The United States were always set to have one of the most impressive performances of the opening round. But they impressed with their tactical nuances as much as their individual star power. Here is our first edition of Game of Numbers across the 2023 Women's World Cup, with how the States used positional rotations to unravel Vietnam's defense.
I know what you're thinking: "formations don't exist anymore!" That's what everyone says these days, isn't it? We've become so smart about the way we think about football and too evolved from the ways cavemen used to play, that formations are now only for foosball and cheerleading pyramids. But here I am to suggest, and announce my candidacy for president on the "formations still exist" train. Formations still exist.
Erik Ten Hag has deployed brilliant implementations of positional play all season long, putting on an absolute masterclass of how to confuddle the opposition into oblivion against Leicester City.
Luciano Spalletti has worked wonders since arriving to the scene of Naples in 2021. The Italian manager helped Napoli to a third-place finish last season, and now prepares to lead the closing stages of their title charge in 2023. With some supremely smart acquisitions in the summer working their magic, Gli Azzurri currently sit ten points clear atop the table, and have more than double the points of Serie A's historical dominator - Juventus. If Spalletti can continue to get his tactics right and maintain the remarkably positive culture he's built since arriving, Napoli will walk away with the title this year. So with that, here is our analysis of the club from Naples so far in 2022-23.
After a slow start to the season, Southampton are one of the in-form Premier League teams at the moment. Fielding a 4-2-2-2 on paper, the Saints recently picked up unexpected points against some of the league's biggest hitters - Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United. Results in tow, Southampton’s implementation of quick and progressive attacking transitions have them climbing the league table, playing with a distinct style and groove.
The main task of any manager in the modern tactical era is to implement a tactical system and style of play that simultaneously suits their own taste, while getting the best out of their best players, if not the entire squad. Marco Rose has rarely accomplished that feat this season, and would be wise to stick with the back-three in the future. Here is why Dortmund should persist with the 3-4-2-1 in the future, following their 6-0 win over Gladbach on Matchday 23.
The footballing universe is littered with terminology that only exists to us in our realm, and our game, and our sport. It can therefore be difficult for inexperienced onlookers or even just the average fan, to understand what we mean we discuss different footballing concepts and terms. So today, I take a look at the differences between positional play, positional rotation and positional interchange.
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