Futsal is played in a small area  

Futsal uses a small area. This means that the ball goes out of play a lot, and set pieces are common. Examples include corners, kick-ins and goal clearances. To find out more, play the video below.  

Interestingly, teams only have four seconds to take a set piece. But this time limit doesn’t begin until the player taking the restart tees up the ball. For a keeper, this is when they have the ball in their hands. For an outfield player, it’s when they place the ball on the line.  

This delay means that when the ball goes out your team don’t need to rush. They can take their time and use the break to get into good positions.  

Where possible, a good set piece routine provides the ‘taker’ with three options. The taker will then select their preferred option. This decision is influenced by what the actions of the opposition. Let's take a closer look. 

Set piece examples 

1. A goal clearance 

In this video, the winger runs across the court to leave space for the pivot (target player). The pivot then shifts into the space and receives the ball. This is a useful move if your opposition are defending player-to-player.  

If the defender chose not to follow the winger who moves across, the goalkeeper might have chosen to pass to them instead. 

2. A deep kick-in 

In this video the goalkeeper moves out of the net and over to the other side of the court. This can create a momentary overload and make it easier to play the ball forward.  

If the defender blocked the pass to the goalkeeper, it may have been possible for the outfield player to move and receive.  

3. A high kick-in 

This clip highlights the simplicity of routines and the importance of making moves at the right time.  

When conducting a kick-in, it’s often a good idea to hit the ball hard towards the back post and make sure there’s a player there to try and finish the move.  

If the pass or shot across was not possible, the player could have rolled the ball down the line to create a better angle. 

4. A corner, followed by a goal 

This is a good example of a set of movements that provides three possible options.  

In this case, the blue defender chose to move out to block a potential shot from distance. This allowed the white attacker enough space to take the shot.  

If the blue defender had blocked that option, the taker would probably have passed it back to the white player who would shoot from distance. 

5. A corner, followed by a successful defence 

In this clip, the team in white defend well against potential danger. Here’s how.  

• They set themselves up in a zonal defence, which blocks all the passing lines into the D. 
• They don’t move until the ball is kicked. 
• They are brave in their defending, making big body shapes to block any shots. 

6. A free kick 

This clip shows a clever routine which attempts to leave a player unmarked to shoot.  

Unfortunately, on this occasion it doesn’t quite work. This is because the shooter moves too far away before receiving the pass.  

However, take a moment to notice the movement of the player in white. They shift from standing next to the goalkeeper to marking the player in the wall. This is an attempt to block the player in blue and white stripes (should he try to get to the eventual shooter).  

A sneaky tactic – and one that is worth exploring with your players.

An important player in stop a goal, is of course the goalkeeper. So let's find out more about their role in futsal.