Soccer is a game that exists because of goals, even though it is the lowest-scoring sport.
This is why teams that can attack have so many fans and neutral followers. For any team to get to this level, they must make sure to sharpen their attack to the point of being able to pierce through with the slightest penetration.
For this to happen, each player’s attacking sense must also be honed perfectly with drills.
The following soccer attacking drills are a great place to start.
13 Attacking Drills for Soccer
Here are the thirteen best attacking drills for soccer.
Two-Goal Shooting Drill
To perform this drill, the coach divides the team into two: attackers and defenders/goalkeepers. The attackers, each with a ball, stand behind a shooting line, and the defenders stand five yards to the side of the two goals, which will be side by side.
Once the whistle goes, the attackers dribble their ball to the shooting line, then shoot before running to another pile of balls to do the same thing. The defenders attempt to defend the two goals.
Combination Crossing Drill
This is another type of finishing drill, but with crosses. Crosses are a type of offensive pass that comes from the wings of a field.
In this challenge, players attempt a series of combination plays to send the ball out wide where the winger is waiting to send in a cross which the players in the box will attempt to finish in the guarded goal.
Dribbling and Shooting
The dribbling and shooting drill is performed with cones set in a zig-zag pattern. The attacker carrying out the drill dribbles around the cone, first with their dominant foot till they get to the last one.
At the last cone, the attacker must set up for a shot by touching the ball at an angle that will allow them to kick the ball with enough power.
Finishing Challenge
Finishing in soccer refers to the accuracy and precision with which goals are scored. This is a key facet of attacking as attacking tactics can only get the player in good scoring positions where they have to rely on their finishing ability for the rest.
The finishing challenge is set up with three players (or teams) in front of three dummies standing as defenders in front of the penalty box. The players try several passing and attacking combinations (all timed) to be able to score.
Wide Player Drill
This drill places the attacking decision strictly in the hands of the wide player of the team. The wide players are the ones called wingers, who are usually some of the fastest and most skillful players in a soccer team.
In this drill, an attacking tactic is performed and the ball is sent out wide to the winger, who has to make a decision on who or where to cut the ball back to for the best shot at goal.
Out From the Back Drill
In modern soccer, the attack starts from the back (defense). Tactics, where the goalkeeper launches the ball in the hopes of it getting to a midfielder, winger or striker, are now deployed only in emergencies or by old-school coaches.
For this reason, teams need to learn several passing combinations that involve defenders who then find an attacker or the midfielder who progresses the ball to set up a goalscoring opportunity.
Link Up Play
Link-up play refers to when a striker backs the goal in order to receive the ball to hold it up while other players run into good scoring or chance-creation positions. This is a major tactic in many attacking sequences seen the world over.
Six attacking players are needed to perform a link-up play drill with the striker receiving the first pass and starting an attacking sequence to score a goal.
Crossing & Finishing Drill
This is a simpler version of the wide-man drill and the combination crossing drill.
In this version, there are a few passes exchanged in the middle of the field, before the ball is sent out wide to the winger who crosses first time for the players in the box to finish. It is a drill done with speed in mind.
Man City 3 Combo Shooting Drill
Three dummies are set with three players each with balls in front of a guarded goal. Player 1 takes a dummy on as if it’s a real defender, shoots, and turns immediately to receive a pass from player 2, who runs into space after the pass for a give-and-go before shooting.
Player 3 takes off immediately and passes to player 2, who returns the pass and waits for a cross in space with player 1.
Fast Feet, Sharp Shooting
This drill combines several cone drills into one to train attackers to be better with the ball at their feet. The cones are lined up in various series: straight line, zig-zag, figure 8, grids, and so on.
At the end of the cone arrangements, the player will be required to shoot at goal with his first touch outside the arrangements.
Heads and Tails Drill
This is a drill to train the striker’s decision-making and finishing ability. Goals can be scored in any manner: header, low kicks, finesse shots, volleys, trap and shoot, etc. There will be six different crossers of the ball who will cross the ball to the striker as they like.
The striker has to make the right decision on the finish to apply in this drill.
Four-Way Finish Drill
This drill is done to help players understand combination plays at its core. Many of the drills described earlier are combination plays but if players don’t understand what it means to combine, the drills won’t work.
This is done with six attacking players who give and go, beat defenders, run in behind, and shoot to score. It is a very effective drill for teaching attacking patterns.
Shooting Skills Training Drill
In this drill, players learn how one-touch passing can help them navigate a sea of defenders to get into favorable shooting positions.
Dummies are used in this drill, and four players combine with one-touch passing to bypass these dummies and set up the striker for a good finish.
For best results, the passes have to be random so that the striker can take up the best shooting position.
Final Thoughts
Every drill described above is just that: a drill. A team’s attacking strategy is down to the coach. However, these drills—and others like them—will help players understand their coach’s instructions when the attacking strategies are revealed.
Most can be performed solo, but attacking drills are best performed by a team.
You can also adapt some of these drills for your kids if you have little ones who are interested in soccer.
Everybody likes goalscorers, and with these carefully curated soccer attacking drills, you will increase their chances of being superstars in their teams!
