Do you ever wonder the part of the foot used most in soccer? As a young adolescent growing up, I remember wondering what exact part of the foot used most. I wanted to know what part of the feet the pros used, and I wanted to know how the angle of their foot was when touching the ball. Note: This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Inside foot control
The inside of the foot is used the most, with approximately 80% of the touch I would say is used to trap, pass & steal.
BUT if you can only use the inside of your foot you are limited. It’s just that the inside is most natural. Even a baby – 5-10 years old is going to only use the inside of the foot.
In most cases if you never get proper training, that’s how it will stay. If you know someone who wants to improve easily and fast then send them to my online ball control courses.
My online courses are self paced, 3 different levels, safe platform, no ads and you can track your progress.
Within a few sessions/days you’ll see and feel the difference. Plus it’s so good that even our college & pro students use them for their warm-ups.
The outside is one part of the foot used most in soccer
Trapping and passing with the outside of the foot sets you apart from the average soccer player.
It’s interesting, because your average soccer player will not use the outside of the foot much to do anything.
You will either see a novice soccer player or an advanced use these methods. The difference in the two is correct mechanics and the meaning behind the reaction.
Most of the time if a young youth academy [club] player U-10 uses the outside of the foot, the coach is telling them not to. The reason is because in those moments it probably was not technically correct and the player just wanted to use their dominate foot. Instead the player should have probably used the weaker foot [left for most] to trap or pass.
Pro players will often use the outside of the foot, especially the creative players.
Center mids need to know how to pass and trap many ways, because there are players on every side of them. Things happen quick in the center of the field, so having those extra skills are useful.
Center backs are usually going to use the inside of the foot to trap and pass. They usually have more time on the ball, [except times where they need to clear it out] so good one will know how to take their first touch and play out [pass/possess] with both feet.
The times you will use the outside the most will be to evade defenders by dribbling.
Why would you use the outside of the foot?
You usually see players using the outside of the foot because they are in a hurry. Or they are creative enough to make “no look” passes to fool the other team.
You can also use the outside of the foot to trap the ball. The times you would do this is when you have to reach out for a ball in front of you.
Using the outside of the foot gives you a longer reach then using the inside. Then there will be times that the ball comes at you fast, maybe from a deflection or a teammate who passes it too hard from close range.
Laces to keep the ball in front of you
When using the laces make sure you get your foot up high and keep your toe down. This allows the ball to stay under control and close to you. Also if you wanted to change your mind or direction going inside or outside you could.
The ball actually touches the bottom of the laces. Compared to passing or shooting, you could also use the top of the laces.
When you need to go forward, but have a defender on the side of you then the laces is a good option.
Just know that when dribbling you usually do a mix of inside, laces, sole and outside. The best thing is to become good at all of them, and then in the games it just all come together.
Using the sole to dribble in soccer
This is where you see that players have trained a lot outside of team practice.
Brazilians love to use the sole [bottom] of the foot to trap, stop or roll away from defenders.
The best part about using the sole/bottom is you can go forward, backwards, left and right. But then you can also go at the diagonal angles, so basically every direction possible.
Changing direction is the main reason to use the sole of the foot. Whether it is stopping to get away or just turning to keep the defender guessing.
The first thing is that you try and teach your muscle memory in both feet, by doing lots of repetition.
Parts of the foot used most in soccer
First you are going to trap [receive] the ball more than anything else. The ball will come to you from both your teammates and then accidentally from the other teams players.
It’s important that you spend extra time practicing your trapping and passing with the inside of both feet. You can use the outside and bottom of the feet to trap the ball, but the inside will be used most.
Dribbling and turning with the inside and outside of the feet is important.
If you watch the best players in the world you’ll see that 90% of their touches are using these areas. Dribbling it’s a mix of the different surfaces, but to turn and cut it’s the in and outside. Top of the foot is used to push the ball straight ahead and the sole is used to stop and turn sharp.
In this post you’ll read several times that the part of the foot used most in soccer is the inside. With this said, to be your best you need to learn and become good using all parts of the feet.
Why passing is so important in soccer
Passing and dribbling are going to be big parts of the game. We want to pass the ball more often, because not even the fastest person on earth can out run a good pass.
A fast person can catch [defend] a player dribbling. So if you are playing against a team with speed, but your team can trap and pass you’ll keep possession regardless.
With high pressure even the best players make mistakes. But to score we need to finish don’t we? So shooting with different parts of the feet is very helpful.
These are all ways to control the ball. Trapping, passing, shooting and then using the 4 main different parts of the foot.
Improve your soccer skills fast
Whether an advanced or beginner, I have something to help you. Get my online ball control courses have 3 different levels. With a one time purchase, you’ll have what you need to improve your control and first touch out of the air.
The part of the foot used most in soccer is the inside of the foot. Most players are best using the inside, but you’re going to be good at using all parts of the feet.
First you need to do the lessons slow and teach your muscle memory to be clean with the ball. Then start to work on vision and speed with the ball.
Here’s a sample video of me working with 2 college players I had never trained until the day of filming.
For players needed to set their foundation, click here for a good video to help with “basic” skills.
This along with my other lessons will set you up for soccer success.
All you need is 20 minutes per week to practice at home.
Our Most Popular Posts:
- 3 ways to strike the ball with power
- How to boost confidence in soccer
- 8 best 1st- touch drills
- Expert dribbling tips
- Goal side defending
Follow @GFTskills on Social Media