It’s official, The FA have appointed experienced German coach Thomas Tuchel to manage England’s senior men’s football team and guide them to the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Much of the discussion regarding the end of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England manager focused on his open play tactics and him attempting to squeeze all of the exceptional talent available to him onto the pitch. However, this article will focus on the very important aspect of tournament football – set plays. It will take a brief look into the history of England’s success and heartbreak, Tuchel’s set piece playbook, and the success it could bring to England’s 2026 World Cup campaign.
England’s History with Set Plays
It will not take people very long to remember a moment where set pieces have played a large role in England’s success at major tournaments. Mirroring the heartbreak of the European Championships in 1996, Bukayo Saka’s penalty miss in the 2020 shootout echoed that of his then current manager, Gareth Southgate. Kane’s penalty miss in Qatar; back to back eliminations by penalty shootouts at the hands of Portugal; Ronaldinho’s free kick against Seaman in 2002, and many more. Nevertheless, England have had some good fortune: Beckham’s wonder goal against Greece to secure qualification, Trippier’s semi-final free-kick, and finally overcoming the burden of penalty shootouts vs Columbia in 2018.
Gareth Southgate seemed to recognise the need to excel from set plays early on as manager. Many will remember the ‘love train’ in Russia of Maguire, Dier, Loftus-Cheek and Kane, a group of tall, strong, players who had the elite skillset of attacking from crosses. It was a clear case of extracting all of the performance out of the players available to him in what could be argued as his weakest squad. In fact, England scored an impressive 12 times from set plays in that tournament (including penalties in normal time), which accounted for 75% of their total goals scored. This allowed Southgate to guide England deeper into the tournament, further than most thought he would be able to. When subsequent tournaments are analysed, the proportion of goals scored from set plays reduced (2020 = 30% , 2022 = 23%, 2004 = 37.5%). It is surprising that after such a prolific output in his first tournament, Southgate seemed to have shifted his tactical model slightly, focusing on utilising the now exceptional talent during open play.
As mentioned previously, the new manager of England will encourage a very tactical style of play and, after now understanding their large importance to England, it is intriguing to coaches, analysts, and fans as to what degree of focus Thomas Tuchel is going to delve into, to bring success to the national side.
Thomas Tuchel’s Playbook
Thomas Tuchel has already made one of his most important decisions as England manager, and this was made on day one without any time on the grass. The importance of this decision may have flown under the radar by most, however, the appointment of Anthony Barry as Assistant Manager could be considered as a masterstroke.
So why is this such a brilliant appointment? Anthony Barry, aged 38, is a former professional who began his coaching career early, after injury put an end to his playing days. Barry has been described as “meticulous” and being a “real student of the game” by others within the coaching circle, and it isn’t until you dive deeper where you find his coaching excellence. His specialism is in set plays and after completing his pro-license dissertation on the importance of throw-ins, it became a key part of his role across various jobs. Barry kept his role as first team coach at Chelsea under Tuchel after the departure of Frank Lampard and was then employed again under Tuchel at Bayern Munich, where he oversaw all dead-ball situations. It has not been confirmed yet whether Barry will fill this specific role with England, however it is undeniable that his influence will be made present. So, in fact, ‘Thomas Tuchel’s Playbook’ could be considered ‘Anthony Barry’s Playbook’.
Table 1. Per 90 Set Piece Data - Anthony Barry (Hudl Statsbomb).
Table 2. Overall Set Piece Data - Anthony Barry (Hudl Statsbomb).
After analysing set-piece data of clubs where Barry has led on set-plays, a few conclusions can be made. A large emphasis is placed on the impact that set plays can have on the result of a match. At Bayern during the 23/24 campaign and Chelsea during the 20/21 season, both teams had the highest set piece xG for and were in the top two for lowest set-piece xG against, per 90 minutes. This is strengthened by the season totals data at Bayern Munich, whereby they are not only creating many great opportunities to score, but the players are making the most of them. This coaching philosophy surrounding set-plays is paired beautifully with the jeopardy of tournament football and is something they may choose to continue with at England.
Tactical Themes of Tuchel/Barry Set-Plays (Bayern Munich 23/24)
After analysing goals scored by Bayern from set-plays, it is evident that creativity is an integral part of the coaching philosophy.
Short Corner Routines
Figure 1 demonstrates a simple, yet effective set-play design implemented in a match vs Koln. An overload is created initially with Musiala offering short and Guerreiro at the right-side corner of the box. A disguised ball from the corner taker is played into Guerrerio where there is a large amount of space and time for the player to shift the ball into a shooting position. This was created by his teammates initially overloading the back post zone, making the opposition anticipate that the corner would be crossed to that area. Guerreiro makes excellent use of this and executes the shot perfectly into the far corner.
Figure 2 is another example of how creating an overload during a short corner can lead to a great shooting opportunity, however this time, in the box. The corner is worked to the player occupying the corner of the box creating a 4v3 overload. Musiala takes up an excellent position in the half space and on the blind-side of his opponent. A well-timed through ball is played to Musiala who is in a large amount of space, and it is worked into either a shooting opportunity or a cross along the face of the goal. Again, the space for Musiala is created by his teammates occupying positions towards the opposite side of the box. In this situation, Musiala chooses to shoot, and he takes his opportunity well.
