Soccer Ball Watching

Refers to players who only watch the ball & don't know where nearby opponents are. Players must know where nearby opponents are, particularly when defending their own goal, on goal kicks & on corner kicks. Players should know where the ball is, but also where nearby opponents are. For example, in a World Cup match between Argentina and Nigeria, Argentina scored because the Nigerian defender was watching the Corner Kick instead of watching the attacker he was supposed to be marking. When the ball was kicked, the attacker simply ran around the defender and scored on a header because the defender was "ball watching" instead of watching his "mark" and staying between his mark and the goal.