Set Piece Takers to Look Out for at Copa America

Arguably the greatest player of all-time, Lionel Messi is also one of the greatest free-kick takers of all time. The forward will once again captain and lead his national team, and assume the responsibility of taking free-kicks as well. With 65 free-kick goals, no active player has scored as many as he has, and only five have scored more in history. Cristiano Ronaldo is just behind him with 63.

Fifty of these came whilst playing for Barcelona, but he has been successful everywhere he has been at, also netting for Argentina, PSG and Inter Miami, his current team. Messi’s last international free-kick goal was in a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador last year. He has scored two each for PSG and Inter Miami.

With no Neymar at this summer’s tournament, free-kick duties will likely fall to Barcelona winger Raphinha. The forward scored twice from dead ball situations during his time in England with Leeds. He has endured a drought from free-kicks in recent seasons in Spain with Barcelona but will hope to get some opportunities over the next month.

Brazil have a number of other attackers who would also fancy their chances, such as midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but Raphinha will stand to be the go-to man.

The man who made his name 10 years ago at the 2014 World Cup will be looking to make another big impact at this summer’s Copa America. He is currently playing in Brazil for Sao Paulo, but has experienced stints at a number of big clubs, including Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. For Real, he scored three free-kicks, though was not the primary set-piece taker, with those responsibilities left to Cristiano Ronaldo. He has shown he can take them from any position and score.

His loan to Bayern included one free-kick goal, and his last came in the 21/22 season for Al-Rayyan in Qatar. He has been dangerous from set-pieces since the beginning of his career, with two of his seven career free-kicks coming for Monaco back in 13/14. Liverpool’s Luis Diaz could be another player Colombia turn to in these situations.

At 35-years old, Alexis Sanchez is still the man for Chile, and will hope to showcase his abilities despite being in the latter stages of his career. During his time at Arsenal, he scored five free-kicks in the Premier League. He has not scored a free-kick for his current side Inter Milan, but he did score twice when he was at Marseille.

Sanchez’ best free-kick for Chile came in 2017, when he scored against Venezuela in a 3-1 win, producing a sublime finish in the fifth minute. This goal made him the joint top-scorer in Chile’s history with 37 goals.

Despite the presence of Luis Suarez, midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz will expect to take the majority of free-kicks for Uruguay. The 27-year old has scored five times in 26 caps, including from direct free-kicks. At the 2022 World Cup, he assumed free-kick taking responsibilities alongside Suarez, with this likely to be the case again.

De la Cruz last scored from a free-kick in the first game of the current Brazilian Serie A season for Flamengo, the opening goal in a 2-1 win over Atletico Goianiense. He also scored for Uruguay in September 2022 against Canada.

There are a few players for countries which may not be spoken about and are perhaps overlooked when it comes to free-kicks. Canada’s hopes of going far in Copa America rests on the performances of Alphonso Davies. The 23-year old is the side’s star man and they will go as far as he goes. As a result, he will likely be the player they lean on when it comes to free-kicks. Davies has not had many opportunities in the past to take free-kicks, particularly for his club Bayern Munich, highlighted by the fact that he is yet to score from one in his young career. However, he could potentially score a first this summer.

Another player to look out for is Mexico winger Alexis Vega. With no Hirving Lozano in the squad, Vega should assume set piece responsibilities. Ecuador will be hoping to progress far into the competition, and the man on free-kicks could help them do that. Veteran Angel Mena should be that player. He has been a reliable asset for Ecuador, scoring eight goals in 56 caps.