An attacker in soccer is primarily responsible for their team’s offense, including goals, chance creation, and buildup play. The term attacker doesn’t refer to a specific position. It alludes to the various attacking roles a player can fill. The primary attacking positions include strikers, center forwards, attacking midfielders, and wingers.

When a team has the ball they are generally referred to as "attacking", no matter where the ball is on the field. There are 2 different styles of attacking: a "direct attack" and an "indirect attack". A direct attack tries to move the ball quickly into scoring range by using mostly forward passes, through balls and breakaways.

Attackers, or more specifically strikers, are taught to head the ball differently than a defender. Whereas the defender learns to head the ball up and away in a clearance motion, the attacker focuses on heading the ball down towards the goal in an attempt to score (see my guide to heading a soccer ball without it hurting).