The second wave of corners starts when a defender or the goalkeeper hits the ball away, or the cross passes the players while both teams try to get the second ball. This phase is still considered a corner phase but is called the second one.
We dont only train for the first contact, but all aspects. For example, 80% of the goals scored from corners are from the second ball. It is essential to train for the second ball and train 11v11 — not 11v0. Otherwise, it is not real, and you will never improve. Gianni Vio, the previous set-piece coach of Tottenham, talked about the importance of the second wave at corners via The Athletic.
In this phase, the attacking team wants to avoid the counterattacks, gets the second ball and then threat the opponents goal with several tactical routines. At the same time, the defending team tries to avoid the direct shot from the edge of the box, gets the second ball and then counterattacks, if it is possible, or goes up reorganising themselves, usually in a defensive line at the back, if the opponent still has the ball.
This phase is too important because a corner has three possibilities: a goal, out or foul or a second phase.
In this tactical analysis, we will explain the tactics of the second waves at corners for the attacking team and know the counter-defending ideas for the defending teams to avoid the threat of the second waves in set pieces.
The second ball around the box
There are too many possibilities for where the ball lands and the players positions, so this process may contain a lot of luck. Still, the coaches must reduce chaos as much as possible, so the first target for the defending teams is to protect the dangerous area around the box, avoiding direct shots. On the contrary, the attacking teams usually aim for a direct shot from this dangerous area.
The attacking teams leave two or three players in the rebound zone to collect the ball in this area, but the defending teams have a priority to defend the areas near the goal inside the box, so some defending teams put only one player in the rebound zone who is the same player who defends the short corner if it happens, so he stands in the side of the taker at first, then goes back to get the second ball in the middle after the cross as Aston Villa did against Liverpool, as shown in the two photos below.
In the same game, you can see below that the defender we speak about starts near the ball at first, but the ball goes unexpectedly to the empty rebound attacker after the clash on the near post in the second photo, so Dominik Szoboszlai kicks the ball directly scoring a goal.
That was an example of an empty rebound area because using only one defender for both short and rebound areas, so lets see other reasons.
![PSG Vs Lille [3–0] – Ligue 1 2025/2026: Why LOSC Failed To Exploit PSG Defensive Weaknesses – Tactical Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PSG-Vs-Lille-20252026-350x250.png "PSG Vs Lille [3–0] – Ligue 1 2025/2026: Ruthless Efficiency Versus Attacking Waste – Tactical Analysis 8")
