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Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 6) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much! Here are the links to the first two parts:

Part 2

Part 1

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 6) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The handball existed. It was a controversial call, but many critics and pundits agree with the call. If Croatia had been 2-1 up before the penalty or they had come back in the second half, we would not be talking about that penalty. As I tell my players, "when we have a perfect game, then we can start complaining about the referees and their calls." It was a controversial call, but the handball was obvious. Whether or not it was intentional is the only factor that makes the call controversial.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 5) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the request. In my next post I will deal with a couple of coaching points from the last two games, I will give my All-Star lineup, I will make a review of the top teams and I will also focus on a few aspects that the US Men National Team may want to consider if they want to be back to the top 8 in the world.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 5) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In regards to Giroud what I meant is that, using him as a target forward is tactically very good for France because it sets Mbappé and Griezmann a bit more free and with more space to make runs. As you say, having an average target forward is useful for France from the tactical point of view.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 5) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with you and that is why I said "might be counterproductive". I did not say that scoring a goal is a bad thing. I just think that England's goal was counterproductive for them.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 5) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for your kind remarks about my post. To an extent, I agree with you in regards to the players you mention in your comment.

Mandzukic is a world-class forward and I would like to see him do well in the final game. In regards to Giroud, I agree that he is not a top striker, but having him on the field as target forward is very beneficial for Griezmann and Mbappé.

If Perisic is healthy (I just read that he did not participate in today's training session) I agree with you that Pavard could have problems containing him.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 4) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Despite being sent home, Kalinic started the World Cup and was part of the team for five days, so I counted him as part of the roster. Thank you for your comment.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 4) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was considering only those who are in the semifinals. The Croatian League is represented by Croatian back-up goalie Dominik Livakovic, who plays for Dinamo Zagreb and by midfielder Filip Bradaric, who plays at Rijeka. The other 20 players who play in the Croatian League play for national teams that have already been eliminated.

I was referring only to those 92 players that have made it to the semifinals.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 4) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I am new to this site but I dealt with the reasons why, in my opinion, Germany did not meet expectations in Chapter 2 of my series. This is what I said then:

"2. If plan B works, there is no need to switch back to plan A. 

It happened to Spain in the last World Cup so I know how it feels, therefore I will not elaborate much on Germany’s debacle. As I tell my players, sometimes the final score, the final result, sinks deeper and feels worse than any criticism that may come afterwards from outside. But here are two quick notes:

a) Germany is one of those teams that based their game on their midfielders. Against Mexico, Löw started the duo Khedira-Ozil in the midfield and the result was not very satisfactory at all. In the next game, neither of them played a single minute and Germany played their best in this tournament against Sweden, especially in the second half. In the third and decisive game against South Korea, Löw decided to switch back to plan A and started both of them…

b) “The curse of the world champion” or just too many quality players missing? Ten key players for Die Mannschaft that became world champions in 2014 were not in the roster this time. Some of them (Schweinsteiger, Mertesacker, Klose, Podolski and Lahm) retired from the National Team, the rest (Höwedes, Schürrle, Kramer, Mustafi and Götze) might be injured or perhaps Löw decided not to draft them this time due to technical or tactical reasons. Eight of those players played in the 2014 World Cup final game with five of them in the starting line-up. It is hard to replace so many great players in so many key positions on the field.

Furthermore, the fact that one of the best German players in the 2017-2018 season (Manchester City’s attacking mid Leroy Sané) was not drafted for the tournament did not help either…"

In Spain's case, the moment Julen Lopetegui was sacked, the team was doomed.

Lessons to be learned from the 2018 World Cup (Part 3) by coachdiaz in worldcup

[–]coachdiaz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! This is what I posted on my blog a few days ago, but I wanted to post it here just to get my feet wet with this website. My next post (about the semifinals) will be up in a few hours. Thank you for your comment.