Tactics Board Day 6
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Honduras 0 - 1 Chile (Group H)
Having scored 32 goals in qualifying for this tournament, Chile were singled out as a team to watch at these World Cup finals. An exciting, ambitious side, they looked well-placed to be the team that finally ignited the flame of flowing attacking football at the tail-end of an uninspired opening sequence of games. Honduras however, were determined to extinguish any sparks that threatened to engulf their World Cup odyssey in a deadly blaze.
The Central Americans' set-up reflected this, lining out in a 4-5-1 formation with Pavon occupying the lone-striker's role ahead of a midfield packed with graft and steely determination. Chile, meanwhile, adopted a peculiar 3-3-1-3 system for much of the game. The tone for the following ninety minutes was set early on, with the South American side looking to get the ball early to danger-man Alexis Sanchez. The winger has been attracting covetous glances from Europe's elite recently and showed just why from the first minutes. His pace, trickery and eye for a killer pass providing a triple-threat for the Honduran rear-guard. They had clearly done their homework however as Sanchez regularly found himself doubled-up on early on by the Honduran midfield and defence, who attempted to force him wide towards the touchline and away from more dangerous areas. With Honduras packing the midfield, Chile tried to play quick one-twos in order to play through them; this resulted in some very attractive passages of play. To get in behind their opposition, the Chileans had clearly devised a separate strategy. Their central-midfielders looked to spread the ball wide early in order to drag the Honduran full-backs away from their centre-backs. This created gaps in the channels, which Chile looked to exploit through intricate slide-rule passes.
Chile's front three were linking up very well with their midfielders, creating an excellent fluidity in their forward movements. Their front-men looked to drop off their markers in order to gain space for one-touch passes to their team-mates. Honduras struggled to keep track of their opponents' splendid movement in the final-third but were alert enough to make some fine last-ditch blocks and clearances whenever Chile looked to have broken through. The Chilean full-backs, under little pressure defensively, were able to surge forward regularly in order to support their team-mates in attack. This surplus of attacking options forced their opponents' midfield to remain deep and concentrate on protecting their defence, thus limiting opportunities for Honduras themselves to move forward offensively. The impressive Sanchez continued to threaten, he was involved in almost every Chilean attack and seemed to glide past Honduran challenges at times. Honduras had to do something to lift the siege and allow themselves to enter the game as an attacking entity, their manager Reinaldo Rueda switched his side's formation to 4-4-2 in the second-half in the hope of finding an equalising goal to Chile's deserved but fortuitous opener.
This was beginning to look a vain hope however as the game wore on. With seven players in the Honduran team being semi-professionals, their inferior mental and physical strength was taking its toll. Chile continued to pile forward and were getting plenty of players into the box on each attack. The fact that they rarely had to defend allowed Marcelo Bielsa's men to maintain their width throughout the game. By not being forced to become compact by the opposing attackers, Chile were always in position to stretch the play once they regained possession. Right full-back Mauricio Isla spent the majority of the game inside the Honduran half; he and Sanchez were looking formidable as an attacking pair down that right-flank. Chile's constant high-tempo football was overpowering the tiring Honduran players, who by now were lacking heavily in discipline and organisation. Their defence allowed the Chilean attackers far too much time on the ball as they looked to play killer passes through this weary rear-guard.
Honduras lacked any genuine threat up front and, as the game wore on, became sloppy and wasteful in their efforts and with possession. Though Chile never managed to find the cushion of a second goal, in truth they never really needed it. This was a very comfortable game for them once Jean Beausejour had put them ahead. They provided a breath of fresh air in a tournament which has, so far, largely featured cautious, slightly negative football and are sure to be very exciting viewing in the weeks to come.
Spain 0 - 1 Switzerland (Group H)
The final game of the first-round of matches at this World Cup was perhaps the most anticipated. The world tuned in to see if the reigning European Champions could finally come up with a winning formula on the biggest stage of all. The Spanish have assembled one of the most talented squads in international football and came into this tournament on an incredible run of form, featuring just one defeat in 48 games prior to their kick-off against Switzerland in Durban. Vicente Del Bosque's charges can boast some of the greatest players in world football; despite Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas starting on the bench, the first XI contained Xavi, Andres Iniesta and David Villa. With such attacking presence and quality, the Swiss needed an effective game plan to stifle the abundant creativity that their opponents possessed.
