MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN FRANCE VS BELGIUM

belgium played france in the first world cup semi's . although both had reached this stage but both coaches had been criticized for their lack of tactical innovation . both sides had dearth of talents but none had been able to put together a team which can dominate opponents and play some good football . the football in this tournament had been not upto the standard with none of the coaches standing out who looks to have played very good football . france and belgium both started the game with 4-3-3 formation . the game was of two halves and there is nothing such great tactical to talk about this game but still there some thing that i noticed which i want to write . there is nothing great about the tactical side its was a boring game . the game was of two halves with belgium being pressed to do something in the second half because france had taken the lead in the first half .
belgium started the game with dembele in the side drafted in the midfield alongside fellaini and witsel . while matuidi came in place of tolliso . the game started with france sitting back and belgium dominating the ball . there wasnt much in the first half with both the teams sitting back and allowing the centrebacks time and space on the ball and trying to have as many players behind the ball as they can . the centre forwards too from the both sides were trying to press the midfielders instead of trying to press the forwards. the fullbacks were tucked alongside the centrebacks making it a very compact unit . in the first half belgian had a very interesting shape .  belgium didnt had a recognised left back and vertroghen was doubling as a centre back as well as a fullback . they had hazaed on that side and fellaini was given the lisence to venture forward of the three midfielders . the intresting fact that the fullbacks didnt had a direct number against them . this fact was not noticed by either of the coaches and neither of the wide players were trying to track run from the fullbacks . neither of the coaches tried to overload the flanks and try to work the ball . there were one good chances from the either sides and it was because for belgian fellaini dropped in to the zone and they could work the ball to hazard and he had a good shot . france created the other chance when mbappe and pavard combined well on the right side to create a chance for pavard who's shot was saved by courtouis . the half ended goalless and neither of the coaches showed any great ingenuity in their tactical approach . belgian just couldnt bring lukaku in the game and they failed to build the offense around him . there were some mistkaes which i will talk later. 
in the second half france took the lead early through umtiti and since the current offense was not working for belgium they had to make the change . dembele was replaced by mertens who drafted wide . the shape change bought de bruyne in the centre of the attack while hazard too who was playing from the wide left seems to have come alongside de bruyne . fellaini continued to be operating from the wide left coming inside when the ball is on the rightside . his aerial powress created a chance for belgium . here is where i think that the belgium coach was wrong first off he was allowing hazard to come very deep . now you dont your best players too much deep as it takes that much effort to get near the goal and that many players to beat . hazard should had  been told to remain upfield and the ball worked to him . secondly i dont know as to why fellaini was replaced and his physical presence  had earlier created a  chance for belgium and had he been on the field then his aerial powress would had made some difference . most importantly martinez failed to realised that without a proper left fullback belgiums offense was not able to stetch the french defense on the left side because once fellaini and hazard come inside there was nobody who would be there who would make deeper runs or cross from wider positions . martinez should had addressed these problems earlier and should had make the necessary substitutions earlier . most importantly  belgium just didnt showed that much of a heart to equalize and at times when there was necessity of calm they seem to hurrying things . balls were crossed without having a proper target in mind . hazard made the things about himself and martinez should had asked him to get others more on the ball . there were some mistakes which could had changed the game . one of them is when de bruyne had worked the ball in the box and he had lukaku on the six yard line he made a low cross while he should had made the aerial cross he crossed low and the ball just couldnt reach lukaku . this are several small things that belgiums missed into the game and they missed the final . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME VS CROATIA VS ENGLAND .

england played crotia in the world cup semi final's . before there were two different views about two coaches . first up england as to how gareth southgate has gathered england and united them . compared to crotia who had face some very good teams england's path to the semi's had been easy . now crotia started the game with their favoured 4-3-3 formation while england started the game with 3-5-2 formation .  out of the two coaches southgate was out of his depth in terms of the tactical innovation and nothing great to offer as how he can surprise the other team . england had started with the same formation for all of the game . i think he favoured this formation for the fact that these were the best 11 that he had and just wanted to be put together on the pitch there was no nothing new that he tried to do . but then he did acheive which few england managers failed to acheive .
the game started with familiar pattern of england sitting back while crotia dominated the possession . england went ahead inside 10 min because alli impeded by modric and tippier scored from the spot . now the onus fell on crotia as to how they are going to equalize . croatian coach had talked about how his side on offense had not been doing well . england were playing on the counter so when england lost the ball england's fullback would tuck along side their centre backs making it 5 across the back line . this means that the croatian fullbacks had  a free run to go upfield . the midfield was very much compact with england match crotia woth the middle three . croatia wanted to stretch so both modric and rakitic went on each flank trying to overload the flank . so croatia were trying to overload the flanks but the trouble with croatia was that in the first half england players had energy to close down croatia quickly so croatia were just not able to thread england's defense . while england had been defending well there counter attack was doing very well . kane was playing the no. 10 role trying to hold up the ball and bring alli and lingard in the move . while the other move would be to try to release sterling behind the back four especially against vida who england would struggle against sterling . henderson in particular was the one who was trying to time and again to release sterling behind the back four . 
in the second half after 10 mins england's closing down and their concentration started to drop while croatia which were overdoing things like trying bring the ball from the wide but were failing in doing that . this was because crotia's offense wasnt that crisp which was needed because england were thing in the  middle and croatia could had troubled england had they swithched the flanks quikcly . after 60 min croatia started to cross the ball in the box with either rebic or perisic coming inside to join manzukic in the middle . it is very important to realize that when you are defending at that time try to be first to the ball and dont wait for it to get to you . walker waited for it to arrive and perisic pounced to score . the equalizer was the turning point since england's shoulder dropped and croatia upped their ante . the trouble was that england's counter attack fell apart in that process . the trouble was that at this time the coach needs to provide input in order to freshn up things . croatia showed more desire to win the contest and one mistake by england cost them the place in the world cup semis . the reason for this is that that after the first goal england didnt showed the urgency to score the second goal and they were more than happy to defend and too the contest somewhat lightly which was the reason for their down fall . southgate should had insisted to that the team score second . there  wasnt a lot of tactical innovation in both the teams but crotia were able to grind out of the result and that would be one of the satisfying thing for croatia . 

