MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN DORTMUND VS BAYERN MUNICH .

yesterday bayern munich played dortmund in the bundesliga . while munich have a mini collapse in the bundesliga . dortmund are at the top .  munich started the game with 4-4-1-1 formation while dortmund too played the same combination . it was important game for both the coaches because it gives them the bragging rights atleast till christmas for being the best team in the land .

the game started with dortmund sitting back and bayern being the aggressive team trying to have the initiative . for bayern groetzka started the game in the middle of the park along side martinez . at other times in other games he has started in the no.10 position . for dortmund goetze started the game upfront in the no.9 formation . bayern had both ribery and gnabry in wide positions . bayern were trying to stretch dortmund so that the spaces can be  exploited by ribery and gnabry . the first goal came because bayern moved the ball from side to side in trying to steretch dortmund . because of that dortmunds defense got somewhat disorganised .plus the biggest mistake to that goal was the prenotion that akanji had . dortmunds midfield had moved up when the ball was moved from side to side and muller found the space between the lines . akanji in bid to close down muller left his position and went to close down muller . had akanji stayed in his proper position and maintained his discipline then he could had made it difficult for lewandowski to score . his prenotion was the cause for the first goal . bayern were dominating in the first half . even though they were dominating they were not able to find past dortmund . there was a reason . when you want your team to perform then you need to have each player to contribute . most of the bayern attack was from the left and ribery being the insitgator . the trouble was that the ribery and alaba were combining wide but the proper pivot that they wanted to bring the ball inside wasnt there . plus they were not that patient in their possession and instead choose to cross the ball rather trying to work the ball and get it come inside . on the defense bayern's plan was excellent . they were pressing dortmund so that they have to pass quickly . dortmund had reus and gotze upfront who were up against muller and boetang and there was no chance of them winning aerial duel against bayern's back two . so bayern's tactics were atleast working on the defensive upfront and they were able to contend dortmund in the first half .

akanji left his position and it led to first bayern goal

there is no problem in sitting back and hitting on the counter but for that you need to show your quality when you have the ball . plus the trouble with sitting back is that you are inviting the ball to be crossed or come close to your goal then you are inviting trouble . yes dortmund had a good shape to their team but individual mistakes can happen and that can  cost the team very much especially as dortmund had seen in the game against athletico madrid . ath.mad were able to stop dortmund in the tracks and were able take advantage of the deep line that dortmund play . in the first half whenever dortmund had the ball they just couldnt take the ball near bayern's goal and the reason for that  was the midfield of weigel and witsel just couldnt control the game properly and support their front line and the wingers . plus when gotze and reus had the ball they made bad decisions on the ball and that led to their attack stop in the tracks had they done better on the ball then bayern would had been in trouble .

the game is of two halves and the tempo that you have in the first cannot be maintained in the second half and that is why team make adjustment to the game . they just dont go on pressing which they will do in the first half because they are fresh . the team needs to make adjustment to their game and play accordingly. bayern just didnt that . they tried to play the same game which they were playing in the first half . in the second half the main change that dortmund made was that weigel was replaced by mahmoudi who is much more attacking minded than wieigel who is a defensive minded . mahamoudi instead sitting back like weigel started to come forward and started to join the offense and most importantly the pressing that was crisp wasnt that much crisp in the second half . this gave dortmund the space and time on the ball and they have decent players who can use the ball .
even though dortmund won their coach favre needs to look at the way they play when they have the ball . most importantly the distribution from midfield and from the back is very poor and this stops their offense in the tracks . secondly their offense can be read from a mile long . they try to take the ball wide and then the fullbacks and his forward try to combine and try to open take the ball forward . this offense was stopped by ath madrid and they couldnt conjure another way to take ball forward against ath madrid and even in this match in the first half bayern stopped them in the tracks . for bayern they just keep on dropping too deep and once the pressing fails plus the thing is that they just have one player who  is protecting the back three ( since one of the fullbacks is caught high on the counter on offense ) . he needs to be a bit more conservative because they even lost against wolfsburg even when they dominated the match but on the counters they were exposed and paid with the result .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN MAN UTD VS VALENCIA

