Michael Cox – Page 9 – Football Scout

Arsenal’s Unai Emery and Man City’s Pep Guardiola set to renew tactical chess game in England

Pep Guardiola explains why Manchester City were not more active in the summer transfer window, only adding Riyad Mahrez for a club-record fee.

Despite Unai Emery’s fresh ideas at Arsenal, ESPN FC’s Craig Burley isn’t so sure the Gunners will secure a top four spot.
When Arsenal were building the Emirates, Arsene Wenger wanted the Gunners’ new stadium to be like the Mestalla.
On previous visits with Arsenal, he’d been struck by the steepness of Valencia’s ground. Would it be possible, Wenger enquired, for the Emirates to mimic the claustrophobic Mestalla, complete with steep stands that felt like four vertical walls? Alas, building regulations in Britain differ from those in Spain, and Arsenal were forced to settle for a significantly lesser gradient — 7.5…

Man United must free Paul Pogba; France role won’t work in Premier League

After Julien Laurens hails Paul Pogba’s role in France’s World Cup triumph, the FC crew examine whether the tournament was a new beginning for him.
Back in 1998, the last time France won the World Cup, Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf returned to England and appeared on “They Think It’s All Over,” a sport-based comedy television show.
In other countries, or other programmes, Leboeuf might have been greeted with reverence. Instead he was the target of mockery throughout and responded to every joke with a simple line: “I don’t care. I won the World Cup.” Which, in fairness, serves as a decent response to any jibe. Once you win the World Cup, who…

World Cup finalists France, Croatia owe a lot to old school Giroud, Mandzukic

Arjen Robben goes into detail about what makes former Bayern teammate Mario Mandzukic such an effective player on football’s biggest stage.

France’s Antoine Griezmann insists achieving his childhood dream of winning the World Cup is all he cares about and not whether he scores or wins personal accolades.

Paul Pogba admits that France expected to win the 2016 Euro final, but won’t make that mistake in the World Cup final.

They don’t make them like Olivier Giroud and Mario Mandzukic these days. Or rather, they try not to.

World Cup 2018 has been utterly dominated by European nations, who contributed 11 of the 16 second round sides, six of the eight quarterfinal teams, all four semifinalists and therefore, of course, both France and Croatia in Sunday’s final. While tactical sophistication is frequently (and unfairly) cited as the main strength of European nations compared to sides from other continents, realistically…

Kylian Mbappe showing at World Cup he’s ready to inherit the crown of Messi and Ronaldo

The ESPN FC crew are joined by Julien Laurens, who believes Kylian Mbappe could be key to France succeeding at the World Cup.

Former Brazil striker cannot praise Kylian Mbappe enough and talks about Brazil’s possible revenge against France if they meet in the semifinals.

In years to come, we might remember the knockout rounds of the 2018 World Cup as the moment the baton of the world’s greatest player was passed onto its next superstar. After a decade of dominance from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, after a thousand debates over which is superior, on Saturday they were united in misery. Messi’s Argentina were out. Ronaldo’s Portugal were out. But Kylian Mbappe’s France were through.

Mbappe was already a star at club level, after two excellent seasons with…

England’s unique 3-3-2-2 formation could cause Colombia headaches

After resting the majority of their starters against Belgium, ESPN FC’s Steve McManaman says England are poised to go out and win against Colombia.

Wayne Rooney tells ESPN FC’s Shaka Hislop he hopes Gareth Southgate will let England continue playing with the freedom they’ve had in the World Cup.

Alison Bender and Mark Ogden zero in on England’s penalty struggles at major tournaments and fear the worst if Colombia take them the distance.

At his introduction as a D.C. United player, Wayne Rooney says the future is bright for England and stresses the importance of the Colombia match.
For all the optimism about Gareth Southgate’s side and their chances of winning the World Cup, it’s so often this stage, the first knockout round of a major tournament, where England collapse.
This is usually because England have appeared unprepared for the opposition’s approach, or at least too inflexible to guard against it. Germany’s counter-attacking speed wasn’t nullified in 2010, Andrea Pirlo’s deep-lying playmaking skills weren’t shut down in 2012, Iceland’s long throw proved fatal in 2016….

