Types of Dribbling in Soccer: Which One the Situation Demands

Last updated: August 2026

Key Takeaways

• There are three functional types: close control for tight spaces, speed dribbling for open ground, and attacking dribbling for beating a specific opponent. They need different touches, different foot surfaces and different body positions.
• The most common fault at amateur level isn’t bad technique — it’s using the wrong type. Speed dribbling in a crowd loses the ball; close control in open space wastes the space.
• Touch frequency is the simplest way to tell them apart: roughly one touch per stride for close control, one every three or four strides at speed.
• A fourth mode, shielding, isn’t really dribbling at all — but it’s what keeps possession when none of the other three is available.

Most guides treat dribbling in soccer as a single skill you either have or don’t. In practice it splits into distinct types that share a name and almost nothing else, and knowing which one a moment calls for matters more than how polished any of them is.

This guide is about that choice. For the underlying technique — tapping rather than kicking, the three contact surfaces, head position — start with our guide to dribbling a soccer ball, which covers the mechanics this one assumes.

«I can usually tell a player’s level in about thirty seconds, and it’s not from their touch. It’s from whether they change how they’re dribbling when the space around them changes. Most players have one setting.» — Anthony Molina, FOOTBOLNO.COM

The Three Types

1. Close Control Dribbling

What it is: small, frequent touches keeping the soccer ball within about a stride of your feet at all times.

Foot surface: mostly the inside, with the sole and outside for direction changes.

Touch frequency: roughly one per stride. Over ten metres that’s eight to ten touches.

Body position: low, knees bent, arms out. Often half-turned so your body is between the ball and the nearest defender.

When it’s right: crowded midfield, receiving with your back to goal, anywhere a defender is within two metres, or when you need to buy a second for a teammate to move.

When it’s wrong: open field ahead of you. Shuffling forward with tiny touches while nobody is near you wastes the one thing that was valuable — the space.

2. Speed Dribbling

What it is: pushing the soccer ball ahead into space and running onto it, covering ground quickly.

Foot surface: the laces, occasionally the outside of the foot.

Touch frequency: one every three or four strides. The ball travels further per touch because you’re moving with it, not around it.

Body position: upright, running normally. This is the one type where a tall, running posture is correct.

When it’s right: counter-attacks, open flanks, any moment where the ground in front of you is empty and there’s a reason to cover it fast.

When it’s wrong: anywhere the ball would end up closer to a defender than to you. The touch that puts the ball two metres ahead is a gift if someone else can reach it first.

3. Attacking Dribbling

What it is: dribbling with the specific intention of beating an opponent who is directly in front of you.

Foot surface: all of them, depending on the move.

Touch frequency: irregular by design. Slow, slow, sudden — the change of rhythm is the whole point.

Body position: low and balanced, ready to accelerate in either direction.

When it’s right: one-on-one in the attacking third, with space behind the defender to run into.

When it’s wrong: in your own half, outnumbered, or when a pass achieves the same thing faster. The specific moves for this type — step over, cut, croqueta — are covered in our guide to soccer skill moves.

Side by Side

The Fourth Mode: Shielding

Not technically dribbling, but it belongs here because it’s what you do when none of the three is available.

You put your body between the ball and the defender, keep the ball on the foot furthest from them, and hold the position until a passing option appears. Arms out for balance — and yes, using your body is legal as long as you’re playing the ball and not pushing with your hands.

This is the single most underrated skill for a beginner. A player who can shield for four seconds turns a lost cause into a throw-in, a free kick, or a pass to a teammate who’s finally arrived.

Reading the Situation

In a game of soccer the choice comes down to three questions, answered in about half a second.

How much space is in front of me? Empty ground means speed dribbling. Bodies mean close control.

Where is the nearest defender? Within two metres and closing, you’re shielding or playing close. Five metres away and static, you have time.

Is there a better option than dribbling at all? Usually yes. A pass moves the ball faster than any dribble, and most possessions should end with one — see the thirteen types of passes for the range available.

Beginners answer these questions late or not at all. That’s what “not seeing the game” means in practice — not a mysterious talent, just the habit of checking before receiving rather than after.

Practising All Three

Most soccer drills only train one type, which is why players end up with one setting.

Close control: cone weave with narrow spacing, one to two metres apart. Slow, many touches, head up. Sixty seconds continuous.

Rychlost: cones twenty metres apart, sprint between them with two or three touches maximum. Full pace, then stop the ball dead.

Attacking: one-on-one against a passive defender in a five-metre channel. No cones — a person, because the timing is the skill.

Switching: the drill nobody does and the one that matters most. Set a tight cone grid, then a twenty-metre open lane, then a cone as a defender. Go through all three in one run. It feels awkward, and that awkwardness is exactly the thing you’re trying to remove.

A full session that mixes these with control and passing work is laid out in our essential soccer ball drills guide.

What Position You Play Changes the Mix

Not every player needs all three equally.

Wingers live on speed and attacking dribbling. Close control matters less because they usually receive facing forward with space ahead.

Central midfielders need close control above everything — they receive in traffic, often with their back to goal, and rarely have twenty metres of open ground.

Full-backs need speed dribbling most, because their job involves carrying the ball forward down an empty touchline.

Centre-backs need shielding and little else. Attacking dribbling in your own defensive third is how goals get conceded.

Strikers need close control in the box and attacking dribbling in one-on-ones.

If you’re not sure where you fit, our position self-assessment works through it in six questions.

Common Questions

How many types of dribbling are there in soccer? Three functional types — close control, speed and attacking — plus shielding, which is a possession skill rather than dribbling proper. Some coaches split them further, but these cover every situation you’ll meet.

Which type of dribbling should a beginner learn first? Close control. It’s the foundation for the other two, it’s the one you’ll use most in a game, and it develops the touch everything else depends on.

What’s the difference between dribbling and running with the ball? “Running with the ball” is speed dribbling by another name — moving the ball into space at pace. Dribbling in the narrow sense usually implies beating an opponent.

How do I know if my touch is too heavy? Count your touches over ten metres at walking pace. Fewer than six and you’re pushing the ball too far for close control. It’s almost always a force problem rather than a technique problem.

Can you use speed dribbling in a crowded area? No, and trying is the most common turnover at amateur level. The moment the ball leaves your feet by more than a stride in traffic, it belongs to whoever reaches it first.

Is dribbling with the sole of the foot a separate type? It’s a technique used within close control — rolls, drags and pull-backs. Useful in tight spaces and on artificial surfaces, less so on wet grass where the ball sticks.

How long does it take to switch between types naturally? Months of playing rather than drilling. The technique is quick to learn; the reading of when to use which comes from matches, which is why small-sided games are worth more than cone work for this specific skill.

Anthony Molina writes about soccer technique, gear and coaching at FOOTBOLNO.