therealdwh

@Zonal_Marking Tuchel seems 'very reluctant' to play Mainoo at any time - those changes yesterday (mainly playing James in midfield) is a bit of a slap in the face. Prob the best England player at keeping the ball, rotating possession etc which would have been vital in the hot conditions.

Tuchel's double half-time substitution really didn't work and he spent the rest of the game making further changes to fix things. The crucial boost was the sheer energy of Rogers and Spence. Anderson's role changed three times! ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/74396…

@Adroit_Cadet On a slightly unrelated point, did I hear Jimenez will be playing in the Championship for Wolves next season? Very surprising unless it's for sentimental reasons?

For Mexico it was all about getting after England and forcing them into being a sitting team & getting after them… In chance creation/possession, as we saw, the main theme was working it wise & hitting Jiménez (how good does he leap btw?) & forcing scrappy box defending by England (which they did well)

🇲🇽 México vs England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stern test for England, this. Will be interesting to see how they approach it They already have to make adjustments/reshuffling in defence, and we’re only in the round of 16, but that’s a conversation for another day… They’ve been very disappointing so far in the tournament, but this is the exact type of opponent Tuchel has built the squad for. So let’s see what he produces tonight I think they’ll have their moments of possession spells, but may be reduced to a Morocco-esque (vs Canada) approach & performance: moderately safe possession, simple passing networks (not risky or overly-intricate) & trying to launch attacks down the sides through Madueke & Gordon’s directness (the pair I’d start for THIS game), which makes you less vulnerable to any heavy press or vicious turnovers & just offers cleaner outs Off the ball they’ll obviously show some spells of the press they showed vs Croatia, but I have a feeling Tuchel will ask for his team to sit in a little more in a mid-to-low shape at times, simply to: 1) conserve energy in this altitude & try to be a little more reactive in large parts of the game 2) try not to make the game too stretched or become a matter of war zone duels & battles… that scenario would normally suit this England group, but not at the Azteca. Would be like going to Anfield on a CL night & letting the game tailor to the atmosphere So, don’t be surprised at all whatsoever if Tuchel sets his side up to be a little more reactive than you’d have thought, trying to rely on his quality to be ruthless in the spaces that appear…, In terms of chance creation, it depends on what the tactical plan actually is. They have a lot of quality, so can score different types of goals, but if Tuchel goes about it like I think he will, I think the most likely are: - Transitions - Kane dropping in to England’s lower shape + lofting into space for a winger - Set pieces I can’t imagine England scoring via a siege of dominant football & attacking probing, which you’d associate with the top nations/stronger sides. It’ll be counterpunches or dead balls. But open to being wrong, let’s see what Tuchel can do now that he’s got his first non-low-block to deal with For Mexico, it’s much clearer in approach. They’ll be going after England from the first whistle: it’ll be a violent press in a 442ish shape, pretty much like Canada yesterday, funnily enough In possession/chance creation it’ll be nothing too fancy… Simple, quick but highly effective 1-2s, trying to work it wide and free up the flanks, which will have support runs beyond trying to hit the box as much as possible (Jiménez the obvious target) Their most likely methods of scoring: - unsettling & testing England’s box defending; crosses, scrappy second balls, etc - pressing & forcing regains + quick box access - set pieces Prediction: I think Mexico qualify from this in a scrappy contest, winning by the singular goal (1-0 or 2-1) The crowd, the atmosphere, the altitude all synchronising with their heavy press & their dogged mentalities = a nasty fixture for England, whose best chance from qualifying you would imagine could come from Mexico lacking the sheer quality of a Brazil/Spain/France to punish them… If Mexico are wasteful or lack the final action, England have crazy quality to then punish you.. esp if they get the starters + finishers right (legs first, quality later)

Along with many other people, I put the football on just to find out if Lee Dixon likes ice cream or not. #BRANOR #WorldCup

@Zonal_Marking "What's your Plan B?" "Do Plan A, but better." Teams can win knock out tournaments by 'moments' or scraping out results rather than being great, but at the moment getting to the final or even semis looks a long way away.

How DR Congo’s change of system surprised England - and how Tuchel responded ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/74137…

@Tactx_ How many minutes is Rice fit enough to play at RB? And how do you rejig midfield, Mainoo in or drop Bellingham back & bring in Rogers/Eze? I worry England don't seem to press together too well but also look poor defending their box. And no real fluidity or patterns in attack.

Well that was hard work! England deserved the win with the chances they had. I go away with a little less hope of us progressing any further though. Tuchel said we would play better against teams who wanted to come out and beat us rather than contain. DR Congo came out and played through England with ease. In possession, his wide connections have been really poor and lacked cohesion. I’m not on the bandwagon of the England defence being weak. The problems have been in front of that. I’d expect the team that finished the game before Rice went off for Stones, to start the next game. Rice will start right back.

@KitCrimes Clearly there has to be a 'hipster' kit every World Cup and this time it's either this or the Curacao away. I quite like it, especially with the massive numbered black shorts, but wouldn't call it a classic by any means.

🤷 This kit then... not sure what all the fuss was about. It's okay, that's all, but don't get the hype. Not a fan of multi-coloured pinstripes, should've been black. 🇯🇵

@Adroit_Cadet I'd actually get Watkins on in some way - there is space in behind - even at times Kane has looked to have a chance making a run in behind, then realised he can't do it.

