Cross examination: is old-fashioned wing play making a comeback?

F ootball is cyclical. Trends come and go. After the rise of inverted wingers, who tend to cut in and shoot, are we seeing the return of traditional wingers – those wide players who hug the touchline and send in crosses on their stronger foot? We are seeing a lot of goals scored from deliveries into the box from out wide. In the first two rounds of games, 29 of the 48 teams at the tournament scored at least one goal within five seconds of a cross into the box. In isolation, those figures won’t mean much, but 29 teams scoring within five seconds of any cross into the box is already five more than at any World Cup on record (since 1966). Obviously, not every tournament had as many as 29 countries participating, but the point stands: many teams have had joy in this manner. The Netherlands are chief among them. They scored from crosses in both their first two games. There was Virgil van Dijk’s brilliant header from Ryan Gravenberch’s deep delivery against Japan . Then, in the hammering of Sweden, Brian Brobbey converted two low crosses and Cody Gakpo scored at the back post after being set up by Denzel Dumfries. Portugal have also scored four goals within five seconds of a cross, with three coming against Uzbekistan – including Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliantly taken first from João Cancelo’s low delivery. Norway have also had some success this way, scoring three goals against Iraq from crosses. …