Top Bins, Daisy Cutters and Worldies: A Visual Guide to Football Shot Types
Football has more slang than any other sport, and most of it describes exactly what a ball does when someone kicks it. Where does it land? How does it move through the air? How was it struck? Here’s a simple guide, with diagrams, to the vocabulary of shooting a football.
Where the Ball Goes: The 6 Classic Shot Placements
Every commentator has their favourite phrase for a ball hitting a specific spot in the goal. Here’s what the numbered zones on the diagram above are called:
| # | Zone | The Slang | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top corners (either side) | Top bins, top corner, or where the owl sleeps | The upper corners of the net. Practically impossible for a keeper to reach when hit with pace. “Bins” refers to the corner pockets of the goal, like a snooker table. |
| 2 | Very top corner (post and crossbar angle) | Postage stamp | The exact spot where the post meets the crossbar. So tight you could stick a postage stamp on it. Slightly more specific than “top bins”. |
| 3 and 4 | Bottom corners | Bottom corner, bottom bins, or side netting | Low into either corner. Statistically the placement that scores most often, since most goalkeepers dive late for low shots and can’t get down fast enough. |
| 5 | Dead centre, chest height | Panenka spot | The middle of the goal at keeper height. Only works if the keeper commits to diving one way. That’s the whole idea behind the Panenka penalty, dinked straight down the middle while the keeper is already airborne. |
| 6 | Low centre, along the ground | Daisy cutter zone | Where a low shot that skims the ground tends to end up. See the next section for why the ball travels this way. |
How the Ball Travels: Shot Trajectories
These terms describe how the ball moves through the air, not necessarily where it ends up. A daisy cutter is defined by trajectory (low, skimming the grass), not placement. It can end up in any corner.
Daisy cutter
A low, hard shot that stays close to the ground the whole way. So called because it looks like it could take the heads off any daisies growing on the pitch. Ideal against tall goalkeepers who struggle to get down quickly.
Worldie (or “worldy”)
Short for “world class goal”. Any spectacular finish, usually a long range strike, screamer, or acrobatic effort. Not a specific technique, just an appreciation. Roy Keane’s away goal at Juventus is a classic worldie.
Screamer, thunderbastard, or rocket
A shot hit with maximum power from distance. The keeper often has no chance simply because of pace. “Thunderbastard” is Peter Crouch’s contribution to football’s vocabulary.
Curler or bender
A shot with sidespin that bends around defenders or the goalkeeper. Struck with the inside of the foot (for a right footed player curling from right to left) or the outside (for the opposite bend). David Beckham built a career on curled free kicks. Cristiano Ronaldo’s early Manchester United goals were often curlers struck with the outside of the boot.
Knuckleball
A shot struck cleanly with zero spin. The ball wobbles, dips and moves unpredictably through the air, making it a nightmare for keepers to read. Juninho Pernambucano was the master of this from free kicks. Both Ronaldos used it too.
Dink, chip, lob, or scoop
A delicately lofted shot that lifts the ball over the goalkeeper, usually when they’ve come off their line. Requires soft feet, not power. Thierry Henry made an art form of it.
Placed shot
The opposite of a screamer. A carefully weighted, sidefooted finish prioritising accuracy over pace, usually into a corner. Sometimes called a “pass into the net”.
How the Ball is Struck: Shot Techniques
These describe the mechanics, or how the striker’s body meets the ball.
- Volley: the ball is struck out of the air before it bounces. Zinedine Zidane’s 2002 Champions League final goal is arguably the greatest volley ever.
- Half volley: struck the instant the ball bounces up from the ground. Often produces the cleanest strike of a ball.
- Header: with the head. A “bullet header” is powerful, a “glancing header” redirects a cross with subtle contact.
- Diving header: a header while airborne and horizontal to the ground. Robin van Persie’s 2014 World Cup goal against Spain is the reference point.
- Bicycle kick, overhead kick, or scissor kick: the striker leaps backwards, hitting the ball over their own head. Wayne Rooney vs Manchester City (2011), Cristiano Ronaldo vs Juventus (2018), and Gareth Bale in the Champions League final (2018) are the modern greats.
- Backheel: struck with the back of the heel. Cheeky and often shocking for goalkeepers.
- Rabona: the kicking leg wraps behind the standing leg. Usually flashier than useful, but occasionally the only option when the ball is on the “wrong” foot.
- Trivela: a curler struck with the outside of the foot. Ricardo Quaresma’s signature, and more recently a Cristiano Ronaldo staple.
- Toe poke: jabbed with the end of the toe. Ugly but effective when there’s no time to set. Ronaldo (the original Brazilian one) scored a famous toe poke against Turkey at the 2002 World Cup.
- Tap in: the easiest kind of goal. Ball is in front of an open net, minimal contact required. Gary Lineker made a career of them.
- Poacher’s finish: an opportunistic close range goal, usually from a rebound, deflection or scrap in the box.
Bonus: The Full Football Shot Slang Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Top bins | Top corner of the goal |
| Postage stamp | The exact angle where post meets crossbar |
| Where the owl sleeps | Same as top bins. The highest, tightest corner |
| Side netting | Just inside the post, low |
| Daisy cutter | Low shot skimming the ground |
| Worldie | Spectacular goal of any kind |
| Screamer, thunderbastard | Powerful long range strike |
| Rasping drive | Fast, low, powerful shot |
| Curler, bender | Shot that curves through the air |
| Knuckleball | No spin dipping shot |
| Dink, chip, scoop | Lofted delicately over the keeper |
| Panenka | Chipped penalty straight down the middle |
| Trivela | Curler struck with the outside of the foot |
| Rabona | Kicking leg wrapped behind standing leg |
| Nutmeg | Ball played through the goalkeeper’s or defender’s legs |
| Olimpico | Goal scored direct from a corner |
| Peach | Beautifully struck shot (also “cracker”, “beauty”) |
| Howler | Not a shot type. It’s a goalkeeper’s dreadful mistake |
The Takeaway
Football shot vocabulary sounds impenetrable until you break it into three questions. Where does the ball end up? How does it travel? How did the boot meet it? Once you can separate those three, you can pretty much decode any pundit or commentator.
Now go and enjoy the next weekend of football with a much better ear for what Peter Drury is actually saying.
Coaching your kids? The diagram above is a decent starting point for teaching finishing. The single most reliable placement in youth football is the bottom corner (zones 3 and 4), because keepers of any age are much slower going down than they are going up.