What Is Being Nutmegged in Soccer?

Ever had the ball roll right between your legs during a game? Being nutmegged means an opponent sends the ball through your open legs and gets it past you. The attacker then runs around you and collects the ball, while you turn back to watch.

In soccer, a nutmeg is an informal name for kicking the ball through an opponent’s legs. Dribbling means carrying the ball past an opponent with close control of the ball and the body. The same move also has a place in field hockey, ice hockey and basketball.

Key Takeaways

• A nutmeg is when the ball goes through an opponent’s legs.
• The attacker runs around the defender to collect the ball.
• The defender loses the ball and looks foolish in front of the crowd.
• The term is also used in field hockey, ice hockey and basketball.
• Dribbling means carrying the ball past an opponent with close control.

The move looks simple on a highlight reel. It takes good timing and a calm touch to pull off in a real match.

Where the Word Came From

The word nutmeg has no proven route into soccer, but its older meaning explains the trick. In Victorian slang by the 1870s, to nutmeg someone meant to trick them or make them look foolish. That is why people say they got nutmegged when they feel silly after a ball passes through them.

The Oxford English Dictionary cites the earliest soccer use in Rodney Marsh’s 1968 book Shooting to the Top. No definitive evidence links the spice trade to soccer usage.

The earliest soccer use on record is from 1968, not from the spice trade.

The Spice Trade Story

One popular theory traces the word to the spice trade. Traders once mixed fake nutmegs, carved from wood, into real shipments to cheat buyers. A buyer who was fooled had been nutmegged, and the word kept that sense of being tricked.

The story is neat, and it fits the idea of a player being tricked. Still, it explains the old meaning better than the kick on a pitch.

Why Linguists Doubt It

Some language experts doubt the link. No record ties the wooden nutmegs to a move in a football match. The gap in time and place is hard to close.

Other theories point to legs and other body parts instead of the spice. Each one is plausible, but none has been proven. Treat the spice trade story as a plausible theory, not a confirmed history.

How a Nutmeg Works in a Match

The move starts before the ball moves, when the attacker draws the defender in. The attacker runs straight at the defender, so the defender steps in to stop the dribbling run. Timing is what sets up the whole move.

The attacker needs the defender’s legs spread wide before the nutmeg move can work. Only then does the attacker touch the ball through the gap and roll it between the legs.

The strike must be firm enough to pass the defender, but not so hard that the ball runs to another player. Good ball control keeps the pace right. Mainly, the nutmeg is a dribbling move used to get behind a defender, though it can also be used to pass or shoot.

The attacker then runs around the defender and collects the ball on the far side. Collect the ball on the far side before a second defender can step in.

Players Known for the Nutmeg

Few moves are linked to a name as often as the nutmeg is linked to Messi. Lionel Messi is the most cited name, but many other stars have used the move with flair.

Messi, Ronaldinho and Neymar are the soccer players fans name most often when they talk about the move. The table below compares the names most often mentioned.

Suárez was known for doing it so often that Liverpool fans made a banner saying he could nutmeg a mermaid. Tobin Heath of the United States women’s team and Eden Hazard of Belgium are also on the list of notable practitioners.

Watch one of these players in a full match to see the move used in context.

Nutmeg Names Around the World

Players in Spain and Latin America call the move caño or túnel. The nutmeg in Spanish has two common names, and both describe the ball passing through the legs.

Each country has its own word for the same move. Other languages use their own names too, and the words often describe a tunnel or a small bridge.

Names in Spanish, French and German

Here are the common names in three more languages.

• Spanish: caño or túnel
• French: petit pont, which means little bridge
• German: Tunnel or Beinschuss

The names mostly come from the idea of a path or a passage under the legs.

Street Games Built on the Move

Street football uses the move in games like Panna Knock-Out, a game from the Netherlands. Players play one-on-one inside a cage, and a player who gets nutmegged is out of the game.

Learn the local name before a pickup game so you know what the other team is calling.

Should You Try It in a Real Game?

Try a nutmeg only when the defender’s legs are already open and no teammate is free. The move works best against an opponent who is running in off balance, a fullback on the wing, or a keeper with open legs. Timing and a clear space decide whether it works.

A failed nutmeg in the middle of the pitch lets the opponent run straight at goal. In a serious game, that risk can cost more than the trick gains.

Keep the nutmeg out of your own penalty box, where a lost ball can lead to a goal.

Coaching advice for most young players is simple: look for the pass first. A safe pass wins many serious matches, and the flashy move does not always help the team. Play the simple pass first; the nutmeg is the option when the pass is not available.

Conclusion

Being nutmegged means the ball went through your legs and past you. A nutmeg is a soccer skill that embarrasses the defender when it works and costs the attacker when it fails.

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