TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 18 Ex-Barca boss Enrique named England beneficiaries Spain coach of set-piece glut Reuters | St Petersburg

fter more goals came from set-pieces in this AWorld Cup’s group stage than any other, dead-ball strate- gy has continued to have a huge impact in the knockout phase, with five of the 11 goals scored in the quarter-finals coming from free kicks or corners. Raphael Varane headed France on their way to a 2-0 win over Uruguay from a free kick while Fernandinho deflected a cross from a corner into his own Luis Enrique net to put his Brazil side behind in their eventual 2-1 defeat by Belgium. AFP | Madrid England continued their pro- lific use of set-plays to break the ormer Barcelona coach deadlock in their 2-0 win over FLuis Enrique was appoint- Sweden when Harry Maguire ed Spain’s new coach yester- headed home from a corner. day after previous incumbent KNOW WHAT Denis Cheryshev’s wonder Harry Maguire, right above, scores England’s opening goal during the quarterfinal match against Sweden Julen Lopetegui was sacked strike in Russia’s 2-2 draw on the eve of the World Cup against Croatia was the only beating the previous record of ly fancied Spain in the last 16 reliant on set-play strategy than in what turned out to be a dis- opening goal in the quarters 36pc from the 1998 World Cup thanks to a penalty shootout. fellow semi-finalists Belgium appointing campaign. Luis Enrique is one not to come from a set play, al- and smashing the portion of England, meanwhile, reached and France, who have struck “Luis Enrique’s appointment of the few players though Croatia’s Domagoj Vida goals from these situations in the semi-finals for the first three goals each from them, as coach for the next two years to play for both later struck from a corner in 2014 (27pc), 2010 (24pc), 2002 time in 28 years with the help while their next opponents Cro- was approved unanimously,” Barcelona and Real extra time and Mario Fernandes (29pc) and 1994 (33pc). of eight goals from set-pieces, atia have scored from only one Luis Rubiales, president of the Madrid. He played headed in a free kick to force a This trend has powered the more than any other side in the set piece and one penalty. Spanish football federation, shootout in which Croatia tri- rise of teams that traditionally tournament, including three Gareth Southgate’s side’s told reporters. 5 season for Real umphed. do not do well in World Cups. penalties. potency from set-pieces was The 48-year-old will have before moving to Fernandes’s header was the Hosts Russia, the lowest They also won a shootout for certainly on the minds of Cro- the tough task of reviving a arch rivals Barca in 66th set-piece goal scored at ranked team in the tournament, the first time in four World Cup atia after they were forced into national team deflated after 1996 the 2018 World Cup out of 157 scored five of their 11 goals from attempts by knocking out Co- penalties by Russia. three consecutive failures at in total. set-pieces on the way to the lombia in the last 16, a sign of “We watched the game today major tournaments, the latest Overall, 42 per cent of goals quarter-finals, their strongest their progress in preparing for and saw how good they are from their World Cup loss to hosts and Russia. in the World Cup have come showing since the end of the every possible outcome. dead-ball situations,” captain Russia -- ranked 70th in the Enrique will also be tak- from set plays or penalties, Soviet Union, and got past high- England have been far more Luka Modric said. world -- on penalties in the ing over a team without key last 16. captain Andres Iniesta, who Before that, Spain were hu- has retired from international miliated at the hands of the football. Paulinho returns to Netherlands in 2014 and beat- en by Italy at Euro 2016 -- their Restoring confidence Southgate tells England stars: China’s Guangzhou 2008-2012 winning streak but He faces the same two- a distant memory. pronged brief that Lopetegui Enrique will be taking over was tasked with two years ago: ‘Be bigger than 1966 heroes’ from Lopetegui, who was fired to restore confidence and get by Rubiales when the coach fresh blood from the younger AFP | Repino, Russia sweeping the nation back home. announced he had signed to generation. Nearly 20 million viewers take over at Real Madrid. Of the starting XI against ngland manager Gareth