalty kick, but it also comes with risks. Again conviction is key!
You can jab the ball at the centre as well, but more at the bottom-half of the ball with same result but this will give the ball a loop. You can also 'panenka', hahaha; which is more like a slow chip on the ball. This requires real confidence and real technique! Mostly veterans or raw talents use this.
You can go for brute force, a heavy shot. After choosing a spot; in-stepping the ball with a spin will work.
A side footed shot with a spin, so that the ball goes around the goal keeper works as well, or you may want to slant your body towards one direction and side foot the ball in the opposite.
Side footing the ball is usually the best for penalties as you have more control over how the ball moves in this case. It is a more relaxed mode.
How to beat one or two defenders in a game of soccer or football:
Well, it is not as hard as it seems to appear on TV. I mean, there is one giant football pitch with so much space, thus dribbling or beating one or two defenders is much easier than you would think, but you need more understanding of who you are, your strengths and your ability.
Yes, you are fast but there is difference between speed and acceleration. Yes, over a short distance you will outpace a defender, but some defenders relish space and have acceleration and will outrun you over time.
Yes, you can run at a defender so that he is constantly off balance as he is running backwards, however, a defender moving back can or may not mean he is off-sorts, it may mean he is reducing the space, thereby cutting your pace!
Overall, knowing your own ability comes first! Then knowing your defender, may be of value too. This simple fact is essential so as to know where your ability will outshine his; for instance, is he a left footer; does he like running; does he have sharper reflexes?
The rest may come down to sheer skill; dribbling skills; talent; experience and psychology.
To dribble means simply, getting the ball past a defender and towards his own goal, for the most part.
There are different means to accomplish this:
If you are like Thierry Henry; then you may relish outrunning defenders and leaving them at your skirt. If you are Messi-like; you may use body movement or a little feint to dictate where your defenders go then ofcourse, go with the ball close to your feet, in the opposite direction and with short bursts of speed. If you are like Cristiano Ronaldo, then the step overs come in play: this is basically also a means to feint the defender and accelerate in another direction with the ball, so practically stepping over the ball multiple times with either one leg or both or one after the other, then running off with the ball as defender is still guessing which way you will go.
Dribbling is a topic for another day, hahaha!
Scoring a goal in a soccer/football game against an established defence:
This is where you need team work and game strategy.
So here; there exist the ‘normal passing of the ball around’, till you can get an opening for a shot and ofcourse, this can take different forms of formation. It can be 4-3-3 an attacking formation; where your offense is a bit jampacked with 3 strikers and 3 midfielders behind them, to overwhelm the defense or it can be a more defensive approach where you'll have one bulky big striker as a focal point, this thus, will involve a lot of crosses on the wings or long balls straight to the striker to attack the goal. Some plays involve a decoy, where a secondary strikers (false 9), is designated to hold the ball and draw defenders towards him to create space for the main striker. And ofcourse, there is ‘moment of brilliance’; where a really talented and confident player, takes on the mantle of making goal and decides to dismantle an established defense! In this case, he is likened to a Maradona.
Now, where there is no way out against a solid brick of defense and a strategy or formation won't work; we turn to more unconventional ways; where even an established defense is rendered almost none existent:
Indirect freekicks:
In this case, the ball is crossed into a rendezvous of defenders and your team mates! There thus, exists many likelihoods for a non-existent defense. It is very possible that the free-kick taker finds the head of his defender directly upon pulling a cross or the goal keeper miscalculates and comes out to punch the ball but misses and ball is deflected into his net. Else there are many other set-pieces formats, that can be applied to a freekick, that can lead to a goal.
Hence, in the face of a very tight and established defense, winning an indirect freekick can be an option!
Own goal:
You can also instigate an ‘own goal,’ when the defense has been too tight, hahaha! There's a way you strike the ball into on-rushing defenders; right in their path and they'll score for you as they will be against physics, if they had to halt.
Counter attack:
This can happen as a result of a corner; when everyone comes out to contest the ball or the opponents decide to be very attacking and are all around on your defense and around your 18 yard box and they lose the ball; then you can hurriedly displace their defense with speedy attackers from your team running the ball in attack to score.
In some case to overcome an establish attack, a counter attack can be an option! You sit behind in your box and appear complacent with just defending deep, until the opposing team feel relaxed and in attack mode, storming your 18 yard box with constancy and then you pounce and devastate their defence, with a counter attack!
Freekick: Freekicks, direct free kicks:
It's you against a wall of defense, where you'll need either use sheer brute force to bullet the ball through the wall of defenders and past the goal keeper or outright technique. A goal can also come from side-footing the ball with the right amount of force and spin, to take the ball over the wall and into the post.
