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Football (Soccer) vocabulary · Set Pieces & Restarts

Set piece

Meaning in football (soccer), with examples

/ˈset piːs/nounCore term

In football (soccer), set piece means: A planned move from a restart of play, such as a corner kick, free kick or throw-in, which is usually practised in training.

In Turkish: duran top, duran top organizasyonu

How it is used

Teams are strong or weak at set pieces, score from set pieces and defend set pieces. Many clubs employ a specialist set-piece coach. Commentators say "they're a real threat from set pieces".

Example sentences

  1. Half of our goals this season have come from set pieces.

  2. We worked on defending set pieces all week.

Common collocations

  • score from a set piece
  • set-piece coach
  • defend set pieces
  • set-piece routine
  • corner kickA kick from the corner of the pitch, given to the attacking team when the ball crosses the goal line after last touching a defending player and no goal is scored.
  • free kickA kick awarded after a foul or another offence by the opponents, taken from where the offence happened while opponents stand at least 9.15 metres (10 yards) away.
  • throw-inThe restart when the ball crosses a touchline: a player from the team that did not touch it last throws it in with both hands from behind and over the head.
  • markingStaying close to an opponent, or guarding an area, to stop them receiving the ball or getting a clear shot or header.
  • wallA line of defending players standing side by side, at least 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the ball, to block a free kick aimed at their goal.

More terms: Set Pieces & Restarts

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