A corner kick is awarded when the ball crosses the goal line and was last touched by a defending player, and no goal was scored. The restart happens from the corner nearest to where the ball went out.

Simple version

  • Defender touches it last.
  • Ball fully goes over the goal line.
  • It does not go into the goal.
  • The attacking team gets the corner.

Common example

If a defender blocks a shot and it deflects over their own end line, the attacking team gets a corner kick. If an attacker is the last to touch it over the line, it is usually a goal kick instead.

Extra rule

A corner can also be awarded in a few special restart situations, such as certain goal-kick delays or goalkeeper handling violations, but the most common reason is a defender last touching the ball over the goal line.

Meta description: A corner kick in soccer is awarded when the ball goes over the goal line last touched by the defending team, and play restarts from the nearest corner.