Count people, not contacts
IFAB Law 8 prevents a goal from a dropped ball until at least two players have touched it. Repeated touches by one player do not satisfy that condition. The law is about who has become involved, not how far the ball travels.
In an invented sequence, a midfielder receives a dropped ball, takes three dribbling touches and shoots into an otherwise untouched goal. Four contacts have occurred, but all four belong to one person. Now imagine the midfielder instead passes to a teammate who shoots. That sequence introduces the second player.
Why a long run can still look direct
Ordinary speech often uses direct to mean one kick from the restart. Here, a lengthy solo run can still fail the two-player requirement. Distance, elapsed seconds and the number of steps do not solve the missing-person problem.
When a goal is unexpectedly ruled out, rewind to the drop and make a short player list rather than a touch count. A goalkeeper’s touch may matter to that list just as a teammate’s does. This is a narrow explanation of the dropped-ball condition; a normal goal still requires all the other applicable laws to be satisfied. The useful viewing habit is to identify a second participant before assuming a solo move has removed the restriction.
Questions answered
Do several dribbling touches satisfy it?
No. They remain contacts by the same player.
Must the second player be a teammate?
No; a touch by an opponent can supply the second player.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.