The Euros : Full of Storylines and a shot at Redemption
After a crazy start to the Euros it is important to sit back and talk about why they have provided great entertainment to the masses and a preview to the most exciting game in the last 8.
There is a level of tactical simplicity to international fixtures that cannot be found anywhere else. You can find defined tactical systems to help you win a particular match but those who have had the most success in international football do not tend to be the entertainers anymore.
Think of France getting to the finals in Qatar building on simple ideas and minimizing the chaos by very often picking players not on form or hype but on merit and how they fit the system.
Tactical ideas in Europe are more nuanced bordering on instilling ideas of discipline and structure radically different from the ideas propagated by those in South America. Listen to Fernando Diniz and you’re painted a very different picture something that embraces the chaos.
Now how does this relate to the undeniable joy that the games between Eastern European sides give the masses? Or how only Spain and Germany look comfortable in a tournament where almost all big teams lack conviction.
The Early Kick Off and Punt it to the Big Man
Before I start raving about teams adhering to the philosophy of punt it to the big man I must pay adage to the wonderful early kick offs.
Turkey 3 - 1 Georgia was the scoreline at the Westfalenstadion but it hosted arguably some of the best football I have watched this year. Two ridiculous strikes from outside the box from Muldur and Guler gave Turkey the lead but Georgia pulled one back from Mikautadze. Then the glorious stoppage time when Georgia hit the post from a Kvaratskhelia free kick and subsequently conceded when their keeper went up for a corner. Absolutely bonkers end to end stuff with two teams giving it their absolute best. Far from the snoozefest that Pep and Arteta produced this year.
The story of Georgia and their victory against Portugal will remain in my memory for the foreseeable future. The stars of Portugal had no match for the sheer will power and determination of the Eastern European side. There were some pretty incredible scenes post match as well.
The crazy Balkan nations going head to head giving memorable clashes in Slovenia vs Serbia and Romania vs Ukraine. Long range efforts were in plenty paying tribute to ball striking and moving away from the best created chance(However this does not mean that more shots are being taken and converted outside the box. Sorry to burst your bubble).
Finally before discussing forwards and the big man I must pay tribute to the return of Josip Ilicic to the international stage after a horrific few months. What an individual and what an incredible return. You should definitely check out this article to read more if you are unaware of what happened.
Forwards and “THE BIG MAN”
Can we talk about the recent resurgence of playing it to the big man and letting him get to the end of it? Fullkrug and Weghorst have vitally influenced the game when brought on. Fullkrug with two goals from less than a half of football has shone brightly. Weghorst similar to his performance against the Argentines in the World Cup got a winner against Poland without which the Dutch would have crashed out.
Having a point of reference as Antonio Conte calls it, helps the team so much. It allows the team to use the forward’s physical prowess to keep a hold of the ball and relieve some pressure. Now surround your point of reference with extremely technically gifted individuals and you can control the tight central areas with relative ease.
Which brings me to Germany and Spain
Germany and Spain
Germany
It hasn’t been a great decade for German football. Poor exits from the Euros in France and two shambolic World Cup campaigns have led the once great footballing nation lose some of its magic.
Then Bayern bizarrely decided to fire one of the best coaches in the world in Nagelsmann who promptly took up the job and the responsibility to fire up a sleeping giant.
Nagelsmann has chosen to take brave decisions and has been reaping the rewards. Deciding against taking Mats Hummels who had a wonderful campaign with Dortmund who reached the Champions League finals for Anton and Koch who suit playing a higher line.
Smart decisions In Possession
Germany look to build up in either a situational back 3 with Kroos dropping in the left half space or by creating a box.
The normal situational 3 is created with Kroos dropping into the LCB position to dictate the tempo of the game as Mittelstadt the more adventurous of the full backs chooses to bombard the wings.
This was visible against Scotland who lined up with a 5-1-3-1 OOP. Which was thoroughly exploited by Nagelsmann in the first half by pulling Wirtz and Musiala two extremely technically talented youngsters inside and overloading the centre.
This increased the distances that the Scottish midfield had to cover. They responded by trying to push McGinn or Mctominay towards Kroos to stop him from dictating the play. Gundogan’s smart movement drags the pivot towards him forcing the remaining 5 players to choose between reducing the space between the midfield or staying back to prevent Wirtz or Havertz to run past them.
Defense tries to step up
Gets Shuffled Left to Right to create space and time for Rudiger on the ball.
Who looks up takes a touch and plays a lovely diagonal towards a brilliant off the ball run by Wirtz.
Who is denied by Gunn. This was a common theme for Germany which resulted in the thumping that Scotland received.
Imagine a pipe flooding your garden due to holes which are unpredictable and cause confusion when trying to plug it. The solution to such a problem is closing the source which was the same chain of thought used by Murat Yakin(who deserves praise and recognition separately) and Switzerland.
