Watching a match now, the forward was running toward the goal line, halfway toward the corner, protecting the ball, looking for a corner kick.

He was obviously fouled by the defender, pushed into the ball and it resulted in a goal kick.

I am wondering, if a foul was called (it was outside of the box), where would the free kick be placed?

What further muddies the water on this for me, I watched an old women's World Cup match recently where a foul was called in the 6m box. Instead of a penalty kick, a free kick was placed on the 18m line. This is why I'm wondering if referees would have discretion to place a free kick elsewhere in the first example.