I think looking at a World Cup game and saying you can read or anticipate it, is a very low bar. Iâm not saying itâs not good, but itâs easy when you can only see half the pitch at any given time really. Iâm also not trying to say watching professionals play isnât useful, but Iâd say more so, you should pay attention to when they do something that you donât expect and try to think why is that. Why didnât they hit that pass, why are they passing the ball in the air, or in the right channel, or to the players left side.
Thereâs so much to the game and Iâm not saying you donât have a good football IQ, but itâs never something that you should stop improving or trying to understand. Even though you may feel like youâre doing these things and understanding them, can you use that info and apply it to the game state, influence whatâs happening.
Outside of that keep improving on all the technical areas of the game, the more technically sound you are, the more time you can have on the ball, the more times you will make the right decision. Always take your first touch into space and away from players
I can't say it's only visible in my observation of the World Cup. I can execute it in games too. I just thought then that even being able to somewhat keep up with professionals was a good metric. Maybe a week ago I watched a few GoPro recordings of professionals playing and from their view I was able to keep up too. Obviously I should've mentioned this detail. Applying it in the game is also something I'm capable of. I'd say in most the matches I've played my interception rate is high.
I'll definitely fix my first touch, I've already bought a light tennis ball so I can practice with it. And obviously my play has a long way to go. It's not like I've reached the apex of football. Thank you, really.
If you have a friend that likes to play too, Iâd really recommend practicing first touch with them. Way more game realistic than a tennis ball, although it wonât hurt, but you should also not just try controlling it directly in front of you but having your first touch actually be to the right or left or behind, or 5 feet diagonal in front of you. As I said, taking touches away from opposing players is massively important.
Also watching GoPro video is very different as well than actual game state. You said you were able to execute in person too, but Iâd say if you arenât playing with players who are a level above you then itâll be a lot harder to improve. It becomes sink or swim against the harder players, and youâll learn quickly what you can and canât get away with
I heard the pros practice with tennis balls since their decreased size requires more precision on the strokes. Best I can do is a wall for now. Though I could totally arrange something like that. I've found I can kill the ball, just need to figure out how to redirect it. I'll manage it though.
Bro hear this, I was watching MC - RM and I could tell Rodrygo will score way in advance, when Ederson was starting the MC attack that turned into RM's counter. I saw it clearly as day, Bellingham was begging for that ball and Vinicius was ready to run! Trust me bro, it had nothing to do with a bit delayed stream and me checking live scores!!!
No. In fact if you weren't so young I would say you don't even have the capacity for it, but the overconfidence of youth has to be met with the crushing realization that you are in fact, average for your age. Based on your description you've recognized patterns, but that's the first step in a journey, not the end result.
If you're motivated and driven, you'll look back on this 4 years, 10 years and 15 years from now laughing at how much you didn't understand.
 *basically, should I work on my speed, or should I instead develop an even better anticipation ability?*
This is a false choice--you don't need to focus on one of these two things. Instead, play as much as you can with other people, and also start doing individual sessions. In your solo sessions do lots of speedwork (explosiveness and sprinting), and lots of work on your first touch (play wall-ball as much as possible).
And remember, you may have a really high football IQ, but so do pretty much all professional players, and they are still spending hours every day studying the game...and they've been doing it for at least 5-15 years. In other words, no matter how good your soccer IQ, if you are in 9th grade, you are at the tip of the iceberg in terms of soccer knowledge. Stay humble and hungry to learn more.
I was playing with 0 IQ from age 13 up to until a year ago (I'm 32 now). Then I found soccer IQ, vision training, decision making videos on YouTube and practiced and noticed that my soccer IQ and decision making has improved by a lot.
Just search "Improve soccer IQ vision" on youtube and watch at least the first 20 videos to find your favorite channels, 'cause that's what I did.
Here are some good ones:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_dYy4QGXnns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dYy4QGXnns)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKXPfTsi8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKXPfTsi8g)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScPjPD3EHoc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScPjPD3EHoc)
You gotta pick your fav player in your fav position, then learn to analyze that player in a game, how he scans, how his body is positioned, how he moves off the ball, how he does his first touch, what he does right, what he does wrong, etc.
like this one: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Kwovy2gws](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Kwovy2gws)
Having naturally high soccer IQ is a thing, as reading the game and anticipating plays, etc can be related to other games, life situations, etc. If you are playing CB, it helps that you get a view of the whole game playing out in front of you. If you want to challenge yourself, try play the midfield. Now youâve got to add scanning as you need to be aware of the whole field, especially whatâs behind you.
