Learn the football corner kick: IFAB rules, delivery technique, inswinger/outswinger and short corner – with figures on set-piece goals and milestones.
The honest answer up front: At a corner kick the ball lies still in the corner area, an attacker kicks it, and it is in play as soon as it is kicked and clearly moves – it does not have to leave the corner area. Opponents must stay at least 9.15 m from the corner arc [1]. A goal may be scored directly from the corner, but only against the opponent [1].
Why practising pays off: at the 2018 World Cup 42% of all goals came from set plays; teams that scored this way won in 71.1% of cases [2]. In 40 matches at international level, corners made up about 50% of set-play crosses towards goal, the most frequent kind [4]. So the corner kick is not an extra but a chance you can plan. As early as 2005 the DFB stated that the share of headed goals after crosses and set plays in top football was higher than ever [9]. That is an older statement, but it fits the newer figures.
The ball must lie in the corner area nearest to the point where it crossed the goal line [1]. The corner flagpost must not be moved [1]. It is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves [1]. If you touch it a second time before another player has touched it, an indirect free kick is awarded [1].
Milestone: You answer five rule questions from this section without looking.
For the delivery you mostly use the instep or the inside instep. The DFB description of the instep drive: run onto the ball, standing foot beside it, swing back, point the toes down, hit centrally with the laces, follow through [6]. How far you approach at an angle is practice.
Milestone: 6 out of 10 deliveries land in a 5 × 5 m zone in front of goal.
With an inswinger the ball curls towards goal, with an outswinger away from goal. Which variant is better cannot be said across the board from the evidence: in an analysis of 1,117 corners at two World Cups the authors found models for shot and shot between the three posts that in some cases quadrupled the potential for offensive success, and differences between the men's and women's model [3]. Which features decide is not stated in the abstract.
Milestone: 5 out of 10 inswingers and 5 out of 10 outswingers in the target zone.
Instead of crossing, you can play the ball flat to the near post or to a nearby team-mate. The advantage: you disturb the order of the defence (practice).
Milestone: 5 out of 10 short corners end with a team-mate who can play straight on.
Agree signals for the variant and fixed runs. Who runs where decides whether the ball arrives in the crowd or free. The 2018 World Cup analysis found the delivery into the central area in front of goal to be the most effective [2].
Milestone: 3 agreed variants, each 5 times without coordination errors.
At the end of the delivery there is often a heading duel. In youth football the DFB recommends age-appropriate training, light balls and no focus sessions with many headers [7]. Warm up, for example with FIFA 11+, which cut the injury rate by 39% in a meta-analysis [8]. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Use the rule to your advantage: a player who receives the ball directly from a corner kick cannot be offside [5]. Your runners may therefore start ahead of the ball. That is the biggest difference to a free kick. Also switch variants so the defenders cannot settle on one pattern (practice). And plan zones instead of persons: the 2018 World Cup analysis found the middle in front of goal to be the most effective zone [2].
At least 9.15 m from the corner arc until the ball is in play [1]. 9.15 m is exactly 10 yards.
Yes, but only against the opponent. If the ball goes directly into your own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponent [1].
No. The ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves [1].
No. A player who receives the ball directly from a corner kick cannot be offside [5].
At the 2018 World Cup 22 goals came from corners and 42% of all goals from set plays overall [2]. That is a tournament analysis, not a law of nature.
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