Crossing may feel like it’s a less important facet of the game in the modern era, but never underestimate the effectiveness of a well-delivered ball into the box.
Successful Open Play Crosses 2025-26: Wingers Who Deliver the Most Precise Balls
These are the Premier League players who have delivered the most successful open play crosses into the box in the Premier League this season.
Successful Open Play Crosses 2025-26: Which teams cross the ball the most?
These are the Premier League players who have delivered the most successful open play crosses into the box in the Premier League this season.
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What is a Successful Open Play Cross?
Opta’s definition of what is defined as a successful Open Play Cross is pretty strict. A “successful open play cross” is logged when:
- The ball is played from a wide area into the opposition box during open play (so not from corners or free-kicks).
- The ball reaches a teammate – meaning the intended recipient controls it, makes an attempt at goal, or otherwise clearly receives possession.
- If a defender cuts it out, if it’s overhit, or if it doesn’t find a teammate, it’s classed as unsuccessful.
So, for example – a winger whipping a ball into the six-yard box and the striker gets a head on it (whether it’s on target or not) equates to one successful cross. If the winger crosses but the defender clears it before it reaches the striker, that is logged as an unsuccessful cross. A ball dinked in from a central position wouldn’t even count as a cross as it hasn’t been delivered from out wide.
What do Successful Open Play Crosses numbers tell us about a player?
In practice, Successful Open Play Crosses can be a useful shorthand for identifying wingers and full-backs who consistently provide dangerous service from wide areas. A high success rate often reflects composure in the final third, technical accuracy, and an ability to read teammates’ movement.
When used in combination with chance creation data, it can highlight not just how often a player hits their target in the box, but how often those passes actually turn into attempts at goal.
The drawbacks come when you lean on the stat in isolation. A “successful” cross doesn’t measure quality of chance: a floated ball to the back post that a striker balloons harmlessly over the bar from an acute angle is worth the same as a whipped delivery onto a teammate’s head five yards out for a near-certain goal. It also ignores tactical context. Some coaches deliberately prioritise volume of crosses regardless of efficiency, while others use them sparingly. Judging a player solely on cross success risks missing their broader contribution to build-up play.
Who are the best crossers in Premier League history?
It may come as a bit of a surprise to our readers that the player with the most successful open play crosses in Premier League history is former Middlesbrough and Liverpool winger Stewart Downing. Downing did play in the Premier League for the majority of his career however as an old-fashioned winger with a deadly delivery on his day. He found his team-mates with no fewer than 357 successful crosses from open play in his career.
Longevity is clearly key here as the other players that have managed to clock up over 300 successful crosses into the box so far are Antonio Valencia, James Milner, Leighton Baines and Ashley Young. All of these were Premier League stalwarts and played at least some portion of their career in an era where crosses were generally much more valued by.
The next highest in the list is Trent Alexander-Arnold, showing how a player without longevity but with sheer top-tier ability can still clock up incredible numbers for a stat like this. The former Liverpool man clocked up 235 successful open play crosses for Liverpool before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2025.