10 Greatest British Set-Piece Specialists in Football History [Ranked]

There aren’t many things sweeter in football than a well-executed set-piece that sees the ball nestle into the back of the net and break the deadlock in a tight game. Every England fan will remember exactly where they were when Kieran Trippier’s immaculate free-kick opened the scoring against Croatia during the 2018 World Cup, and the same goes for Wales fans celebrating Gareth Bale’s opener from a dead ball situation against Slovakia at Euro 2016.

Teams that focus on perfecting the art of a set piece are often scoffed at and dismissed as playing ‘anti-football’, but in reality, it’s a facet of the game that can give you a major advantage if well worked on. Given British football’s reputation as a physical, blood and thunder game, it’s only right that the small island nation has produced some of the most effective set-piece specialists of all time, designed to feed the combative specimens crowing the box.

From Leighton Baines to David Beckham, here are the top ten greatest set-piece specialists in British football history.

10 Sir Bobby Charlton

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and corners

The great Sir Bobby Charlton was perhaps one of the first real set-piece specialists, arguably making him a pioneer in this field. Renowned for his technical quality and powerful shooting, the Manchester United legend’s expert ability from free-kicks was an integral part of his repertoire, and a significant contributor to his elite output.

Scoring from five direct free-kicks in his illustrious career, at a time when the success rate from these situations was much lower, Charlton was more well-known for his inch-perfect delivery from corners and wide free-kicks. Generating several assists from these moments, the pace and accuracy of his dead-ball crosses from wide areas were a weapon for the dominant United side of the 1950s, creating chaos in opposition boxes.

9 Jamie Redknapp

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks

While injuries may have hindered much of his playing career, Jamie Redknapp developed a knack for curling the ball around the wall and into the back of the net from free-kicks around the area. The outspoken pundit did this nine times in the Premier League, a rate bettered by just two Brits in the division’s history.

Technically clean, Redknapp’s ball-striking was most vividly on display from dead-ball situations, when his fragile body had time to measure itself and connect sweetly with the ball. The bend the former Liverpool man was able to generate on his free-kicks was audacious, and may have been as well documented as the notorious Beckham Bend, had he been able to remain on the pitch for more of his career and showcase this unique ability more frequently.

8 Gareth Bale

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and corners

A man whose supreme technical ability needs no introduction, but the quality of his set pieces went under the radar. Gareth Bale opened his North London Derby account for Tottenham with a sensational free-kick that caught Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia out at his near post in 2007. His second goal in professional football, it was a sign of things to come.

Developing a reputation as a ‘knuckleball specialist’, Bale netted 12 direct free-kicks throughout his prodigious career, most of which followed this distinctive technique. Also capable of whipping inviting corners into dangerous areas on a persistent basis, the serial Champions League winners’ deal-ball prowess was perhaps underrated due to the absurd quality he provided in other facets of the game, and due to Cristiano Ronaldo hogging the scenarios in his time at Real Madrid.

7 Glenn Hoddle

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and corners

Celebrated for his gracefulness and ability to glide across the pitch, which predated the era he was playing in, Glenn Hoddle’s eloquence extended to his set pieces. Scoring 14 free-kicks throughout his distinguished career, the Tottenham legend’s superpower from dead balls was actually his playmaking.

Swinging delightful balls into the mixer, with physical brutes battling for the ball in the box during the 80s, set-piece coaches of today’s jobs would be made a lot simpler if they had a player capable of the quality of deliveries Hoddle was able to produce. The ex-England manager’s innate ability to find a teammate in a congested penalty area from the corner spot was unparalleled in his time.

6 Leighton Baines

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks, corners and penalties

While Leighton Baines was certainly an astute defender and a very effective full-back on his day, it was set-piece mastery that set him apart from most players in his position. With free-kicks, corners and penalties all part of his repertoire, the Everton legend managed four seasons between 2010 and 2014 where he netted five times or more from left-back.

The majority of these goals were sourced by exceptional execution from dead-ball scenarios. Converting six direct free-kicks in the Premier League, 26 out of 29 penalties and numerous assists from corners, the marauding full-back was as deadly as anyone from these positions – and has the third-most assists as a defender in Premier League history. His abruptly powerful strike away at Newcastle in 2013, lacing through the ball, springs to mind as one of Baines’ most iconic goals.

