Restarts and set pieces

The way a match is restarted depends on why play stopped and where the ball went out. Some restarts give the team an attacking advantage, others reset play in a neutral position. Understanding the differences helps explain why play continues in a particular way and why certain decisions feel obvious to experienced viewers.

Some restarts are also known as set pieces. The term usually means corners and free kicks where teams have time to organise a planned attack or defence, but it is sometimes used more broadly to cover throw-ins and penalties as well.

When the ball crosses a touchline, a throw-in is awarded to the team that did not last touch the ball. The thrower must face the field, use both hands, deliver the ball from behind and over their head, and have part of each foot on the touchline or on the ground outside the touchline.

A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in. If the throw goes straight into either goal without anyone touching it, play is restarted with a goal kick or corner depending on which goal it entered.

Free kicks come in two types. A direct free kick allows a goal to be scored straight from the kick. An indirect free kick must touch another player after being kicked before a goal can count. Direct free kicks are awarded for fouls involving contact with an opponent or for handball; indirect free kicks are awarded for technical offences such as offside or some goalkeeper offences.

All opposing players must be at least 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the ball at a free kick. Defenders often form a wall of players to block the path to goal when the kick is close to their penalty area.

A penalty is awarded when a player from the defending team commits a direct-free-kick offence inside their own penalty area. The kick is taken from the penalty spot, 11 metres (12 yards) from goal, with only the goalkeeper between the kicker and the goal.

The kicker must be clearly identified. All other players must be outside the penalty area, behind the ball, and at least 9.15 metres from the penalty spot. The goalkeeper must remain on the goal line until the ball is kicked.

A dropped ball is used when play has stopped but no offence has been committed — for example when the ball hits the referee and changes possession, or when an injury has interrupted play with no foul involved. If play stops inside the penalty area, the ball is dropped for the defending goalkeeper. If play stops outside the penalty area, it is dropped for one player of the team that had or would have gained possession if that can be determined; otherwise, it is dropped for the team that last touched it. All other players must be at least 4 metres away, and the ball is in play when it touches the ground.

Set pieces account for a large share of goals in modern football. Corners and dangerous free kicks are practised on the training ground, with specific runs, blocks, near-post deliveries and second-ball positions worked out in advance.

Defending set pieces is similarly organised. Teams choose between man-marking, zonal marking or a mix, and have a plan for clearances, second balls and quick counter-attacks if they win the ball back.