American football can be viewed as a chess match between the opposing coaches, with the players having the job of executing the coaches' strategies as perfectly as possible. Each play, both on offense and defense, is designed and planned. Here's an example play chart[0].

Soccer, on the other hand, is relatively continuous. The closest thing to an American football play would be how the teams prepare for Set plays such as corner kicks and free kicks, or their overall formation. It's not viewed as a series of "moves" like American Football.

[0]: http://www.wheelbarrowsoftware.com/images/fpd/fs5.jpg