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN BRAZIL VS BELGIUM .

brazil played belgium in the q/f of the world cup . brazil started the game with 4-4-2 formation with neymar starting alongside jesus upfront . while belgium started the game with 4-3-3 formation with fellaini starting the game alongside witsel in the belgium midfield . while chadli was there to support witsel and fellaini . should we call martinez a brilliant manager or is it that he just survived the test . for me brazil just didnt do enough to test belgium and didnt do enough to test them . martinez must had studied brazil and he had seen where neymar operates and he wanted to just close down that zone but at the same time he didnt tried to stop him or try to man mark him instead he just allowed him to have the ball and let him drive to get him isolated and then stopped him . fellaini and munier did an excellent job when he went either ways .
the game started with belgium sitting back but at the same time keeping lukaku,hazard and de bruyne high up the pitch so that he can hit brazil on the counter while at the same time he had 7 players back .  belgium were set up in a very specific way they just wanted to defend the 18 yard box and didnt bothered to chase brazil on wide side . instead they wanted brazil to come inside and then stop them . belgium were so compact that no two players had more than 5 yard space between them . martinez had studied how brazil operates and he knew that if he stops neymar he virtually stops because they try to find him on the pitch . so fellaini was specifically placed from where neymar likes to cut inside to stop him . chadli who started the match was suppose to start at the left back but vertroghen started there and chadli started in the middle three . jesus who starts in the middle cannot beat toby and kompany in the air and both have decent pace . belgium had the first chance when de bruyne found fellaini in the hole who scuffed his short . the warning signs were there for both sides which belgium having some clearances of their own in front of their goal . 
in the first half brazil were trying to control the tempo of the game . they were actually trying to slow the tempo of the game so that they could asses the belgium formation and then try to open them . the trouble with brazil was that brazil were just not able to put more than three players  together in the move then they were able to bring belgium in trouble just look at willian ,pauliniho and wagner combining on the right side and belgium had some scary moments . first off brazil mostly like to operate from the left because neymar likes to operate from there . secondly he has coutiniho and marcelo to complement on that side . but at the same time he likes to spend time on the ball where on if the opposition is good enough then they can stop him . brazil's offense was a story of two half's . in the first half brazil were seen trying to slow down the pace of the game and try to control the tempo which can be upped at their behest . the trouble was that brazil's two player were combining together but they were not able to bring the third into the play and really stretch belgiums defense . the other trouble was that brazil's slow build up was aiding belgium's defense who were able to organise themselves properly to stop brazil in the track . had brazil brought the ball from back to front quicker they troubled belgium . brazil ended the first half two down .so a change was necessary .

brazil on offense while belgiums shape to counter . 

brazil made changes in the second half . they brought firmino who a better link player than jesus who was switch wide with willian making way . tite thought that belgium were not stretched enough so he wanted to have marcelo high up the pitch while lukaku was marked by miranda . so marcelo was sent high of the pitch to try to open up belgiums defense . but then belgium had already noticed that they cannot out to stop marcelo so they wanted him to come inside and waited for him to cross or come inside . even though the players and formation  were changed but the script remained the same for brazil . they just couldnt have a good interplay between their players to trouble belgium's defense who had to thank courtouis . but then he is there for that . it wasnt that belgiums defense was watertight there were spaces that could had been exploited had tite ordered his players and his team showed a little bit of creativity and some patience which they entirely lacked in the second sending one crosses after another . the first goal for brazil showed that belgiums defense wasnt impregnable and had brazil showed some better interplay things would had been different . they should had been patient just look at the number of shots from  beyond the box and had they shown a little patience then .
for belgium lukaku ,hazard and de bruyne started upfront with de bruyne trying to mark fernandiniho his team mate. martinez had the idea that both hazard and lukaku playing on both sides of the pitch will stretch the brazil defense and the spaces will be explored by them . belgium were playing on the counter they scored two in the first half . ( had martinez bouth a page from conte's book of how to operate the front three then i think he would had caused brazil more problems ) . brazil were trying to man mark both hazard and de bruyne but one is skilled and the other is very physical . both can run can on defense and at times i though that at least in the second half belgium just didnt enough on the counter particularly hazard who should had crossed the ball when he had players in the box . instead he choose to keep the ball and in doing so he had to pass the ball back and lost possession . at times it looked like he was trying to prove a point and playing a game of upsmanship . he should had crossed more and that would had kept brazil on the back foot . with lukaku in the box he should had crossed more and tested brazil more instead of trying to  be a smart one .  fellaini was the better player but i would prefer to have dembele who deserve his chance .
martinez passed the test but it would be better to assess to how he can get his three front players to combine together rather front three going in three different ways . instead try to combine them together because france will be a lot tougher than brazil .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN FRANCE VS ARGENTINA

