There are no passes between Argentina's centre-backs.
Lisandro Martínez and Cuti Romero don't pass the ball to each other. Take a look at Argentina's passing map.
Argentina build with their centre-backs very wide. England were pressing with their wingers from out to in.
A pass between the centre-backs is the perfect trigger for this type of press, giving the wingers time to step up and apply pressure to the centre-backs while the ball is traveling. Specially when your two centre-backs are wide and quite far from each other.
Instead, Argentina either looked to find the third man inside to find the full-backs free, or recycled possession back to the goalkeeper.
They knew that a pass between the centre-backs would trigger England's press.
This is excellent from Argentina and a great detail from Scaloni.
Honestly i’m working thru Enzo’s game and I think I UNDERRATED his ability.
He just suffered playing the Ndidi role under Maresca which comprised of the opposite functions he excels at in-possession.
This is Toni Kroos on steroids. Honestly we owe it to maximize him, if that means binning Caicedo then so be it. RCM in a midfield 3, get a shuttling/ball-carrying DM and a LCM that excels receiving BTL’s, doesn’t have to have much final ball cause Enzo already brings that.
This is why Lionel Scaloni is one of the greatest international managers ever.
Look at this conversation between Paredes and Scaloni
Scaloni: With the 10?
Paredes: No, he's staying on my right.
Scaloni: Go down the left.
Paredes: No, look at their center-back. He opens up here, but then the 9 plays there. Yeah, right there—that's where I run into him.
Scaloni: But he's not your man to mark.
Paredes: Exactly, that's why. There's a 9 right next to me, one of theirs. You get what I'm saying? Their center-back steps out and I move over here. The midfield is mine.
Scaloni: Yeah, yeah.
Paredes: But if I shift out to the right, I lose control of how we build the play.
Scaloni: Then just leave the 9 on their center-back when we have the ball.
Paredes: But he doesn't go where I am, he goes to the other side. I've been dealing with this 9 for a while now. He's the bigger one—he stays between their center-backs.
Scaloni: So you need us to pull him wider over here?
Paredes: No, no. I need one of the center-backs to pick him up.
Scaloni: Yeah, yeah. So what do you need—another center-back?
Paredes: I need just one center-back staying on him.
Scaloni: Alright, we'll put Ota on! Done, sorted
What a Manager
Es un hombre con un objetivo, no puede sentir felicidad hasta que lo cumpla. Una vez logre lo que todos queremos que suceda, merece retirarse del futbol y vivir el resto de su vida en playas caribeñas, siendo recordado como el héroe que logró lo imposible.
Scaloni though... His reading of how a match is flowing, is on a different level. These comebacks are no fluke and aren’t solely on Messi. Nico Gonzalez on as an extra aerial threat. RDP on as an extra crossing threat. Montiel on to provide more legs on the outside of Messi. Otamendi on to block Rogers’ dangerous counter-attack at 1-0 as he saw Lisandro was vulnerable. And then the final killer blow of Lautaro being more suited to attacking the box than Alvarez. 5 subs that made their own impact. Crazy stuff.
If Lionel Scaloni ever thinks of holding a class on Emotional Management, even if it’s £5k, I’ll attend.
What do you mean your team scores in the 91st minute to win the game and you almost do not flinch. Same with World Cup final.
Who is this guy??
Spain have show a masterclass game
- In possession, Out of possession dominance
- They have run more
-Won most of the duels, forcing turnovers
- Great ball retation
- Olmo, Rodri and Fabian Ruiz 🔥🔥🔥
Spain dominance in the midfield is the key in the first half,
they win their duels well.. they overload the space in the middle making it hard for France players to utilize the space in the zone which they prefer
Forcing turnovers from France