Hitting the corners with Eli Junior Kroupi
https://scoutedftbl.com/hitting-corners-with-kroupi/
You’ve all heard of the term ‘hit the corners’, right? If you’ve played football at any organised level, you must’ve had a coach telling you to do exactly that. It’s a simple yet logical approach to shooting: try and put the ball in the further reaches of the goal, as far away from the goalkeeper as possible.
Y’know who hits the corners? Eli Junior Kroupi.
He doesn’t just hit the corners, he is really good at hitting the corners. I’ve been watching him recently and his ability to plant the ball in the practically unsaveable areas of the goal – out of reach from a diving ‘keeper, nestling into the side netting – is eye-catchingly impressive. Most of his goals this season have seen him hit a corner of sorts, and there have been a number saw of near misses of a similar ilk.
Kroupi is an instep finisher. His best finishes see him use the curved, bony bridge between the side and top of his right foot. That part of your foot is a best of two worlds: it generates power but not at the expense of control, while the typical angle of attack on the ball (hitting upward from its underside) imparts a topspin that gets it turning over itself, dipping in the air and fizzing off the turf. Factor all three in and you’ve got, probably, the most effective finish in football.
I’ve categorised five-and-a-half of his nine non-penalty goals this season so far as a ‘hit the corners’ goal, using his instep to execute them. Let’s break them down…
We'll get the half out of the way first. This was his second goal of the season and the sweetest of half-volleyed strikes against Ajaccio. It’s not quite a proper instepper nor is it exactly in a corner, but it's enough of both to ensure it flies past the goalkeeper and showcases a clean ball-striking technique that is obvious in almost every one of his goals. When he cracks one, they stay cracked.
The next was an equaliser away at Caen. I like this one a lot because it highlights not only his finishing skill, but also his sharpness in general play to generate the shooting opportunity. After picking the ball up in loads of space, he engages a defender, punches in a one-two with a pinning centre-forward, and gets it back on the edge of the penalty area.
The finish itself is superb. First-time strikes from the edge of the box are always fun, but the way he gets his entire body over the ball – dropping his base, knee bent, head down – to keep the shot low and true, rasping it into the corner, was particularly enjoyable. It demonstrated a nous that’s as exciting as it is impressive.
Thierry Henry was a master of the instep-to-corner finish and Kroupi’s first of two against Annecy had a strong whiff of TH14 to it. Again, I like this one because he shows sharpness of feet and mind to create the chance in the first place.
A little shimmy freezes a defender, then a quick-one two gets him into the left-sided channel behind the defence. The tidy first touch sets the shot while he bends his approach to the left which opens up the vintage Henry angle. Another little shimmy plants the goalkeeper’s feet and he dispatches the finish across goal, glancing off the post. It doesn’t get more cornered than that.
Rodez away next, and this is another of his six first-time finishes which make up the majority of his goals. Kroupi arrives onto the ball from deep with speed, bending back on the strike, but manages to keep the shot down. The instep strike gets some topspin going and the ball zips on with the bounce, skipping over the goalkeeper’s hand and nestles into the side-netting.
Want another first-time finish? Well, here you go. It’s easy to botch these sort of finishes when arriving onto a pull back pass – snapping it back from where it came or slicing it well wide are the usual misses – but the 18-year-old adjusts his stride perfectly, sets his plant foot solidly, then jabs through the ball with little follow through. Controlled and clinical.
And now, the pièce de résistance, the showpiece of Kroupi’s corner finishing: a lovely goal away at ESTAC Troyes.
After pouncing on a high turnover, he drives at the defence before twisting back inside, where the space and opportunity opens up to take an enticing shot under relatively little pressure. It booms off his foot, rising then dipping, clipping in off the corner of crossbar and post. If you could plot a trajectory and placement that was totally unsavable, it would look like that.
Those are just the non-penalty goals – two of his three penalties were whipped into the side netting and there are numerous near-misses where Kroupi is almost hitting the corners. Most are from left-sided areas as he opens up the angle and aims for the far post, à la Henry, but there’s a couple of near-post rockets and a few driven shots across goal too.
An underlying theme of those goals is Kroupi’s ability to generate his own shots. His output doesn’t solely depend on service from others. It’s great to have good team-mates and a potent attacking unit that serve up good chances, of course, absolutely, no question, but the Frenchman is more than capable of working his own opportunities with sharp give-and-goes and jinky shift-and-shoot shots. Those are products of an all-round skillset I’ve been impressed by in general: his mix of crisp technical talent and punchy athleticism makes for a compact attacker that affects games across the final third and in the box.
If there are any clubs wanting to get another bargain from Ligue 2 after reading this, you’re too late – Bournemouth have beat you to him. They secured his signature on deadline day in February, spending a reported €13 million to do so, and he will join up with Andoni Iraola’s squad for pre-season in July. I have my thoughts on the multi-club model, but getting first dibs on your sister club’s prized asset is undeniably a high-value perk.
The bottom line? I can't think of many young prospects as good at hitting the corners as Eli Junior Kroupi. In fact, you can chuck established players into that equation. He is really good at planting the ball into the furthest reaches of the net, and that will bag him a baseline of goals at whatever level he plays at.
When Kroupi arrives in England, keep your eyes peeled for the techniques we've discussed here. Mister Iraola's Cherries will only get more exciting.
so agree 🖖🏽
