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Juninho Pernambucano
Born
Juninho's years at Lyon made the long-range free kick a credible scoring chance. He trained the dipping, low-spin strike repeatedly rather than relying on a rare perfect hit. UEFA's account of his goal against Bayern shows the effect from more than 30 metres; the goalkeeper had to cope with late movement as well as distance. Study how the approach and contact differ from a conventional curler.
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David Beckham
Born
Beckham's bent right-foot free kick is a useful study in repeatable mechanics. He scored 18 direct free kicks in the Premier League, the competition's record, and spread them across seven seasons. The shape of the run-up and the clean, wrapped contact sent the ball over or around a wall without requiring a straight blast. His delivery from wide positions adds a second reason to watch the same technique.
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Siniša Mihajlović
Born
Mihajlović was a defender and midfielder whose left-foot free kick was a serious attacking weapon. UEFA described him as a feared specialist and, during his Lazio years, noted his Serie A record for direct free-kick goals. Watch the force of the strike alongside the placement: his threat changed how a wall and goalkeeper had to prepare even before he took the kick.
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Lionel Messi
Born
Messi gives the short-to-mid-range curler an unusually clear example. His repeated Barcelona free kicks included the 2019 Champions League semi-final strike against Liverpool, when he bent the ball around the wall from a central position. The lesson is not that every free kick should become a shot: watch how his starting angle and left-foot contact make the goalkeeper commit to one side before the ball changes course.
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Andrea Pirlo
Born
Pirlo brought a playmaker's range of decisions to a stationary ball. At the 2013 Confederations Cup he scored with a curler on his 100th Italy appearance and also tried an effort under the wall. That variation is the point: the wall's jump, the goalkeeper's starting side and the distance all invite different answers. His controlled delivery into the box makes the same reading valuable when a shot is the wrong choice.
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James Ward-Prowse
Born
Ward-Prowse is a modern case for repetition over spectacle. He reached 17 Premier League direct free-kick goals with Southampton, one short of Beckham's record at the time, with many arriving across successive seasons rather than in one hot spell. His corners and wide free kicks mattered too. Compare the different arcs he asks of the ball when he is shooting and when a teammate must attack the delivery.
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Willian (footballer, born 1988)
Born
Willian scored four free kicks in the 2015/16 Champions League group stage and explained his method to UEFA: frequent short practice, then attention to the goalkeeper's stance before striking. That makes him useful to study beyond the highlight clip. His run-up is compact and the ball can move sharply; the real choice is when a direct attempt is preferable to a service into the box.
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Gianfranco Zola
Born
Zola scored 12 direct free kicks in the Premier League, a high total achieved without the same power-first style as some specialists. His Chelsea years show the value of disguise and placement around a wall. Watch the small changes in contact and target rather than a single trademark trajectory: a goalkeeper must judge whether he will lift the ball, curl it or find a less protected gap.
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Born
Ronaldo's knuckleball approach offers a contrast to Beckham's bend. UEFA describes his strike-through technique and a Champions League semi-final free kick against Arsenal whose swerve wrong-footed the goalkeeper. His penalty routine belongs in the comparison too, but the free kick is the better study in how power and late movement can defeat a wall from a distance where a gentler curler is less useful.
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Thierry Henry
Henry combined two different dead-ball skills at Arsenal: he scored 12 direct Premier League free kicks and converted 23 of 25 league penalties. Those are different decisions. From a free kick he could bend around a wall; from the spot the contest narrowed to composure and placement against one goalkeeper. Studying both avoids confusing a spectacular strike with the quieter discipline of repeated penalties.
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Kevin De Bruyne
Born
De Bruyne's best set-piece work is often a pass that looks like a shot until it reaches a runner. Premier League analysis ranked his 2022/23 corners among the most accurate and later identified him as Manchester City's most reliable set-piece creator. Watch the pace and landing zone of his deliveries, and the short-corner combinations that change the crossing angle before he releases the ball.
