World Cup 2018: 3 Tactical Takeaways 

#2 Set-pieces are incredibly important

England v Panama: Group G - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

International Football is not the same as club football which is not surprising considering that international teams only get to train together for a few weeks every year. Club Football teams have so much more synergy and tactical acumen than international teams which rely more heavily on individual talent.

This is why even talented international teams can struggle to break down an organized and decent defence.

Yet what international teams can practice in their limited time together is set-pieces. This is what Gareth Southgate realized when preparing for the World Cup. Having been inspired by tactics in basketball and American Football, Southgate decided to focus on innovative set-pieces in training.

This worked perfectly, as a relatively untalented English team relied on set-pieces. The Three Lions scored six goals out of their twelve goals from set-pieces, while also earning (and converting) two penalties as a result of opposition players’ physicality during corners.

Without those goals, perhaps England wouldn’t have had the campaign that they did. Other teams also managed to exploit corners and free-kicks: four of Colombia’s six goals came from clever set-pieces (with Yerry Mina being a particular target).

A similarly uninspiring Uruguay team scored four goals from set-pieces, relying on the aerial power of centre-backs Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.

Even the champions France relied heavily on set plays: four of their seven goals from the quarterfinals onwards came as a result of Antoine Griezmann’s corners and free-kicks (including a penalty earned from a corner). Future International managers will try to replicate Southgate’s England.