Direct free kicks are scored from a surprisingly narrow band of distances. The band exists because the two things that beat a goalkeeper, curve and time, work against each other as the ball moves further out.
Too close and the ball cannot come down
A free kick just outside the area must clear a wall and then drop steeply enough to stay under the crossbar within a very short flight.
The physics allow it, but the margin is tiny: the ball needs enough spin to dip sharply while travelling only a few metres beyond the wall.
This is why kicks from very close range are so often driven low around the wall or passed sideways instead of struck over it.
Too far and the goalkeeper simply moves
Every extra metre of distance adds flight time, and flight time is exactly what a goalkeeper needs to travel across his goal.
From long range the keeper can start central, read the curve and still reach a corner, which turns a spectacular strike into a comfortable save.
Distance also flattens the angle available, since the goal subtends less width the further back you stand, leaving less usable target area.
The band in between suits both requirements
Around the edge of the area and slightly beyond, a struck ball has enough flight to bend and dip but not enough for the keeper to recover.
The angle is still wide enough that both corners are genuinely reachable, so the goalkeeper cannot commit to one side in advance.
Teams know this, which is why fouls conceded in that band are treated far more seriously by defences than fouls twice as far out.
Angle matters as much as distance
A kick from directly in front offers two corners and the maximum target, but it also allows the wall to cover half the goal.
A wider position removes the wall's usefulness and opens the far corner, at the cost of a much tighter near-post option.
Specialists have preferences for one or the other depending on whether their natural shape curls the ball away from the keeper or into the far corner.
Why the conversion rate stays low regardless
Even from the ideal spot, a direct free kick is a shot at a set goalkeeper with a wall in the way and no defensive error to exploit.
It remains one of the harder ways to score, and teams increasingly treat kicks in that band as crossing opportunities instead.
The decision to shoot is therefore about who is standing over the ball rather than about where the ball is placed.