The short version
- The instepBetween your laces and the inside of your foot.1
- Under and to the sideNot through the middle of the ball.1
- Spin costs speedOff-centre means more spin, a curved path and a slower ball.2
Which part of the foot?
England Football teaches curl with the instep: the arched part of the top of the foot, between the laces and the side of the foot. You strike under and to the side of the ball.1
Why the ball curves
- Hit the ball through the centre and it flies close to straight, with as much speed and as little spin as you can get.2
- Push the force at an angle to where you aim and the ball goes slower, spins more and takes a longer, more curved path.2
- The further off-centre you strike, the more spin and the less speed, up to a point. Strike too far out and you lose the spin too.2
That is why curled free kicks are usually slower and take a longer path than a driven shot.2
The usual mistakes
- Through the middleThe ball goes straight. Move your contact to the side of the ball.2
- Too far to the sidePast a point, striking further out no longer adds spin.2
- Trying to hit it as hard as a power shotCurl trades pace for spin. Pick a target, not a speed.2
Drill · our proposal
Around the marker- Put a marker on the edge of the boxIn line with the near post. It is your defender.
- 5 shots that bend round itInto the far half of the goal. Count how many go in.
- Film from behindWatch where your foot meets the ball, then do 5 more.
What we can and can’t see
- We seeWhere the ball went and how your body moved around the strike.
- We don’t measure yetSpin or speed. A bend in one camera isn’t measured curl.
When to curl and when to drive it: Finesse shot vs power shot. The opposite, a ball with almost no spin: How to shoot a knuckleball. And before you film: How to film your shots.
See your own strike
Your first analysis is free when we launch. Join the waitlist and we’ll let you know when it’s ready.
Join the waitlistSweetspot is in beta. A person checks every analysis before you get it.
- England Football: finishing techniques.
- Kellis & Katis 2007, sections “Accuracy” and “Mechanics of foot-to-ball contact”.