Set pieces
Set piece routines
Set pieces are the moments when the game pauses and both teams have time to organise. They produce many important goals and are among the most rehearsed parts of football.
What set piece routines are
A set piece routine is a planned, rehearsed pattern of play used at a stoppage in the game.
Open play is fluid, so teams can rehearse patterns but cannot control every movement. Set pieces are different. The ball is stopped, players can take up planned positions, and the team can run a routine that has been practised in detail.
Set piece routines are designed to make the restart predictable for the team taking it and difficult to read for the team defending it. They can include specific runs, blockers, delivery zones, second-ball positions and cover against counter-attacks if the routine fails.
Why set pieces matter
Set pieces can be decisive because they give teams a repeatable way to create danger.
At the top of the modern game, set pieces are treated as a major part of team tactics rather than an afterthought. Some teams build a clear competitive advantage by rehearsing attacking movements, defensive marking and second-ball positions in detail.
For evenly matched teams, set pieces are often one of the clearest ways to create a chance. A team that defends well in open play but loses too many goals from corners, free kicks or long throws will find themselves chasing matches they could otherwise have drawn or won.
The main attacking set-piece routines
This section focuses on the main attacking routines teams use from dead-ball situations.
Corners
Awarded when a defender plays the ball over their own goal line. Corners are among the most rehearsed attacking set pieces, with variations such as inswingers, outswingers, short corners and planned runs.
Free kicks
Awarded after a foul or other offence. Direct free kicks within shooting range can be struck at goal; further out they are often crossed into the box or used to restart a rehearsed move.
Long throws
A specific throw-in tactic used by teams with a long-thrower. The ball is thrown directly into the penalty area, almost like a corner, with attackers timing runs to flick it on or attack the delivery.
Penalties
A direct kick from the penalty spot. Penalty taking is not a routine in the same sense as a corner or free kick, but it is a rehearsed skill with its own technical and psychological decisions.
Attacking principles
Most attacking set piece routines share a few common ideas.
Specific runs
Attackers do not arrive in the box at the same moment. They time their runs to meet the ball at different points — near post, far post, central, edge of the area — to give the kicker multiple options.
Blockers and screens
Players run in front of defenders to free a teammate. The defender has to choose between staying with their original man or staying behind the blocker, and either choice creates a problem.
The right delivery
The kicker chooses the delivery to suit the runs and the defending setup. Inswinging crosses threaten the goal directly, while outswinging crosses can suit late runners attacking the ball at speed.
Second-ball positions
A planned set piece routine includes what happens if the cross is cleared. A teammate stands on the edge of the box ready to win the second ball and recycle the attack.
Defending principles
Defending set pieces is just as organised as attacking them.
Marking the runners
Most teams man-mark the most dangerous attackers and use zonal markers to cover specific areas of the box. The mix between man and zonal marking is one of the main tactical decisions for defending corners.
Clearing the ball
The first job is to stop the immediate chance. The second is to clear the ball into a safe area, ideally beyond the second-ball players waiting around the edge of the box.
Counter-attacking
Many teams keep one or two attackers high up the pitch at corners, ready to break forward if the ball is cleared. This is dangerous for the attacking team, so the attacking side also needs players positioned to stop the break.
The near-post defender
A defender is often placed near the front of the six-yard area or near-post zone to attack low or near-post deliveries, stop flick-ons and protect the goalkeeper from balls dropped into the most dangerous area.
Rest defence at set pieces
An attacking set piece also needs protection behind the attack.
A team taking a corner, free kick or long throw cannot simply send everyone into the box. If the delivery is cleared, the opposition may have space to counter-attack against a team with too many players ahead of the ball.
This is why teams leave players outside the area to collect second balls and usually keep deeper cover behind the routine. Those players protect against clearances, stop the first pass of a counter-attack, and help the team regain control if the initial delivery fails.
Routines in detail
Each of the four main types of set piece has its own routines, principles and tactics.
Corner routines
Inswingers, outswingers, short corners, near-post flicks and rehearsed runs into the box. The most varied and most studied set piece.
Read about corner routinesFree kick routines
Direct free kicks at goal, crosses into the box from wider angles, and rehearsed routines from indirect free kicks within range.
Read about free kick routinesLong throw routines
Long throws into the box, used by teams with a specialist long-thrower. The throw replaces a cross and works much like a corner.
Read about long throwsPenalty taking and shoot-outs
How teams approach in-game penalties and penalty shoot-outs, including kicker selection, goalkeeper preparation and shoot-out order.
Read about penalty takingSet piece coaches
Set pieces are now important enough to have specialists who do nothing else.
Many top-level teams now employ a dedicated set piece coach, whose only job is to design and rehearse routines for both attacking and defensive set pieces. Their work is detailed and statistical — analysing the opposition's defensive setup, designing routines specifically to exploit it, and refining the team's deliveries based on data and video.
This is a relatively new development. For most of football's history, set pieces were practised by the team as a whole or by the assistant coach. The arrival of dedicated specialists has driven up the quality of routines at the top of the game.
Where this fits in the rules
Set piece tactics work within the rules that govern restarts.
The Rules section explains what the rules of each restart are — distances, where the ball is placed, who can take it, what counts as a foul throw. The Tactics section explains what teams plan to do within those rules. Both sides of the picture are useful.
The line between rule and tactic is sometimes blurry. The "near-post block" at corners, where attackers stand close to the goalkeeper to limit their movement, is allowed within the rules but referees watch it closely. Crowding the keeper is a tactic; impeding them is a foul.
What to read next
Set pieces sit alongside other tactical decisions a manager makes during a match.