Creativity and diversity in goalscoring

Technical expert Angelo Schirinzi acknowledges the role of goalkeepers as part of the reason behind the increase in attacking impetus.

“Goalkeepers nowadays act as a fifth attacking player and this gives their team a 5v4 numerical superiority on the pitch. Because goalkeepers have improved so much technically and can score, defending teams cannot leave them unopposed with the ball. So, if they press the goalkeeper, it means one of their team-mates is likely unmarked and can leave free space and create an attacking opportunity.

“Another reason is that there is an overall improvement in the tactical, technical and physical attributes of all top-level players even though they are playing in sand. They are moving the ball faster and with greater accuracy, even when under pressure, so it means they can generate quicker attacks,” he added.

A total of 288 goals (an average of nine goals per game) were scored during FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025 resulting in an average increase of two goals scored per game compared to 2024 (seven goals per game). An additional 486 attempts at goal were made in 2025 (3,047) compared to 2024 (2,561) which further demonstrates the attacking appetite displayed by teams competing at the Seychelles.

This tournament produced 192 goals from open play, an increase of 66 compared to FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2024™. A total of 60 goals were scored from counter-attacks, up 22 (37%) from last year’s competition while 36 goals were scored in each of the combination and individual goal categories, both up by 17 on the previous Beach Soccer World Cup.

As Schirinzi explains, teams that can score goals in different ways are more likely to progress further in the competitions because they have more solutions to defensive tactics.

“If a team has only one or two key attacking strategies, it’s easier to know how to defend against them, but if teams have different solutions to different scenarios, it makes it harder to adjust defensively. Teams must think more, recognising and responding to situations faster. Set plays are an important facet of this too and they are a great opportunity for teams to be unpredictable, giving the opponent very little time to react. The best teams in this World Cup had different ways to score goals and that quality will become more important as beach soccer continues to evolve.”

(1/2) In FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025, an average increase of two goals per game was recorded compared to 2024.

(2/2) Teams scored more goals in different ways during FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025 compared to 2024.

Direct goals v. goals with 3+ passes

Goalscoring diversity was a key trait of the teams that progressed to the latter stages of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025. Direct goals come from fast, accurate and often pre-rehearsed phases of play, whereby the attacking team aims to score from the first attacking touch following one long pass. These goals are akin to set plays in the dynamic and efficient nature of their execution and are often scored against static defensive setups.

Goals scored where there are more than three passes in the build-up involve greater amounts of movement, occupation and creation of space, movement of defenders through technical passing sequences, and combinations. When teams have the capacity to score goals using both methods, it poses challenges for the opposition defence.

(1/2) Tournament runners-up Belarus scored 14 goals with 3+ passes in the build-up, averaging 5.2 passes per goal scored in this metric, while they also scored 8 direct goals.

(2/2) Oman converted 40% of their on-target attempts at goal to goals.

According to Schirinzi, “Goals being scored through sequences of passes are increasing a lot and, again, the goalkeepers are a key factor in this. They are technically good with their feet and can pass accurately so they can orchestrate the attacking phases from a higher position, drawing out the opposition’s defence. This often leaves at least one team-mate free to receive in space, meaning they can have more time to control the ball and decide where their next pass will go. In these situations, teams can have greater patience on the ball and use more combinations to progress the ball, whilst drawing their opponents out and creating space.

“In addition, goalkeepers also recognise favourable 1v1 situations near the opponents’ goal and they are technically capable of executing accurate long passes to set up direct goalscoring opportunities. When teams can do both, it’s more challenging to defend against.”

In the clips below, we see examples of some of the TSG’s favourite and different types of goals that were scored during FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025.

(1/3) Iran goalkeeper Seyed Mirjalili (1) is heavily involved in the build-up to Ali Nazem’s (5) volleyed goal.

(3/3) Spain forwards Kumin (10) and Soleiman Batis (9) combine brilliantly in this goal with 3+ passes in the build-up.

(3/3) Belarus forward Yahor Hardzetski (9) scores with a superbly struck bicycle kick with his first touch.

A total of 96 goals were scored from set plays during Beach Soccer World Cup 2025 with an increase recorded in goals scored in the corner phase. 14 goals were scored (+1 from direct corner) compared to just eight in the previous World Cup. Forty goals were scored from free kicks (35 direct free kick goals; +1 free kick phase goal; +4 free kick rebound phase goals.

Belarus captain Ihar Bryshtsel (8) scored seven goals from set plays, including three from direct free kicks.

As Matteo Marrucci explains, “Although it was interesting to see the increase in the number of goals from corners, it was also interesting to see many teams playing back to their own goalkeeper from a corner kick during this tournament. Sometimes it was to keep possession and other times it was clear that they wanted to build play using their goalkeeper and attack from there. We saw a new situation in the 1–2–2 from corner kicks using the goalkeeper between zone 2 and zone 3. It was difficult to score directly from corner kicks because of the tight man-to-man marking (which emerged as a trend during Beach Soccer World Cup 2024) and so passing back to the goalkeeper proved an interesting solution, and teams clearly had worked on this before the tournament.”

“The situation around free kicks was also interesting, as teams were so dangerous and had players who could score from different ranges and had worked on different routines. This meant that defending teams had to work hard in defensive situations without giving up fouls because every free kick, regardless of where it was on the pitch, gave them a genuine opportunity to score,” he added.

Our TSG members have selected the following three clips to show examples of different types of set-play goals scored during the tournament.

(1/4) Japan goalkeeper Takeru Furusato (12) scores after receiving the ball from a corner.

(2/4) Japan forward Masato Suzuki (9) scores at the near post from a clever and well-worked attacking corner.

(3/4) Oman score directly from a corner when Musallam Al Araimi (3) recognises the space available at the back post.

(4/4) Belarus score direct from a free kick when Mikita Chaikouski (5) lofts the ball with his left foot over the advancing Seychelles goalkeeper.

While an increase was noted in the number of goals scored, it was the creativity and diversity shown by teams in the ways they could score goals that stood out for our Technical Study Group during FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2025. The role of the goalkeeper in the attacking teams’ build-up play has also created new challenges for defending teams when trying to deal with their increased technical ability and how their presence on the ball creates numerical advantages.