Direct Corner Routines
Figure 3 demonstrates how the combination of effective movement by players and excellent delivery, can result in a great scoring opportunity. Bayern set up with two players in the front post zone and four players around the penalty spot. Targeting the front post zone, the corner is delivered with pace. The aim of the players around the penalty spot is to make a run across towards the front post and either head the ball towards goal or flick it on to Kane who makes a run towards the back post. In fact, in this instance, it is a Bayer Leverkusen player who makes the first contact, sending the ball to Kane. Despite this, because of the quality of the cross and a combination of excellent movement and anticipation from Kane, the ball arrives at the back post and a goal is scored, albeit potentially not exactly how Bayern had intended. Barry may have chosen to design the set play in this way due to the lack of zonal marking by Leverkusen defenders, making it easier for his players to attack the cross.
By design, this set-play is similar to that of Kane’s goal in Figure 3. The ball is crossed into the front post ready to be attacked or flicked on. In this corner, an opposition defender has marked Kane well, so the focus in this instance is Pavlovic. By positioning himself in front of the keeper, this not only prevents the goalkeeper from claiming the cross, but it also leaves himself unmarked. Once the ball is flicked on by a teammate, and after a poor clearance, the ball lands at his feet where he makes no error in smashing the ball into the back of the net. It is a good example of including a specific role for each individual player during a set-play, increasing the team’s chances of scoring from it.
Free-Kicks
Figure 5 is a good example of generating an effective scoring opportunity from free kicks located wide of the penalty box. The two central defenders, Upamecano and Kim, occupy the back post zone, Kane occupies the front post zone, and Muller the central zone. The free kick is crossed into the back post zone where Kim is acting as a blocker for Upamecano to head the ball. On this occasion however, due to poor defending from his opponent, Kim is able to make the first contact with the cross. Now, due to the positioning of his teammates, Kim heads the ball across the 6-yard box to Kane who is unmarked for a free shot on goal.
Figure 6 demonstrates a simple routine to create a better goal scoring chance than simply shooting directly from a freekick. By having an elite free kick taker like Harry Kane standing over the free kick, this causes the opposition to create a large wall in an attempt to prevent a goal being scored directly. This results in there being only three opposition defenders occupying the rest of the box. Kane shapes to shoot but instead passes to Musiala on the edge of the box. The positioning of Bayern players towards the right side of the box and the opposition wall on the left side of the box creates a large gap in the centre. Musiala exploits this time and space by shifting the ball and shooting quickly. It is important to note that Darmstadt had received two red cards, reducing the number of players able to defend the set play. It’s another example of Barry emphasising creativity and the players making the most of the opportunities available to them.
Tuchel’s Set-Plays With England
Based on the evidence above, it is clear that both Tuchel and Barry place significant emphasis on meticulous attention to detail when it comes to set plays and that their expertise and skillset enable them to effectively convey this knowledge to their players. Hopefully the pair can continue with their success from set plays with England due the plethora of talented players available to them.
Including James Ward-Prowse and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as it was for Southgate, remains a dilemma for Tuchel. Both topped the charts for set play xG assisted (per 90 minutes) during the 23/24 Premier League season, highlighting their excellence within this part of the game. It is probably fair to say that there are many midfielders Tuchel may prefer to choose for a starting place in the England team than Ward-Prowse, with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice available to him; Rice who is also starting to make a name for himself as a set play taker at club level. This is not as much of an issue for Alexander-Arnold where Tuchel, if he chooses to play the 3-4-3 formation as he did at Chelsea, could look to start him on the right. Not only would this suit Trent’s ability to play brilliant crosses and through balls, but Tuchel would be able to make use of one of the elite set play takers from the Premier League.
In fact, when looking at the players within Table 3, it could be argued that only two are potential starters under Tuchel. James Maddison and Eberechi Eze would have to have an outstanding season to gain a starting place. Tuchel needs to establish what positions are ‘available’ and which players he could select. Left back has become an issue for England in recent years, with Southgate opting to start Kieran Trippier over a natural left back. One rising set play taker, who happens to play in this position, is Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis. Again, Davis is another full back who could excel in Tuchel’s 3-4-3, with his electric speed and excellent delivery into the box. After topping the charts for set piece assist data during Ipswich’s promotion season, he is beginning to make a name for himself in the Premier League, currently outputting 0.08 xG assisted per 90. He may be one on Tuchel’s radar come the first group of games in March if he continues this form. Tuchel would then have two right and left footed set piece takers in his starting eleven: Davis, Saka, Alexander-Arnold and Rice. With the ability that all of these players possess, paired with the creativity of Barry, it is definitely one aspect that Tuchel’s England should excel in.
It is all well and good being able to deliver great crosses into the box, but it has already been identified that Tuchel will require great headers of the ball to achieve success from set plays drawn up by Barry. This just might allow Harry Maguire to force his way into one last England squad, so long as he is receiving regular playing time. Maguire, (height = 1.94m), has always been an asset to whichever team he has been playing with during set plays, and the stats continue to be in his favour. Out of all Premier League centre backs during the 23/24 season, with 86% he topped the charts for aerial win % and came joint second with an xG per 90 of 0.09. With Ruben Amorim, the new manager of Manchester United also utilising a 3-4-3 formation, Maguire could see regular game time so long as he is able to stay fit. Given his excellence during set plays, Tuchel may be tempted to consider Maguire once more for the World Cup in 2026.
Conclusion
Many will now know that being productive from set plays is a key factor in the success of modern-day football teams, especially in knock-out football. That is why I believe that for this aspect of the game, the FA could have appointed no one more well equipped than Tuchel and Barry. Their combined dedication to achieving success within this aspect of the game can only be commended. Let’s hope that they continue to work on this with the national team, something which might nudge England one step closer to finally winning another major tournament, ending what will be 60 years of hurt.
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