OT Euro 2021 soccer

[Shed83]

Agree 100%

 

[Scotty]

Spain = 85% possession , 17 shots total , 5 on target = Zero goals

I did not watch the game so I dont know what the tempo was but something wrong when you see stats like these ?

 

[masterbouncer]

Spain = 85% possession , 17 shots total , 5 on target = Zero goals

I did not watch the game so I dont know what the tempo was but something wrong when you see stats like these ?

nothing wrong with it, its just how Spain plays the game, they are fully commited on ball possesion dominance (in theory when you have the ball, the opponent can't score), while it seems dominant (and actually is) it is also quite easy to defend if you go for an X or just don't want to get defeated with a high score, meaning you go full defensive mode and wait for counter attacks by fast strikers.

When you have a team which is well organized defensively (and has a certain quality in the squad) like the Swedish team is, you basically end up having 18 players (from total 22) standing around on 25-30m², there is not much room there to create a lot of real chances and yesterday the spaniards were not efficient infront of the goal, so the few chances they created were just poorly used.

From a tacital point of view it is quite a nice game to watch (away from the ball, looking for how the lines are shifting, how the one team tries to gain some benefit on the field while the other is trying to defend the space and keep the clean sheet), from a neutral viewer point it seems boring as hell, I don't mind anyone falling asleep while watching such game(s).

If you have a team which is playing more high pressing against the spaniards it becomes a complete different game, you can challenger them more but you make yourself vulnerable as well in the same time, because they have such a smooth release and passing game when pressured high, the pass quality within the team is extraordinary and there is also where they can play it fast to switch into offense and create chances to score when they have more space to work with in the offense.
Thats how they have beaten Germany in the Nations League in November 2020 with 6:0 (of course the efficacy was very high as well, almost everything went in for a goal)

 

[Scotty]

There was a time when it was exciting to watch Spain play this type of football and score goals with Xavi , Inesta , Silva , Villa and others ......now (still admitting I did not watch last nights game) its more of a switch off ....unless you are an admirer of this type of football.

 

[upstater1]

Croatia really offered nothing in attack so England had nothing really to worry about. Foden , Mount and Phillips look very good.

Not looking forward to the England game later in the week , we could end up getting thumped.

It is so funny seeing players who were not so well regarded as teens (Foden and Mount) become the two stars of this side. I well realize that they were academy kids from a very young age but they did not figure in the big plans a few years ago. This really shows that you have to look pretty deep at all the kids coming up and you must give everyone a chance.

For Americans, we have to realize that Pulisic was ranked somewhere below 100 in his age group as a 16 year old and Dike was nowhere to be seen.

Let these kids develop before shutting them out.

 

[upstater1]

Typical , how embarrassing. Czech best player is their striker who plays in the german league , as if we did not know who to mark strongly. What happens ?......he scores both goals (so far) ...the second goal was just terrible. Our best player is a left back......says it all !!

And Roma gave up on Schick really quick -- he just didn't cut it for them. He was out the door fast after they paid a good fee for him.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I just saw the last bit of Spain-Sweden. It was super-boring: everyone behind the ball, park the bus.

The ESPN round-table wasn't wrong. If you're going to play this way, you really need a cutting edge up front (they mentioned Torres, Villa). My theory is you can open up packed numbers if you have someone who can carry the ball through a tight defence (Messi), can play and receive tight passes even with defenders on top of them (Messi again) or can use an aerial attack in the very last few yards of the field (Ronaldo?) But without it you get games like (what I saw of) yesterday's.

And what was going on with the Scottish goalkeeper? Keeping up the great tradition of Scottish goalkeeping disasters?

 

[upstater1]

If Belichick were a European soccer coach, he would not only play it like Pep by keeping possession (they can't score if they don't have the ball) but he would also employ all the old Italian tricks of Catenaccio. Europeans would utter his name in disgust and disdain.

The mentality for US football fans is so different. In Europe winning with style is more important than winning. I know Chelsea fans who would rather their team lose than employ cynical tactics.

As a fan of Greece (2004!!!) I will never understand this attitude (especially as Greece got more shots than their opponents that euro cup despite the myth built up over the last decade and a half).

 

[italian pat patriot]

If Belichick were a European soccer coach, he would not only play it like Pep by keeping possession (they can't score if they don't have the ball) but he would also employ all the old Italian tricks of Catenaccio.

Awesome !
I remember catenaccio times...i think that Sacchi was the changer

 

[upstater1]

Awesome !
I remember catenaccio times...i think that Sacchi was the changer

It helped Italy to have the best defenders in the world back then. It is very difficult now.

 

[Scotty]

I know what can I say about our goalkeeper. To be honest I had thought that we had got rid of that type of stupidity but he got what he deserved. At best we can only hope for a draw against England but I doubt it. If Foden , Mount and Phillips all play as they can we will be shredded. Faint hope of a win against Croatia but who will score for us....we just can cut it at this level.

 

[Scotty]

France v Germany ..........must be a good game !

 

[Mike the Brit]

I watched a few bits and pieces of Hungary-Portugal. It reminded me how much I dislike Portugal (and Ronaldo in particular). (I mean Portuguese soccer. Portugal is a great country. The food and wine are out of this world and I've met some great Portuguese people.)

A penalty on a dive and a final goal that looked offside to me. Where was VAR?

Still, the Portuguese went about it the right way to break down a packed defence: trying to dribble round the sides, looking for headers, whipping low crosses in, playing tight balls in the box -- and going down in the box in the hope of conning the ref into a penalty.

I hope to see a good bit of France-Germany, work permitting. Of the teams I've seen so far, I'm probably most taken with Belgium. France and/or Germany may change that.

 

[farn]

France is looking strong.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

We need to fire Löw rn bc he sucks as a coach for years. No tactic no plan wrong players in zero coaching from the outside. It is an embarassment. 0 Fire 0 good chances and a stupid System

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

France v Germany ..........must be a good game !

Germany doesn’t have the players they used to have who were tournament players through and trough. The Sane‘s;Gnabry;Werner of the world are zero game changers on this level. They are not in shape not being used right and neither they are able to fight for 90 minutes. It is a shame to watch and a lot of guys I know have zero EM feeling for this team and don’t follow it much. The German national soccer team lost a lot of fans in the last years

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

France is looking strong.

France looked good but they did not have to do much. Germany has no striker and no ideas offensively. They are playing simple standing soccer

 

[upstater1]

France looked good but they did not have to do much. Germany has no striker and no ideas offensively. They are playing simple standing soccer

It was still impressive to see Pogba though once again showing heart and effort for his country. He's a player who has built his reputation in these tournaments. Amazes me: he won't play for money, but he'll play for the flag.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

It was still impressive to see Pogba though once again showing heart and effort for his country. He's a player who has built his reputation in these tournaments. Amazes me: he won't play for money, but he'll play for the flag.

I agree, pogba has a incredible combination of size athletic and technique imo. He is really hard to defend for other midfielders. His pass before the goal was extremely good. This is exactly how you have to play against a 3-4-3 system with only one defender on the outside

 

[slam]

We need to fire Löw rn bc he sucks as a coach for years. No tactic no plan wrong players in zero coaching from the outside. It is an embarassment. 0 Fire 0 good chances and a stupid System

Question I don't know since I'm a casual fan at best: Has any other national head coach stayed in the position even close to what Low has done?