Attacking corners: Finding the target player and blocking man-to-man markers

If you are fortunate enough to have a tall player who is excellent in the air, they can be a real weapon at attacking corners. However, as soon as the opposition identify that player as a threat, they are likely to assign their best defender to man-mark them. The trick for an attacking side in this situation is to create patterns of movement that allow their target player to break free from their marker and into the area where the ball is expected to arrive. To make that happen, their team-mates often have to focus on releasing the target player rather than scoring themselves.

The first two clips in this article are taken from England’s group stage match against Iran. In the first of them (and in the screenshot above), England start with six attacking players in the penalty area. Maguire (6) starts as the furthest English player from goal and is man-marked. There are two more England players in his vicinity, one of whom is tasked with blocking the route between Maguire’s marker and the goal. The two players on the edge of the goal area (six-yard box) start in the area where the ball will eventually be delivered; their job is to clear this space by dragging their markers with them. Meanwhile, Maguire and the team-mate helping him work hard to try to get him free of his marker and he manages to get to the ball in, although his effort misses the target on this occasion.

In the second clip, Maguire stays close to his starting position (once again, he is the England player furthest from goal) while his team-mate makes a decoy run to ensure Maguire only has one marker to deal with. He wins the initial header and the ball drops to Bukayo Saka (17), who has also lost his marker and scores unopposed.

The third clip is taken from the quarter-final against France, and again sees Maguire partnered up with another England player near the edge of the penalty area. Since Maguire is so far away from the goal, it is difficult for his marker to get touch-tight to him. This in turn means Maguire can make an unchecked run to the back post to win the first contact with the incoming delivery.

Using Maguire as a key target player was an effective ploy for England. They ranked second in the competition for the percentage of first contacts won from attacking corners (64%), and had the third most attempts at goal from first-phase corners, with a total of seven.