FIFA experts praise Japan and Saudi Arabia, say football is evolving
THE upset wins of Japan against Germany and Saudi Arabia over Argentina at the World Cup are no real surprise because football is evolving, according to a members of FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) at the tournament in Qatar.
Looking at Japan’s win, their former coach Alberto Zaccheroni told reporters at a performance presentation after the first round of group games on Saturday that “football has further developed.
“They have improved physically. Many Japanese play in Germany, they are profiting from that,” the Italian said.
Sunday Oliseh, a former Nigeria star who joins Zaccheroni and five other former greats including Arsene Wenger and Jurgen Klinsmann on the TSG, labelled Saudi Arabia’s success over Argentina “the best game of their history.”
The TSG said that five instead of three substitutions - and the tournament played in the middle of the European season and not at the end of it - helped teams to press their opponents for longer periods in the game because players are fresher.
Counter pressing after losing the ball was a key aspect of the first 16 games, with Argentina, Spain, England, Denmark and Germany the teams to get back the ball quicker than other teams.
The TSG also said that there have been far more goals after crosses in Qatar after the first matchday in all groups than four years ago in Russia, with 14 this time around compared to three in 2018.
At the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) will provide cutting-edge analysis of all 64 matches. FIFA’s Director of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger not only has a more comprehensive set of tools at his disposal than in previous tournaments, but he also has a team of world football experts alongside him.
After the first round of sixteen group stage matches featuring all 32 participating teams, Alberto Zaccheroni was joined by Sunday Oliseh, Faryd Faryd Mondragon on and Chris Loxston, Head of FIFA’s Performance and Trend Analysis Group at the media briefing in Doha.
Loxston introduced three trends that had so far emerged: the use of long balls to avoid high pressure; counter-pressing with multiple players, and an increase in the number of goals from crosses.
On the first theme, Mondragon emphasised the importance of the goalkeeper, with teams trying to win the ball back as high up the field as possible.
“The goalkeeper has to know how to keep the ball away, to avoid all risks,” said the former Colombia goalkeeper, who played in three FIFA World Cups.
“If you have good players, you can immediately launch a counter-attack, or an offensive action.
“With this trend, we’ve seen that the goalkeeper is often involved in starting moves, even if we shouldn’t forget his main function is to prevent goals. But there is a difference between involving the goalkeeper in building from the back and asking him to initiate play in a situation where the team is facing high pressure. In this case, long balls are necessary. It is up to the goalkeeper to interpret the situation and decide when to play long, or when to build from his defence.”