when do you get a corner kick in soccer
You get a corner kick in soccer when the ball fully crosses the goal line (end line) and was last touched by a defender, without going into the goal.
Quick Scoop: The Basic Rule
- A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team when the entire ball crosses the defending team’s goal line (on the ground or in the air) but outside the space between the posts and under the crossbar.
- The ball must have been last touched by a player from the defending team; if the attacker touched it last, it’s a goal kick instead.
- If the ball goes into the goal, then it’s simply a goal, not a corner.
Think of it like this: defender knocks the ball out over their own end line near the corner → attacking team gets a corner kick.
Common Game Situations
- Defender blocks a shot and the ball deflects out over the end line near the corner flag → corner kick.
- Defender tries to clear the ball but shanks it over their own goal line (outside the posts) → corner kick.
- Attacker mis-hits a cross and it just goes out over the end line without any defender touching it → goal kick for the defending team, not a corner.
In forum discussions and match threads, fans often argue about “who touched it last” because that’s exactly what decides corner vs goal kick.
Key Details From The Official Laws
- The ball must fully cross the goal line for a corner to be given; if any part of the ball is still on or above the line, play continues.
- The corner is taken from the nearest corner arc to where the ball went out.
- The ball is in play once it’s kicked and clearly moves; it doesn’t have to leave the corner arc.
Unusual but important: from a corner, a team can score directly, but only against the opponents—if for some reason the kicker swings it straight into their own goal, the laws treat it as a corner for the other side, not an own goal.
Extra Quirky Scenarios (Less Common)
Modern explanations and videos highlight a few special cases that can also lead to a corner kick:
- If on certain restarts (like an indirect free kick or goal kick) the ball flies straight into the defending team’s own goal without touching another player, the laws award a corner kick instead of counting an own goal.
- Similar logic can apply for some unusual goalkeeper infractions or delayed restarts, where a corner might be given as the restart after a specific violation.
These edge cases don’t happen often, but they show up in referee and rules discussions online.
Quick TL;DR
- Ball completely over defending team’s goal line, outside the goal.
- Last touch by a defender.
- Result: attacking team gets a corner kick from the nearest corner arc.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.