How to Do the Around the World Move in Soccer (6-Step Guide)
A cool trick to learn that is sure to impress your friends and teammates is the "Around the World."
This move is one of the most popular freestyle soccer tricks out there.
It involves taking your foot all the way around the ball (hence, around the world!) while it's in the air and ending up juggling it with the same foot — without letting the ball touch the ground!
Although it's rarely ever used in a match, it's well worth practicing.
While it may seem quite hard to master at first sight, with a bit of practice you'll have perfected it in no time.
Before taking you through the six simple steps, let's first take a look at some tips and tricks for getting the around the world move right.
Let's go!
5 Tips to Master the Around the World Move
Patience and practice are key to mastering this skill and pulling it off time and time again.
Perfecting the move entails being mindful of your technique as you practice it repeatedly.
Aside from constant practice, there are a couple of things to bear in mind that will help you pull this trick off quicker:
Tip #1 - Practice on a Firm, Dry Surface
While it may seem a bit obvious, practicing on a firm surface will help you keep your balance. This helps maintain all your focus on mastering the trick.
The skill is also much easier to pull off when the ball is dry.
If the ball is wet, it's much harder to control and is prone to slip off your foot more often than not.
Tip #2 - Practice the Movement Without the Ball
Before attempting the move straight away, it's a good idea to first practice without the ball. This way your body, legs, and feet get used to the movement.
This will help you control your movement and master the fast, fluid motion required.
Tip #3 - Practice Balancing and Juggling With Your Dominant Foot
Key to getting the around the world move right is being comfortable juggling the ball with your stronger foot (well, hopefully both feet eventually!).
This requires a significant amount of touch and control.
As such, it's best to practice balancing the ball on your foot for as long as possible.
See how long you can juggle the ball with one foot, without letting it hit the ground.
Tip #4 - Focus on Your Balance and Bounce!
While you practice juggling with your dominant foot, you subconsciously work on both your balance and body control at the same time.
When it comes to the around the world, you also want to bounce on your planted foot slightly so that you get more height to it.
This also helps keep momentum and gives you more time to complete the move.
Tip #5 - Timing is Key
If you find it a struggle to get your foot around the ball in time, you are most likely getting the timing wrong.
After you kick the ball in the air, instead of reacting half a second late, you want to almost instantly get your foot moving.
This, again, ties into getting the bounce of your planted foot right as well as the fast-fluid motion required to complete the rotation in time.
With all these tips and tricks in mind, let's now move on to how to actually do the move!
The Around the World Move in 6 Simple Steps
Practicing both juggling and ball control, as well as your balance and timing, all go a long way to you mastering this move.
While it may take a bit of time to get it right, it's well worth keeping at it as the skill is very satisfying to pull off.
It looks impressive, too!
Here's how you can master the move in just six short and simple steps:
Step #1 - Start Juggling!
Flick the ball into the air and start juggling with one foot.
While keeping it up in the air, refrain from kicking it too high and putting any spin on it.
The ball should ideally bounce straight up and down your dominant foot while your planted foot lends you balance and stability.
Keep in mind to balance the juggling right. Avoid juggling too much on either side and don't put too much spin on it either. You also don't want to put too much or too little height to it.
A nice and balanced juggle, with just the right amount of height, will make for much better ball control.
When you feel in control of the ball and comfortable with your balance, it's time to start the around the world move!
Step #2 - Kick the Ball With the Outside of Your Foot
Once you decide you're ready to attempt the trick, start by kicking the ball with the outside of your foot.
Keep it bouncing straight up — not too high and with no spin.
This gives you as much time and space as possible to get your whole foot around the ball and do the around the world.
Step #3 - Rotate Your Foot Up, Over, and Around
As you kick the ball in the air, bring your foot to the inside and then loop it up, over, and around the ball.
Do this in one fast and fluid motion.
Rather than waiting for the ball to go up, this step should come almost instantly after the ball has left the outside of your foot.
Step #4 - Bounce on Your Standing Foot
At about the same time you rotate your foot around the ball, you should bounce upwards slightly with your planted foot.
This gives you more height and time in which to complete the rotation.
Step #5 - Control the Ball With Your Foot
The circular rotation that you do around the ball needs to be both controlled and quick.
This gives you the balance needed to catch the ball again before it touches the ground.
The whole idea of the around the world move is that you make a full circle around the ball as it's up in the air.
This essentially means bringing your foot back to its starting position before the ball lands.
In the beginning you may find it a struggle as you rush into the move to get your foot back in its position.
With time and practice you'll get a better feel of the timing and what works for you.
Step #6 - Keep Juggling!
To highlight the success of pulling off the move, you want to keep juggling.
This proves you still have control of the ball even after going 'around the world'.
As it's one of the more basic freestyle moves, many players combine this with more elaborate and extravagant tricks and flicks!
Once you've mastered it, you can start learning more complicated versions.
These include the inside-around-the-world and the even more challenging double-around-the-world!
Conclusion
The around the world is one of the most popular soccer freestyle tricks out there.
The move sees you rotate your foot up, over, and around the ball, and then back in position before the ball hits the ground.
The trick, however, is not all flash!
Practicing the fast and fluid motion helps work on other aspects of your game -- such as ball control, balance, touch, technique, and footwork.
While it may take patience and practice to get it right, the around the world soccer move is certainly very satisfying to pull off.
It paves the way for learning more complicated soccer tricks.
