Harry Kane names England's secret weapon for World Cup success inspired by Arsenal

England captain Harry Kane says set-pieces will be of "massive" importance at the World Cup and the Three Lions are following the Premier League trend

Harry Kane has revealed that England will approach the World Cup with a playbook of set-pieces inspired by Arsenal and NFL tactics. He believes that free-kicks, corners and long throws will play a "massive" role in their strategy, mirroring the current trend in the Premier League.

In the 2018 World Cup, England netted nine out of their 12 goals from set-pieces. However, Kane suggests there could be an even greater focus on this aspect of the game in the United States due to the high-scoring temperatures.

A big fan of American football, Kane has struck up a friendship with NFL legend Tom Brady and even dreams of becoming a kicker someday.

Just like NFL teams, England plans to have a detailed playbook of routines for the World Cup so players are well-versed with the strategies. Set-piece analyst Paul Quilter and assistant coach Anthony Barry are conducting thorough sessions, while Declan Rice is proving lethal at corners and free kicks for Arsenal, the Premier League's set-piece masters.

England skipper Kane stated: "I think it is massive, to be honest. I know it is not the prettiest part of the game but we have always been big on set plays, both defending and attacking.

"I feel like we are getting in some really good routines attacking-wise. Obviously Dec and players like that can put in perfect crosses and are doing it week-in, week-out for their clubs as well. We want to build a book of set plays where we can go into the tournament where there is not a lot of time to practice it in a tournament.

"You want to also have like an NFL play book in a way where you look at the opposition and see if they are zonal or man-mark and we can pick what we want to do and ultimately, the best team at set plays normally go on to be the best team in the tournament.

"They go on to have clean sheets, they go on to the latter stages and we did that in 2018, we did that in 2022. Our defensive record is really good as well. So, that is a big part.

"We don't get loads of time to do it on the grass so meetings are really important and obviously with Paul and Anthony here, they try to go through the details. It is also about the lads taking it in mentally more than physically and hopefully by the summer we will have a good mixture of set plays that we can go from."

A year ago, Kane questioned whether England had lost the unity and dedication that was cultivated under Gareth Southgate when there were numerous withdrawals for interim manager Lee Carsley's final matches in charge. However, Kane is confident that they are now in a positive position and the "brotherhood" has been restored under Thomas Tuchel, which could propel them to triumph next summer.

Kane further stated: "I think it's the bonds that you build on the pitch, off the pitch, the experiences you go through together. I think especially when you're going into a major tournament, you're going to be spending so much time together in a high-pressure situation.

"You can see with this camp - Marc Guehi had a little injury but still wanted to be around the group and the meetings and learn from what we're trying to do. So far, it's been great. I definitely think the team is in a really good place going into the New Year.

"There's going to be moments, people have highs, people have lows, and I think 'brotherhood' is a place where you can be yourself, where you know when to give moments to your team-mates, you know when to pick your team-mates up, you know when to motivate them.

"I feel like under Gareth's reign we did that really well and we built those bonds, getting to two finals, that wouldn't have been the case without that. We're definitely willing to do that, to do what it takes to go all the way this summer."