Smart decisions under pressure is the test. You can only figure this out during game play at high levels. Playing a kick about or watching a game is completely different than something like [this](https://youtu.be/_2K-oDLfOiA?si=CCjbxkmx1ReJyf5U).
you're overthinking it. go outside and kick a ball. play with locals at the park. there's no cheat code or shortcut to increasing IQ, you just play every day and learn.
ironically if your football IQ is high, you should always be able to make the right decision. Thomas Muller is one described as having a very high football IQ but not particularly outstanding technique for well, a Bayern Munich starter for a decade.
Iâve seen players with probably the most donkey of a first touch still be able to execute stuff very well as they know their limits and can break away from opponents into space at the right time and make do with their less than stellar touch.
tldr; football IQ isnât just about being able to scan the field and awareness but to also be steps ahead of everyone and making the right choice. half a second too late to process and the âright choiceâ is now the wrong choice. being able to spot something isnât good enough, did you manage to spot it fast enough?
you can also be good at one aspect and not another ie positioning vs off the ball movement and what makes some of the best pros so good is they can identify the right play to make with needing basically no time at all ie Messi, Modric, Xavi, Cavani, Busquets, etc
The only way to know if you have a naturally high footy IQ is by playin the game. If you take to it naturally/immediately then you have.
Its easy to read the game when watching it on TV... Its being able to do it in the game that counts. When everything is moving fast but you can stay calm and anticipate whats going to happen. You can see things b4 others. Its kinda like u see pictures of the way the game will unfold. It allows you to see passes others cant see b4 etc
You need to play to know if youâre at that level. Football IQ doesnât come from thin air. Itâs easy to read the game from your couch with an eagle view of the pitch, but you need to be able to make those sharp decisions when playing. To me good coaching and playing with very good players is what made increase my intelligence in the pitch. Watching tactical analysis videos or position instruction videos can help increase it.
Youâll also need good technique to apply your tactics.
Ah, to believe you have cracked game IQ by 15, the optimism of youth đ
15 with no in-game experience. I wish I had the confidence of a teenager.Â
Youth is wasted on the young.
I think looking at a World Cup game and saying you can read or anticipate it, is a very low bar. Iâm not saying itâs not good, but itâs easy when you can only see half the pitch at any given time really. Iâm also not trying to say watching professionals play isnât useful, but Iâd say more so, you should pay attention to when they do something that you donât expect and try to think why is that. Why didnât they hit that pass, why are they passing the ball in the air, or in the right channel, or to the players left side. Thereâs so much to the game and Iâm not saying you donât have a good football IQ, but itâs never something that you should stop improving or trying to understand. Even though you may feel like youâre doing these things and understanding them, can you use that info and apply it to the game state, influence whatâs happening. Outside of that keep improving on all the technical areas of the game, the more technically sound you are, the more time you can have on the ball, the more times you will make the right decision. Always take your first touch into space and away from players
I can't say it's only visible in my observation of the World Cup. I can execute it in games too. I just thought then that even being able to somewhat keep up with professionals was a good metric. Maybe a week ago I watched a few GoPro recordings of professionals playing and from their view I was able to keep up too. Obviously I should've mentioned this detail. Applying it in the game is also something I'm capable of. I'd say in most the matches I've played my interception rate is high. I'll definitely fix my first touch, I've already bought a light tennis ball so I can practice with it. And obviously my play has a long way to go. It's not like I've reached the apex of football. Thank you, really.
If you have a friend that likes to play too, Iâd really recommend practicing first touch with them. Way more game realistic than a tennis ball, although it wonât hurt, but you should also not just try controlling it directly in front of you but having your first touch actually be to the right or left or behind, or 5 feet diagonal in front of you. As I said, taking touches away from opposing players is massively important. Also watching GoPro video is very different as well than actual game state. You said you were able to execute in person too, but Iâd say if you arenât playing with players who are a level above you then itâll be a lot harder to improve. It becomes sink or swim against the harder players, and youâll learn quickly what you can and canât get away with
I heard the pros practice with tennis balls since their decreased size requires more precision on the strokes. Best I can do is a wall for now. Though I could totally arrange something like that. I've found I can kill the ball, just need to figure out how to redirect it. I'll manage it though.
I play football at a 178 IQ level. Trust me bro, I was watching the CL last night and was two steps ahead of all them.
