Reading the Game Before the Kick

Every coach has seen it: the defender who clears the ball just before danger, or the goalkeeper who positions perfectly for a corner before the ball is even struck. To outsiders, it looks like luck. But science shows it’s not. It’s anticipation—the ability to read patterns and predict what happens next.

A new study from the University of Rostock digs deep into how skilled soccer players anticipate corner kicks. The findings can reshape how we coach set pieces, prepare defenders, and even train goalkeepers at every level of the game.

What the Study Looked At

Researchers showed 46 players (half experienced, half less experienced) video clips of corner kicks. These clips stopped at three key moments:

• 150 ms before ball contact
• At ball contact
• 150 ms after ball contact

Players had to guess where the ball would land. To test what visual cues mattered most, some clips blurred the kicker, some blurred the attackers, and some showed everything.

The goal was simple: find out who makes better predictions, when they make them, and which visual information actually matters most.

Key Findings Every Coach Should Know

1. Skilled players predict better—especially early.
   Experienced players outperformed less-skilled ones across the board. The biggest edge came before the ball was struck, showing that years of practice sharpen the ability to read the game earlier.
2. Patterns matter more than the kicker.
   Blurring the kicker hardly reduced skilled players’ accuracy. But when attackers were blurred, their predictions dropped. That means players weren’t relying on the kicker’s foot or hips alone—they were reading the movement patterns of attackers.
3. Accuracy improves with time—but experts stay ahead.
   Everyone predicted better after the ball was kicked, but skilled players were already ahead before contact. Their secret weapon? Pattern recognition.

What This Means for Training

These insights have clear takeaways for coaches and clubs.

1. Train Pattern Recognition, Not Just Technique

Players shouldn’t only focus on the kicker’s body language. Defenders and goalkeepers need drills that highlight the attacking team’s movement patterns. For example:

• Freeze-frame exercises where defenders guess ball trajectory based on attackers’ runs.
• Video analysis sessions focusing on different corner routines.
• Small-sided set-piece practices where attackers mix in decoy runs.

2. Give Goalkeepers a Different Lens

Goalkeepers can benefit from shifting focus. Instead of watching just the ball or kicker, train them to track the attackers’ starting positions and runs. This builds the skill of predicting danger zones before the cross comes in.

3. Prepare Attackers to Deceive

For attackers, the flip side is clear: deceptive movement works. Coordinated runs that hide the real target or overload a zone can throw off defenders who rely on pattern recognition. Coaches can design set plays that deliberately mislead defenders.

Why This Matters Beyond the Pitch

Corner kicks decide games. One recent analysis found over 70% of match outcomes at the World Cup were influenced by corner kick effectiveness. In youth soccer, set pieces often swing results because players lack the defensive organization of pros.

By teaching anticipation skills, clubs don’t just improve defense—they develop smarter, more adaptable players. These are the athletes who will thrive as the game gets faster and more tactical.

Practical Tips You Can Use Tomorrow

• For Coaches: Build “pattern recognition” drills into every set-piece practice. Don’t just rehearse the kick—rehearse the runs.
• For Goalkeepers: During training, ignore the ball for a rep and focus only on attacker movement. Where would you position yourself?
• For Youth Clubs: Use video clips of professional matches. Pause before the corner is taken and ask players: Where’s the ball going?
• For Attackers: Work on disguise. Start your runs in similar positions, then break differently to confuse defenders.

Your Turn to Kick It Off

Anticipation isn’t about magic—it’s about practice, vision, and learning to read patterns. This research makes it clear: the smartest players win set pieces.

Now over to you:

1. How do you currently train set pieces in your team—do you focus more on the kicker or the attackers’ runs?
2. If you’re a goalkeeper, what cues do you look for first during a corner kick?
3. Could your club add video-based or freeze-frame drills to sharpen anticipation skills?

Share your thoughts in the comments—or better yet, try these ideas at your next training session and let us know how it goes.