FIFA World Cup 2018: Quarterfinals Day Two

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Quarter-finals Day Two

Sweden 0-2 England

The Three Lions looked to push very high with a fluid and wide 3-1-4-2 attacking formation, hoping to keep the Swedes on their heels with Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard making attacking runs through the middle, Kieren Trippier and Ashley Young driving forward on the flanks, cultured striker Harry Kane hoping to tuck in in the box without having to come back to get the ball, and Raheem Sterling using his speed to bring the ball into the box and draw defenders away from Kane, Alli and Lingard.

Sweden has lost only once in fifteen competitive international fixtures against England, so they come into this one with a confident yet cautious 4-4-2, looking to close down the middle with Albin Ekdal protecting the back four. Their attack is centered around talisman Emil Forsberg coming in from the left, but they can bring the attack forward with Viktor Claesson tucking in underneath on the right. Ola Toivonen is the reliable scorer up top so far, because his strike partner Marcus Berg has been erratic.

Sweden chose not to press early, instead sitting back and waiting for England to bring the game to them. Sweden looked to play off their front men, bringing in Forsberg and Toivonen once the ball was in the box. England wanted to probe the center of the pitch with Alli, Lingard and Sterling, but that was right at Sweden’s defensive strength. Sweden prides itself on defending set pieces, but they got outplayed on a corner in the 30th minute when Forsberg was mismatched defending Harry Maguire, who put it in the back of the net. Sweden were 6’s and 7’s at the back when Sterling made his solo runs into the box.

In the second half, England were going to close down the middle and keep using their speed advantage with Sterling through the middle, keeping Sweden confused in the back. Sweden was at their best when they got their outside attacking midfielders inside. England’s possession kept Sweden pinned in their own third, and England’s patient buildup finally paid off with a 58th minute header by Alli. Knowing that Sweden like to intercept the ball in the middle of the field and quickly counter, England spread the field and moved the ball around. English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was massive in this game, picking off a few surefire Swedish attempts. This was a clinical dismantling by England, who totally handcuffed the Swedes at every turn, picking them off in the midfield, and shutting down the Swedish attack before it had any chance to build up.

Russia 2-2 Croatia (3-4 pen)

The Russians went with a standard and compact 4-2-3-1 that played like a 5-3-2 when they dropped defensive midfielder Roman Zobnin back in defense and is hard to break down, with Denis Cheryshev running in from the left flank expected to quickly find Artem Dzyuba up top so Aleksandr Samedov from the right and attacking midfielder Aleksandr Golovin would trail in and help in the box.

The best midfield in the tournament belonged to Croatia, also using standard 4-2-3-1 formation that was a little more fluid than Russia’s. The key to the Croatian attack was Luka Modric, spreading the field, sitting deep, hitting long balls, finding pockets of space, coordinating the attack with Ivan Perisic coming from the left and Ante Rebic coming in from the right, both frequently switching sides; Mario Mandzukic is the lone player up top holding up play waiting for Modric, Rebic and box-to-box midfielder Ivan Rakitic to trail in.

A tight game early, both teams looking to find their rhythm and tempo. A lot of movement both on and off the ball by Croatia, but Russia stayed disciplined and compact. The game took a predictable route: Croatia possessed looking for spaces and angles, Russia intercepted the ball down low, then went route one over-the-top to Dzyuba. Croatia got way too comfortable in the back and played way too high a line; they feared nothing coming from Russia offensively. Fatal error: Cheryshev with a long range shot as the ball fell to his feet in the 32nd minute.

Finally a good attacking buildup from Croatia going through the center as Andrej Kramaric made a late run into the box and got on the end of a Mandzukic pass for a header in the 39th minute, just like they drew it up. Croatia’s midfield got more active and involved in attack in the second half, chasing down balls and finding space in the middle third. Croatian possession kept Russia pinned in their own end. Even when Russia got the ball and sent a long diagonal ball over the top into the attacking end, there were Croatian defenders surrounding Dzyuba to take it away.

Obviously not unlike with Spain, Russia’s game plan was to survive the onslaught. The longer this game went on the deeper and deeper Russia dropped back. But unlike the Spanish, Croatia was eventually able to use all that possession in extra time to find space in front for a redirect from center back Domagoj Vida in the 100th minute. I found it funny that after going down, Russia finally found its possession gene. Russia clearly are not that good of a futbol team, but they just won’t go away; a set piece header by winger Mario Fernandez in the 115th minute ties things up. It should have never gotten to penalties, but I’m glad the team that should have won did.