They aimed to stop the supply by pressing Kroos intensely and it worked for a while as Denmark pressed their situational 3-1 buildup with Hojlund, Eriksen and Skov Olsen. Skov Olsen was tasked with keeping an eye on Kroos throughout the game.
Behind the front 3 that pressed the makeshift German trio, were Hojbjerg and Delaney who were ready to jump on Andrich if he received the ball.
An extremely aggressive move to press 4 players with your front 5 as it leaves a 6 versus 5 behind Delaney and Hojbjerg. However the Danes were smart with how they rotated dropping one of the two holding midfielders to track the intelligent moves of the narrow 4 of Gundogan Sane Havertz and Musiala. This snuffed out the initial German dominance and help create chances for them.
Nagelsmann solved this problem similar to how he opened up the Scottish defense with a well crafted move by utilizing Havertz a brilliant off the ball runner and by creating space and time for Rudiger to play the passes into the channels.
Andersen steps up and Delaney drops to offer support. Ball is shifted and played to Rudiger.
Who sees Havertz making a run into the channel
And picks him out
These small tweaks allowed his team to turn the tide in their favour.
Such smart solutions and proper utilization of world class players in Sane, Wirtz and Musiala while having Plan Bs waiting in the exciting Fuhrich or a target man in Fulkrug show exactly what the Germans are capable of.
It feels like a cheat code to have a top footballing brain like Nagelsmann work in International football.
Now on to their exciting opponents in the last 8.
La Roja
Spain
The first thing that comes to your mind when talking about the Spanish national team is keeping the ball through intricate passing and great technical ability. A far cry from a team formerly referred to as the La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) known for their volatility.
Spain of the last two World Cups have been passive and have never really emulated the brilliance assosciated to their wonderful campaigns in the 2008 and 2012 Euros and the triumphant 2010 World Cup. From there on it has been a slow and steady decline with teams happy to sit low and allow Spain to pass the ball.
This was reflective in their World Cup dumping at the hands of Morocco. A total of 1 shot on target mustered in 120 minutes was beyond poor. Morocco were happy to sit back and concede territory while defending the box well. They were severely restricted by the lack of individuals offering width as both their wide players preferred to cut inside.
Think of the great Spanish team that won the world cup. They featured exceptionally technical players like Iniesta and David Silva. Iniesta a master of space manipulation and an overall genius on the football field was instrumental in their campaign. However, as international systems adapted to the ever changing game teams evolved their structure out of possession allowing them to concede space out wide and congest the centre. Making it tough for incredibly nifty technicians to operate.
Exciting Wingers Crosses and Third Man Runs
To sort out this mess on came Luis De La Fuente.
He looked at the emergence of fast direct wingers in Yamal and the Williams brothers and decided to change the way that Spain approached the game. They still focused on a possession based game however there was a greater emphasis on using crosses which subsequently saw an increase in their direct attacks pre Euros.
“The idea was to play with the depth we had, with wingers, crosses, look for shots, chances to break into space. That is what we had been working on during the week and I am sure this is the path and we will polish these details and perform better.” said De La Fuente after their 2-0 victory over Scotland last October.
His words came true as they have refined their balls into the box and have improved their combinations down the wings. This was in full display with their second goal against Georgia.
Pedri picks up the ball in central areas
The Spanish players start to move into the box overwhelming the box defenders.
The Georgia players aren’t able to close him down in time and he unleashes a beautiful cross into the backpost which is promptly headed in by Ruiz
This is smart usage of extremely smart technically gifted individuals in the wider regions in Yamal and Williams complemented by the third man runs by Pedri and Fabian Ruiz.
Brilliant third man runs have been a constant in Spain’s recent games and was thoroughly in display against the Azzuri who were lucky to get away with a 1-0 defeat.
Pedri beats his marker with smart movement to get to the end of the cross by Williams
And is denied an early goal by a brilliant stop by Donnarumma
Another instance in the second half this time a smart overlap by Cucurella as Italy were absolutely terrified whenever Willams had the ball they tried to double up on him.
A massive gap opens up as Barella falls asleep on his marker
And Pedri agonizingly misses from close range.
They were rewarded for their smart play and box enteries through an own goal by Calafiori.
Three individuals making smart runs bamboozled the defense leading to an unforced error. Morata to the near post Pedri in the cutback zone and Yamal holding the back post.
Morata gets a slight flick on from the near post creating more chaos
Which forces Calafiori to put it into his own net as he’s not able to react in time to sort out his feet.
Which begs the question of who will win tonight? This is an unusual matchup with the two most impressive teams going head to head earlier than what would be expected. It is not even certain that the victor of this matchup will go on to win the competition with France or Portugal standing in their way.
Whatever this game may hold one thing is certain.
It isn’t going to disappoint.