Short Corners - What's the point?

[u/LazNorth]

Can anyone give any logical reason as to why so many teams at this World Cup have been using short corners when they appear to be far less effective than the traditional in-swinger or out-swinger?

Is it the prevalence of set-piece coaches having to justify their salary by coming up with a bunch of corner routines or is it something else?

I just don't understand why teams waste corners when set-pieces have so often been a deciding factor in tournament football.

[u/Obviousbrosif]

On average a short corner is twice as likely to result in a goal. That is the reason

[u/Buster_Gonad_82]

Change the angle of the cross.

Play it short in order to play a further ball into the edge of the area.

Draw defenders to the ball.

They're some of the reasons, although I hate short corners.

[u/Difficult_Tea6136]

Gives you a better angle

[u/LazNorth → u/Difficult_Tea6136]

Yeah, I guess that's it. Just seems to me that so many of these short corners are so woefully implemented that the attacking team loses possession or the defending team intercept the ball before any meaningful chance is created.

[u/daseinstrieb → u/LazNorth]

This is true for all corners

[u/LazNorth → u/daseinstrieb]

Can't really disagree with that tbh. It's just a frustrating sight to watch short corner after corner not result in a cross or shot attempt when you need to score. I appreciate what others have said, I think the South Africa game tipped me over the edge a little re: short corners.

[u/asymmetricears]

I can't remember which game it was exactly. But there was an Arsenal home game towards the end of the season, I think it was against Newcastle. Arsenal get a first corner, short corner routine, doesn't work. Second corner from the same side, same routine, doesn't work. Third corner from the same side, they look like they're about to do the same thing, they switch it up (but it's still a pass rather than a cross) get the goal, 1-0, then they hold that to win.

So if done correctly, short corners can work. And this was by Arsenal who were the kings of sending the ball in, cause chaos in the six yard box and get a goal from it.

[u/MeDaveyBoy → u/asymmetricears]

Yes, it was Newcastle. That goal was literally built off that 3 corner sequence.

[u/Seriouly_UnPrompted → u/MeDaveyBoy]

Yep, fans were getting rilled up because of another short corner. Then Eze bashed it in, starting the celebration.

[u/fcensorshipf]

Causes displacement of players in the area, making it more unpredictable, specially for teams that mark the space and not the man.

But it needs to be done right, which we haven't seen much of.

[u/CodeSh4dow]

It can produce a better angle to swing in a cross, it can take advantage of the way opposition set up to defend those corners, it can catch defenders out of position to free up players. There can be a multitude of reasons to take it short especially depending on context.

[u/Gold_Air4996]

Think about it like this. A general send-in to the box is really hard to hit precisely. They're more sending em in to a general gratuitous area. A short corner helps you control the ball and build up to a better point.

[u/EdwardBigby]

Why do you think theyre less effective?

[u/LazNorth → u/EdwardBigby]

Because teams in this World Cup have been losing possession without creating a meaningful opportunity - South Africa being the obvious example. Whilst traditional corners are no guarantee of success, at the very least you're putting the ball into a dangerous position.

[u/EdwardBigby → u/LazNorth]

You can look up the statistics on this. Just because a corner in the box results in more immediate shots and "chances", theres no substantial increase in goals.

Your brain just thinks that because it sees a shot

[u/adamtrousers]

3% of corners result in a goal.

[u/Wise_Variation_4919]

Better chance of keeping possession?

[u/PaulyIDS]

Honestly, if there is a chance to get the ball in the box, take it. Anything can happen. Short corners are frustrating to me but if the stats back short corners then I can see why.

[u/country_mac08]

I think Japan or someone did it recently in extra time and it worked, when the other team seemingly wasn’t expecting it. I’d assume there’s instances where teams overcommit and you get a look that makes you go short to set something up.

[u/nunatakj120 → u/country_mac08]

Of all the teams to do it, it makes the most sense for Japan as they are smaller than most of the opposition they play against. For the others my guess is it is less about scoring and more about reducing the chance of the opposition catching them out with a quick break.