Spain lined up as expected, in an attack-minded 4-5-1/4-3-3. Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso anchored a midfield graced by the inspirational genius of Xavi. Del Bosque began with Iniesta on the left side of midfield, while Valencia starlet David Silva occupied the left-flank. When Spain were victorious at the European Championships of 2008, Marcos Senna was a key player in the centre of their midfield. The Villareal man provided protection for the team's defence, allowing the more creative players around him to flourish. With Senna not included in the Spanish squad for this tournament, Busquets will be the man entrusted with performing that crucial role. The Barcelona youngster was never really tested in this game however as Spain monopolised possession from the outset.
The Swiss played a flat 4-4-2 and looked to set up two banks of four behind the ball, their two strikers providing their solitary attacking outlet. Spain set about fencing their opposition in early on, keeping the ball excellently in midfield. Their full-backs were pushed on high up the pitch in order to provide some much-needed width. With Iniesta and Silva operating on the flanks, Spain's midfield was particularly narrow. Iniesta especially, looked to come inside and find space in the middle. This meant that Sergio Ramos and Juan Capdevilla had license to get forward and create a wide option for the man in possession. This width also managed to eke out some precious space in the centre for the creative forces of Xabi Alonso and Xavi. These two were looking very sharp on the ball, sucking in the Swiss midfielders before spreading the ball wide to their full-backs. The Spanish 'wingers' switched flanks regularly in the first-half, but neither found much joy against a tremendously disciplined Swiss defensive unit. Spain continued to drag the narrow Swiss across the pitch, moving back and forth between flanks and patiently probing for an opening.
Switzerland were growing in stature defensively as time progressed. They tucked in their wide players to crowd out the Spanish creative threat through the centre and looked comfortable dealing with the long crosses that the Spanish were forced to deliver to the lone Villa. It was clear that Spain were missing Torres up front alongside the new Barcelona man. They were playing all their football in front of the Swiss and carried very little threat in behind, this allowed the Swiss defence to push up knowing that Spain lacked real pace up front. Villa was also dropping deep quite a lot meaning that the Spanish lacked a target-man up front at times. There was no opportunity to mix-up their passing rhythm by hitting a high ball for a striker to knock-down or control. This lack of directness lead to a plethora of short, square passes that never looked like hurting the Swiss. Ottmar Hitzfield had set his men up brilliantly, they looked organised, disciplined and focussed throughout.
The goal when it came, was a complete shock. Spain had dominated almost every aspect of the game thus far and looked entirely comfortable. Their defence, having spent most of the game concentrating on building attacks, seemed to switch off momentarily and allow their opponents to steal ahead. From here, the Swiss were in a perfect position, they were set-up to be defensively responsible and hard to break down and the Spanish were showing signs of frustration. The closest they had to a 'plan B' was the introduction of Torres and Jesus Navas and a switch to 4-4-2. Navas provided his team with some much-needed natural width, while Torres offered a more direct attacking option along with his tremendous ability. The Spanish however continued to play short, square passes across the midfield and were running out of ideas to penetrate this Swiss team. When Hitzfield's men did pinch the ball back, they continued to avail of the outlet provided by their front-two. Nkufo and Derdiyok looked dangerous when allowed to link-up and offered brief moments of respite to their overworked defenders.
As the game neared its capitulation, Spain finally became more direct. They worked the ball wide as early as possible and sent crosses into the packed box. Gerard Pique was employed as an auxiliary striker as Del Bosque desperately sought to snatch an equalising goal. The Swiss however were working as hard as ever, furiously closing down the Spanish players and clearing the many crosses that came into the box in the dying stages as they closed out an excellent three points.
And so we witnessed the first shock result of these finals so far. The Spanish, for all their neat and impressive possession, just didn't have the spark needed to unlock their resolute opponents. Switzerland will be delighted with this win and it sets the group up in mouth-watering fashion ahead of the next round of games. The Swiss victory was built on discipline, organisation and opportunism. Ottmar Hitzfield will be delighted that his players stuck to their jobs and managed to totally stifle their illustrious opponents; a tremendous defensive effort by the men from Central Europe.
