Set-piece boom unlikely to dominate World Cup, says Fifa’s technical study group

Set-piece prowess may be reshaping club football, but Fifa’s technical study group (TSG) said on Monday that dead-ball dominance is unlikely to define this year’s World Cup, largely due to limited preparation time for international teams.

Speaking at a Fifa media roundtable a month before the expanded 48-team tournament in Canada, Mexico and the US, TSG members discussed emerging trends, including Arsenal-style set-piece specialisation.

Premier League leaders Arsenal — dubbed the “set-piece kings” — last month smashed the record for most goals scored from corners in a single Premier League season.

“I’d be interested to see how the other teams approach this,” said Gilberto Silva, a 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil and former Arsenal midfielder.

“We have seen this season, especially in the Premier League with Arsenal. In the past few years, corner kicks and long balls were not used as much compared with when I played, when they were more common. In the past few years, the game has developed, with teams building from the goalkeeper.

“But I’m not so sure the World Cup will be the same, because you don’t have much time to prepare a team for these tournaments. Of course, it can be a weapon, and teams will use it, but not as the main one.

“I expect tight games, with a lot of practical aspects and teams looking to exploit transitions to break through.”

Last year’s Club World Cup in the US, which served as a dress rehearsal for the showpiece tournament, also highlighted the potential impact of scorching heat.

“In general, the Club World Cup showed a very similar level of intensity in the matches compared with the 2022 World Cup when we looked at some of the key games,” said Tom Gardner, lead of Football Performance Insights.

“So I’m sure heat may be a factor in how teams manage that. But we don’t expect to see on a physical level very similar outputs to 2022, as we did at the 2025 Club World Cup.”

The TSG will provide analysis of all matches at the World Cup. Guided by Fifa chief of global football development Arsène Wenger, the group includes figures such as Silva, Juergen Klinsmann and Pablo Zabaleta and is supported by a team of analysts and data specialists.

Reuters