WC-MOTD12
Day 12:-
Croatia vs. Mexico:-
A fully diverse match, with everything from pure tactical genius to non-stop action!
Coach Miguel Herrera decided to follow the method of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” by playing with the same formation and squad line-up from the previous 2 matches.
Meanwhile, Croatia’s Coach Niko Kovač, in need of a win, opted for a (much) more offensive approach by pushing Luka Modrić into a purely attacking midfield role and placing experienced natural LB Danijel Pranjić in the now vacant 2nd DM position alongside Ivan Rakitić.
Croatia began the match by going all-out in attack from early on; as Mexico defended really deep.
It was all about Croatia in the opening quarter of an hour or so; constantly pressing Mexican players whenever they lost possession and launching numerous attacks as they searched for that early goal.
Mexico, on the other hand, were executing a very efficient tactic of varying the game’s tempo in such a quick manner that left many of Croatia’s players pegged back. One moment they were launching ultra-fast counters, and the next they were slowly passing the ball around in their own defensive zones!
Croatia’s inability to take advantage of their relatively high ball-possession percentage saw Mexico press them more and more as time passed by; however, the Mexicans were making sure that they weren’t leaving Croatia much space at the same time.
It was becoming increasingly evident, as the half came to an end, that Croatia were lacking physical presence in midfield; for they started to lose possession too cheaply. Obviously, Pranjić’s performance in his makeshift DM role was not quite going the way Coach Kovač might have wanted.
In summary, it was a rather stale first half, with Mexico defending fairly deep in a very compact and organized manner; all the while being very cautious with their offensive approach and mostly limiting themselves to shots from distance.
In addition, Croatia were not convincing enough in attack; as they showed a real lack of urgency going forward and were perhaps hurt by wasting possession at crucial times.
Croatia’s struggle to break Mexico’s defense apart continued into the second half, and there was an element of pure creativity in midfield that was missing from their play whenever they found themselves in the opposition’s final third.
Mexico were attacking in “small doses” as the half went on; choosing to either go wide and cross it in, or simply attempt to open-up spaces from deep areas with long balls forward.
Shortly after that phase, Mexico began to take the initiative and attack more as the Croatians seemed completely out of ideas!
The Mexicans did not have to wait for too long for the pressure to pay off as they soon converted a won corner courtesy of a Rafael Márquez header.
Consequently, Croatia immediately committed almost every one forward as they looked to somehow keep their WC hopes alive; however, they soon lost possession (again) too cheaply and Mexico took full advantage by launching a quick counter from which they eventually made it 2-0.
The final frantic stages of the game saw Croatia apply ultra-pressure on Mexico’s backline but it was of little use as they were not producing anything worth of notice from all the ball possession they had.
The game was finally dead and buried when Mexico grabbed a third from yet another corner; with Rafael Márquez now playing the role of assistant, rather than goal-scorer.
The late consolation goal for Croatia was sadder than it might have seemed; as it embodied the EXACT urgency and creativity which they were lacking for the entirety of the match!
The match was extremely tactical up until the 1st goal, after which it became a festival of football, mostly for the Mexicans though. They were very compact and organized all over the pitch but were sometimes too timid in front of goal; however, they took full advantage of Croatia’s poor marking and defending in set-pieces and fully deserved the win.
Croatia, meanwhile, paid (in the most brutal sense) for their uninspired, and somewhat lethargic, attacking approach! They weren’t at all cohesive in their midfield play as they lost possession time and time again, and they did not show the required aggressiveness and urgency to defeat a team as defensive as Mexico.
Man of the match: Rafael Márquez: The veteran defender rolled back the years with a very commanding and impressive performance; bagging a goal and assisting another!
Croatia vs. Mexico:-
A fully diverse match, with everything from pure tactical genius to non-stop action!
Coach Miguel Herrera decided to follow the method of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” by playing with the same formation and squad line-up from the previous 2 matches.
Meanwhile, Croatia’s Coach Niko Kovač, in need of a win, opted for a (much) more offensive approach by pushing Luka Modrić into a purely attacking midfield role and placing experienced natural LB Danijel Pranjić in the now vacant 2nd DM position alongside Ivan Rakitić.
Croatia began the match by going all-out in attack from early on; as Mexico defended really deep.
It was all about Croatia in the opening quarter of an hour or so; constantly pressing Mexican players whenever they lost possession and launching numerous attacks as they searched for that early goal.
Mexico, on the other hand, were executing a very efficient tactic of varying the game’s tempo in such a quick manner that left many of Croatia’s players pegged back. One moment they were launching ultra-fast counters, and the next they were slowly passing the ball around in their own defensive zones!
Croatia’s inability to take advantage of their relatively high ball-possession percentage saw Mexico press them more and more as time passed by; however, the Mexicans were making sure that they weren’t leaving Croatia much space at the same time.
It was becoming increasingly evident, as the half came to an end, that Croatia were lacking physical presence in midfield; for they started to lose possession too cheaply. Obviously, Pranjić’s performance in his makeshift DM role was not quite going the way Coach Kovač might have wanted.
In summary, it was a rather stale first half, with Mexico defending fairly deep in a very compact and organized manner; all the while being very cautious with their offensive approach and mostly limiting themselves to shots from distance.
In addition, Croatia were not convincing enough in attack; as they showed a real lack of urgency going forward and were perhaps hurt by wasting possession at crucial times.
Croatia’s struggle to break Mexico’s defense apart continued into the second half, and there was an element of pure creativity in midfield that was missing from their play whenever they found themselves in the opposition’s final third.
Mexico were attacking in “small doses” as the half went on; choosing to either go wide and cross it in, or simply attempt to open-up spaces from deep areas with long balls forward.
Shortly after that phase, Mexico began to take the initiative and attack more as the Croatians seemed completely out of ideas!
The Mexicans did not have to wait for too long for the pressure to pay off as they soon converted a won corner courtesy of a Rafael Márquez header.
Consequently, Croatia immediately committed almost every one forward as they looked to somehow keep their WC hopes alive; however, they soon lost possession (again) too cheaply and Mexico took full advantage by launching a quick counter from which they eventually made it 2-0.
The final frantic stages of the game saw Croatia apply ultra-pressure on Mexico’s backline but it was of little use as they were not producing anything worth of notice from all the ball possession they had.
The game was finally dead and buried when Mexico grabbed a third from yet another corner; with Rafael Márquez now playing the role of assistant, rather than goal-scorer.
The late consolation goal for Croatia was sadder than it might have seemed; as it embodied the EXACT urgency and creativity which they were lacking for the entirety of the match!
The match was extremely tactical up until the 1st goal, after which it became a festival of football, mostly for the Mexicans though. They were very compact and organized all over the pitch but were sometimes too timid in front of goal; however, they took full advantage of Croatia’s poor marking and defending in set-pieces and fully deserved the win.
Croatia, meanwhile, paid (in the most brutal sense) for their uninspired, and somewhat lethargic, attacking approach! They weren’t at all cohesive in their midfield play as they lost possession time and time again, and they did not show the required aggressiveness and urgency to defeat a team as defensive as Mexico.
Man of the match: Rafael Márquez: The veteran defender rolled back the years with a very commanding and impressive performance; bagging a goal and assisting another!
Ahmad Al-Omar - 24. Jun, 00:03
