Arsenal-style set-piece boom unlikely to dominate World Cup, says FIFA Technical Study Group

Set-piece skill could reshape 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 the limited preparation time for international teams.

At a FIFA media roundtable a month before the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, TSG members discussed emerging trends, including Arsenal-style specialization.

Premier League leaders Arsenal – dubbed the ‘set-piece kings’ – last month broke the record for most goals from corners in a single Premier League season.

«I would like to see how the other teams approach this,» said Gilberto Silva, the 2002 World Cup winner with Brazil and a former Arsenal midfielder.

«We’ve seen that this season, especially in the Premier League with Arsenal. In recent years, corners and long balls have not been used as much as when I played, when they were more common. In recent years the game has developed, with teams being built from the goalkeeper onwards.»

«But I’m not so sure that 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 weapon.»

“I expect tight matches, with many practical aspects and teams that want to use 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 the scorching heat.

“Overall, the Club World Cup showed a very similar level of intensity in the matches compared to the 2022 World Cup, when we looked at some of the key matches,” said Tom Gardner, head of Football Performance Insights.

«So I’m sure heat can be a factor in how teams deal with that. But we don’t expect to see very similar results on a physical level to 2022, as we did at the Club World Cup in 2025.»

The TSG will provide analysis of all matches at the World Cup. Led by FIFA Chief of Global ‌Football Development Arsène Wenger, the group includes the likes of Silva, Juergen Klinsmann and Pablo Zabaleta, and is supported by a team of analysts and data specialists.

Published on May 11, 2026