A confusing tactical trend has become increasingly widespread in the opening week of the 2026 World Cup.
When teams kick off, rather than play it backwards and keep possession, they instead boot the ball out for a throw-in deep in their opponents’ territory.
Even France, one of the favourites to win the World Cup and clearly good enough to build an attack from deep, started their Group I opener against Senegal by launching the ball out for a throw, immediately conceding possession.
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Explaining the confusing kick-offs at the 2026 World Cup
Casual fans would be forgiven for briefly thinking they have switched on a game of rugby union, where kicking the ball out of play to gain territory is a common tactic.
But the practice has crept into top-level football and is not as baffling as it may appear.
In a similar way to rugby, the aim of launching the ball out for a throw deep in your opponents’ half is to force them to play it out from a dangerous position, putting them under pressure from the first whistle.
Of course, the opposition may also decide to whack the ball up the pitch to prevent themselves being penned in, but that results in the side that took the kick-off regaining possession anyway.
Equally, if they choose another safety-first tactic by throwing the ball up the line, there is a good chance they will be unable to play out of a tight space and it will come straight back where it came from.
The tactic will be familiar to North American audiences, who saw Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain regularly kick the ball out of play from kick-off during their run to last summer's Club World Cup final in the United States.
It then became more widespread in the Premier League in a season where managers favoured no-risk football more than at any time in recent years.
Indeed, several English top-flight teams including eventual champions Arsenal, as well as Brentford and Bournemouth, even put their own slant on the tactic. The player taking the kick-off would touch the ball to a team-mate a couple of yards behind, who would then chip it up and volley it high into the air.
That would create an aerial duel between the defensive side and the onrushing attackers, who would hope to profit from any botched clearances.
With everyone from France to Qatar trying the tactic at the World Cup, it appears these kick-offs are here to stay.