A technique may also require conniving with one, two or three of your team mates, so that the goal keeper has doubts on who will shoot at goal. Part of the coup, may be part of the wall i.e one of your team mates who stays with the wall and who will either jump up for you to take a straight shot at goal; under his legs thus, under the wall or who'll create a tiny opening in the wall for you to aim straight at goal and thru the wall.
Understanding the weight of the ball in relation to wind factors and knowing how much spin and force to apply when you shoot, to allow to ball to swerve back towards goal. This understand also comes in handy, if your aim is to play the ball around the wall, instead of over wall.
Practice brings about this understand!
Bottomline: you can swerve the ball with a side-footed take or go for straight up power in a shot or technique, in a tiny free kick game plan. You can also go with both force and technique, which makes any more swerve on the ball a little more awkward for the goal keeper to handle.
And if you are very smart you can fast-play: if the referee has given signal and just while the goal keeper is busy arranging his wall of defense, you cunningly and hurried shoot at goal and cathch the goal keeper unaware!
Corners in soccer or football:
When there is a corner; there is always the slim chance that the defense doesn't exist. You'll need to keep that consciousness even amidst all the numbers in defense, that are shoving and bumping each other etc because amidst that all; the ball can still come straight to you and with the right swerve and pace is all that's needed as well as you being in the right position for a nod-in or tap-in.
Beating the offside trap:
Sometime this is all that is needed to come one-on-one with the goal keeper. Beating the offside trap? Sometimes that's your only nemesis!
If defenders are very good at maintaining the offside trap, it frustrates! You keep running at goal and keep getting penalized by the referee for offside!
Thus, hide away from the defenders but on the same line as the line of defence; then outpace the entire line of defence. Position yourself in a way to make the defenders be sure your are offside but you won't be, because of your back-and-forth short bursts, in-and-out of the offside trap.
Sometimes that's all defender needs to stop you from scoring. Sometimes that's all you need to overcome: your own adrenaline to run in to early.
Shooting the ball:
With a step over you can change direction and place yourself in comfortable angle for a more composed shot at goal. Many times as you take on defenders, don’t stop the ball, let it roll; it's harder defenders, to determine your next move that way.
Know your stronger and weaker foot!
You also need to know when to shoot. In soccer there is psychology and dynamics; momentum; there are certain moments that once you play the ball and at that very moment, regardless of how or even with wrong technique, it will beat any goal keeper. You'll have to know these moments.
There a bad days too: when your strikes just doesn’t want to go in, thus, when you notice that your shots are not going in or lack accuracy; be graceful, calm, collected; give the ball to team mates and work on your positioning and you'll find yourself at the right place at the right time for a simple tap in.
Now as for the actual art of shooting: work with ball's pace mostly when using your head. The pace of the ball; the arch of the ball's motion; you may have to chest ball and volley! Many times you don't have to control the ball to shoot it! Based on angles and pace of the ball, shoot it as it comes!
Sometimes in alignment with the direction of the ball's spin or opposite; you can jab the ball with the inner side of your foot, the outer side of your foot, your instep or even your backheel.
Each has different effects on your shot and some are just based on convenience, due to how your body is placed.
A jabbed shot using the side of your foot is more controllable and more predictable. You can add a spin instead of a direct jab to give the ball an arch or a curve to it, as it moves.
The instep: which is the top surface area of your shoe just before the laces begins, requires more technique to use, but this strikes the ball with more power. Keep your head down and your knee over the ball. Your hips should face where you want the ball to go. You would also need your instep in a side volley or even a bicycle kick if you try to use that.
Using the outside of your foot or more like the last 3 toes region of your foot, requires real technique. It is mostly used, when you are out of position and still want to take a shot with a bend around defenders, to deceive and beat a goal keeper. You will need to always need to strike through the centre of the ball, especially so as not to break your toes.
Many bow-legged strikers, use this method as it is more comfortable for them based on the frame work of their legs.
Back heel: is pretty easy but ofcourse, you need perfect timing and have to be a few yards from goal as it is not easy to exert that much force using your back-heel. The back-heel is an option when you are backing the post and it is to cramped, to make a turn and shoot or if you are just trying to be creative and crafty.
Using your head: this requires a lot of techniques as well! Fears have to be eliminated completely: fear of the ball’s pace; fear that you may bump into an opponent’s head. There are times where you basically, just are required to touch the ball with your head to deflect it a bit and it is in the net as the ball already has enough pace and momentum.
At other times, you have to generate needed pace on the ball with a power header. Nodding the ball at it’s centre will work, if you want the ball to go straight in alignment with the position of your head; to hive the ball an angle then you can nod the ball a little at its edge.
While shooting, have an aim!