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Kieran Trippier
Born
Trippier is here for the ball into the box, not just the occasional direct free kick. In 2022/23, Premier League analysis counted 74 Newcastle chances created from his set pieces, including four assists from fast outswinging wide free kicks. The repeatable action is a firm delivery into a planned zone. Watch the runners' starting positions and the moment he chooses to release it.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold
Born
Alexander-Arnold gives a right-back's perspective on dead-ball invention. His Liverpool corners and wide free kicks supplied runners with a range of pace and shape, while he could also shoot directly, as the Premier League noted after his 2024 strike against Fulham. Study how the same starting position can produce a driven near-post ball, a deeper service or a shot, making early defensive movement risky.
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Alan Shearer
Born
Shearer scored 56 Premier League penalties, more than any other player in the competition's records. That volume makes him a useful counterweight to a list dominated by curlers. His penalties were often hit decisively rather than disguised; the study is how a consistent routine and strong contact held up through many seasons, including misses that did not stop him taking the next one.
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Harry Kane
Born
Kane has described the nerves and preparation behind his penalty routine rather than pretending the spot is effortless. UEFA's 2025 analysis documented 30 successful penalties in succession for club and country at that point and examined how he waited for a goalkeeper to move. The useful detail is the balance between a practised plan and a late read, with execution still required once the decision is made.
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Megan Rapinoe
Rapinoe's left foot made set pieces a recurring route for the United States. FIFA documented her free kick against France at the 2019 World Cup and her direct corner goal at the Tokyo Olympics. Those are different contacts, but both exploit a goalkeeper's need to judge the flight early. Watch how the delivery's starting angle can make even a ball aimed at teammates dangerous to the goal.
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Sherida Spitse
Born
Spitse offered the Netherlands choices from all three dead-ball situations: UEFA listed her for penalties, free kicks and corners at Women's EURO 2025. Her free-kick goal in the 2017 tournament is one match example, but the wider interest is range. A defender taking so many restarts gives the team consistent delivery while forcing it to plan the defensive transition if the ball is cleared.
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Selma Bacha
Born
Bacha's left-foot service gives France an attacking option from a full-back's position. UEFA identified her as the side's free-kick and corner taker at Women's EURO 2025. The point to study is the path into the box: a corner that swings towards goal asks different runs from a free kick sent across a defensive line. Her value is in making those deliveries repeatable, not merely taking a turn at the ball.
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Alex Greenwood
Born
Greenwood is a useful example of a defender who can organise play from a restart. UEFA named her among England's free-kick and corner takers at Women's EURO 2025. A left-footed delivery from her side can bend towards the goalkeeper or away towards a later runner. Watch the choice of zone and the team's coverage behind the kick; a well-placed service is only half a successful routine.
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Pernille Harder
Born
Harder carried Denmark's first penalty option and shared free-kick responsibility in UEFA's Women's EURO 2025 guide. Those jobs require different rhythms: a penalty is a direct contest with the goalkeeper, while a free kick can invite a shot or a teammate's run. Study how an attacking leader manages both without treating every stationary ball as the same chance.
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Alexia Putellas
Putellas scored a Barcelona free kick in the 2021 Women's Champions League and a curling Spain free kick in the 2025 Nations League semi-final. UEFA also named her among Spain's dead-ball options at Women's EURO 2025. The repeat across teams and seasons is more useful than either clip alone: watch how she chooses the wall's edge, then shapes a left-foot strike to make a goalkeeper move late.
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Georgia Stanway
Born
Stanway converted England's early penalty against Norway at Women's EURO 2022 and remained a designated taker in UEFA's 2025 tournament guide. That repeated trust is more persuasive than a single spot kick. Her midfield role usually rewards scanning several passing options; from the spot she narrows that to a chosen target and a consistent approach, even when a match's stakes make waiting uncomfortable.
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Guro Reiten
Born
Reiten curled in a Norway free kick against Northern Ireland at Women's EURO 2022, and UEFA still listed her for Norway's free kicks and penalties in 2025. That span shows why her left foot remained a set-piece option rather than a one-match surprise. Compare a shot around a wall with a penalty: the first needs a changing ball flight, while the second asks for a settled choice against the keeper.
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Mariona Caldentey
Born
Caldentey converted a late Spain penalty against Sweden in the 2023 Nations League and a decisive Arsenal penalty in the 2024/25 Champions League group stage. UEFA also listed her among Spain's 2025 set-piece options. The repeated responsibility across club and country is the reason to watch; her measured approach shows how a playmaker can keep a simple scoring choice clear under very different pressures.
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