It was a moment that Idrissa Gana Gueye would surely rather forget. The Everton midfielder’s casual application to defending Senegal’s near post from a corner 16 minutes from time against Colombia not only ended up costing his side a place in the knockout stage of the World Cup but also provided a useful lesson for Gareth Southgate as his side prepare to face the South Americans in Moscow on Tuesday.
Leaning against the post as the ball was delivered into the box by Juan Quintero, Gueye remained rooted to the spot as Yerry Mina beat Cheikhou Kouyaté to the header, barely moving as it flew past the Senegal goalkeeper Khadim Ndiaye and into the net.
It was one of the worst examples of defending at the tournament so far and came against a team who had already shown they possess a considerable threat from set pieces. Surely England will not make the same mistake?
Containing the giant central defensive pair of Barcelona’s Mina and Davinson Sánchez of Tottenham may be easier said than done, however, while the dead-ball ability of the outstanding Quintero will be another reason to make Southgate and his coaching staff nervous.
So far three of Colombia’s five goals at the World Cup have come from set pieces, with Mina also scoring from a corner in the comprehensive 3-0 win over Poland and Quintero converting a brilliant pea-roller free-kick in the opening defeat by Japan.
The mercurial 25-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at River Plate from Porto and – not unusually for him – arrived in Russia short of fitness. But with doubts over the fitness of James Rodríguez, he will provide the creativity in Colombia’s midfield and pinpoint accuracy on set pieces.
Mina’s goal against Poland also showed the coach José Pekerman’s acumen at dead-ball situations. A brilliantly worked routine starting with Rodríguez’s short corner to Juan Cuadrado saw the Juventus winger pass the ball to Quintero, who allowed the ball to run across his body before playing a reverse pass into the path of Rodríguez. His clipped cross picked out an unmarked Mina to head home from close range.
It was a wonderful routine, perhaps surpassing England’s fourth goal against Panama as the best of the tournament so far, if only because Raheem Sterling’s original effort was saved before being converted on the rebound by John Stones.
Southgate has frequently stated how crucial he views set pieces at major tournaments and clearly has done his groundwork given that his side scored from six in the group stages – more than any other team.
As well as Harry Kane’s two penalties against Panama, the other four have come from either corners or free-kicks despite the absence of a recognised specialist in the ilk of David Beckham.
Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young have been entrusted with providing the service, with the full-backs so far proving more than capable. The presence of 6ft-plus players such as Stones, Harry Maguire and Kane is also an obvious advantage that England will look to exploit again at the Spartak Stadium.