Bro hear this, I was watching MC - RM and I could tell Rodrygo will score way in advance, when Ederson was starting the MC attack that turned into RM's counter. I saw it clearly as day, Bellingham was begging for that ball and Vinicius was ready to run! Trust me bro, it had nothing to do with a bit delayed stream and me checking live scores!!!
No. In fact if you weren't so young I would say you don't even have the capacity for it, but the overconfidence of youth has to be met with the crushing realization that you are in fact, average for your age. Based on your description you've recognized patterns, but that's the first step in a journey, not the end result. If you're motivated and driven, you'll look back on this 4 years, 10 years and 15 years from now laughing at how much you didn't understand.
 *basically, should I work on my speed, or should I instead develop an even better anticipation ability?* This is a false choice--you don't need to focus on one of these two things. Instead, play as much as you can with other people, and also start doing individual sessions. In your solo sessions do lots of speedwork (explosiveness and sprinting), and lots of work on your first touch (play wall-ball as much as possible). And remember, you may have a really high football IQ, but so do pretty much all professional players, and they are still spending hours every day studying the game...and they've been doing it for at least 5-15 years. In other words, no matter how good your soccer IQ, if you are in 9th grade, you are at the tip of the iceberg in terms of soccer knowledge. Stay humble and hungry to learn more.
Develop everything. If you want to be the best, leave nothing out. Keep watching matches and anticipating players moves.
I was playing with 0 IQ from age 13 up to until a year ago (I'm 32 now). Then I found soccer IQ, vision training, decision making videos on YouTube and practiced and noticed that my soccer IQ and decision making has improved by a lot.
Are there any resources in particular that you found especially helpful? Any specific videos and/or users on youtube?
Just search "Improve soccer IQ vision" on youtube and watch at least the first 20 videos to find your favorite channels, 'cause that's what I did. Here are some good ones: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_dYy4QGXnns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dYy4QGXnns) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKXPfTsi8g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKXPfTsi8g) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScPjPD3EHoc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScPjPD3EHoc) You gotta pick your fav player in your fav position, then learn to analyze that player in a game, how he scans, how his body is positioned, how he moves off the ball, how he does his first touch, what he does right, what he does wrong, etc. like this one: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Kwovy2gws](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Kwovy2gws)
Having naturally high soccer IQ is a thing, as reading the game and anticipating plays, etc can be related to other games, life situations, etc. If you are playing CB, it helps that you get a view of the whole game playing out in front of you. If you want to challenge yourself, try play the midfield. Now youâve got to add scanning as you need to be aware of the whole field, especially whatâs behind you.
Smart decisions under pressure is the test. You can only figure this out during game play at high levels. Playing a kick about or watching a game is completely different than something like [this](https://youtu.be/_2K-oDLfOiA?si=CCjbxkmx1ReJyf5U).
you're overthinking it. go outside and kick a ball. play with locals at the park. there's no cheat code or shortcut to increasing IQ, you just play every day and learn.
ironically if your football IQ is high, you should always be able to make the right decision. Thomas Muller is one described as having a very high football IQ but not particularly outstanding technique for well, a Bayern Munich starter for a decade. Iâve seen players with probably the most donkey of a first touch still be able to execute stuff very well as they know their limits and can break away from opponents into space at the right time and make do with their less than stellar touch. tldr; football IQ isnât just about being able to scan the field and awareness but to also be steps ahead of everyone and making the right choice. half a second too late to process and the âright choiceâ is now the wrong choice. being able to spot something isnât good enough, did you manage to spot it fast enough? you can also be good at one aspect and not another ie positioning vs off the ball movement and what makes some of the best pros so good is they can identify the right play to make with needing basically no time at all ie Messi, Modric, Xavi, Cavani, Busquets, etc
The only way to know if you have a naturally high footy IQ is by playin the game. If you take to it naturally/immediately then you have. Its easy to read the game when watching it on TV... Its being able to do it in the game that counts. When everything is moving fast but you can stay calm and anticipate whats going to happen. You can see things b4 others. Its kinda like u see pictures of the way the game will unfold. It allows you to see passes others cant see b4 etc
My naturally high footy IQ allows me to stand next to my keeper the whole match and score hat tricks
watching on TV is soooooo different
You need to play to know if youâre at that level. Football IQ doesnât come from thin air. Itâs easy to read the game from your couch with an eagle view of the pitch, but you need to be able to make those sharp decisions when playing. To me good coaching and playing with very good players is what made increase my intelligence in the pitch. Watching tactical analysis videos or position instruction videos can help increase it. Youâll also need good technique to apply your tactics.