Soccer Random Timing Guide: When to Tap, When to Hold and When to Leave the Ball Alone

What the button really does

Pressing your key does two things at once: both of your players push off the ground, and their legs start swinging. The swing is what moves the ball, and it only connects if the ball is roughly between knee and chest height when the player passes it. Press with the ball above the head and the leg misses; the body clips the ball instead and it goes upward or backward. Press with the ball on the ground and the player lands on it, which usually pops it a metre and nothing more.

Tap versus hold

A tap is a low hop, enough to reach a ball rolling along the turf. A hold pushes the jump higher and keeps the legs swinging longer, which is what you want for a ball dropping out of the air at the halfway line. The cost of a hold is five seconds of two players lying on their backs, so never hold near your own goal unless the alternative is a certain goal anyway.

Reading the round

Every goal resets the conditions, and the surface matters most. On grass the ball runs true. On snow and sand it dies quickly, so you have to jump closer to it. A beach ball floats, so it stays up long enough for a second jump and drifts over the crossbar if you hit it hard. The American football bounces off at odd angles and rewards taps over holds, because a full swing can send it anywhere. The small ball sneaks between the legs, so stay closer to your own goal. Tall or long-legged players reach higher, which makes taps enough for most balls and holds a waste.

The waiting game

The most useful habit is to do nothing. Two idle players form a wall in front of the goal, and the computer opponent, or an over-eager friend, will jump into the ball again and again until it squirts loose. When it rolls into the middle of the pitch, that is your one jump. Score, and the round resets; miss, and you are still no worse off than you were.