tuned in for the win over Swe- The national team’s then Russia, only ESouthgate says winning den and social media is awash sporting director Fernando will be younger than 30 by the the World Cup would make his with videos of excited fans Hierro stepped in hastily to re- time the next World Cupcom- players even bigger heroes than watching on big screens in bars place him and led Spain to the es around. Gerard Pique, Ser- the 1966 generation because of and parks, fanatically celebrat- last 16, before stepping down gio Ramos, David Silva, Diego the impact of social media and ing every England goal. after the tournament. Costa and Sergio Busquets will the globalisation of football. Southgate admitted he had Changing the coach two all be 33 or older. Southgate’s men meet Cro- used the high esteem in which days before Spain’s opening It means those left from the atia in the semi-finals on the 1966 team -- featuring Bob- game did not likely benefit the triple triumph of Euro 2008, Wednesday after ending a 28- by Charlton and Bobby Moore side’s chances. the 2010 World Cup and Euro year wait just to reach the last -- are still held as an inspiration With Hierro in place, how- 2012 will either be gone or four by cruising past Sweden in for his players. ever, there were positive signs down to the last few and that the quarter-finals. “We’ve talked, touched brief- against Portugal, when Cris- could pave the way for an evo- “I’ve met quite a few of those ly, certainly, on the team which tiano Ronaldo’s free-kick over- lution of style. players and we know exactly England manager Gareth Southgate won. How they’re still held and Paulinho shadowed an assured Spain Enrique was Barcelona how they’re held and perhaps, revered,” he added. performance in a thrilling 3-3 coach for three years from in the modern era, that would While the England players “At the beginning we were draw. May 2014, leading the Catalan be even crazier,” Southgate told are tucked away in a sleepy working together with the lads AFP | Barcelona But defensive errors and giants to the treble of , Britain’s daily newspapers. training base in the remote and trying to sell them the vi- tactical rigidity soon came to Copa del Rey and Champions “Social media and everything town of Repino, 45 kilometres sion of what’s possible, what arcelona have loaned the fore as poor displays fol- League titles in his first cam- else, the global thing is so much (28 miles) northwest of Saint we’re looking to achieve in the Bmidfielder Paulinho, lowed against Iran, Morocco paign at the helm. bigger.” Petersburg, football fever is long term.” a starter in the Brazil side knocked out by Belgium in the World Cup quarter-fi- nals, to former club Guang- zhou Evergrande, the Chi- Brazil fans greet team after knockout from World Cup nese Super League champi- ons announced on Sunday. Reuters | Players Casemiro and Philippe this warmth by saying thank “Guangzhou Evergrande Coutinho stopped to greet some you from my heart,” the coach confirm Paulinho has re- embers of Brazil’s national of the supporters and take pic- said in brief comments after ar- turned to the club after one Mteam, which was knocked tures with them. riving. season at Barcelona,” the out of the 2018 World Cup, were , regarded as one of said he felt terrible bitter- club tweeted. applauded by fans greeting their the most talented players on the ness after they were knocked out Paulinho, who is 29, first arrival at Rio de Janeiro’s inter- Brazilian side, was not seen in on Friday. joined Guangzhou from national airport on Sunday. the disembarkation area. The defeat was Tite’s first in Tottenham Hotspur in Five-time champion Brazil Brazil’s coach, Tite, who a competitive match since he 2015, playing 84 matches lost to Belgium 2-1 on Friday in was invited to keep managing took over in mid-2016 and only and scoring 22 goals before Kazan, Russia. the Brazilian team even after his second defeat overall. It was leaving for Barcelona in Supporters chanted and its World Cup defeat, thanked also the first time his side had 2017. He scored nine goals cheered the players on as they the fans for their warm wel - allowed two goals in a game af- in 34 La Liga appearances got off the airplane and ap - come. ter conceding only six in their for the Catalan giants last peared in the airport lounge. Fans react during the match “I would like to reciprocate previous 25 matches. season.