Soccer Goal Scoring - Basic Strategies

Goals in soccer are scored mainly from within the penalty box. There are two predominant ways to get the ball into the penalty box.

One is to play a passing/dribbling game through the center of the field, eventually passing the ball to a team mate running between defenders or dribbling past a defender and going for a shot. When a team attacks through the middle, it draws defenders into the middle and compacts the game there.

The other predominant way is to stretch the defense by playing the ball out to the wing. This pulls defenders wide and opens gaps in the middle. The outside player (wingers) cross the ball back into the penalty box and there should now be space for central attackers to run in and shoot or head it towards goal.

Real good and experienced teams can mix up plays. They may attack through the middle, compacting the defense, thus creating space on the wings. They would then pass into that space and outside players would run into it to get the ball. Depending on the circumstance, the outside player can cross the ball or play it back into the center, They would play it back into the center because the defense is now stretched such that there may be gaps. Now an attack through the center is more likely to be successful.

The outside players (wingers) can be the wide midfielder, an overlapping outside defender or a central striker making a diagonal run to the wing.