No-Look Pass: Soccer technique, drills and fixes

A no-look pass is an ordinary pass with your head pointed somewhere else. It works because you scanned before the ball arrived, so you already know where your teammate is and don't need a last look that gives the pass away. Lab studies show that a head turned away from the pass slows how fast people read its direction, but only by a few hundredths of a second, so the pass still has to be accurate and well timed. The move is often associated with Ronaldinho.

Set up

Before the ball reaches you, check over your shoulders for the ball, opponents, teammates and space. This is where you find your real target.

Look early so you don't have to look late.

Pick your decoy: a direction that is not your real pass, ideally another teammate or a space the defender would believe you are aiming for.

Plant your standing foot beside the ball, about 6 in away, with the toes toward your real target and the standing knee bent.

Plant like a normal push pass.

Pass

As you plant, turn your head toward the decoy. Your head is the main cue the defender reads, so commit it there and don't flick it back to the target.

Head on the decoy.

Strike with the inside of your foot: kicking leg turned out from the hip, ankle locked, toes slightly up, contact through the middle of the ball near the arch. A quick glance down at the ball at contact is fine: eyes on the ball at contact is standard push-pass technique, and it points your face at the ball, not the target.

Firm foot, clean contact.

Follow through with the foot toward the real target and keep your head on the decoy until the ball has gone.

Foot to the target, head to the decoy.

Once the inside-foot version is reliable, try it with the outside of the foot. You don't have to open your body for an outside-foot pass, so it hides the direction better.

Less opening, more disguise.

Feel it

It should feel like a normal, accurate push pass. You made the decision during your scan, so there is no last-second search for your teammate. Your head does the lying; your foot does the passing. If you have to look at the target to hit it, you haven't scanned early enough yet.

Fix-its

You don't know where your teammate is You skipped the scan. Check your shoulders before the ball arrives, not after you've received it.
You peek at the target just before the strike That last look gives the pass away. Lock in the target during your scan and keep your head on the decoy through the pass.
The pass is off target Go back to the basic push pass: plant beside the ball, toes to the target, ankle locked, middle of the ball. Glance down at contact if you need to.
Your head points away but your hips and plant foot point at the target An inside-foot pass opens your body toward the target. Turn your head earlier and fully, or use the outside of the foot, which doesn't need the body to open.
You use it every time Experienced players stop falling for a head fake when they've just seen one. Mix it with normal passes so the defender can't expect it.

Drill

Still ball: pass to a partner while your head points at a cone off to one side. Glance down at contact, then back to the cone. Both feet.
Moving ball: a partner passes to you; scan before it arrives, then play it back with your head on the cone. Afterwards, say what you saw before the ball came.
Three passers and a passive defender in the middle: receive, scan, point your head at one teammate and pass to the other. Swap roles each time.
Small-sided game (2v2 or 3v3): use the no-look pass only when you scanned first, and feel free to change your mind late.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-26.