Daily Mail

Southgate’s set-piece work is paying off

- MARTIN KEOWN

ENGLAND are the set-piece specialist­s at this World Cup. You only have to look at how Panama resorted to wrestling our players to the ground at corners. England’s set-pieces are intimidati­ng opponents and making them panic. This team are blessed with aerial ability. For England’s first goal, Panama seemed so pre-occupied with stopping Harry Maguire that they left John Stones completely unmarked to score. Five of our eight goals in Russia have come from corners or free-kicks and that is down to the hours Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland have put in on the training ground in the weeks building up to the tournament. Gareth will know all too well the importance of set-pieces. We were both in the England squad at France 98 when the manager Glenn Hoddle would run drills of our routines outside the team hotel. There was a small patch of grass which was just big enough for corners and free-kicks from distance. Hoddle had a penalty box marked up and it became our practice area. Now this team are bearing the fruits of Southgate’s diligent work. England’s fourth goal — also scored by Stones — was the best example of this, as our graphic (right) shows. It proved that England have an intelligen­t group of players who can quickly take on board new ideas — and have the confidence to execute them.

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