Striker: finish in the box
Transcript
Lose your marker before the pass, and you can finish first time. Here's how. Warm up first. You need a goal, a friend in goal, a feeder out wide with six balls, and a cone eight metres out as your marker. Watch. Dart towards the far post, then cut in front of the cone to the near post, and finish first time. First, move away, then attack the space. Then, keep it low into the far corner. Not this. Standing still lets your marker stay with you. Switch sides every ball. Our target is three sets of six. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.
What it trains
Striker movement in the box: lose your marker with a short dart away, then attack the near post and finish first time. In an FA analysis of Euro 2020, 82% of open-play goals were scored inside the box, most within 12 yards of goal.
Set up
- A goal
- A friend in goal
- A feeder with 6 balls
- A cone 8 m out
How it works
- Warm up first. Put a cone 8 m out, in line with the middle of the goal: it is your marker. Start just behind it.
- A friend goes in goal. Your feeder stands out wide, about 2 m from the goal line and 10 m to one side, with 3 balls on each side.
- Dart a few steps towards the far post, then cut across in front of the cone to the near post.
- As you cut, the feeder passes along the ground into the space at the near post. Finish first time, low into the far corner.
- Jog back while the feeder walks to the other side (that is your rest). Do 3 sets of 6 (our target).
Coaching points
- Move away, then attack. Dart two or three steps towards the far post to pull your marker with you, then cut across in front of them to the near post. Time it so you arrive as the pass does (FIFA calls these double movements).
- Low into the far corner. Meet it first time, usually with the side-foot (the FA calls it probably the most common finish: accuracy over power). Keep it low, back across goal into the far corner, away from a keeper who has stepped to the near post. This is a coaching cue, not a research finding.
Not this
Standing still next to your marker and waiting for the ball. A defender can stay close and step in front of the pass.
Dose
- Switch sides every ball
- 3 sets of 6 finishes
Our target: 3 sets of 6 finishes, switching sides every ball (the Football Reach target, not an FA rule).
Harder / Easier
Harder
The feeder mixes the angle (near the goal line, the side of the box, the edge of the box) and the target (near post or back towards the penalty spot), so you choose your run late. Then a partner marks you at walking pace instead of the cone, staying on their feet.
Easier
Take a touch first, then shoot: the FA says younger players usually need more touches to get ready to shoot. Or the feeder passes from closer and slower until the timing feels natural.
Safety
- Only use a goal that is anchored to the ground or has a weighted back bar, and never climb or swing on it.
- The keeper stays on their feet: no diving on hard ground. Passes and finishes stay on the grass, nothing in the air.
- Flat grass or a pitch, never a road or driveway, with nobody behind the goal.
- If a shot hits anyone in the head, stop. If in doubt, sit them out: a suspected concussion means stop straight away, no training for at least 24 hours and no matches for at least 21 days (UK concussion guidelines).
Sources
- England Football Learning - how to coach shooting (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - designing a finishing session (Euro 2020 goals) (opens in a new tab)
- England Football Learning - finishing session: fox in the box (opens in a new tab)
- FIFA Training Centre - feinting and finishing (opens in a new tab)
- The FA - goalpost safety (opens in a new tab)
- England Football - UK concussion guidelines for grassroots sport (opens in a new tab)
Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.
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