A side-foot finish is a shot struck with the inside of your foot, placing the ball into the goal rather than blasting it. It is slower than a laces shot but more accurate, and most goals are scored from inside the box, where accuracy usually matters more than pace. From the side or behind, we read your body mechanics, not where the ball goes.
Set up
Decide where you're aiming before you strike. Then bring your eyes back to the ball and keep your head steady.
Come in at a slight angle rather than dead straight. In a study of side-foot kicks, a roughly 30° approach was more accurate than a straight one, and straight-on kicks tended to miss across the body (a right-footer misses left).
Plant your standing foot alongside the ball, about 6 in (15 cm) away, toes pointing at your target, knee slightly bent.
your standing foot is a pointer aimed at the spot you picked.
Line up the shoulder on your kicking side with the ball and face your hips toward the target. Head steady, eyes down on the ball.
Strike
Turn your kicking foot out from the hip so the toes point away from you, and take a short backswing (about 45°). On the way down, keep the sole of your foot parallel to the ground.
Strike the centre of the ball, at its middle line, with the inside of your foot by the arch. Toes turned slightly up, ankle firm. Hitting below the middle makes the ball rise.
a firm pass into the net, not a kick.
Swing at a controlled pace, not flat out. Get accuracy first and add power later. Players are more accurate with a firm, match-pace side-foot than with a maximal one.
Finish
Follow through toward the target with the inside of your foot still flat to it. Your kicking knee comes up as the foot travels through.
Keep your head down until your kicking foot has landed. Look up to see the result after that, not during the strike.
Feel it
A smooth, firm push through the middle of the ball, your head still and your foot finishing flat toward the spot you chose. The ball stays low and goes where your standing foot pointed. If it rises, you got under it. If it drifts across your body, check your approach and your plant.
Fix-its
- Shot drifts across your body and wide Check that your standing toes point at the target, and come in at a slight angle instead of straight on. Finish with the inside of your foot flat to the target.
- Shot rises over the bar You struck below the middle of the ball. Get your kicking-side shoulder in line with the ball, keep your head down and strike the centre line.
- Head comes up early You looked at the goal while striking. Choose your spot first, then keep your eyes on the ball until your kicking foot lands.
- Swinging for power A maximal swing costs accuracy. Slow the swing to a firm, controlled pace and aim, then build pace once you're hitting your spot.
- Floppy foot Your ankle gave on contact. Turn the foot out from the hip, toes slightly up, sole parallel to the ground, and hold it firm through the ball.
Drill
- Stationary ball, no keeper, into a small goal of your own. Work through each checkpoint slowly, then do the same on your other foot (accuracy is usually lower on the weaker foot, so give it practice too).
- Put a marker about 1 m inside each post and aim for one of them. That was the aim point used in a penalty study. Keep it at a controlled pace and count how often you hit your side.
- Have a partner roll the ball across you and finish first time from a slight angle.
- Add a goalkeeper, then a defender, once you're hitting your spots unopposed.
- Play 2v2 or 3v3 to small goals so you have to finish in game-like moments.
By position
Around 60–70% of goals in senior football are scored from inside the 18-yard box, where a placed side-foot is often the right finish. Shooting isn't only for forwards, so every outfield player should be able to do it on both feet.
Sources
- US Youth Soccer Coaching Education Dept (Sam Snow) — Skills School: Key Coaching Points of Each Major Technique in Soccer, Shooting: Inside of the Foot and Ball Action (2017)
- England Football Learning — How to coach players on finishing in football (2022)
- Carlsson, Isberg, Nilsson & Carlsson — The influence of task conditions on side foot-kick accuracy among Swedish first league women's soccer players, J Sports Sci Med (2018)
- Nunome, Asai, Ikegami & Sakurai — Three-dimensional kinetic analysis of side-foot and instep soccer kicks, Med Sci Sports Exerc (2002), abstract via Europe PMC
- Hunter, Murphy, Angilletta & Wilson — Anticipating the direction of soccer penalty shots depends on the speed and technique of the kick, Sports (2018)
- Special Olympics — Football Coaching Guide, Shooting (2021)
Last checked 2026-10-26.