The scissors is a feint done while you dribble: one foot sweeps around the front of the ball, from the inside of the ball to the outside, without touching it, and you take the ball the other way with the outside of your other foot. It sells a move in one direction so you can accelerate past a defender in the other. Naming varies between coaches, and some use "scissors" for any step-over; here it means the inside-to-outside sweep.
Set up
Dribble at the defender with small touches, the ball close but not under your feet, and your head and eyes up.
Ball close, eyes on the defender.
Keep your speed close to the defender's as you approach, and close the gap without slowing right down. Best when the defender is giving you some space.
Steady speed, gap closing.
Scissor
Start as if you will push the ball outward with the outside of one foot. That fake is the start of the scissors.
Looks like an outside-foot touch.
Without touching the ball, sweep that foot around the front of it from the inside to the outside, and plant it on the outside of the ball. With the right foot, the foot travels in front of the ball from your left to your right.
Foot low and quick around the front.
Drop that shoulder and lean your upper body with the foot as it plants, so the defender reads that you are going that way.
Shoulders sell it, not just feet.
As the defender shifts, take the ball away the opposite way with the outside of your other foot.
Fake one way, go the other.
Push off the planted leg, bending then driving it straight, and accelerate into the space you just opened.
Sudden change of pace.
Feel it
A good scissors feels like one smooth fake: a quick, low sweep around the front of the ball, shoulder and trunk leaning with it, then a sharp touch the other way and a burst of speed. The burst matters as much as the sweep. If you slow down after the fake, the defender recovers.
Fix-its
- Feet-only fake Drop the shoulder and lean your trunk with the sweeping foot. Defenders read the upper body early.
- Foot lifted high and slow Keep the sweeping foot low and close to the ground so the fake is quick.
- The ball gets clipped Sweep around the front of the ball, not over or through it. Practise on a still ball first.
- No change of pace after the fake Touch the ball away with the outside of the other foot and accelerate straight away into the space.
- Done too close to the defender Start the move while there is still a gap, so your sweeping foot doesn't catch the defender and give away a foul.
Drill
- Standing over a still ball: fake the outside-foot touch and sweep around the front with the right foot, then the left, then alternate. Don't touch the ball.
- Add the exit: after the sweep, push the ball away with the outside of the other foot and run with it a few metres.
- On the move in a 20x20 m grid: dribble to a central cone, scissors, accelerate to the far side. Three reps on one foot, then three on the other.
- 1v1 in a 40x40 m area: score 1 point for a goal and 2 if you beat the defender with a scissors first. Time the move for when the defender shifts their weight.
Sources
- MOJO Sports (Team MOJO) — How to Do a Scissor (2021)
- Coaches' Voice Session Planner — Dribbling Moves (scissors coaching points)
- Coaches' Voice Session Planner — U11 Dribbling + Moves (Step over + Scissor)
- Jackson, Barton, Ashford & Abernethy — Stepovers and Signal Detection, Frontiers in Psychology (2018)
- University of Tsukuba (Nakayama, Taga et al.) — research news on the scissors feint in experienced and beginner soccer players (2026)
- FIFA Training Centre (Branimir Ujevic) — Mastering ball control (2024)
Last checked 2026-10-26.