Brazil had effectively tiptoed through the Group Stages, but it wasn’t without tactical tinkering from Tite to get them through, in the second half of their matches. We were yet to see the Samba at full throttle. But that was about to change. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. When Brazil travelled to Asia […]
England struggled against the midfield pressing of Senegal for the first thirty minutes of this match. Once they found their way into the lead though, momentum swung their way and they began to play more direct to beat the Senegal press. In the second half, things were relatively comfortable for Gareth Southgate’s men as they […]
France became the first Men’s World Cup defending champions in sixteen years to appear in the knockouts as they took on Poland in the Round of Sixteen. They were the clear favorites for this match, and although they took a while to get going, they brushed their opponents aside once they did. Tactical analysis and […]
This was not just a football match, this was Louis van Gaal’s coaching team going in strongly against a nation’s football heritage, doing everything to maximize the chances of winning. The Dutch put full focus in their off-the-ball play, but ironically had to survive multiple close scares to pull off an ultimately quite convincing result […]
Australia showed plenty of character in this game as Argentina struggled to break them down defensively. However, Argentina were ruthless when it mattered as Lionel Messi put them ahead, before Julián Álvarez pounced on Mathew Ryan’s mistake to extend the lead. This was enough of a cushion for Argentina to see the game out despite […]
Though had little direct impact on the match for the first ninety minutes, Son Heung-min was the savior for South Korea as his incredible run led to the assist (and goal) that secured South Korea’s advancement to the knockout stage of the World Cup. It was a largely passive performance from Portugal, as they had […]
The tables would turn against the villain of the 2010 World Cup if not for a minor miracle. Luis Suárez duly stole the show, downing the Ghanaians in an inspired collective performance. But fate would dole out an even more painful punishment by the final whistle to oust both nations. Tactical analysis and match […]
Belgium’s struggles continued, and although they showed improvement from their last two games, Roberto Martínez’s side are knocked out from the group stages for the first time since 1998. Croatia took a cautious approach, but it paid dividends as they progressed to the round of sixteen at the expense of a devastated Belgian side. Tactical […]
High in stakes. High in emotion. It can lead to wild rides and in a week of incredible drama, Serbia and Switzerland also delivered. Serbia brought firepower, but Switzerland brutalized a poor defensive set-up to dump them out of the World Cup once again. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. Though it was […]
On the back foot, a goal behind, and suffering in a low block, Japan had given up their spot in the knockout stages. But their manager’s masterful, befitting the tradition of his nation, pulled through in the second half to produce one of the most dramatic nights to grace the World Cup. Tactical analysis and […]