Skills / Passing and receiving

The inside-foot pass

The most used pass in football. Short, accurate and easy to control for the player receiving it.

L R 20 cm
  • Foot on the ball
  • Ball's path

Any age

When to use it

Any pass up to about 20 metres along the ground, when accuracy matters more than power.

Get it right

  • Plant your standing foot beside the ball, a hand's width away, toes pointing at your target.
  • Turn the kicking foot out so the inside of it faces the ball. Toes up, ankle locked.
  • Strike through the middle of the ball, not underneath it, so it stays on the ground.
  • Follow through towards your target.
  • Look up before you pass, then look at the ball as you strike it.

Watch out for

  • Standing foot pointing away from the target, so the pass goes wide.
  • A floppy ankle, so the ball comes off the foot weakly.
  • Leaning back, which lifts the ball off the ground.

Drawn for the right foot. Learn it on your weaker foot too: it doubles the number of ways you can go.

More passing and receiving: Cushioning the ball, Receiving on the half-turn.

In a match

Practising a skill is half of it. Here is when it turns up in a game, and what to look for.

Where
Everywhere, especially building from the back and in midfield.
The moment
A teammate is free and within about 20 m, and the pass along the ground is on.
Match mistake
Passing to where your teammate is, not to the foot further from their defender.

Try it in your next match. Play every pass to your teammate's far foot, so they can turn away from pressure.

Match moments where it counts: Get past their midfield · Go round them · Our kick-off

Practise it

Drills where you will use this skill again and again.