man utd started the game with 4-3-3 formation while valencia started the game with 4-4-2 formation . now the team plays in a coach's image as to what he thinks about the game and how he wants them to play with the player at hands . man utd at both ends had been hopeless . firstly mouriniho like to play with big man but can he think past that . can he play his team without lukaku . i know him playing rashford uptop has not yeilded desired results but then he is one to be blamed as he needs to coach his team as to what they need to do when they have the ball and the respective movement and positional aspect of the game . most importantly i whole agree that man utd are lacking a team leader a player who will push others . the team is lacking in character and direction . you just cannot put the team and you need to think about the whole aspect of the team . man utd were hopeless were at both ends of the pitch with not feeling comfortable on the ball . 
the game started with man utd in the ascendency and valencia sitting back and trying to hit man utd on the counter . the reason why man utd dont have a direction .mouriniho's team are mostly trained to play on the counter attack . so whenever any teams sits back and asks mouriniho's team to open them up then his teams have struggled . when teams are primarly drilled to play counter offense then they have a tendency to take the ball from back to front very fast and try to explore the spaces that are left behind . mouriniho's team are never eye watching most importantly his teams are not designed to open up oppositions formation . his teams particularly struggle when team sit back and play defensive game . valencia's coach must had studied this and must had known this from his time in spanish football . so he devised tactics according to that . even though valencia had two up front they would get behind the ball and make it six in the middle of the park . while mouriniho like his team to have a very disciplined defense the same is not expected from his team on  offense .
man utd were the ascending team and valencia were trying to counter . now teams try to hold a line when they defend because if you cave in too much and let the opposition too much in your half in trying to absorb the attack it may backfire . most importantly on the counter offense teams play through their centre forwards and if you can press and stop their main man then i think you can stop the counter . valencia were going to play through rodrigo or batshuayi so you just have to read the game and  dont offer them any time and space on the ball . man utds centrebacks were doing excatly opposite of that they were giving both valencia forwards time and space on the ball . since valencia had two in the middle so utd's back four were getting compact which was letting space on the flanks for valencia to explore which they were doing particularly on the left flank through guedes . had valencia been little bit more patient when they could get the ball in utds final third then i think they would have had success . 
as i had said whenever teams are drilled to play counter they take the ball up very fast but this can thing can back fire when teams are taking the ball quickly . it has its own drawbacks because when you pass the ball to the forward line he may get isolated because there may be no continuation to the move after that pass . so he either may have to cross or in trying to overdo loose possession . the reason may be because when the ball is passed to the forward line he may not have the necessary numbers . secondly when utd passed the ball to the forward line the distace between the midfield and forward line was about 25-30 yards so by the time the forward recives the pass . the defender would be on the recivers toes making it difficult for him to work the ball . secondly the midfield support line is too back to play a slick crisp football since the time taken for 10 yard passes is double to that of 20-25 yard passes so that is out of equation because you cannot play crisp football with too much of space between lines . thirdly there needs to discipline over the ball . sanchez ,rashford just dont have that they just try to overdo with the ball . you need to be patient on the offense as well . you need to read the defense as well and then make your moves . mouriniho hasnt got the brains in terms of offense . most importantly can be think of the offense minus lukaku because how many times did he lost the possession plus his understanding of the game is not very good . most importantly as i had said that they dont have a leader on the field . one who would take others to sword and most importantly he would push others to play better and have some discipline in him . i think mouriniho is not the right man for man utd and should either bring carlos quieroz back .
i worry about man utd because new fans are made when a team plays good positive football not some boring football . his constant criticism of his players  and the hopeless display of his team is nothing but going to harm man utd as a brand and it would be better they release him for good .

