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World Cup 2018: Group A First Matches

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The 2018 World Cup kicked off in Russia with the host country facing Saudi Arabia.  It should first be noted that Group A is one of, if not the not weakest group of all time at the World Cup.  That’s not just my opinion.  It is what a detailed analysis by fivethirtyeight.com determined.  Did Russian money deliver an easy group for the host country to give them a chance at making it out of the group stage?  We may never know, but FIFA has been rife with bribery allegations and scandals for years.  It is widely believed that both this year’s Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup were bought with bribes.

As for the opening match, it was a battle on the wings.  Both teams were unable to control the middle of the field and pushed the ball down the wings for crosses into the box.    This resulted in an early Russian goal on a cross and header in the box by Yury Gazinsky.  The Saudi defense did a very poor job clearing the ball and some poor defense and spacing led to a second goal by Denis Cheryshev for the Russians late in the first half.  The Saudis put very little pressure on the Russian goalie in the first half, but created a couple of opportunities with some wing runs.  The Saudis actually controlled possession quite a bit, but continually turned the ball over, leading to quick Russian counterattacks.  Midway through the second half, the Russians scored yet again on another good header from a cross, this time by Artem Dzyuba.  The Saudis appeared to give up at this point and the Russians added two more goals in extra time due to poor efforts by the Saudi defense and goalie.  The 5-0 win for the Russians gives them a great goal differential that will help them get to the 2nd round in case of a tie.

In the other Group A first round match, group favorite Uruguay faced off against Egypt.  The Egyptians were playing without their great star, Mo Salah, who is still recovering from an injury but is expected to play in the group stage.  This game was marked by many missed opportunities by heavily favored Uruguay.  The Egyptians managed to play Uruguay fairly evenly early on, but as the match advanced, Uruguay began to dominate possession.  Uruguayan star Luis Suarez blew an excellent opportunity midway in the first half, failing to cleanly hit a low volley from point blank range.  Suarez would miss several more good opportunities in the second half.  Just as the Egyptians began to believe that they would manage a draw, Jose Gimenez delivered the match winner on a header off a free kick in the 89th minute.  While Uruguay won the match as expected, the numerous missed opportunities makes one wonder if they can handle the big stage.  Suarez in particular is known for melting down when things don’t go his way.  Uruguay should still advance out of this easy group, but they may have problems in the knockout round where they are likely to first face Spain or Portugal.

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Fourth Place: Uruguay

Psrhea, Sports,

What Went Right?  A very rigidly and tactically disciplined team. This was one team nobody was going to take out of their game. Two things carried them to the top four: (1) an almost total reliance on opposition mistakes in the attacking end both mental and physical to take advantage of offensively, and (2) an almost total reliance on one star player to carry them. Long stretches of tactical tedium were rewarded with quick strikes resulting in exciting scores, so they were actually kind of fun to watch. Didn’t attack in numbers but the players they did send forward on the counter got into the attacking end very well. Did a pretty good job of holding up the ball on the attacking end even though they didn’t have numbers forward. Stayed compact in the back and in midfield, and didn’t let even the best sides stretch them. Through the group phase were one of the two or three best defenses in the tournament; they never lost their defensive shape, read the game well, interrupted a lot of attacking thrusts before they got into their penalty area, stayed in front of the ball, could be physical when they needed to, and most importantly intercepted a lot of opposition passes in midfield (which led to many quick and effective counterattacks). One of the better teams at set pieces and arguably the best at free kicks and long-range shots on goal. From a viewing standpoint, they played by far the most exciting game in the tournament in the quarterfinals. Not to cast aspersions on their performance and finish, but they took advantage of a weak group draw and surprisingly weak end of their knockout round bracket. No matter how weak their draw was Uruguay still had to perform — and did. I’m just saying…

What Went Wrong?  Two things did them in once they got to the semifinals: (1) an almost total reliance on opposition mistakes in the attacking end both mental and physical to take advantage of offensively, and (2) an almost total reliance on one star player to carry them. As long as they were playing the likes of South Africa, Mexico, a French side that was imploding before our very eyes, South Korea, and Ghana, this worked. Against top-tier championship-quality teams like the Netherlands and Germany, however, it wasn’t nearly enough. Against those two world football powers — with their intricate and otherworldly direct attacking and finishing abilities, sustained passing and ball possession, and competent defenders who could take players on one-on-one without having to pack the back – Uruguay’s reliance on mistakes and counterattacks was only going to work up to a point. Uruguay needed a much more concerted, orchestrated and sustained offensive approach other than their one-dimensional, solely east-west counterattack – and they didn’t have it. And worst of all, the Netherlands’ and Germany’s attacks left Uruguay pinned in their own end and under siege. All of a sudden, that disciplined defense that gave up no goals in group play and only two goals through the quarterfinals came unglued under the incessant onslaught and gave up six goals in their last two games. It wouldn’t have mattered if the one player they were relying on the carry them was Pele’, much less Diego Forlan; they weren’t going to win a world championship under those conditions.