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FIFA World Cup 2018: Quarterfinals Day One

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Quarter-finals Day One

Uruguay 0-2 France

This was not going to be as potent a squad in attack for Uruguay without Edinson Cavani partnering up front with Luis Suarez in the box due to injury, so less reliable Christian Stuani came in to play just behind Suarez in a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond formation that played like a 4-4-2. But they did still have the best defense in the tournament with Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez at the heart of the four-man backline, Lucas Torreira providing them cover, and the thrust of their attack is to get the ball to Suarez as quickly as they can, getting help from flankers Matías Vecino and Nahitan Nández and trailing help from attacking midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur up the middle. France started out with a standard 4-2-3-1 formation that could morph into a 4-5-1, N’Golo Kanté the hard man in front of the four-man backline, with box-to-box center midfielder Paul Pogba winning the ball and introducing the attack, center midfielder Antoine Griezmann making attacking runs through the center, Olivier Girould the target man up top and speedy scorer Kilian Mbappé coming in from the right.

The key match-up was how Uruguayan left back Diego Laxalt handled Kilian Mbappé, and if Laxalt was going to make overlapping runs given the responsibilities he had in the back. Uruguay were going to challenge France high, not giving them a chance to build up that quick transition attack; they surrounded Pogba and made him work for every possession. Pressure from both sides defensively but choppy going forward; neither side was going to allow the other to build up a head of steam in attack, breaking up each other’s offensive rhythm and tempo. Godin is a dying breed, an old-fashioned defender, thinks nothing but defense, always organizing the backline, never comes up to attack.

The pace of the game favored Uruguay; France just couldn’t get into their fast buildup. Even when the ball made it into the box for France, there just wasn’t any panic in Uruguay’s game. On a 40th minute set piece, Griezmann stutter-stepped a free kick, freezing Uruguay and opening up Raphaël Varane to head one in, the only time Uruguay were 6’s and 7’s at any time in this tournament. Then Griezmann with a shot with some cheese on it that goalkeeper Fernando Muslera can’t handle and puts in his own goal in the 61st minute.

It changed everything for Uruguay, who up until then had controlled pace and tempo, but now they had to chase the game and put numbers forward, opening up all kinds of lanes for France to pass and run into in counter. But France started dropping players back into their own end in defense and maintain possession. Good effort by Uruguay, but they didn’t looked even close to getting on the scoreboard. I thought the best organized team in this tournament was Uruguay, but two fatal errors in the back did them in, plus without Cavani they weren’t able to play the way they wanted to play. Not the best from France, but they did enough to get through.

Brazil 1-2 Belgium

Quite a few changes for the Selacao in this one, going with a spread 3-4-3 formation, Marcelo on the left wing assisting talisman flanker Neymar, with Willian flanking in the box on the right. Cultured striker Gabriel Jesus in the box, but the important player trailing in through the center is Philippe Coutinho. A number of significant changes for the Belgians as well in a risky yet attacking 4-3-3 formation. Box-to-box midfielder Marouane Fallaini comes in to introduce the attack from the center as well as provide cover when Axel Witsel abandons the center. Talisman Eden Hazard providing service into the box, Kevin De Bruyne providing crosses from the right with Romelu Lukaku the sole target man up front looking to get on the end of service to either score or bring in trailing help.

A three-man backline and emphasis on service through the center meant that Nacer Chadli and Thomas Meunier had a lot of responsibilities on the sides. Belgium was most likely to sit back and counter, hoping that Lukaku would occupy center backs Mirando and Thiago Silva enough to bring in De Bruyne and Hazard. Both teams pressed high from the outset, looking to build from the back, although Belgium would have loved to have turned it into a track meet. Whether through a patient buildup or a quick strike, not much of this game was spent in the middle third.

Belgium looked to use their size advantage, and it paid off in the 13th minute on a set piece corner from Chadli to Vincent Kompany. A track meet is what Belgium were able to turn this into; a clinical attack by Lukaku through the middle brings in De Bruyne to hit a laser to the back post in the 31st minute. Same attack for Belgium coming out of halftime; interception by their defense deep, getting the ball to De Bruyne to find Lukaku cutting on the inside with an outlet pass on the break. Surprisingly Belgium did all of this without much help from Hazard.

Good combination play from Brazil the last 45 minutes, but they were getting interrupted in the final third and having to transition back quickly to thwart the Belgium counterattack. Roberto Firmino came in after the half and provided much better attacking on the right side, as well as switching play much more effectively. Renato Augusto was subbed into the game to make deep runs through the center of the defense into the box and get on the end of crosses; that’s exactly what happened in his goal in the 76th minute on an assist by Coutinho.

Long switches by Brazil from side to side were causing all kinds of problems for Belgium. In an attempt to hold on, Belgium brought on Youri Tielemans to clog up the middle and interrupt the Selacao attack. Belgiun head coach Roberto Martinez got his tactics right on the day, his big time players showed up big time and got it done.

