Shooting - Jermain Defoe's Six Step Guide

Here's what one of the best in England does to keep scoring goals:

DEFOE’S six-step GUIDE TO striking
From positional awareness to fooling the goalkeeper, the lethal Spurs and England frontman shares his goalscoring tips with FourFourTwo

1 Aim
Set your sights low
“The most important thing is to hit the target: that’s what [Ian] Wrighty’s always telling me. What makes it much harder for the keeper, though, is if you aim for the bottom corners – which is something I practise in training every day. When practising, I make sure the ball’s fizzing about at match speed and then shoot. This makes it more realistic; like you’re in a game. It trains you to be a split-second quicker, which is crucial.”

2 Deception
Wrong-foot the keeper
“One of the best things you can do to beat the keeper is get your shot in early. It sounds simple but every keeper, just before he dives, will jump on the
spot to set themselves. If you can get a shot in quickly, he won’t have time to set himself before the ball’s in the net. Another trick I have is if I’m standing in the middle of the goal, I’ll shift the ball one way and shoot the other because if I can move right and shoot left in one movement, the keeper will be wrong-footed and I’ll hopefully have a goal.”

3 Beat the trap
Stay the right side of the defence
“One of the keys to staying onside is having good movement and dragging defenders out of position. Centre-backs don’t like having to come deep or go
out wide; if you can move them by getting in behind it should be easier as they’re not in a straight back-line anymore. The other thing is to know your
team-mates. When Tom [Huddlestone] gets the ball, I know he might be looking to put me through in positions other players might not. If he’s on the ball, I’m ready to run in behind.”

4 One-on-one
With just the keeper to beat...
“You’ve got to be confident and stay calm. If you’re not, you might take a touch you wouldn’t normally or rush your shot. In terms of what you can do, you
might want to give the keeper the eyes (look one way and play it another). What I try to do, though, is wait for him to make a move. This way, if he starts
coming out to close you down or dives at your feet, you can react and take it around him or chip him. But to do that you need to stay calm and confident.”

5 Convert a cross
Stay prepared
“It’s all about timing: that was key to my goal against Slovenia at the World Cup. You need to get into the right part of the box as the ball’s coming in.
To do this, again, you need to know your player. For example, I know that Aaron Lennon likes to hit it across the front post. So, it’s my job to get there. In
the past I’ve said to him: “If you find the near post and I’m not there, hammer me!” It’s my mistake. Also, try to stand behind the defender just before the cross arrives. When the Slovenian defender looked back to see where I was, I was gone.”

6 Hold it up
Keep the defenders on your back
“This is about strength and getting your body in front of the defender. Sometimes I might try and pull a player’s shirt a little bit or bully the defender
so he knows I’m there. When getting a flick-on I might try and pin the defender back (by pushing back into the his chest) and try to back up. That puts a little space between the defender and the ball and gives me time to find a pass or try and turn.”

88%
DID YOU KNOW?
For all his work outside the box, 88 per cent of Defoe’s Prem goals before the
new season were scored inside the area. This is the case for all professional football.