The group stage at the Euro are coming to a close. 7 out of 8 quarter-finalists are now confirmed with Iceland, Italy and Belgium competing for that last spot.
The vibes from Group C have been immaculate. The games are chaotic with lots of surprises and interesting tactical bits. The subsequent round of games were just as entertaining, if not more than, as the first ones. As Netherlands piled up on the goals late in their last group game, the top spot looked uncertain till the end. Long live chaos!
Elsewhere in Group D, we got to see a goal from throw-in, which was the most special moment of the tournament if you ask me. And even though minstrels will not write song about it, I will.
So let’s dive in and breakdown some interesting bits from the games that have happened so far.
Hand-trebuchet
This is a trebuchet. It’s a siege weapon that can sling projectiles over long distances during the middle ages. It was an early marvel of engineering whose destructive power could be used to break down the enemy forts in one swing. It’s was simplistic in design and used a counterweight to launch heavy objects into a projectile motion. It’s the law of conservation of energy in action, it’s amazing.
I have always been fascinated by Trebuchet. I am also fascinated by football. Let me present to you the perfect blend of both.
This is Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir aka the modern trebuchet. She can swing projectile, aka the ball, over long distances. She can breach opposition’s defensive lines in one swing and cause chaos in the box from her powerful long throw-ins.
It’s fresh, it’s unique and teams really don’t know how to deal with the second balls and the awkward bounce inside the penalty area. It causes chaos and as we all know chaos is a ladder. So, it’s effective.
Let’s look at some examples. Look at this sequence of play, Jónsdóttir slings the ball into the box, it’s aimed towards the target the near post. Focus on how Iceland set-up to exploit the second ball at the far post with their runners. This is the basic idea behind these long throw-ins, it’s to win the first contact and exploit the second balls that causes chaos in the box.
Pay special attention to Vilhjálmsdóttir’s movements and where she ends up as Italy clear the danger this time.
Here is how Iceland scored against Italy. Once again the idea is to win the initial contact have runners to exploit the second balls and a player to pounce on loose balls. Notice who scores the goal by pouncing on a loose ball in the box? yes, it’s Karólína Vilhjálmsdóttir, which is why I asked you to focus on the space she ends up in on the earlier sequence. It’s a coordinated sequence. It’s ordered chaos by Iceland.
This isn’t an isolated incident either. Earlier in the season we saw Wolfsburg tapping into this potential as well. The setup is slightly different but the idea is the same — to exploit the second balls after winning the initial contact. Wolfsburg have Alexandra Popp, who is very dominant in the air and can win those initial headers in the box, then using players to drag defenders, they can have runners who attack this loose ball.
And that is how you score a goal from a long throw-in!
I hope this has peaked your interest in trebuchet and by extension, long throw-ins. So I will leave you with some more of this brilliance by your friendly neighborhood trebuchet, Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir.
Switches
Les Bleues have made it 2/2 wins. They made waves after their big win against Italy and for good reason. The attacking flair and fluidity on display against Italy was phenomenal, the wingers were running riot, the midfielders were wrecking havoc and Katoto was being Katoto. It was an exhibition of quality and flair.
One thing that stood out to me during these two games was the usage of long diagonals from the CBs to the wingers/advanced fullbacks by France. Diacre’s side are not afraid to take a slightly direct approach and utilize the long ball ability of their CBs. Look at the examples above, one sweeping move from deep to find a player in advanced position in the final third.
The move has reaped rewards, creating 1v1 isolation for their wingers, who can then utilize their technical superiority to put France in an advantageous position. The wide players at France’s disposal are excellent at dribbling to the byline and creating chances or cutting inside to get a shot off. We can see a glimpse of both of these in the sequences above. They have the pace and the skill to get the better of opposition fullback.
These long switches are perfectly complemented with excellent counter movements to create space. The combination play from the wide players is excellent, as the fullbacks have an affinity to join attacks thus providing supporting runs. The #8s in midfield also play their part by perfectly timing their third-player runs and attacking the spaces between the CBs and fullbacks. This allows France to undo opposition defences in more ways than one.
In the video above, we see these plays in action. There is excellent third-player runs by midfielders to support the switch of play and there is marauding runs from the fullbacks to attack the space in behind following a switch.
The long ball ability of the CBs has also manifested into balls over the top in behind for the wingers. Giving the French CBs time to pick out their options is asking for trouble and the long ball ability adds variety to their attacks.
On paper diagonal switches are risky passes. While they help switch point of attack quickly forcing opponents to shift and create isolation and space for your far side winger, there execution is difficult. More flight on the ball than needed? Opposition get the time to switch across. More weight on the pass? controlling it becomes difficult for the winger. This is why there remain only a few who excel at the art of switching play but when done right, it is one of the most dangerous moves in an attacking toolkit.
Opponents need to try and minimize the time on the ball for France’s CBs. Here there is slight heavy touch by Renard which is pounced on by Belgium but the idea is to not offer as much time on the ball as they have received so far.
At it’s core defending is about two primary things, you can either deny time to opposition by pressing and forcing a decision or you can defend space by packing the dangerous areas and showing your opponent to parts of the pitch you want to. Every time you choose one, there is a slight trade-off that follows.
Allowing the French CBs to have that sort of time on the ball to showcase their passing skills, will probably result in undesirable situations.
It’s easier said than done though, as France usually create a back +1 (a fancy way to say they have a player advantage) in the buildup phases, either with one of their FBs or the DMs dropping in and trying to balance that in numbers would mean committing too many bodies up front, which could lead to open spaces in the 2nd line.
It’s an interesting conundrum for teams to solve and Iceland, who are an intense side and can press on the front foot, have a choice to make as they have to go for the win to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Backheel and a nutmeg? Can it get any better? (I know I said international flavor but nutmegs are nutmegs)
Until next time. Ciao!