Having scored 32 goals in qualifying for this tournament, Chile were singled out as a team to watch at these World Cup finals. An exciting, ambitious side, they looked well-placed to be the team that finally ignited the flame of flowing attacking football at the tail-end of an uninspired opening sequence of games. Honduras however, were determined to extinguish any sparks that threatened to engulf their World Cup odyssey in a deadly blaze.
The Central Americans' set-up reflected this, lining out in a 4-5-1 formation with Pavon occupying the lone-striker's role ahead of a midfield packed with graft and steely determination. Chile, meanwhile, adopted a peculiar 3-3-1-3 system for much of the game. The tone for the following ninety minutes was set early on, with the South American side looking to get the ball early to danger-man Alexis Sanchez. The winger has been attracting covetous glances from Europe's elite recently and showed just why from the first minutes. His pace, trickery and eye for a killer pass providing a triple-threat for the Honduran rear-guard. They had clearly done their homework however as Sanchez regularly found himself doubled-up on early on by the Honduran midfield and defence, who attempted to force him wide towards the touchline and away from more dangerous areas. With Honduras packing the midfield, Chile tried to play quick one-twos in order to play through them; this resulted in some very attractive passages of play. To get in behind their opposition, the Chileans had clearly devised a separate strategy. Their central-midfielders looked to spread the ball wide early in order to drag the Honduran full-backs away from their centre-backs. This created gaps in the channels, which Chile looked to exploit through intricate slide-rule passes.
Chile's front three were linking up very well with their midfielders, creating an excellent fluidity in their forward movements. Their front-men looked to drop off their markers in order to gain space for one-touch passes to their team-mates. Honduras struggled to keep track of their opponents' splendid movement in the final-third but were alert enough to make some fine last-ditch blocks and clearances whenever Chile looked to have broken through. The Chilean full-backs, under little pressure defensively, were able to surge forward regularly in order to support their team-mates in attack. This surplus of attacking options forced their opponents' midfield to remain deep and concentrate on protecting their defence, thus limiting opportunities for Honduras themselves to move forward offensively. The impressive Sanchez continued to threaten, he was involved in almost every Chilean attack and seemed to glide past Honduran challenges at times. Honduras had to do something to lift the siege and allow themselves to enter the game as an attacking entity, their manager Reinaldo Rueda switched his side's formation to 4-4-2 in the second-half in the hope of finding an equalising goal to Chile's deserved but fortuitous opener.
This was beginning to look a vain hope however as the game wore on. With seven players in the Honduran team being semi-professionals, their inferior mental and physical strength was taking its toll. Chile continued to pile forward and were getting plenty of players into the box on each attack. The fact that they rarely had to defend allowed Marcelo Bielsa's men to maintain their width throughout the game. By not being forced to become compact by the opposing attackers, Chile were always in position to stretch the play once they regained possession. Right full-back Mauricio Isla spent the majority of the game inside the Honduran half; he and Sanchez were looking formidable as an attacking pair down that right-flank. Chile's constant high-tempo football was overpowering the tiring Honduran players, who by now were lacking heavily in discipline and organisation. Their defence allowed the Chilean attackers far too much time on the ball as they looked to play killer passes through this weary rear-guard.
Honduras lacked any genuine threat up front and, as the game wore on, became sloppy and wasteful in their efforts and with possession. Though Chile never managed to find the cushion of a second goal, in truth they never really needed it. This was a very comfortable game for them once Jean Beausejour had put them ahead. They provided a breath of fresh air in a tournament which has, so far, largely featured cautious, slightly negative football and are sure to be very exciting viewing in the weeks to come.
Spain 0 - 1 Switzerland (Group H)
The final game of the first-round of matches at this World Cup was perhaps the most anticipated. The world tuned in to see if the reigning European Champions could finally come up with a winning formula on the biggest stage of all. The Spanish have assembled one of the most talented squads in international football and came into this tournament on an incredible run of form, featuring just one defeat in 48 games prior to their kick-off against Switzerland in Durban. Vicente Del Bosque's charges can boast some of the greatest players in world football; despite Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas starting on the bench, the first XI contained Xavi, Andres Iniesta and David Villa. With such attacking presence and quality, the Swiss needed an effective game plan to stifle the abundant creativity that their opponents possessed.