You may want to shoot with the sole aim of letting it bounce awkwardly in front of the goal keeper or shoot with the aim of letting the keeper punch it out for your teammate to simply tap it in. You may also want to shoot the ball regardless, with hopes that it will get deflected in somehow. You may want to use body movement to make the goal keeper move right, then shoot at goal to his left! Crossing the ball into running defenders, knowing an own goal can result, is another way to go.
Understanding, the weight of the ball will help as you strike the ball and may play a factor in how much the ball swerves. Thus, considering this along with the available wind and you can swerve the ball well enough in a shot that’ll deceives the goal-keeper. If you are playing in rain, scoring takes some additional technique, you have to consider that a wet pitch may slow ball movement, thus a loop or chip is what will likely beat the goal keeper. If it is windy too, your spins on the ball may go uncontrolled. Bullet shots or a volley, may work better! Humid too or hot conditions, will tell on your conditioning; how much pace or distance you can cover with still enough breathe in you, to exert the force needed for a shot.
Sometimes, a goal will come as a result of mounted pressure! As you engage the goal keeper continuously, even though you know it may not go in, you may want to continue shooting and finally the goal keeper, will give in to the mounting pressure and cave in or punch it weakly into the feet of your team mate for a simple tap-in.
You can also instigate an ‘own goal’. When the defense has been too tight, hahaha; there's a way you strike the ball into on-rushing defenders; right in their path and they'll score for you as they will be against physics if they had to halt. Sometimes the easier way to go overall, is for a penalty kick, hahaha, as it may also increase the potential that the defender on you, gets a red card as well as win you a penalty kick.
If you know you don’t have enough acceleration in you, to outpace a defender, the way to go, may be to run across the defender and instead of vertically where he will eventually outpace you. A slight tackle on you, from behind, will have you going to the line for a penalty kick and most likely have the tackling defender sent off.
Bottomline, having a target helps your shots accuracy!
Additional oblivious tips for being a great scorer:
* Know the ability of who you are playing with or your team mates. This will help you in overallly, in making greater passes!
* Using the head requires that you learn positioning.
* Keep the ball at your feet, always within your reach.
* Always shield or protect the ball with one of your legs as shield or you entire body.
* Be graceful and the football will tend to return to you!
* Know your measurements; know your own abilities!
* Apply practical logic, for instance; sometimes instead of running 1 km on the pitch sideways, why not simple cover that distance with the ball vertically and thru the defense and be much closer to your opponents post etc.
* The goal keeper is an important person to study: chipping the ball over a goal keeper that is way off his goal line, takes so much confidence. You will need to be fully confident to execute a chip. If you are to let go; let go! If you are stuck between two minds, your shot will not exactly know where to go either!
Additional tips for beating a defence in soccer/football:
* Know when to be patient and know when to hurry
* Proper spacing is key in a formation
* YOU CAN side foot THE BALL WITH A spin TO curve the ball in around the defenders.
* A bicycle kick may be a speedy option in a tight defense: If all you have, is a split second to react and you must be slightly quicker than the defense, there'll be no time to control the ball for a turn and then a composed shot as you are backing the defense, here's where you'll need a bicycle kick
* Take a Volley: you may not be well positioned and the only way to hit the ball and give it the accuracy of goal may have to be, to lean a bit sideways and volley it. Use your instep to volley! Sometimes, you just have to volley, to give the ball impossible-to-stop force and accuracy! Hahaha, even goal keepers are afraid to handle a volleyed ball and many times it is just too fast!
* Back-heel; again this can save you if you are backing the post and in the 18 yard box. Many times, goal keepers aren't expecting a backheel. They see you backing the post and forget that you still have an arsenal called the backheel. This beats defenders alike!
* Scrambling; sometimes this is the outright solution. The defense has been too tight. You'll just have to be aggressive, sharp and alert to a ‘lose ball’ to scramble it into goal. Positioning and hustle helps a scramble!
* Remember you always need these up your sleeves as a striker: (intimidation, deceit, composure: yes u have all the speed and anxiety and fire required, you can outpace the entire defence, but how about the composure, when in front of goal? You'll need this to really score. If you are lost on how to beat the keeper, use the dummy or feint to make him think you are about to shoot then shoot when he falls for your fake. it works a lot!)
* Step over too but not too much!
* In some cases you need previous experience, in some scenarios you let the play dictate your moves.
* If you have a low centre of gravity, it helps your balance! You can take a shoulder-to-shoulder bump and still not be too shuddered off the ball.
* A striker must above all: know himself; as his abilities, his calculations and measurements, rely on how much he knows himself!
All the videos used; credit goes to their respective owners and Youtube!
Do well to share this post to all soccer/football lovers, so they can see more of steemit as well!
your boy TERRY
