England head coach Thomas Tuchel is looking to replicate the set-piece success of Premier League champions Arsenal ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States.
No club supplied more players to England’s World Cup squad than Arsenal, making it a natural decision for Tuchel to lean into the Gunners’ well-documented strengths at dead-ball situations.
Mikel Arteta’s dedication to perfecting Arsenal’s set-piece routines has clearly caught Tuchel’s attention, with the England boss impressing on his players the importance of exploiting these situations in a tournament environment.
Arsenal landed their first Premier League title in 22 years in May and came within a penalty shootout of winning their first Champions League, underlining just how effective their approach has been.
Declan Rice, who is guaranteed to start at the World Cup, is expected to be one of England’s designated set-piece specialists given his reputation as one of the most adept ball strikers in European football.
Chelsea’s Reece James, who is expected to start the tournament as England’s first-choice right-back, is another likely to feature prominently among Tuchel’s designated takers.
Tuchel knows James well, having coached the defender during his time in charge of Chelsea, giving the England boss a clear picture of what the full-back can offer from dead-ball positions.
Bukayo Saka’s dead-ball prowess is also viewed as a major asset by Tuchel, though there is concern inside the England camp about managing the Arsenal attacker through the early stages of the tournament with his ongoing tendonitis complaint.
The physical profile of England’s squad further enhances their set-piece threat, with just two of the ten outfield players who started against Costa Rica — James and Elliot Anderson — standing under six feet tall.
In the news conference following England’s squad announcement, Tuchel said: “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.”
During recent matches against Costa Rica and New Zealand, England used blockers to prevent opponents from getting to the players they were targeting in dangerous areas around the box.
However, a change in the rules means VAR can now be used to disallow goals where blocking fouls were committed before the ball was in play, forcing teams to be more subtle in their approach.
England have responded by having players move towards goal and duel with their markers more naturally, before playing an outswinging corner into the space in front of the cluster of players.
This approach resulted in both John Stones and Dan Burn getting unmarked headers towards goal on two separate occasions against New Zealand, demonstrating its early promise.
England also borrowed a set-piece routine that Manchester United used successfully against Spurs this season, passing flat towards the near post before laying off to the edge of the area for a free shot in space.
With the right personnel and a clear tactical philosophy, England are positioning themselves as a genuine set-piece threat at this World Cup in the United States.
