Taking a leaf from Arsenal's playbook - Tuchel's set-piece plan — Sport

Declan Rice's Arsenal netted 19 goals from corner kicks in the Premier League last season

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Arsenal are specialists in set-piece situations, and no other club supplied more players to England's World Cup squad than the Gunners. It is therefore logical that Thomas Tuchel will aim to leverage the strengths of the Premier League champions.

In the United States, Mikel Arteta's commitment to refining Arsenal's set-piece strategies is an approach that England head coach Tuchel is seeking to emulate.

In a tournament setting, where the margins can be extremely tight, Tuchel is eager to borrow from the Arsenal playbook he admires, and has stressed to his players the significance of capitalizing on dead-ball scenarios.

Arsenal secured their first Premier League championship in 22 years back in May and came within a penalty shootout of claiming their inaugural Champions League title.

With that level of achievement in mind, it is completely understandable that set-pieces have become a primary focus in training sessions since England's arrival in the USA.

There are certainly experts in this area among Tuchel's probable starters.

Declan Rice is among the most proficient ball-strikers in European football – his corner kicks have posed a significant threat for Arsenal, particularly over the last two seasons.

You can anticipate Rice, who is guaranteed to start at the World Cup, being one of England's designated set-piece specialists.

Chelsea's Reece James, expected to begin the tournament as England's first-choice right-back, is another likely to feature prominently on Tuchel's list of takers.

The England manager is well aware of James' capabilities, having coached the defender during his tenure at Chelsea.

Bukayo Saka's dead-ball skills are also regarded as a major asset by Tuchel, even though there is concern within the England camp about managing the Arsenal attacker through the early stages of the tournament due to his ongoing tendonitis issue.

The physical composition of England's squad enhances the set-piece threat.

Of the 10 outfield players who started against Costa Rica on Wednesday, only two – James and Elliot Anderson – are under 6 feet tall.

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England prioritising set-pieces - analysis

In the press conference following England's squad announcement, Tuchel stated: "We have specialists with us for all different scenarios. We always said we want to be a strong set-piece team so we have specialists for that."

It is evident that the England boss, through his selections and what we have observed in the matches leading up to the World Cup, is aiming to replicate the success of the Premier League in terms of prioritizing set-plays.

In the Premier League, specific tactics on set-plays resulted in a notable increase in goals scored. Inswinging crosses from corners, crowding the goalkeeper, and employing blocking to stop defenders from reaching targeted zones from corners were all commonly seen and used.

During the recent matches against Costa Rica and New Zealand, England utilized blockers to prevent opponents from reaching the players they were targeting.

However, due to a rule change, the video assistant referee (VAR) can now be used to disallow goals where blocking fouls were committed before the ball was in play. For teams to benefit from blocking actions, they will need to be more subtle.

One method England has used to achieve this is by having players move toward the goal, engaging with their markers in a more natural way – before delivering an outswinging corner into the space in front of the group of players.

This led to both John Stones and Dan Burn getting unmarked headers on goal on two separate occasions against New Zealand.

An outswinging corner resulted in a headed opportunity for Dan Burn against New Zealand

Another way blockers have been employed is with England positioning themselves behind their markers before playing a cross to the back post. As the ball travels over the opponents' heads, they are unable to run back to challenge England's free player at the back post.

Teams, including England, will have to become increasingly inventive. Tuchel's men also looked to adopt a set-piece routine that Manchester United successfully used against Spurs this season. By passing it flat toward the near post before laying it off to the edge of the area, England were able to get a free shot in space.

A short-corner routine resulted in a shot on goal for England against New Zealand

Bryan Mbeumo scored from this set-piece routine for Manchester United

England are clearly making this aspect of the game a priority at this World Cup, and they have brought along the players capable of achieving success.