Majed Al Zaabi Set-Piece Analysis For UAE – U17 FIFA World Cup 2025: The Back-Post Corner Routine That Troubled Elite Opposition — Set-Piece Analysis

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) were one of the smaller nations heading into the U17 FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar.

We are still in the midst of the tournament, with the group stage having only just finished, but the UAE has already been eliminated.

However, this doesnt mean they were poor, and multiple factors meant that heading into the tournament, the UAE had very little chance of progressing.

The difference in the level of the senior leagues, the facilities, and many other things meant that the UAE were one of 14 nations heading into the tournament without any recognised players with a market value according to Transfermarkt.

From the three group games, the UAE quickly emerged as a side with a significant set-piece threat, and clearly took time to prepare in this aspect.

In this tournament, they managed to earn 10 corner kicks, scoring one goal and having one goal disallowed by VAR, while also creating one big chance and another that led to a potential penalty check.

40% of their corner kicks led to a particularly dangerous outcome, while the ratio of one in every ten corner kicks being converted is almost on par with that of Arsenal (9.38) in the Premier League, demonstrating the high level of achievement from corner kicks in the UAE.

This tournament, they have created around 0.6 xG from corners, with a clear goalscoring chance being wiped out by VAR due to an unnecessary handball, which otherwise couldve seen them top this list, even with just 10 corner kicks.

This tactical analysis will examine the UAEs attacking corner routine, with the side preferring to perfect one routine with the aim of causing maximum danger.

The analysis will explore how the UAE used a routine targeting the back post to cause Croatia and Costa Rica numerous problems.