The big problems that the candidate to win the World Cup 2022 must face.

No one is without weaknesses. Football also has no optimal way to play, guaranteed not to lead to failure. So, what are the weaknesses, or unresolved problems, of the strong teams going far at the 2022 World Cup?

Brazil: Too dependent on Neymar

Brazil has consistently been eliminated from the tournament as soon as it plays its first European opponent in the knockout stage since the 2002 World Cup. Brazil was forced to play in the third-place match at the 2014 World Cup after losing to Germany in the semi-finals, 1–7. Nevertheless, they fell short against European rivals (Netherlands, 0-3). Another striking similarity is that Brazil consistently gives up goals from set pieces in defeats resembling “sudden death” in the 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 World Cups. The phases are those. Wesley Sneijder, Thierry Henry’s volleys, Thomas Muller’s goals, and even Fernandinho’s own goal came after the opponent kicked in from the edge of the box or a corner. These players all played for Zinedine Zidane’s first team.

Brazil has not given up a goal from a set piece during this World Cup. And the underdog of the remaining European teams when Brazil faced its first opponent in the knockout stage was Europe (Croatia). It appears that Brazilian supporters may count on the age-old drawbacks. But Brazil’s apparent reliance on Neymar is the current issue. His teammates lacked imagination and attacked in vague and unsuccessful ways in the games he was not present (only scoring 1 goal, thanks to a deflected shot). How can I avoid injuries and maintain my fitness? In contrast to the circumstance where Brazil appears to have an abundance of attacking stars, Neymar is carrying too much of the load.

Argentina: No “plan B” when facing stalemate

Even though the Saudi Arabian defeat was only a “accident,” it was nevertheless a much more “genuine” loss than the group stage upsets of Spain, Brazil, and France. In the knockout stage, falling again in that manner obviously leaves no hope for correction.

Throughout the four games, Argentina frequently changed its lineup, although the style of play remained mostly the same. The surrounding positions were better connected as soon as Enzo Fernandez entered the game (playing in central midfield). But Fernandez’s physical appearance is mostly at issue. In recent games, Rodrigo de Paul has lived up to expectations as a thorough defensive “war commander.” But before it, he had been the match’s weakest player. Additionally, this is really a formality.

Argentina gives the impression that, as long as every player is performing well, the team does not need to alter. Argentina’s disadvantage is that it has a limited capacity to alter its style of play in the event of a deadlock. Argentina was at a loss as to what to do, so they left it up to the chance of individual efforts (and they’re out of luck) after Saudi Arabia bravely adopted a strategy that was not anticipated by observers (push the defense very high to put pressure and make the midfield become congested).

England: Crowded but no wise

“Too much” sometimes becomes “nothing”. In addition to Harry Kane with the captain’s armband in hand and the many goals that come in the whole career of an irreplaceable leader, coach Gareth Southgate will choose who for the positions around the “Three Lions” attack. ? He has Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling. Whoever chooses, Southgate is also criticized, by a familiar content: why not trust the rest!

Initially, Mr. Southgate’s view was to use the striker trio of Saka – Kane – Sterling. He was criticized for the 0-0 US draw, and turned to the trio of Rashford – Kane – Foden. In the knock-out match against Senegal, a “mix” appeared: Saka – Kane – Foden. The problem here is that England’s strikers have not asserted themselves by a level of stability required, or in other words, England is facing a situation where “quantity overwhelms quality”. In fact, having many alternatives is an advantage for Mr. Southgate. But he is not a famous leader of substitutions.

France: Holding and passing is not good

The essence of a championship candidate is that they always show their “elder” posture through important indicators related to passing the ball. It is not necessary to have thousands of passes or own more than 70% of the time the ball rolls like Spain, but a really strong team must be the one that holds the ball a lot, has a high pass accuracy rate, thereby mastering the game. (Winning or losing is another matter). If you don’t have the above mentioned things and still succeed, then it will only be a team… “dark horse”.

France has not yet guaranteed the advantage in holding and passing the ball. They owned only 55% of the ball in the knock-out match against Poland, and owned an average of 58% of the ball in the group stage. France’s pass accuracy rate is also not high (rarely getting close to 90% like other championship candidates). The consequence of this “not strong” detail is that the opponent will become stronger – because football is a fighting sport. The number of consecutive passes in a Danish attack, or the number of accurate passes in the attacking area of this team, are all higher than “allowable” when they face France in the group stage…

Croatia: “Give up” the striker

If only Croatia’s midfielders (Marcelo Brozovic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic) were as good as their strikers! The winger, who Ivan Perisic had to step on, appeared to be the greatest striker Croatia could hope for. The creative value and technical crucial passes of their colleagues were wasted by Bruno Petkovic and Andrej Kramaric. The Croatian striker can hardly kick the ball, thus the issue isn’t just the quantity of shots but also their quality.

Romelu Lukaku didn’t play particularly poorly, and Belgium bravely defeated Croatia. The lesson here is not about Lukaku’s odd lost opportunities, but rather about where did Belgium, a team that everyone considers to be stale and internally conflicted, get so many chances to score. a set. One reason is that Croatia’s defensive system is not very reliable. However, it is also a result of the circumstances surrounding an entirely “open” match, on the other side. Although Belgium agreed to change the shape for the attack, the Croatian striker was still unable to score in the opposing corner of the field (let alone talk to score).

Netherlands: It’s been revealed

The strength of the Netherlands… is also a weakness. The Netherlands under coach Louis Van Gaal must definitely play in a 5-3-2 formation (or 3-5-2 when the winger rises to attack). In this style of play, the key point are long, high passes to the wing: the player on one side crosses the ball to the player on the other, with Denzel Dumfries on the right now shining.

Meeting Argentina in the quarterfinals is not so easy, not to mention few confirm the gameplay and tactical scheme before the ball rolls. But if Van Gaal keeps to the formula that has helped him succeed, it will never be a strange thing. For a long time, that has been the unchanging view of the most conservative coach at this World Cup. The press asked him if it was a weakness, Mr. Van Gaal replied: it was an advantage of the Netherlands, which he was always proud of. Coach Van Gaal continued: he has met many opponents that he knows how to play, but they do not, nor need to change anything when both sides play. The Netherlands will too! Coach Van Gaal stated: Argentina, or even France, Spain, Brazil, does not necessarily play the Dutch way. So what do we have to adjust, change, play their way?”

In the end, if you keep the same formula, one way of playing, and fail, you will certainly be heavily criticized. Coach Van Gaal said: “Never mind, I don’t care”!