World Cup Musings: Days 1 and 2

This will be a regular series. It's going to be a blend of some lighthearted views on the goings on in South Africa coupled with some tactical analysis, which will come in the form of condensed conversations between myself and Mr. Miller, and all new chalkboards and other flashy graphics! Enjoy.

GM


GM: The opening ceremony was actually bearable for once. Not too cheesy, not too lengthy. Perhaps the Saffers felt that, as long as they didn't push their luck, they could get away without criticism due to the whole "it's Africa's first World Cup, let's just let them do what they do. Let's not seem racist..." attitude. The opener itself was reasonable. Mexico looked talented but lacking in stamina and discipline; South Africa were the opposite. A deserved result for both in the end I feel.

RM: France vs Uruguay was the pig of a game we all knew it would be. France were bereft of ideas and Uruguay played like the axe wielding maniacs they are. But they still looked the more creative - France will still get out the group but will be horribly exposed, probably by Argentina in the second round, a much more organised unit.

GM: France aren't as bad as they seemed. They really aren't. Their problem was the fact that their new formation and tactics hadn't been practised much in advance. They did a reasonable job of attacking the Uruguayan wing-backs and trying to neutralise the midfield clogging that Uruguay wanted to create. The French attackers just had a stinker, particularly Gourcuff. I think they'll do better next game.

RM: I want Greece banned from all future international tournaments, because they're just fucking awful. They lose an early goal and have no response because King Otto knows only one way - soak up the pressure. They were so slow and static when moving the ball, in stark contrast to an industrious South Korea, following the model of their captain! They'll get through to the knockouts, where Mexico will give them a tough game - genuinely could go either way.

GM: The game wasn't that good really. South Korea were artificially boosted by a woeful Greek team. Like you said, they have only one idea. You just can't go into a World Cup with only one idea. Now, as for the other game, I know we both disagree on how impressive Argentina actually were?

RM: Messi was impressive, but the star was Veron. He ran the show for Argentina and sprayed passes all over the park. They didn't have any real problem creating chances, and if Milito was playing from the start over Higuain they would have scored a few more. They have the squad depth and skill in possession to go far.

GM: I just felt that there were a few issues with that win. For one, the Nigerians didn't exactly make things that difficult for them. They looked uncomfortable with their 4-4-2 formation and were too willing to sit back and let Argentina keep the ball. I think Maradona has taken the Argentineans too far along the path of caution. It's all well and good being defensively solid, but not at the expense of the attacking game that won them matches previously. If Cambiasso and Zanetti were in that midfield there would be no need for the others to track back, and they could be more effective in the final third.

RM: And now England. Well as Heskey played tonight (bar the 50 offsides) he cannot start vs Algeria because he took Rooney out the game. His lack of mobility meant Rooney had to drop back and play the anchor role, not where you want your main goal threat. Bring in Barry and push Gerrard up. It really looks as though a Scholes would be good in this team to play a Veron role, pinging passes from a stationary position, calling the shots from midfield. It's clear now that Veron was always a class player, just not with a style suited to the Premier League.

GM: I agree that Heskey had a good game. But the idea that he should now be dropped is frankly a bit ridiculous. It wasn't Heskey's fault that Rooney was ineffective; Rooney was completely out of that game from start to finish, even when the tactics changed and Crouch replaced Big Emile. Heskey caused the US lots of problems, particularly in the air, and actually displayed some good vision. Rooney needed to:

A: get given better service. Within 5 minutes of kickoff the ball started to be hoofed long. Just because Heskey was winning them, doesn't mean his teammates should have kept playing them.
B: ACTUALLY PLAY UP FRONT! There was no need for him to drop so deep. He just got frustrated and wanted the ball more often. And the further back he went, the slower the England attacks became due to his poncing around on the ball.

In my opinion, even taking into account the lack of support he got, Rooney's performance was woeful. There were some positives for England though. The wide game was decent.

RM: Johnson and Lennon linked well down the right, but USA were simply given too much of the ball - better teams will make better use of it. The Yanks just lacked a little finesse in their passing, something England's final ball could also have done with. We'll forget about Rob Green.



And now for some tactical analysis. Today we look at the goal 55 million Englishmen and women thought was going to be the start of England's undefeated World Cup win. 86 minutes later and, well, they are still undefeated...

Black arrows represent the movement of the ball, coloured arrows are the movements of the players on each team.

The teams were:

In white, England (4-4-2)

12 Green
2 Johnson

20 King

6 Terry

7 Lennon

8 Lampard

4 Gerrard (c)

16 Milner

9 Rooney
21 Heskey

In blue, USA (4-4-2, really 4-2-2-2)

1 Howard

6 Cherundolo

5 Onyweu

15 Demerit

3 Bocanegra

10 Donovan

13 Clark

4 Bradley

8 Dempsey

17 Altidore

20 Findley

The opening goal comes from Steven Gerrard in the fourth minute. CB King's (20) high through ball down the right flank is headed away for an England throw. Johnson (2) takes the throw, finds Lampard (8) and comes infield. Onweyu for the US (5) bites on Johnson and winger Lennon's (7) movement and steps up out of his centreback spot. Lampard plays the ball to Rooney (9), who comes across the field parallel to the byline.

The US defence focuses on covering Rooney and realigns, with Demerit (15) coming far to the right of the US defence. Bocanegra (3) is forced into covering for Onyewu at CB, but overcompensates in an attempt to help cover Rooney. Rooney moves the ball on to Heskey (21) with his back to goal, who spots the gap in the US defence and plays a flicked pass to his left. Gerrard too has noticed the gap and charges on to Heskey's pass, leaving Michael Bradley (4) of the US for dead; he is too busy denying Lampard any space to shoot.

Both Onweyu and Demerit realise their blunder, but are not fast enough to get back into position, and Gerrard takes the ball into the box and strokes it under a helpless Tim Howard.

This goal demonstrates an impressive bit of quick thinking by England. They are aware that defenders will focus on Wayne Rooney, and thus send him running accross the edge of the box to draw the defence. From there, this goal is created by Gerrard's vision and attacking intent, and Heskey's uncharacteristic quick reading of the situation and perfectly weighted flick on.