World Cup: Day Seven
I will not get overexcited I will not get overexcited I will not get overexcited I will not get
Hey everyone. As I mention later, I got a tooth extraction from my dentist halfway through writing this, so the last two match reviews are a little short partly for that reason.
Have you seen the film Whiplash?
It’s about a very talented and ambitious jazz drummer, Andrew, trying to impress under a relentlessly strict conductor, Fletcher. Andrew finds it desperately difficult under Fletcher, who constantly criticises and undermines him, most importantly continually celebrating another rival drummer. It seems like Andrew can do nothing right, despite being the more talented drummer.
Then, towards the end of the film, we hear Fletcher explain what was happening all along. “I was there to push people beyond what was expected of them”, he explains. “There are no two words in the English language more harmful than ‘good job’”.
And of Andrew’s rival drummer? “What about him? All he was was your incentive.”
I’ve been wondering for a while if Thomas Tuchel has been doing this with Jude Bellingham.
Anyway, let’s talk about some football matches. Yes, I will go on about England a lot more than Ghana vs Panama or Colombia vs Uzbekistan. Sorry if that’s not your bag. But I’ve seen my subscriber numbers, and way more of you live in England than those countries.
The first half of this newsletter will be free, and then the second half will be for paid subscribers only. These newsletters are going to run every single matchday. If you want to come along for the ride, I have a special offer running right now, giving you 20% off for a year. That’s £4.80/$6.40/€5.60 a month, or you can save in the long run by getting a whole year for £48/$64/€56.
Portugal 1-1 DR Congo
When was the last time you personally watched a game where Cristiano Ronaldo played really well?
Roberto Martínez’ team made the perfect start. They were doing exactly what I would want to see them doing: shifting the ball from side to side to break the low block and using crosses to target the players in the box. Pedro Neto put in a perfect cross from the left that reached João Neves headed into the net. Easy. From there, they did not create another chance in the first half save for a Bruno Fernandes long range punt. The creative players on this team are obviously amazing. But so often, the players in the box looked completely static. There was no one to pass to. DR Congo equalised just before half time through a corner, taken short then crossed to Yoane Wissa. You don’t expect Martínez teams to be good at defending set pieces.
DR Congo parked the bus for the second half and Portugal looked out of ideas. They kept moving the ball wide and waiting for someone to make a run to get free in the box. It wasn’t happening.
Ok, you want me to talk about him.
Ronaldo has become a striker in the later part of his career because he doesn’t have the legs to run and has concentrated his game on scoring goals in the box. But he doesn’t really think and move like a centre forward. He’s not someone comfortable receiving the ball with his back to goal. His hold-up play is minimal. As intelligent as he is at finding space, he can actually be really difficult for the team to find, as we saw here.
Ronaldo is obviously not as good at age 41 as he was at 28. But unlike Messi playing as a classic number ten, he’s aged in ways that can make him a difficult tactical fit. There isn’t the obvious grammar for Ronaldo’s role. His teammates were looking for him to be a proper focal striker, but he’s not able to do that. If Ronaldo is to work in this team at all, Portugal probably need to rejig the side to find someone else to do the non-scoring parts of being a centre forward.
I won’t hold my breath.
England 4-2 Croatia
Yep. That’s what I wanted to see.
Big Tom went with the expected team save for one notable surprise and one choice that shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone. The Tuchel era has been about improving England’s structure in possession. For the things Gareth Southgate did right, it was very obvious at Euro 2024 that he had no real idea how to structure the team when they had the ball, with Phil Foden and Kieran Trippier producing a nonexistent left flank. Tuchel changed this.
He’s been obsessed with having his wingers stay wide and run in behind to stretch the play. No one thinks Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke are more talented players than Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, but they do what Tuchel wants and provide structure. That allows Harry Kane to drop deep into a midfield role while Jude Bellingham drives forward. This isn’t really a number nine and a number ten. It’s arguably a 4-4-2 with two false nines. Yes, I’ve been saying in these newsletters that you need a proper striker at international level, and here England played really well without one. But the structure with the width was good enough to support it, and I suspect there will be other types of games where Kane has to play as more of a focal point.
Keep reading for more on England’s win over Croatia.