Set piece · 8 seconds
Free Kick: Third-Man Run into the Box
A worked free kick rather than a shot at the wall. The taker runs up exactly like a normal free kick and feeds it in to the player on the edge of the box, which is what makes it work. At the same time the wide midfielder makes a decoy run forward and then back out, taking the defender with him. The player standing at the left edge of the wall peels out and rounds the back of it, into the space the wall itself is creating. The player on the edge of the box plays it first time into that space, and the runner arrives on it and takes the shot. The wall is the last to react: it holds, then turns and chases once the ball has already gone in behind, and by then it is too far back to matter.
Instructions
- Disguise it: the taker runs up exactly like a normal free kick so the feed is a surprise
- Sell the decoy: the wide midfielder run has to look like the real threat to take his marker out
- Time the peel around the wall to arrive as the pass is played, not before
- First time on the edge of the box: set the runner into the space behind the wall before the defence recovers
Building lineups in seconds
Set your team sheet, plan your substitutions, and share it with the parents before you leave the car park.