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5 Steven Gerrard

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and penalties

Another who made his name on Merseyside and whose most notable free-kick goal was at St. James’ Park, Steven Gerrard’s sublime technique meant he was always likely to be effective in these situations, while his temperament and composure lent itself to specialising in penalty-taking. While aided by a minor tee-up from a teammate, Gerrard leathered the ball beyond Shay Given in one of the most venerated free-kicks in Premier League history on Tyneside in November 2007.

This wasn’t his only rodeo in this regard, as the legendary Liverpool midfielder mastered the art of the pile driver presented to him by short layoff into his stride, while he also perfected the cheeky curl around the wall to the goalkeepers near post. One of the most potent from 12 yards as well, Gerrard converted 46 of his 56 penalty kicks.

4 Frank Lampard

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks, corners and penalties

Perhaps not as pronounced in this realm as many, Frank Lampard’s superb ability from dead balls is evidenced in the numbers. Scoring nine direct free-kicks in his Premier League career, level with Redknapp and behind just two other Brits, the Chelsea hero managed to contact the ball in a way that deceived goalkeepers with unusual movement whilst in the air, on a consistent basis.

Not only that, but the England international’s delivery was so good, that he profited from wide free-kicks bypassing the melee in the box and going all the way in without a touch on numerous occasions. Also dependable from the spot, Lampard slotted home 60 penalties throughout his career, only missing eleven.

3 Trent Alexander-Arnold

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and corners

Possibly the most creative defender of all time, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s extraordinary technical quality and expansive passing range is like nothing we’ve seen before from a right-back. The modern-day Beckham, the 26-year-old has everything the glamorous superstar had – the crossing, the passing, the vision, and of course, the set-piece quality.

The defender with the most assists in Premier League history, Alexander-Arnold is capable of whipping a ball with frightening velocity and accuracy, and does so with ridiculous regularity. His sumptuous top bins effort at Stamford Bridge in Liverpool’s title-winning season is perhaps the most ‘postage stamp’ goal we’ve ever witnessed in the English top flight.

2 James Ward-Prowse

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks, corners and penalties

James Ward-Prowse might be the player that comes to mind for most in the modern day when asked to summon a name associated with being a set-piece specialist. The archetypal, ‘jack of not many trades, but master of one’, Ward-Prowse is certainly a good Premier League footballer, but his free-kick taking is arguably better than almost any other human on the planet.

Sound hyperbolic? Well, in January 2023, Ward-Prowse’s conversion rate from direct free-kicks (only including players who have attempted 35 free-kicks or more) was greater than any other player in world football. Not even Lionel Messi could match his 21.4% success rate. Taking 70 by this point, he’d netted 15, a sample size large enough to demonstrate that he can reliably get the ball past the goalkeeper from dead-ball scenarios.

Preventing him from taking top spot is the only British footballer to have scored more free-kicks than him in Premier League history…

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1 David Beckham

Set-piece speciality: Free-kicks and corners

When you have a film title referencing your ability from free-kicks, it’s probably safe to say you were a specialist at said facet of the game. ‘Bend it like Beckham’ was not only a blockbuster hit, it was also a culturally significant term used in Britain throughout the former Manchester United star’s playing career, and for years after.

Evidently synonymous with bending the ball around a wall from dead-ball situations, Beckham was perhaps one of the first footballers who really, truly perfected the art of a free-kick. When opposition teams committed a foul in a dangerous position against a team containing Beckham, there was almost a resignation that they’d already conceded.

Carefully placed strikes, focusing on the accurate details relating to accuracy, were his trademark, and he finished his career with 18 direct free-kick goals in the Premier League. Aside from Trippier’s effort against Croatia, his strike against Greece in 2001 that sent England to the 2002 World Cup is comfortably the most iconic English free-kick goal of all time.

With the game poised at 2-1 to the Greeks, and England seconds from missing out on the major tournament, the maverick winger stepped up and… you know the rest.