Penalties, poor full-back headline the top trends of the World Cup group stage

The ESPN FC guys examine the matchups to watch for in the round of 16 and the teams most likely to spring a surprise.

Journey back at the top 10 goals from throughout the World Cup Group Stage, but where does Lionel Messi’s finish?

Relive all 122 goals from the 2018 World Cup Group Stage, from Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick to Panama’s first ever World Cup goal.
The enduring legacy of the 2018 World Cup will be decided by the quality of the knockout stage – historically few remember much about the group stage once the important games have been played.

Yet with 75 percent of the tournament already complete, this is rightly being hailed amongst the most enjoyable group stages of recent World Cups. It’s also been a tournament with some very obvious tactical features, particularly in terms of how goals have been scored. Here are five major trends.

Minimal…

Brazil, Spain, Germany, France failing to find attacking balance

24 June 2018
Michael Cox
Blog, Blog Post, Brazil, FIFA World Cup, France, Germany, Spain
0 comments

The ESPN FC panel share their thoughts on Germany’s last-minute win against Sweden, a decision that brought them back from the brink of a World Cup exit.

ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden offers his instant analysis from outside Fisht Stadium in Sochi following Germany’s last-gasp win over Sweden.
Football tactics are generally considered a mere necessary evil in football, discussed purely in terms of hampering individual freedom and disrupting opposition play.
But tactical planning is also about attacking, about creating the right balance between different concepts to create a cohesive, harmonious but varied threat in the final third. Finding the balance in attack, combining different concepts and formulating how they come together smoothly, is the most fascinating element of football strategy.
An…

Quality full-back play among the contenders visibly absent at the 2018 World Cup so far

Spain managed to walk away with three points against Iran, but the FC crew explain how Iran managed to disrupt La Roja.

ESPN FC’s Stewart Robson believes Juan Carlos Osorio and Mexico hatched a perfect, counterattacking game plan against an aging Germany side.

ESPN FC’s Janusz Michallik feels France’s midfield lacks a true leader which could be detrimental to their World Cup hopes.

The FC crew take a comprehensive look at how Iceland stifled Argentina and revisit La Albiceleste’s continued dependence on Lionel Messi.
Seven days into the 2018 World Cup, and arguably the defining feature has been the all-round quality. The matches have been positive, the ball has aided beautiful long-range goals, the refereeing has largely been good, there have been few reports of crowd trouble. Everything is going very well.

That quality extends to the on-field performances themselves. International tournaments are often handicapped by negative, defensive-minded displays, but throughout this tournament we’ve seen purposeful…

England’s dearth of set-piece takers could prove costly in open play too

Stewart Robson predicts how the Three Lions will line up ahead of their opening match against Tunisia.

England’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek revealed the team have discussed how to deal with potential racist remarks from fans.

England’s Jordan Pickford says he’ll be ready to go for England’s World Cup opener against Tunisia if selected.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho thinks England have the quality and experience to win the World Cup.

Every England failure at an international tournament needs a fall guy: usually a player who has missed a penalty, sometimes a player who has been needlessly sent off. Two years ago at Euro 2016, there was a variation on the theme: a player who wasn’t good at set pieces.

England’s shock round-of-16 defeat to Iceland prompted the immediate resignation of manager Roy Hodgson, but among the analysis of his tactical blunders in terms of shape and formation — Wayne Rooney in midfield proved particularly…

World Cup will reward good defence: How do Brazil, France, Germany and Spain rate?

12 June 2018
Michael Cox
Blog, Blog Post, Brazil, FIFA World Cup, France, Germany, Spain
0 comments

From the group stage to the final, find out who ESPN FC’s Gab Marcotti has lifting the World Cup trophy in Russia.
Footballing history is recalled through individual moments rather than all-round team performances, and those moments tend to feature attacking brilliance. From Johan Cruyff’s turn to Pele’s dummy, from Diego Maradona’s slalom to Marco van Basten’s volley, it’s the genius of attackers that lingers longest. Our memories of great players, and great teams, flow from those snapshots.
But winning international tournaments has become, more than ever, about something else entirely: not conceding. It’s…

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