Who Stepped Up To The Plate?  Who else? Diego Forlan. In a World Cup loaded with superstars who didn’t show up, Forlan was the surprise Golden Ball winner and best single player in the tournament. Going into the World Cup Forlan was going to be relied upon to be the focal point of their offensive approach (such as it was) and primary finisher. He was that and more. Playing in back and to the right of the target man and with the freedom to roam, Forlan was everywhere and did everything from dropping back in defense, getting the ball behind the half-touch line and bringing it forward (even on the flank), creating chances, servicing the target man, and even taking all the free kicks (which just gave away one of Uruguay’s primary weaknesses; Forlan is the kind of world-class finisher you usually want on the end of those free kicks, not the guy you want taking them). Without Forlan, target man Luis Suarez doesn’t get the service to score three crucial goals. Fernando Muslera was stellar in goal (interesting how it is the four goalkeeper that performed the best in this tournament all made it to the semifinals). Diego Lugano and Martin Caceres weren’t the biggest central defenders but they played big in front of goal, and Uruguay couldn’t have gotten to the semis without them. Decent defending on the rear flanks for Diego Godin and Jorge Fucile. Martin Periera and Diego Perez kept the defensive discipline intact just in front of the backline. Edinson Cavani was decent getting forward and making a good counterattacking triumvirate with Suarez and Forlan. Uruguay got some much-needed bench help from Sebastien Abreu, Alvaro Pereira, Walter Gargano, Alvaro Fernandez, and Nicolas Lodiero.

Who Didn’t Show Up?  Can’t really say anybody didn’t do what they were expected to do. Uruguay got a total team effort from everyone they put on the pitch. That they didn’t have the wherewithal to do better was a function of tactics, system and approach, not individual performances.

How Was The Coaching?  Pretty damn steady. Not unlike Vicente del Bosque with Spain, Oscar Tabarez went with a system he thought would get them through the grind of the long South American World Cup qualification campaign as well as the four-week tournament itself, got the players he needed to buy in and execute it, and stuck with it through thick and thin. As long as the players maintained his tactical rigidity he was convinced it would work. And it pretty much did until they ran into a teams with championship pedigrees. It got Uruguay their best finish since 1970, so I guess he did a pretty good job and there really isn’t much to complain about.

Did They Finish Where They Were Expected?  Clearly not. The surprise team in the tournament with the easy knockout round draw, Uruguay finished in fourth place. Nobody saw that coming. Ya gotta tip your hat off to these guys. Well done!

What Now?  As pleased as the team and country should be about their finish – and they really should celebrate it – there really isn’t a lot to get excited about the two-time winners of the World Cup going forward. Forlan is 31 so this is probably his last World Cup. Outside of Suarez there really isn’t a whole lot of star-quality talent on the ground in Uruguay, and a lot of their current players will be past their prime to be of any use in four years. They really shouldn’t kid themselves: With the teams they got to face before the semis they caught lightning in a bottle. Uruguay has relied on a tactically stifling defense and not much else for more than 12 years now and just happened to get lucky this time out. I just hope that they don’t confuse what happened in South Africa with progress and continue to maintain their tactical and technical system beyond this World Cup under the mistaken belief that with it they will now become international contenders, but given their recent history I suspect that is exactly what they’ll do.

2010 FIFA World Cup: Semifinals Observations, Part I

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Some random observations after the Semifinals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup:

Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands: The best defense in the tournament so far in Uruguay were not sending numbers forward early on, trying to keep tactical discipline, especially in the back, practically leaving Diego Forlan and Cavani up front by themselves. The Dutch let it be known that they were mentally and physically tough. Lots of possession on the flanks from both sides. Holland were more likely to put offensive pressure on the final third, doing a much better job of opening up space with their play on the flanks, thereby getting the ball into the Uruguayan penalty area. Sustained possession (by almost 2-1 in the first 25 minutes), switching play and patient ball movement left Uruguay asleep in the 18th minute as a long strike from 35 yards out on the left by fullback Giovanni van Bronckhorst surprised Uruguayan keeper Muslera and found the extreme upper right corner of the net to give the Dutch an early lead (when you give up that much possession bad things usually happen). Surprisingly physical game (kicking a player in the face, elbowing a player in the box) from both sides. The Netherlands is a surprisingly fast team, so the slow Uruguayan attacking buildup was not going to surprise the Dutch. Great individual ball skills from Forlan opened up space in the center in the final third for him to take a 25 yard shot that keeper Martin Stekelenburg got his hand onto but couldn’t deflect enough to prevent the ball from finding the back of the net. A little more offensive creativity by the Netherlands in the second half when Rafael van der Vaart came on. In the second half, even though Uruguay was playing with a little more confidence with a few well-timed counterattacks, Holland on several occasions had them pinned down in their own half because Uruguay was again conceding much of the possession. On the few occasions the Dutch broke down the Uruguayan backline they just simply missed massive scoring opportunities. In the 70th minute, however, Wesley Sneijder made a quality shot that ricocheted off of two Uruguayan defenders and made it just past both teammate Robin van Persie (who did not touch the ball in an offside position) and Muslera for a Dutch lead. Three minutes later the Dutch iced the game when, in a desperate attempt to get a goal back, Uruguay pushed forward, opening up space in the back for Dirk Kuyt to find Arjen Robben in the center of the penalty area for a scoring header (I have to say here that van Bronckhorst and Kuyt played a brilliant linkup game on the left flank all tournament long; today was no different). Maxi Pereira made it temporarily interesting in extra time with an indirect free kick strike that found the Dutch asleep, but in the end Uruguay simply ran out of time. MADD PROPS to Uruguay for finding a world-class form they hadn’t had in 60 years and playing a wonderful tournament. In an era when the Oranje don’t have the quality of legends like Kruyf, Neeskens, Rykaard, Gullit, van Basten, Bergkamp or van der Saar, the Netherlands will be playing in their first World Cup final in 32 years, with the chance to accomplish what none of those legends ever could.

–daveydoug