Whipped Cross: Soccer technique, drills and fixes

A fast, bending cross from a wide area into the space in front of goal, often the gap between the keeper and the back defenders. The pace lets a runner redirect it first time; the bend lets you curl it away from the keeper (an out-swinger) or in toward goal (an in-swinger). It is an instep cross struck slightly off-centre, so get the basic cross and the instep pass solid first.

Look up & decide

While you carry the ball down the wing, look up and pick the target space before your last touches. Options: the near post, the penalty spot, the top of the six-yard box, the far post, or the gap between the keeper and the back line. Aim for where your runner will be, not where they are now, and keep it out of the keeper's reach.

see the target, then the ball.

Cross before the nearest defender closes you down. If they are about to block it and you can't get it off, pull the ball back and keep it rather than forcing a bad cross.

Plant & shape

Use your next-to-last touch to set the ball up. If the defender is far off, push it slightly inside toward the box (roughly 45 to 90 degrees off your line) and run onto it. If the defender is close, tap it ahead toward the end line and run around it in an arc so you end up facing the target.

Plant your standing foot about 6 inches beside the ball, toes pointing across the field toward the opposite touchline. Keep the standing knee slightly bent for balance.

Swing the whole kicking leg back from the hip, heel rising sharply toward your backside. Head a bit forward, eyes on the ball, arms out from your sides for balance. Don't lean back.

head over the ball, not behind it.

Whip it in

On the downswing, point your toes down and lock your ankle, and strike with the instep slightly off-centre. For an out-swinger, hit the side of the ball away from your standing foot; for an in-swinger, the side nearer it. Hit a little below the middle for height, or through the middle for a flatter ball. Watch your foot hit the ball.

Make the spin with your foot's angle at impact, not by rubbing the ball. Swing slightly across the direction your foot is facing. Don't try to drag the ball along your toes. The more you angle it, the more it spins and the less pace it keeps, so find the angle that bends it but still arrives fast.

a crisp strike across the ball, not a long brush.

Keep it as low as you can while still clearing the first defender, and allow for the bend. Aim an out-swinger a little closer to goal, and an in-swinger a little farther from goal, so the curve brings it into the space and not onto the keeper.

Follow through

Follow through forward and slightly across your body, finishing with your hips square to the opposite touchline. Land on your kicking foot, then look up to follow the ball.

your body turns to face where the ball is going.

Feel it

A firm, locked-ankle strike with your head over the ball and your hips turning to face the target. The ball leaves fast, bends, and lands in space in front of goal, away from the keeper, at a height your runner can attack. If it floats up for the keeper, you got too far under it; if it skids out over the end line, your hips didn't turn.

Fix-its

Cross floats high and the keeper collects it You struck too far under the ball or leaned back. Keep your head a bit forward, hit only a little below the middle, and keep it as low as still clears the first defender.
Cross runs out over the end line Your hips didn't turn to the target. Use the inside prep touch, plant with your toes across the field, and finish with your hips square to the opposite touchline.
Cross gets blocked You were too late, and the defender had time to close you down. Cross earlier, or beat them with the prep touch: inside if they're far, around the ball if they're close. If no cross is on, pull it back and keep the ball.
No bend, it flies straight You hit it through the middle with your foot facing where you swung. Strike slightly off-centre with your foot angled across the swing. Expect to give up a little pace for the spin.
In-swinger lands on the keeper, or out-swinger drifts past your runners You didn't allow for the bend. Start the in-swinger farther from goal and the out-swinger closer to goal. Don't try to hit it as hard as you can; a ball your runner can use beats a hard one that misses.

Drill

Set-up: mark a crossing area about 15 yards square in the corner. Put a cone for a defender about 10 yards in from the penalty-area line, one for the keeper about 2 yards off the centre of the goal, and a target at the far point where the penalty arc meets the box. Dribble, run around the ball, and cross to the target. Warm up first.
Same set-up, but use the inside prep touch before you cross. Then do the whole thing from the other wing with your other foot.
Move the target: penalty spot, then the far side of the six-yard box, then the near post. Alternate out-swingers and in-swingers and note which way each one bends.
Add a defender (walking only at first, then live), then a keeper who can only move a little and a live attacker. The attacker holds the run so they don't overrun the ball, then finishes first time.
Wingers game: a 35 x 25 to 60 x 40 yard area with a goal at each end, wingers confined to marked flank zones, attackers against defenders in the middle. Keepers feed the wingers, who dribble and cross. Swap roles every 2 to 5 minutes and play to ten goals. If your groin gets sore, stop and rest.

By position

Wide players: wingers and wide midfielders deliver most crosses during an attack. Central attackers and late-arriving midfielders are usually the target, not the crosser. US Youth Soccer introduces crossing at U10, near-post and penalty-spot crosses at U12, and far-post and top-of-the-box crosses at U14.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-31.