Gareth Southgate once again tried to manage risk with a back three focused on stability. However, a lack of solutions when it came to ball progression meant that England struggled to threaten the Italian defense as the home side ran out 1-0 winners in a cagey affair. Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley. England […]
Hungary have developed a habit of thwarting the European elite in the last twelve months, but few would have foreseen the outcome of this clash. A brilliant bulwark and an almighty collapse at the end of the contest gave way to a result rendering the favorites subject to scrutiny. Tactical analysis and match report by […]
Coming into this game as underdogs, Poland hoped to be a stubborn outfit for their guests to crack once more. But even they ended up getting more out of this duel than they had bargained for. Organizing themselves in a familiar 5-3-2 defensive shape, they secured a result that could make all the difference on […]
Wembley Way, a fanatic home crowd, and an early goal seemed to put England on their way to banish the demons of the past. Alas, winning a game of football means being in the fight for the long haul, and the Italians pulled through to deal their opponents the cruelest of blows. Tactical analysis and […]
Staging the FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium has given many an immortal status in the game. Roberto Mancini knows this only too well: etching his name into the history books in 2011 with Manchester City, his success was the first of many to follow. What can England do to prevent another trophy for Mancini in […]
England started the game with purpose, but went behind to Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick as Denmark grew slowly into the game. England soon equalized though, and as the game went on they reclaimed dominance as Denmark faded into a more passive stance. England eventually claimed a deserved win, albeit with a slightly fortunate penalty. Tactical analysis […]
Northern Europe always spoke a similar football language. 4-4-2’s, higher pressing with incredible directness. Come the semi-finals of EURO 2020, the tactical frameworks of England and Denmark are a lot more modern than one would expect. Match preview by Joel Parker. The tactical conundrums that had loomed over the England setup before EURO 2020 had […]
Three games left and we will know the winner of EURO 2020. In this article we zoom in on the offensive patterns and habits of the four semi-finalists, who have all demonstrated they have mastered more than one way to create chances. Written by Ahmed Walid. During the group stages, doubts were raised about three […]
Raheem Sterling set up Harry Kane to earn England an early goal, which allowed England to play a cautious possession game against a passive Ukraine side. A system change from the opponents threatened later in the first half, but England’s goals early in the second half saw them advance with relative ease. Tactical analysis and […]
Germany had some good moments to start off with, but eventually England’s man-oriented pressing and stability in possession brought them game control, especially with Germany falling into quite a passive defensive stance. The game drifted somewhat for long periods due to the stability focus of both teams, but England eventually broke through in the second […]