The quarter-finals of the World Cup will culminate on Saturday evening with the meeting between France and England. Experts Miika Nuutinen and Jonne Kunnas tell you what to watch in the heated top match.
Miika Nuutinen,
Jonne Kunnas
France and England will conclude the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Saturday evening at 21:00. Broadcast on channels at 20:15. follows the World Cup online in this article.
France and England offer a really interesting tactical setup at the end of the quarterfinals. The English media have mostly thought about how England will manage to stop it Kylian Mbappe’s.
This is one of the most important settings of the match, but it is equally important how England organizes its phase of playing with the ball in such a way that it can benefit from France’s defense and Mbappe’s defenselessness. At the same time, however, controlling their attack in such a way that if the ball is lost, the loss occurs in such areas that it is difficult for France to launch their counter-attack.
England head coach Gareth Southgate has previously used lines of two and three toppers in varying degrees. In these games, until now, the line of two toppers has been trusted, but today we can quite justifiably see a line of three toppers, where Kyle Walker is roled to protect against Mbappe and the rest of the defensive line can more easily support this.
– Both teams advance from the flanks, but in quite different ways. England sought to create the upper hand, while France rely on pace and passing. Today will be an interesting tactical dance in terms of progression – especially when England attack, they must constantly be able to defend at the same time, so it may be that the progression is more and more focused on the wings, Miika Nuutinen advance.
– Looking at the power of France’s play, it is clear that England must find ways to stop Mbappe, who is France’s main passing and scoring threat. What makes it difficult is the fact that Mbappe has practically received full exemption from the ball-free phase and can wait for changes in situations when the opponent is in control of the ball.
Mbappe’s former coach Mauricio Pochettino described Mbappe in his recent interviews as a special player in that he can stay out of the game for long periods without needing to contribute, but when he gets the ball he is immediately and constantly dangerous.
Every team has a plan to stop Mbappe, but that alone is not enough. In the video, Poland fails Olivier Giroud’s in control, after which a hopeless running race begins against the French moving attack.
Comfortable on the right wing of France Ousmane Dembele has also played excellent matches, and France’s organized attacks are also built by trying to isolate Dembele on the wing, so that France can create qualitative superiority there. If England’s concentration is too much in stopping Mbappe, then other players will probably get bigger spaces to operate.
– Denmark has Mbappe under tight control, but in a new role for the midfielder For Antoine Griezmann, who has the most key assists and goal assists in the tournament, should not leave these spaces. Things get more difficult when the ball situation cannot be controlled and you have to race with Mbappe or Dembele. At that point, all means are needed – for example, early contacts can certainly also be found in Kyle Walker’s toolbox.
Control of the English attack
One of the culminating points of the game is how England manage to organize the balance when they have the ball. It may very well be that the decisive things for the game happen outside the zooming of the TV pictures.
– When attacking, England has typically kept a balance with 4-5 players, but Southgate has chosen a line of three in big games, which may be seen today as well. In balance, the players are close to each other, which enables cooperation. For example, in this situation, you can get off balance to defend forward and still the counterattack targets remain under control.
In the accompanying video, when Senegal wins the ball, you can see a model example of England’s players on how to get the ball back: immediate pressure limits the options and balanced players can defend aggressively forward. However, it is noteworthy that the bottom pocket has been balanced Jordan Henderson, which does not follow the movement of its background. It is clear that England will not give Mbappe any such situation.
Should Southgate return fire with fire and attack emphatically down Mbappe’s flank? France have Mbappe behind Theo Hernandez, who is not the world’s best full-back defensively. At the same time, England could limit dangerous ball losses to possibly the same lane where Mbappe is. This would certainly make it easier for England to control the situation, but it could also produce high-quality advances if France’s defensive operations lag behind.