argentina played france in the first round of 16 . i read sampoli talking that argentina tried everything to messi but to be honest can he say that a single tactics that he played the team he got it correct . it had always been the struggle for argentina . he didnt knew his best team and tactics that he devised were just not  on the same plane with the players available at his disposal . while looking at both the teams you can clearly make out that france had the better teams  both athletically and technically . they were a better youthful side than argentina and that was the difference maker .
both argentina and france started the game with 4-3-3 formation and it was rightful because both wanted to have maximum player behind the ball when they losse the possession . even though france had the youthful side they choose to sit back and play counter . it wasnt that argentina was dominating or anything but a clever tactics to pull argentina out of shape and then hit them on the counter with pace of mbappe and griezman . the warning signs were from the start with mbappe making the run and winning the penalty . there were some obvious things that were missing in the argentinian defense . first off they are trying to play pressing football but dont have the legs . secondly they are playing a high line compare to france who even though younger took the cautious approach of playing a deep line because they had seen as to what messi and banega can do with that kind of space . both teams like to play out of the back but the problem is that when the ball comes into the final third . argentina just didnt had any ingenuity when they would bring the ball near the france's box . 
argentina played messi upfront with di maria and pavon alongside him . both played wide in a bid to stretch defense but france were not going to get pulled into their trap who choose to stay compact . when messi was upfront for the first 15 min argentina were not able to work the ball to messi . secondly argentina were spend too much time on the ball for me .argentina's buildup was slow  the extra touches gives defense time to adjust themselves and make that much difficult for the  offense to conjure a move that would open the opposition and question there organisation .  when messi was not getting the ball upfront he becomes restless and that is a good sign to be a football but at times you need to ask a player to hold his position just like gaurdiola ask jesus to hold his in the man city formation so if messi was to come inside either pavon or di maria should had taken his to pose that threat . the thing that was very baffling was argentina trying to work the ball from the right . what were trying to do because untill they dont have a credible threat in the middle them working the ball there and trying to overload that side had no meaning . what argentina were trying to do when they had the ball was not making no sense . france had shut up shop in the middle and they had bodies in the middle with very little space there . aerial crossess were of no uses for argentina because messi was not going to win aerial duel with varane and umtiti . the wide players run were just hopeless because they were just one dimensional trying to run down the line and then crossing aerially and wasting the ball . there was no ingenuity in their runs and they just couldnt trouble france's defense . di maria scored a wonder goal but was absolutely hopeless in the open play . most of all where was argentina's defense on the fourth goal which just went to sleep where on they let france score a four pass goal .
france got the tactics right but still the performace needs some introspection because france's front three are not on the same page . mbappe brightened their day other teams will not let him have that easy . pogba too needs to needs to release the ball early just keep the ball rolling. deschamps needs to show him that he is not making proper choices because at times he trying to pass the ball to a player where on the play is going to get bogged and that there is not further passes to that move or that the player might just end up lossing possession . when france take that ball which they generally do on the flanks they are struggling to bring it inside or continue that play and are ending up in lossing possession . they need to work that offense because they kind of got easy against argentina but others will not be that easy .
portugal played uraguay in the other round of 16 . now for the last three seasons real madird had won the champions league and it is nothing because of the finishing power of ronaldo who is just deadly in and around the 18 yard box . but here i was surprised by fernando santos tactics . i waiting for the crosses because when you have ronaldo in the box you just have to take advantage of the world's best header of the ball . portugal started the game with 4-4-2 formation while uraguay started the game with 4-5-1 formation .
the game was going to go in familiar lines with uraguay sitting back and portugal dominating the possession and trying to open up uraguay's defense . portugal had jao mario and bernardo silva on the flanks both like to come inside try to link up with the front players . but both have that bad habit of spending time on the ball . this slows down the offense and an opportunity is gone to catch opposition flat footed . from the first kick of the game till queresma was put in the game i was waiting for crosses to be made and just put one on ronaldo's head . instead portugal were trying all different things but they were just not crossing and whatever they did crosses were just too much off the mark . uraguay had too shots on goal and they scored two and then just stopped portugal  . really dont understand fernando santo's tactics as to why his plan A was to take the ball the ball wide and cross and then improvise . he has ronaldo in the team just ask him to stay in the box and there about and we have the game . disappointed in the coach's tactics plus the wasy the players executed them .