#027 - The World Cup Diaries - Day 15
"I've got one more upset in me"
Final day of the group stages. So far we have seen some brilliant upsets but this one tops it all. Group H turned out to be chaos.
Tournament favorites Germany are OUT of the competition. Morocco have advanced to the knockout stage with a goal difference of -4. Colombia topped the group.
History was written. Records were made, desirable and undesirable. It was chaos personified.
Lets break these high drama games down!
Match 47: South Korea1-1 Germany
Germany came into the tournament as the early favorites. They had won the tournament twice and were runners-up at the Euros last year. They never not made it to the knockout round of the World Cup.
There is a first time for everything.
This game highlighted the glaring issues within the German backline that has been papered over for a while. These issues lingered beneath the mask of a makeshift defence.
Today they were unmissable.
Germany started in their 4-2-3-1 formation with a backline of (left to right) Hagel-Hegering-Hendrich-Huth. This backline consisted of one winger, one midfielder, two centerbacks, one of which had just returned from injury. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg started the game with no real fullbacks. It was suboptimal to say the least especially when there are able deputies in the squad.
South Korea started in a 4-5-1 with the 16-year-old Casey Phair leading the line. Phair had recently become the youngest player to appear at the World Cup and with a start this game became the second youngest to start at the World Cup.
South Korea’s manager, Colin Bell, had done his homework. He knew some of these players having worked in Germany in the past. The idea was clear - to exploit the weaknesses at fullbacks.
"We wanted to target both full-backs because they are very good players - but they are not full backs." Colin Bell post-match
If you look at South Korea’s deep completion map you can see this idea at work. Most of these entries have originated from the wide areas. Bell’s side constantly exploited the lack of positional discipline from either fullbacks.
Speaking of discipline, there was an utter lack of that in the entire German backline.
Watching Germany’s makeshift defence maintain a line was painful to watch. Inside the first six minutes, South Korea had sliced open their defensive line twice, hitting the post once and scoring the other time. The lack of synergy between the defenders couldn’t be more clear.
Germany did equalize through a Alex Popp header and create chances but it all came a little too late and in a little too predictable way.
This game highlighted what tournament football is all about. We get to see teams do something very odd to see the games out and to nullify a team’s main threat.
South Korea did a thing when they brought on a 36-year-old, six feet tall, Park Eun-sun, who plays as a striker to mark Germany’s biggest threat Popp. This is the beauty of tournament football.
The 16-year-old Casey Phair had a very good game up front despite not getting on the ball as much. She applied the pressure and helped win the ball back for South Korea and made some excellent runs in behind Germany’s shoddy backline.
Ji So-Yun led on the field with her performance. The veteran midfielder showcased her class on and off the ball. She sliced open German backline with her passing, carried the ball out of pressure and under challenge and was astute with her game reading to recover possession. A masterclass performance to help her side leave the World Cup having taken down a giant.
South Korea had done it again. In 2018, South Korea’s men’s side was responsible for knocking out Germany, who were then the world champions. In 2023, South Korea’s women’s side have done the honours.
Germany’s performances highlighted the need for an influx of fresh ideas on the pitch that aligns with the talent pool. The squad, for all their talent, is suboptimally used. As they travel back home, they have a lot to think about.
Match 48: Morocco 1-0 Colombia
This game was a real rollercoaster, not for the back and forth football but for the way the future of the teams involved changed not just with goals in this game but goals in the other group H game as well.
Morocco had won their first ever World Cup game against South Korea in their previous fixture. Colombia had turned the group upside down after beating Germany thanks to a late goal from Manuela Vanegas.
Colombia looked set to top the group and while that did happen, nobody expected the way things turned out.
Former Lyon manager, Reynald Pedros, set his side up in a 4-4-2 with compact line and an aggressive approach in the middle third. The set-up was perfectly made to concede possession, invite the opposition forwards and force turnovers by directing them into desirable areas. They denied Colombia central progression through their midfield.
The Coffee Growers were in a their typical 4-2-3-1 with a very fluid front four, who all kept interchanging positions and popping up in different areas. This fluidity was dealt with by adopting a zonal approach when the ball reached the middle third.
Morocco did a brilliant job of forcing play into areas where they could generate turnovers. They intentionally targeted the side opposite to where Manuela Vanegas was operating and created multiple turnovers and goalscoring opportunities as well.
We can note their inclination to attack through the left in their deep completion map where a higher volume of entries originate on the left. It was a sound plan and the execution needed a lot of intensity and discipline which Morocco delivered in abundance.
The WAFCON runners-up restricted the Copa America runners-up to just 0.6 expected goal in the entire game.
In this sequence of play we can see how Morocco’s 4-4-2 worked to neutralize the 4-2-3-1 of Colombia. The front two perfectly patrolled the passes into the double pivot and applied pressure on the centerbacks.
This forced Colombia wide and allowed Pedros’ side to close them down aggressively in the wide areas or have Colombia pick out passes in between the lines to dropping attackers with Morocco’s players breathing down their neck. In the sequence above the aggressive closing down results in a foul but Morocco generated a fair bit of their chances in this manner following a turnover.
In this example, we see a similar risky pass, after the ball goes out wide and immedaite options are unavailable, result in a turnover in the middle third due to the aggressive closing down. This time it results in a chance from inside the box and we can note Morocco’s preference to go down the left as well.
Morocco scored in the added extra time of the first half from the second ball following a penalty save. It wasn’t pretty but it was enough. Their zonal defensive scheme took care of the rest and dealt with Colombia’s fluid attack very well.
Captain Ghizlane Chebbak had a brilliant game despite the penalty miss. Her defensive efforts in closing down the opposition player receiving the ball and then playing a linebreaking vertical pass with her vision was integral in making this gameplan work. Her positional awareness allowed her to recover loose balls very frequently.
The Atlas Lionesses defied all odds, after their poor first game (somebody page Italy), to reach the knockout stages. They are reaping rewards of the investment that the federation was ready to put in the women’s side to create a better team.
The run at the WAFCON was not a fluke rather the start of something special.
Highlight of the day
When it’s your first ever World Cup and your qualification depends on the result of the other game, it gives way to scenes like these.
Soak it in Atlas Lionesses, you deserve it!
What’s brilliant summary. Love the flow of your writing along with the analysis. The game was nail biting and South Korea did an amazing job in being able to improve on their previous World Cup I think.