A toe punt (also known as a toe-poke, toe poker or a toe-ender) is a method of

kicking A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

the ball in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and occasionally in

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

. Unlike other methods of kicking, the toe punt uses the toe end of the

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

rather than the

instep The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

or laces. Toe punts (known as "straight-on" or "straight-toe") were the predominant form of kicking for

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

s in gridiron-based forms of football until the 1960s. A special boot was used with a flat front surface, as using a toe kick with a regular shoe with a rounded or pointed toe could cause the ball to travel in an unpredictable direction. The introduction of instep kicking (known as the "soccer-style kick") to the game in the 1960s, along with a rule change in 1977 banning the special shoe (one of several rules introduced to curb the influence of kickers in the game), eventually led to the end of the use of toe kicks in American and Canadian football.

Notable toe punts

*The toe-poke is deemed to be

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

’s trademark finish. His opening goal in a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for Barcelona against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in 1994 saw him drag the ball around the defender without it leaving his foot before finishing with a toe-poke into the corner of the net."Strikers' trademark goals: the Thierry Henry control-and-place, the Romario toe-poke and more"
''The Telegraph''. Retrieved 5 December 2013 Another memorable Romário toe-poke finish occurred at the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. *

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

scored what he called “a Romário style goal” for Brazil against Turkey in the 2002 World Cup semi-final with a toe-poke finish with little back-lift while on the run – a finish he learned while playing

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

in his youth. *

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

scored with a spectacular toe-poke for

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 2005 where he feinted to shoot before striking the ball with a no back-lift toe-poke past Chelsea goalkeeper

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...

from 20 yards out. *

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

scored for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

with a toe-poke in the opening match of the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

against

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, before paying tribute to the master of the art in a post-game press conference, “It was a Romário goal. Most of us in the team have played futsal, where you use the toe a lot. It was the only thing I could do at that moment.” *In the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

Geelong Cats The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

player

Matthew Scarlett Matthew Scarlett (born 5 June 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer, who formerly played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A fullback, who is tall and weighing , Scarlett is the eldest son of forme ...

famously employed a toe-poke in the final minutes of the 2009 AFL Grand Final which led to a match-winning goal from Paul Chapman via Gary Ablett Junior and

Travis Varcoe Travis Varcoe (born 10 April 1988) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Geelong Football Club from 2006 to 2014 and for the Collingwood Football Club from 2015 to 2020. He currently ...

References

Paul Chapman (Australian footballer) Paul Chapman (born 5 November 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early playing career Chapman played with Nor ...

{{reflist Terminology used in multiple sports Association football terminology American football terminology Australian rules football terminology Canadian football terminology Rugby league terminology Rugby union terminology

Notable toe punts

See also

References