Defending mid-range shots

Anticipation is a key skill for the futsal goalkeeper to master. The following exercise focuses on the goalkeeper’s ability to read the attacker’s body shape in order to anticipate a first-time shot or a directional control that sets up a 1v1 scenario.

Basic sequence

Variation 1: Place three attackers in the horizontal channel

Variation 2: The attacker has the option of setting up a team-mate

Organisation

Use half of a court.
Place a goal at each end of the exercise area.
Position a goalkeeper in each goal.
Mark out a 2m x20m horizontal channel in the middle of the exercise area.
Place an attacker in the horizontal channel.
Arrange the remaining players in a queue on the touchline (level with the horizontal channel) and give each of them a ball.

Explanation

The exercise begins with the first player in the queue on the touchline playing a pass into the attacker positioned in the horizontal channel.
The attacker can attack either goal and has the following two options:

Take a first-time shot
Take a directional control that takes the ball beyond the horizontal channel to engage the goalkeeper in a 1v1 scenario. In this scenario, the attacker has 3 seconds within which to finish on goal.

If the goalkeeper claims the ball, they launch a counter-attack on the opposite goal by rolling the ball out of their penalty area and dribbling towards goal. The attacker who has just finished on goal becomes a defender and can drop back to defend the opposite goal but only once they have touched the marker positioned on the 5m line.
If the attacker scores, they stay on and receive another pass from the same server player.
If the attacker’s shot goes out of play, they join the back of the queue of players on the touchline, and the next attacker takes up a position in the horizontal channel.

Variations

Variation 1: Place three attackers in the horizontal channel and ask them to decide among themselves who will finish and if the finish is first-time or is preceded by a directional control.
Variation 2: The attacker has the option of setting up a team-mate for them to finish first-time from inside the penalty area.
If the goalkeeper catches the ball, they launch a counter-attack on the opposite goal. The last attacker to touch the ball drops back to defend, creating a counter-attack featuring a 2v1 overload.

Coaching point

Ask the goalkeepers to come off their line as soon as they identify that the attacker has chosen to control the ball rather than to finish first-time.