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FIFA World Cup 2018: Quarterfinals Preview

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World Cup Trophy

The Quarterfinals

The Round of 16 found 6 group winners moving forward.  The two second-place finishers that won, Russia and England, did not look particularly impressive in doing so, each squeaking through on penalty kicks.  The two sides of the quarterfinals bracket have some slight differences in the quality of the competition.  One side of the bracket has no team ranked lower than 14th in the world rankings.  The highest ranked team on the other side of the bracket is 12th ranked England and all the other teams in that bracket are ranked 20th or lower, in one case, much lower.  So what do we have to look forward to in the quarterfinals?

Uruguay vs. France

Uruguay got past Portugal in the round of 16 despite the Portuguese dominating possession and shots because they played a deep and disciplined backline and bet on their attackers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani to get the job done up front, which they did.  France has a new star in the making, Kylian Mbappe, and topped Argentina in the round of 16 by making good use of his explosiveness.  However, the French gave up more goals to Argentina than they did in three group games because Messi and the Argentines were the first offensively proficient team they faced.

Unlike Portugal who had difficulty breaking through Uruguay’s defense, France has the speed and one-on-one ability in Mbappe up front and Paul Pogba in the midfield to find the seams even though Uruguay does not concede many shots.  Unlike most players, Mbappe can make his runs to either side of the field, so Uruguay can’t overplay him to one side or the other.  On the other end, Suarez and Cavani have the ability and experience to give the French backline a rough time.  However, Cavani’s left calf is ailing, which could put them at a disadvantage.  France has the more complete squad and should prevail anyway, but if Cavani doesn’t play or is playing hurt, it will be that much easier for France.

Brazil vs. Belgium

Brazil topped Mexico 2-0 in the round of 16 by sending waves of attackers and trusting their defense.  Brazil has some of the best one-on-one players in the world and are patient on the attack till the find the cracks to exploit.  Belgium was expected to run Japan off the field in their game, but the Japanese played them evenly through the first half and when Belgium pressed the attack in the second half, Japan used their quickness, particularly on the wings to run up two quick goals.  Belgium kept up their attack though and quickly got the two goals back.  Both teams attacked back and forth looking for the winning goal.  Belgium prevailed on a quick counterattack late in extra time.

Brazil and Belgium are the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the world, respectively.  However, Belgium’s defense has shown cracks against teams with creative offenses and Brazil will be the most creative offense they have faced yet.  Brazil has been getting better each game in this Cup and their veteran defense has given up only one goal so far.  Brazil ends Belgium’s World Cup run here.

Sweden vs. England

Sweden managed to get by Switzerland last round by playing stout defense and patiently waiting for Emil Forsberg to make some magic on the offensive end.  The Swiss also looked to defend heavily and find their spots on offense.  It made for a boring game.  Despite the Swiss controlling the ball more of the game, Forsberg made the difference late.  England survived its bout with Colombia on penalty kicks.  Colombia played without their star James Rodriguez, but still played England tough.  England has not shown much creativity in their offense in this tournament, but has done well on penalty and free kicks.

Sweden and England figures to be a boring game with little scoring.  Neither team creates well enough against stiff defenses.  Sweden will have to watch its fouls in the defensive third lest they give the English the edge they need with a set piece.  The English defense will have to keep a close eye on Forsberg.  This game could go either way and figures to be won by the team that makes the least mistakes.  I give England the slight edge to be that team.

Russia vs. Croatia

Russia managed to get by Spain in the round of 16 by way of Spain’s inability to create in the offensive third and some questionable referee calls and non-calls.  The Russians spent the entire second half and the extra periods surviving by pulling everyone back on defense.  Their goalie then bailed them out in the penalty kicks phase.  Croatia also got to the quarterfinals via penalty kicks against Denmark.  Croatia gave up a first minute goal to Denmark, but struck back minutes later and then settled down on both ends of the field.  They created a number of scoring opportunities, but couldn’t finish.  They showed some backbone though winning the shootout after star Luka Modric couldn’t convert a penalty kick late in the game.

Croatia and Russia appears to be a mismatch in the Croats favor, but then, so did Spain and Russia.  As with every other game against superior teams, Russia will play a patient defense-heavy game and hope for a breakdown by Croatia or penalty kicks.  Croatia will control the midfield and count on the attacking front of Mandzukic, Pericic, Rebic, and Modric to do a better job of creating opportunities than Spain did.  Modric creates a lot of scoring opportunities and he will need to ramp it up a notch against Russia’s 11-man defense.  Croatia should end Russia’s surprising World Cup run barring another run of fortunate refereeing.

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