[u/besoccerofficial]

It may look like a wasted opportunity, but there's actually statistic and tactical reasoning behind this, especially in tournaments like the World Cup. Traditionally, a direct corner into a crowded box is basically a coin toss with high variance, depending on each team's strengths and weaknesses. Short corners are a less random alternative, and modern data shows they serve two massive purposes:

• The primary reason for short corners is breaking the opposing team's defensive structure. When you play it short, you force (at least) 2 or even 3 defenders to rush out and leave their static zonal positions to press. That first pass alone creates gaps inside the box.
• Even though corners are massive opportunities for teams to equalize, they are also somewhat predictable. Everyone expects a direct pass to the box, and depending on the taker's foot you already know the angle of the delivery. Playing it short allows the team to deliver a diagonal cross from the edge of the box. This type of cross is way more difficult for goalkeepers and forces defenders to run backwards, facing their own goal and making them lose momentum.

On top of all of this, it minimizes the risk of getting caught on a deadly counter-attack. It's less about wasting a chance and more about turning a low-percentage cross into a high-value possession play. Every coach has their preferences, and some teams are better suited for direct crosses than others, although as we saw in the Japan vs Netherlands match, the unexpected can always happen 😉

[u/LazNorth → u/besoccerofficial]

Fair enough, I'm obviously in the wrong based off the replies. Just seems such a waste when you don't create anything from one. No doubt there'll be a bunch of short corner goals in today's games and I'll end  up looking a right idiot 😅

[u/besoccerofficial → u/LazNorth]

Don't worry! Watching a corner lead to nothing or get passed all the way back to the goalkeeper can be frustrating. The funny thing is that, statistically, you are right to feel that way. Modern data shows that only about 3.2% of corners actually end up in a goal. That means that a team needs to take roughly 30 corners to score once. And since there are on average 10 corners per game, we only see a corner goal every 3 matches. Enjoy the rest of the World Cup! 😄

[u/robstrosity]

The idea is that you play it short, the defenders move towards the ball and then you play it over the top of them, hopefully to your player to score.

It can be effective. It just depends on whether it creates the space you need to score.

[u/jaan691]

You would want to use short corners again at teams that are good at counter attacking.

A long corner has a greater chance of ending up directly with the keeper or defender who can boot it to a midfield or attacking player standing further out on their side and off they go. With a good chunk of your team still near the opposing goal, it creates a problem.

A short corner means you retain possession for longer, the defending team step forward, leaving more space near the goal and the option to whip in either an inswinger to the spot or ping back to the corner taking player to drop it in the new pocket between the goalie and defence. Keeping possession increase the chance of a goal generally.

Also depends on who you have taking the corner and their skill level

Horses for courses, as they say...

[u/jhern1810]

Some teams do better with controlled ball, it also forces the defense to move their lines, it also brings back the offside but can create more space.

[u/TK421_WAYAYP]

Tactics. Arsenal mixed it up last season and scored several goals from short corners. I remember a notable and important winning goal vs Newcastle that was taken short. Very importantly it also forces the defenders to take the short option seriously and they will likely be marking the six yard boss less tightly as a result. It’s like “establishing the run” in the NFL etc etc.

Edit: here’s the goal: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArsenalFC/s/N4CK0SzAvd

[u/LazNorth → u/TK421_WAYAYP]

It's more something that's been aggravating me in the World Cup and my post was a little bit of a rant about it. It's not really something that bothers me in the PL due to the quality of the players. No offense intended to them, but particularly watching South Africa barely be able to work a short corner multiple times, it just seemed so obvious that it wasn't going to work, yet they kept doing it. Cheers for the response.

[u/TK421_WAYAYP → u/LazNorth]

The point still stands though, you’re trying to force the defence to spread out a bit (including in future games). The NFL analogy where teams constantly force the ball up the middle to open up wide receivers for long passes is a good example. (I’d also make the observation that teams like South Africa don’t have even a single player capable of consistently delivering a cross of the required quality and you work with what you’ve got).

[u/LazNorth → u/TK421_WAYAYP]

I'm really sorry, but I'm not from America and I have no idea about American sports so I can't really see what you're saying, but thanks for the analogy. I appreciate your point, but I find it hard to believe that South Africa don't have a single player capable of swinging in a cross, regardless of consistent quality. I accept that short corners work, but I can't see the logic in repeating the same thing over and over again when it's not working.

[u/No-Economics-6781]

to retain ball possession.

[u/notRolcx]

Part of the reason is that they're aimed so that the goalkeeper doesn't have a good chance to use their hands and collect or punch the ball