The best teams utilize their strengths. Spain & Portugal stressed ball movement, constant switching the play. Iceland- industrious teamwork & spirit – their assets that you won’t find in any coaching book but are powerful weapons as applied like Iceland.
- A great number of defensive plays were illegal and often wrong from a technical point of view… Too often defenders played “too high” when on top of the player with the ball which means it Is easy to “sell” a body to the far post fake to the defender as they lose sight of the ball. The golden rule is to get low and see the ball through your opponent’s legs. This means you can adjust quickly because you are in a “sprint mode” position. Play high and you are like a tree ready to fall as you are at the mercy of the dribbler, like Aguerro who is small & quick.
- Teams like Nigeria their ball movement was far too slow and possession becomes disjointed- a losing combination.
- “G SPOT of defending at the far post. The far defenders lost their marker by either the smart play by the attacker “pulling away” from his marker or criminally ball-watching by the defender.
- German Lessons from the 2014 World Cup- Don’t concede free kicks within 30 meters of your goal. Germany didn’t concede 1 free kick within this distance in the whole of the 2014 Cup. Look how many goals came from set plays & especially free kicks.