Spain lined up as expected, in an attack-minded 4-5-1/4-3-3. Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso anchored a midfield graced by the inspirational genius of Xavi. Del Bosque began with Iniesta on the left side of midfield, while Valencia starlet David Silva occupied the left-flank. When Spain were victorious at the European Championships of 2008, Marcos Senna was a key player in the centre of their midfield. The Villareal man provided protection for the team's defence, allowing the more creative players around him to flourish. With Senna not included in the Spanish squad for this tournament, Busquets will be the man entrusted with performing that crucial role. The Barcelona youngster was never really tested in this game however as Spain monopolised possession from the outset.
The Swiss played a flat 4-4-2 and looked to set up two banks of four behind the ball, their two strikers providing their solitary attacking outlet. Spain set about fencing their opposition in early on, keeping the ball excellently in midfield. Their full-backs were pushed on high up the pitch in order to provide some much-needed width. With Iniesta and Silva operating on the flanks, Spain's midfield was particularly narrow. Iniesta especially, looked to come inside and find space in the middle. This meant that Sergio Ramos and Juan Capdevilla had license to get forward and create a wide option for the man in possession. This width also managed to eke out some precious space in the centre for the creative forces of Xabi Alonso and Xavi. These two were looking very sharp on the ball, sucking in the Swiss midfielders before spreading the ball wide to their full-backs. The Spanish 'wingers' switched flanks regularly in the first-half, but neither found much joy against a tremendously disciplined Swiss defensive unit. Spain continued to drag the narrow Swiss across the pitch, moving back and forth between flanks and patiently probing for an opening.
Switzerland were growing in stature defensively as time progressed. They tucked in their wide players to crowd out the Spanish creative threat through the centre and looked comfortable dealing with the long crosses that the Spanish were forced to deliver to the lone Villa. It was clear that Spain were missing Torres up front alongside the new Barcelona man. They were playing all their football in front of the Swiss and carried very little threat in behind, this allowed the Swiss defence to push up knowing that Spain lacked real pace up front. Villa was also dropping deep quite a lot meaning that the Spanish lacked a target-man up front at times. There was no opportunity to mix-up their passing rhythm by hitting a high ball for a striker to knock-down or control. This lack of directness lead to a plethora of short, square passes that never looked like hurting the Swiss. Ottmar Hitzfield had set his men up brilliantly, they looked organised, disciplined and focussed throughout.
The goal when it came, was a complete shock. Spain had dominated almost every aspect of the game thus far and looked entirely comfortable. Their defence, having spent most of the game concentrating on building attacks, seemed to switch off momentarily and allow their opponents to steal ahead. From here, the Swiss were in a perfect position, they were set-up to be defensively responsible and hard to break down and the Spanish were showing signs of frustration. The closest they had to a 'plan B' was the introduction of Torres and Jesus Navas and a switch to 4-4-2. Navas provided his team with some much-needed natural width, while Torres offered a more direct attacking option along with his tremendous ability. The Spanish however continued to play short, square passes across the midfield and were running out of ideas to penetrate this Swiss team. When Hitzfield's men did pinch the ball back, they continued to avail of the outlet provided by their front-two. Nkufo and Derdiyok looked dangerous when allowed to link-up and offered brief moments of respite to their overworked defenders.
As the game neared its capitulation, Spain finally became more direct. They worked the ball wide as early as possible and sent crosses into the packed box. Gerard Pique was employed as an auxiliary striker as Del Bosque desperately sought to snatch an equalising goal. The Swiss however were working as hard as ever, furiously closing down the Spanish players and clearing the many crosses that came into the box in the dying stages as they closed out an excellent three points.
And so we witnessed the first shock result of these finals so far. The Spanish, for all their neat and impressive possession, just didn't have the spark needed to unlock their resolute opponents. Switzerland will be delighted with this win and it sets the group up in mouth-watering fashion ahead of the next round of games. The Swiss victory was built on discipline, organisation and opportunism. Ottmar Hitzfield will be delighted that his players stuck to their jobs and managed to totally stifle their illustrious opponents; a tremendous defensive effort by the men from Central Europe.
About Dean Hayes
Dean covers Waterford United and, due to a challenge from Gareth, writes in an increasingly Gonzo style. Having found himself with a considerable surplus of a culinary herb, Dean founded sister 'site extrathyme.ie some years … View Full Profile