As we look ahead to this Summer’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, certain players have garnered impressive reputations as their nation’s specialists in penalties, freekicks and corners. Here’s a quick look at some of these key performers during qualification.
Penalty Kings
When it comes to penalty kicks, some players have nerves of steel. England’s Harry Kane leads the pack with a perfect record, scoring all four of his penalty attempts during qualifying. France's Kylian Mbappé and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo are close behind, each nailing three out of three.
Other top performers include Slovenia’s Benjamin Šeško and Austria’s Marcel Sabitzer, both hitting two out of two. These players have shown they can handle the pressure and deliver when it matters most and should be the designated penalty takers for their respective nations in the tournament.
Corner Kick Experts
Corners can be game-changers, particularly at international tournaments, and some players have excelled in delivering them. Christian Eriksen for Denmark, Bruno Fernandes of Portugal and Piotr Zieliński from Poland were some of the key corner takers during qualification. Italy’s use of the short option is also something to keep a keen eye on.
Top xG Threats from Corners
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric that shows the quality of scoring chances. It’s no good having a dead ball specialist if there’s no one on the end of it to stick it in the net. We’ve investigated the resulting xG of all attempts on goal from corners in qualifying and found that Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Slovakia’s Juraj Kucka and the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo stand out as the most potent threats in the tournament.
Freekick Specialists
A few players have really stood out in terms of taking freekicks in the attacking third. Hungary’s Dominik Szoboszlai and Denmark’s Christian Eriksen are frequent takers, known for their accurate right-footed deliveries. Poland’s Piotr Zieliński has also been impressive with his ability to turn these chances into goals. Another standout is Nicolae Stanciu of Romania, scoring two delightful direct freekicks in qualifying for a Romania side who have 10 goals in Euro tournament appearances, of which 5 were from set plays.
Top xG Threats from Freekicks
Poland's Karol Świderski is at the top with an xG of 0.79 from just two shots, resulting in one goal. Dominik Szoboszlai is also notable here, with an xG of 0.61 from 11 shots, all of which were direct attempts on goal making him by far the most prolific direct freekick taker in qualification. Other key players include Spain’s Robin Le Normand and Denmark’s Jonas Wind, who have both turned their freekick chances into crucial goals.
Mastering set-pieces can make a huge difference in crucial matches. The players mentioned have shown exceptional skill and composure, making them vital to their teams’ successes. As the tournament goes on, these specialists will likely play key roles in their teams' quest for victory.
If you’d like to find the tournament’s key players in more detail, check out the slideshow or downloadable pdf below, to scout the deadballers in each group, the slideshow may not display great on some mobile devices so please scroll below and grab the pdf to view on mobile:
Are you playing Fantasy Football for this year’s tournament?
We’ve used our data to put together a team solely made up of set piece threats. We selected Neuer the host’s goalkeeper due to home advantage, plus Costa of Portugal as the player with the most clean sheets during qualifying. Check out our team below.
Join our CSP Fantasy Football league, the winning team will receive a free set of our ‘50 Creative Set Plays | Moving Animations’
Article by Matt Steer, Performance Analysis masters student with the Global Institute of Sport.
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