World Cup 2018: Five Tactical Points that will decide the World Cup Final

#5 French Set-Pieces

Umtiti and Varane have been vital both in defense and while attacking during set-pieces

Throughout the competition, we have seen the value of set-pieces. England manager Gareth Southgate famously ‘conquered’ the art as England used several previously designed ‘plays’ to great effectiveness. Yet, what has gone unnoticed is the fact that Didier Deschamps’ team have also used set-pieces rather effectively especially in the latter stage of the competition.

In fact, both of France’s opening goals in the last two games came from thundering headers from their centre-backs in set-pieces. In the quarter-final against Uruguay, Raphael Varane’s brilliant near-post header gave them the lead. In the semi-final, Samuel Umtiti also reached the near post for the winner against Belgium.

This would not be a major problem if Croatia were not so weak at defending set-plays. The Vatreni have only conceded five goals in the tournament, but three of them have come from set-pieces (including Denmark’s long throw-ins as a set-piece). They will need to improve on those plays if they are to become the ninth team to win the World Cup.