3 Football moves to beat a defender and get to goal

One of the great aspects of football is training can be done individually at home, the park, or on the training ground. There are plenty of ball activities you can do simply with a cone or other object that acts as a defender. Basic football moves can improve your play and help you succeed in your next trial.

By practising the moves below, you can improve your ball skills on your own and become a better player. These simple football moves will give you more weapons in your skills arsenal.

Shoulder feint

A shoulder feint, or should dip, is used to get a defender off balance. When you have the ball at your feet and dribbling at a defender, simply drop/dip your shoulder to make it look like you are going one way before planting your feet and moving the ball the opposite way.

Shoulder feints allow you to quickly move past a defender to get toward the goal or make a pass to a teammate.

Inside hook turn

The inside hook turn creates side to side space for players. To complete a hook turn, dribble the ball one way before hooking your foot around it and dragging it at a sharp angle in front of the defender. The move should be able to get you around an off-balance defender.

Matthews move

Although England World Cup star Stanley Matthews created this move, Lionel Messi has made it one of his specialities.

The move is quite simple but takes plenty of practice to master. Dribble the ball with the instep and fake moving in one direction to get the defender going one way. Then, quickly plant your standing foot and use the outside of your dribbling foot to push the ball the opposite direction and around the defender.

The sharp change of direction will get the defender off guard and unable to catch up with you.