The fake shot is a shooting wind-up that you pull out of before the foot reaches the ball. A defender who moves to block, or a keeper who sets for the shot, has committed, and you take the ball the other way, pass, or shoot from the space you made. It only works if everything up to the last moment looks like your real shot: the glance at goal, the plant beside the ball and a loaded backswing.
Set up
Carry the ball toward goal or at the defender with your head up, close enough to shoot so the threat is real.
This could be a shot.
Glance up at the goal, the same way you do before a real shot.
Look at the target.
Take a big last step and plant your standing foot beside and slightly behind the ball, exactly where you plant for a real shot. Keep the standing knee bent.
Plant like you mean it.
Fake
Swing the kicking leg back as for a real shot: hip extends, knee bends, toe pointed. Throw the opposite arm out for balance.
Full, loaded backswing.
Keep your hips and chest doing what they do in a real shot. Don't slow down or lean toward your exit before the swing. Sell it with your eyes, arm and leg, not by lurching your body.
Quiet hips, loud leg.
As the leg comes forward, stop it before contact. Bring the foot around the ball and wrap it to stop or cut it, keeping the ball within about a foot of you.
Abort and wrap.
Take the ball away from the block straight away: cut back, take a touch inside and shoot, or pass. Then change pace. On the cut, keep the plant knee bent, the chest fairly upright and the foot under you, not far out to the side.
Balanced, then go.
Feel it
Up to the last moment it should feel like your real shot: same run, same glance, same plant, same backswing. The only difference is that the foot never strikes through. Your hips stay quiet and under you, so you can wrap the ball and push off in a new direction without stumbling.
Fix-its
- Nobody bites You skipped the shooting cues. Glance at goal, arm out, big plant step and a full backswing, every time.
- You give it away early Don't slow down, shorten your stride or lean toward your exit before the swing. Approach at your real shooting speed and shape.
- The ball runs away after the pull-out Wrap the foot around the ball and stop it. Keep it within about a foot of you on the cut.
- No change of pace after Plan your exit before the fake and drive into the space as soon as the defender commits.
- You wobble or the knee caves on the cut Keep the plant knee bent, the chest fairly upright and the plant foot under you, not wide out to the side.
Drill
- Unopposed: dribble at a cone, do the full fake (glance, arm, plant, backswing), wrap the ball to stop it and dribble back. Alternate feet each rep.
- Fake-and-finish pattern: check away and receive a pass, dribble at a cone near goal, fake the shot and cut back, pass back to your partner, receive the return and finish.
- Double fake: in the same pattern, fake a second time before the real shot, then take a touch inside and shoot.
- Passive defender at the edge of the box: receive, use the fake to open space for a touch, then shoot. Rotate attacker and defender.
- Live 1v1 to goal with a keeper (for example 30x30 m): the attacker uses fakes to beat the defender and shoot; the shooter defends the next attacker.
Sources
- FIFA Training Centre — Talent Coach Programme 11-3: Finishing exercise, feinting and finishing (2024)
- FIFA Training Centre — Talent Coach Programme 3-05-6: 1v1 finishing, beating the defender and scoring
- England Football Learning — Moving with the ball and turning session: moving with deception (2025)
- Coaches' Voice Session Planner — Fake shot shooting 3 (session plan, n.d.)
- Kellis & Katis — Biomechanical characteristics and determinants of instep soccer kick, J Sports Sci Med (2007)
- Brault, Bideau, Kulpa & Craig — Detecting deception in movement: the side-step in rugby, PLOS ONE (2012)
- Dos'Santos, Thomas, Comfort & Jones — Training interventions on change of direction biomechanics and ACL loading, Sports Medicine (2019)
Last checked 2026-10-26.