How do you like your set-pieces now, England fans?
How do you like your set-pieces now, England fans, because the world knows just how much you despised it not long ago?
When Declan Rice spoke in the post-match interview after England’s opening game win over Croatia, urging England fans to relish the devastating effectiveness of their set-piece routines, it was clear that the fans who once criticized the approach were now absolutely loving it.
It would end up becoming handy for the Three Lions in their group run as they finished above Croatia, Ghana, and the eliminated Panama, and those same English fans who once groaned at the tactic under Mikel Arteta will now be praying it carries them deep into the knockout rounds.
Thomas Tuchel has always emphasized the importance of Arsenal players for England, and over the course of their three group games at the FIFA World Cup, everyone can see that the German hasn’t exaggerated, especially regarding their lethal execution from dead-ball situations.
Noni Madueke, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka were all involved in goals in their opening game. Rice was their best player in the stalemate with Ghana, and, making his first start of the tournament, Bukayo Saka assisted their opening goal against Panama.
However, the fashion in which they have delivered for the Three Lions mirrors what they do at their club Arsenal, which the English media heavily criticized as ‘boring’ throughout the season as Mikel Arteta’s team secured their first Premier League title in 22 years.
After what was witnessed so far in the FIFA World Cup group games, especially in games involving the Three Lions, it is worth asking England fans what they think of Arsenal’s set-pieces.
How do you like your set-pieces now, England fans?
Statistics-wise, 50 percent of England’s FIFA World Cup goals so far have been scored from set-pieces, all assisted by Arsenal players, but the significance of those goals is what makes the Premier League champions even more important.
The first goal, a penalty won by Noni Madueke and scored by captain Harry Kane, who set the record for most penalties scored at the FIFA World Cup in the process with five.
Declan Rice’s corner helped them retake the lead after Croatia had leveled 1-1, while Bukayo Saka came off the bench to assist Marcus Rashford for the final goal, which finally conquered their opponent’s resistance and sealed a 4-2 win.
The clash with Ghana ended in a scoreless stalemate, but Declan Rice still threatened to break the deadlock by creating six chances, the most of any player in a single match at the tournament so far.
He presented his teammates with the chances to punish the Black Stars, but none of them took it, and in the third game against Panama, the Arsenal set-piece struck them in front as Bukayo Saka’s delivery from a corner kick was converted by Jude Bellingham.
Harry Kane sealed a 2-0 victory from Jude Bellingham’s assist moments later, surpassing Gary Lineker’s record for most England goals at World Cup finals with his 11th, which was also his 70th goal since the start of the 2025-26 season.
Now a useful weapon?
For months, pundits mocked Arsenal’s meticulous set-piece routines as boring and anti-football. Yet, on the world stage, those exact routines have become England’s ultimate cheat code.
With half of the Three Lions’ tournament goals originating from dead-ball situations, the narrative has flipped entirely, and when Netherlands’ coach Ronald Koeman mentioned that the Three Lions depend on setpieces before the tournament kicked off, the English supporters took offense.
The very fans who groaned at short corners and crowded six-yard boxes during the Premier League season are now celebrating them wildly as Declan Rice’s laser-focused crossing and Bukayo Saka’s lethal inswingers have transformed what was once labeled an ugly tactic into a masterclass efficiency.
What the media dismissed as a cynical trick to win a domestic title is now recognized for what it truly is: a devastatingly useful weapon.
England aren’t outliers in this regard; across the tournament’s 72 group games, dead-ball situations have become a universal equalizer, with 50 scored from set-piece situations, including eight penalties, an average of 0.69 per game.
Rival fans have quickly put their tribalism aside, fully embracing the fact that Arsenal’s set-piece expertise is currently keeping England’s World Cup dreams alive.
This is the reality for today’s football.
Nevertheless, the weaponization of set-piece is as old as football itself, and those who realize it can also be an effective way to get the ball in the back of the net in the modern era have chosen to invest more, and are surely reaping dividends.
Having finally embraced the sheer beauty when it benefits their country, one can only hope English fans won’t completely change their tune when the new domestic season kicks off.