He won’t do it, but if I were Tuchel: Rogers off, Mainoo on Give Bellingham the floaty role Rogers has

@DaleJohnsonBBC Not sure how VAR can flag up that minimal, if at all contact - yet do nothing with a head high foot that makes more contact 🤷

A complete lottery.

@Adroit_Cadet Not a clear pen for me. Or for the officials obviously as they didn't know who to book for the 'foul' so didn't caution anyone 😄

Felt the penalty was harsh initially, although consensus on here seems to be it was a "stonewaller", which surprises me My metric: would I imagine it being let go in the middle of the pitch? (I would)

@DaleJohnsonBBC VAR is definitely doing more of the 'refereeing' in this World Cup than we've seen in any competition prior to it!

Is VAR being used differently at the World Cup compared to the Premier League? It might surprise you, but the VAR intervention rate is higher in the World Cup. And the number of pitchside reviews is exactly the same. So why does it feel different? 👇 bbc.co.uk/sport/football…

I'll be so disappointed if they don't break out the 'Um Bongo' at the advert, sorry I mean hydration breaks #worldcup #PORDRC

France could walk off in protest here! #FRASEN #worldcup

At least we don't have to see Daryl Gurney's arse again this year #wcod26 #darts

@Adroit_Cadet Possession against top/better sides, even for 20-30 secs, takes the sting out of the game (and crowd if away). Also as said, work the bottom teams through possession- it'll bear fruit later on in the game. You don't want end to end stuff in those games as it narrows the margins

Against bigger sides, you simply have to accept the make up of those games will be duel-centred wars filled with stretched pitches, absurd intensity & crazy transitions - that’s the nature of it, especially how United historically approach those games But this CAN’T be a weekly theme. It’s not sustainable You also need a model that forces the bottom 12-13 teams chase your shadows for large spells Breathe ON the ball sometimes. Run the tempo of the game Over 50-60 games in a congested calendar year, that MATTERS

One thing people I’ve never seen someone mention is that with a proper controlling CM, they reduce the risk of injuries too. It’s a form of load-management

@Zonal_Marking The Mexico red card for DOGSO could easily have also been for just deliberately taking a player out - a ruling I know @Zonal_Marking would agree with.

Three red cards! There were only four red cards in the whole of the last World Cup. One was after full-time so barely counts. Another was for Vincent Aboubakar taking his shirt off after scoring in the 93rd minute and he seemed to love it.

@Tactx_ I mean, dropping deep and having movement is part of why he has space to score. If he stays on the top line all the time the defender would never leave his side.

The issue I have with pundits questioning Kane dropping into deeper positions is that Kane knows when to drop better than anyone who talks about it. He's got 67 goals this season playing this role.

@Zonal_Marking This links well to your series on the previous World Cups - especially recently it's very unusual for the winners to finish the tournament with the same line up they started with. Even more so with the extra game (and conditions) this time, so squad depth will be key. Thanks!

32 teams to 48 teams fundamentally changes the World Cup. Here are the probable ramifications: more rotation, more defensive play in the first two games, Africa the major beneficiary. And other things. ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/73248…

@Zonal_Marking Very reminiscent of Ita v Eng in the Euro final. No issues with Arsenal's setup but then all their players were in their own third - there was no confidence/(ability?) to move up the pitch or create 'rest periods' with possession. Very unlikely to hold out for 85 mins.

Good Arsenal gameplan, inevitably more cautious (especially after going ahead early) and they largely defended excellently. But also they just weren’t not technically good enough in attack, especially after the subs, to offer any real goal threat. ⬇️ nytimes.com/athletic/73204…

@KitCrimes Think this will be/is this year's 'Nigeria kit' - rated as a classic but overrated imo. Quite a few nicer kits featuring the trefoil this World Cup.

Love the Curacao away kit and it may be the best at the World Cup (will reserve final judgement until seeing more teams in action), but not keen on the multi-coloured sleeve stripes. Would prefer blue. 🇨🇼

@tactixology We need a player with a football brain &ability to read the game. I like Mount in this respect but don't see how to get him in the team- don't think he's suited to a mf role. Getting a technical player but also finding a way to bolster the midfield from elsewhere is key imo.

Fred Sabitzer Ugarte Ederson For almost 10 years now, Manchester United have been obsessively fixated on athletic central midfielders who thrive on pressing and winning the ball higher up the pitch, but are poor at defending space during transitions and are subpar covers for the back line during a mid / low block phase. In addition, they are not great at receiving under pressure nor at progressive passing, which makes them a poor resource in build up. Their stats are often inflated by a high amount of tackles, an action very visible on the pitch, which makes people think that prolific tacklers = great defenders. And their passing stats get inflated by safe sideway passes, since they often lack the ability to play line-breaking passes, so they focus on retention. Thus, when you look at fancy graphs, it always seems like they are elite at almost everything that a central midfielder should be good at. I remember fans & pundits citing the fact that Ugarte had the most tackles or interceptions in Europe, which was used as the key evidence that we was a top DM. What’s missing is context, role, team strategy etc. Don’t get me wrong - teams absolutely need great B2B runners and elite carriers in their arsenals. But there are other profiles that United have lacked for years, profiles much important for a functional midfield unit.