The 'four and two' trick that turned England into set-piece kings

They lurked, stalked. Sized up the prey. Once ball is placed in quadrant, England go hunting.

There is this sense of NFL expectation within these American stadiums when Declan Rice stands over a corner ready to produce devilish deliveries with a routine plucked from a playbook. When the predators line up, assigned to draw blood.

It’s become a sport within a sport, the English corner, and staff from other nations have admitted that they are increasingly hot topics of discussion – especially in European circles.

Suddenly on Wednesday night in Dallas and to the millions watching back home, a Rice corner with a helping of blocking became more than palatable. Something to rejoice and savour. Arsenal supporters will no doubt be tutting and raising eyebrows as supporters marvelled in the danger created from dead balls during the opening game victory over Croatia.

Perhaps that is because on the day, England had many more strings to their bow than the corner. Especially in a second half of supreme dominance that should act as the barometer for performances across the next month. Blocking and holding and a little bit of hostility at corners is fine as long as it comes with the fun stuff too.

Thomas Tuchel, unashamed in wanting to lean into the Premier League’s excellence at set-pieces – and particularly Arsenal’s – allows assistant Anthony Barry and other specialist Paul Quilter freedom to lead. He has laughed that observing their presentations feels like sitting in a mathematics class.

There is this sense of NFL expectation within these American stadiums when Declan Rice stands over a corner ready to produce devilish deliveries

England's work on set-pieces paid off handsomely against Croatia, with both of Harry Kane's goals coming from dead-ball situations

Thomas Tuchel defers to his experts - in this case Anthony Barry, who once wrote a thesis on 16,000 throw-ins that was ultimately published as an academic paper

Deferring to the experts – Barry once wrote a thesis on 16,000 throw-ins that was ultimately published as an academic paper – has worked across an 18-month tenure and it is the weapon that could unlock something in tight knockout rounds over the coming weeks.

Such are the oddities of this tournament these days, England are effectively through to the last 32 already, barring a disaster so cataclysmic that No 10 would be expected to wade in. Keir Starmer that is, not Jude Bellingham.

There are of course deficiencies that need ironing out, but what was noticeable in a somewhat fraught first 45 minutes of their World Cup was what England can fall back on. Not playing fluently? Rice is there with his outswingers on a sixpence.

Harry Kane (6ft 2in), John Stones (6ft 2in), Ezri Konsa (6ft) and Nico O’Reilly (6ft 4in) were there to fashion opportunities that few other countries can so routinely manage. Against Croatia, these were consistently uniformed attacks. Precise, cut-throat.

Kane scored from one header but there had already been a penalty awarded from an earlier set play. The anatomy of both is exactly what those opposition coaches talking to each other fear when they meet the Three Lions.

The premise remained the same throughout this game but the variations did not and Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic squirmed as his defensive shape crumbled.

This was one fundamental routine sliced up eight different ways. England lined up with two men, Bellingham and Anthony Gordon, around the six-yard line occupying a number of defenders who were marking zonally. It allowed the England quartet stationed towards the penalty spot to do their damage. Maximum damage.

Three acted as decoys for Kane’s goal, the captain hanging further back unmarked, surveying the wreckage unfolding before him as Konsa blocked, Stones cleared two out of the way and O’Reilly palmed off a marker with two hands.

Kane wandered in and planted a perfect header into the net, the likes of Josko Gvardiol only able to stand and grimace at its inevitability.

England's goalscoring setup: Anthony Gordon and Jude Bellingham in the six-yard box, with (L-R) Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Harry Kane and Nico O'Reilly causing chaos

Kane wheels away after powering in his header, which drew him level with Gary Lineker on an England-record 10 World Cup goals

The earlier penalty had arrived after Noni Madueke was alive to a second ball on the edge of the box, drawing a foul from Luka Modric that had come after Croatia were unable to clear their lines.

The second ball, a key principle of Pep Guardiola. If it’s good enough for him then Tuchel, one of the Catalan's ardent disciples, is on very safe ground.

There were corners when all four of the main characters went directly with their men. When O’Reilly sauntered towards the back post, heading a presentable chance wide. He went very close later on when Gordon blocked Ivan Perisic. Only when England opted to go short were Croatia truly comfortable.

Four of England's six big chances on the night came directly from corners. That's four from just eight deliveries. It’s a hell of a record, and the rewards are such that ignoring this facet of the game would be folly.

An interesting aspect to Wednesday’s success was Tuchel and Barry empowering their players to follow their gut. That's what makes this slightly different to a defined roster of plays from the book that you might see in American football.

Kane had spotted a weakness in Croatia’s setup from the first couple of corners and instructed them to do the blocking in the build-up to his header.

That key players are in tune with the intricacies of the set-piece bodes particularly well at a tournament when the heat will become a far larger factor than it was in the indoor air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys, who themselves must have studied with intrigue.

England gave the six-yard box some room. In previous games, notably the qualifiers, they have crammed that area – while now mindful that referees want to clamp down on physicality from these situations.

The first goal also came from a set-piece, as Noni Madueke was fouled by Luka Modric when Croatia could not clear their lines and England pounced on a loose ball

England are mindful that referees at this tournament will crack down on the grappling that we saw in the Premier League this past season

Mindful privately anyway, Bukayo Saka – a designated taker himself – seemed perplexed when the idea that teams had been well briefed on stricter officiating was put to him earlier this week.

Letting the box breathe a bit reduces the notion of countless fouls going on simultaneously and giving the referee an easy decision to make. In that sense, it might be a decent guess that a less congested style continues as the World Cup progresses.

What Croatia did prove, if proof were needed, is that this is a supplementary positive. Tuchel will not want it to overshadow the way in which they attack and dominate game plans.

Yet as he talks about a tournament of ‘moments’, ignoring the ability of Rice and the ingenuity of his staff and players would be a betrayal.