Shot-stoppingRepresentativeTactics
Shot from a set piece with a wall
Work positioning and saving on direct free kicks, where the wall blocks part of the goal and the view, and the ball can go either side.
Choose a session and the exercise is added to today’s plan.
Load
- minutes
- 12
- dives/set
- 7
- Sets and reps
- 3 × 5
- Intensity
- High
dives per set, per goalkeeper
Microcycle days it fits
MD-3, MD-2
Each bar’s height is that day’s dive ceiling.
Setup
- Goalkeepers
- 1
- server
- 1
- outfield player
- 4
Space: 30 × 25 m
Equipment: Balls, Bibs, Full goal
The coach serves and manages the breaks.
1 steps
Free kick at 18-20 metres, with a wall of two to four players that the goalkeeper sets. An extra attacker allows the short-pass variant. The striker chooses the side.
Exercise sequence
Coaching points
- The wall covers the near-post side; the goalkeeper covers the open side — never the other way round.
- Stand on the open side, but not so far that a shot over the wall becomes unreachable.
- Set the wall looking from the goal line, not from the side — only then is the real alignment visible.
- Once set, forget the wall and focus on the ball: watching the wall means missing the strike.
- With a short pass the angle changes entirely — reposition immediately, do not defend the old angle.
Progressions
- Alternate the free kick position without warning, requiring a new wall each time.
- Allow free choice between a direct shot and a short pass.
- Reduce the wall to two players, widening the angle to cover.
Regressions
- Fix the same free kick position and direct execution.
- Four-player wall, narrowing the open angle.
Sources · 3
- CurriculumRegulamento do Curso UEFA de Treinadores de Guarda-Redes «B», Federação Portuguesa de Futebol
- BookAndy Elleray, «Goalkeeping in Football»
- CurriculumGoalkeeper Skills: The Complete Technical and Tactical Checklist, LevelUp.soccer