MY TAKE ON THE GAME BETWEEN CHELSEA VS LIVERPOOL .

yesterday liverpool played chelsea . chelsea started the game with 4-3-3 formation . both the team have the same formation . this was one of the best crisp fast pace game that i had seen in years with both teams attacking at breath taking pace . while both the teams have the same formation th approach to the game is bit different and the way they work the ball or the zones that they try are different . while liverpool try to lay a bit more central chelsea try to work the channel's and then whip a cross inside the box . both like to press but the pressing is different as well as the way the offense  they have when the have the ball . 
this was a match perfect for both the teams just because both teams are in direct contrast of each other . while sarri like to keep the ball . liverpool like to hit on the counter attack . liverpool's main man is salah while chelsea's main man is hazard they try to play the ball to him and try to build the offense . but one thing is certain that the movement of their midfielders or even the team movement is quite similar . whenever one of the front three comes deep the midfielders bombs forward . both teams try to work the triangle but the end approach is different with both the teams .

space used by salah on liverpools's counteratack .

now about the game liverpool like to hit on the counter while chelsea like to hold on to the ball . compared to liverpool chelsea played a deeper line while they were good with the ball on the defense they were just hopeless . whenever they loose the ball they like to press and get the possession back . the trouble was that it was leaving a lot of space between the back four and midfielders who were getting upfield and liverpool were doing a fine job of transferring the ball from back to front especially to salah very quickly . now it not that sarri doesnt knows salah he know salah from his time with roma . salah was playing on the right so he was going to come inside . liverpool try to get more on the ball because they know he can open up the defense and is very decent in one on one situations . the first mistake was to let salah cut inside . sarri must had wanted chelsea play deep because of salah's pace and the way the front three of liverpool combine and it was very evident here . since there was not midfield cover which way upfield . salah could use that space in front of the back four and combine with firmino who is  very excellent . chelsea's back four just couldnt come out because had anybody left their defensive discipline then liverpool's would had exploited that space . still in the first half chelsea's back two made the mistakes especially luiz who made mistakes with his decision making .he tried to win a ball which was not there to be won . he went with a player even when the ball wasnt played or that he could see that the  ball wasnt going in that players direction . most importantly i dont know why do they let salah cut inside . both alonso and luiz showed salah on the inside on his stronger foot while he should had been shown outside on his weaker foot . there was a moment in the first half when milner played a 35-40 yard ground ball in salah's feet . while the chelsea's back four were just two to three yards behind salah  they could had easily steeped up and tried  to wrestle the possession or atleast make it difficult for him instead they just sit back and let him time and space on the ball . this is the type of decision making makes the difference in the game . i hope that sarri when he see's the tape tries to correct it .
i had read about how hazard needs the help of his forwards or the players around him to be best . i would say that the team needs to have hazard playing in unision with team . yes he is good player but the pace with which chelsea plays it  gets dropped when hazard is on the ball .his time spending on the ball trying to do something allows the opposition to regroup who can be  taken apart with slick insterplay as they did on the first goal .  he needs to be in unision with the team . he needs to have a better decision making as to where he can take on  the opposition. most importantly i think at time hazard puts himself in front of the team . there was moment in the match in second half where on kavacic made the run and hazard could had released him but instead he just passed it back . when you are playing on the counter attack as they did in the second half then you not only to hold the ball but also to release somebody who is making forward runs beyond you . i was disappointed with hazard .   i think willian is a better dribbler than hazard who sees less of the ball than hazard . most importantly just like previous sarri team here is also sarri's offense is revolving around the the midfielders ,wide players and fullbacks . he is still is not able to bring the centre forward in the offense . the centre forward is used more as a positional piece who keeps attention off two central back players . to be honest giroud is one of the most underrated forward and he has a very good passing ability . kovacic had a very good game and showed his quality over the ball .
liverpool depends too much on salah for offense and at time they just try to find him . it would be better if sane can share some load but he was poor in this match . salah was substituted not because he was bad but because he must had been exausted because he was seeing a lot of the ball from the first minute and was involved all of the moves . i think kloop needs to work with salah for his final ball because it lacks in precision and weight and that was the reason liverpool couldnt score against chelsea in the first half . this was the story of the first half .
in second half sarri must had seen that his team cannot keep pressing and must had asked his team to sit back and defend plus he had the lead . the italian mentality must had taken over .  this handed the initiative to liverpool and who rightfully equalised for the domination they had over the game in the second half . 

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 .