WC-MOTD25-P2
Day 25:-
Germany vs. Argentina: Part 2:-
Coach Sabella decided to bring on Sergio Agüero after the break as he looked to inject more urgency and energy into Argentina’s play; slightly tweaking his formation in the process, with Lionel Messi dropping a bit deeper, Lucas Biglia in the now-vacant LM role and Agüero being deployed as a pure second-striker behind Higuaín.
The second half witnessed Argentina begin with a more aggressive offensive approach as they committed more bodies forward. Germany, on the other hand, were defending a bit deeper than they did in the 1st half.
It didn’t take long for the pace and rhythm to truly settle, and Germany were naturally enjoying more possession of the ball and attempting to break through Argentina’s backline from central areas rather than from out wide.
The Argentineans reverted to some long vertical play for a while in an attempt to catch Germany’s backline off-guard and hope to quickly break through on goal.
Germany's attacks were still suffering from their inability to deliver that final ball into the box as Lahm and Kroos were now pushing further forward.
Argentina’s “laid back” approach and lack of urgency going forward, coupled with a number of physical duels, all constantly chopped down the game’s tempo.
Germany then began to slowly adapt more and more to the game’s rhythm; playing better with the ball and correctly finding spaces at the back.
Meanwhile, Argentina rightly addressed the issue of the shortage of physical presence in the box and were now focusing play entirely down the right channel; but they were somewhat unable to hold onto possession and also had problems finding the right spaces behind Germany’s defense as Higuaín and Agüero were too static in their positional play.
As the 90 minutes drew ever closer, the Germans began to throw many bodies forward and they genuinely pressed Argentina back into their final third in search of that first (and, at this stage, probably winning) goal.
However, Klose’s inability to quickly adapt to the forward momentum saw him being constantly caught out of position as play was wasted from Germany’s point of view.
Which is, probably, why coach Löw decided to bring on Mario Götze for the current World Cup record goalscorer in the final few minutes, with Germany now deciding to play-out the rest of the game with their “false nine” system.
Coach Sabella also brought on some fresh legs in the latter stages of normal time (which was his last "playing card" after Rodrigo Palacio came on for Higuaín a while ago), with Fernando Gago now replacing Enzo Pérez in yet another slight tweak of Argentina’s formation; Biglia dropping back to the center of midfield in a holding 4-3-3/4-3-1-2 variation.
Neither substitution had any significant effect on the way the game went on; as both sides were unable to make the most out of ball possession and could not create any real chances from open play. Germany, though, still looked the more dangerous side going forward.
It was another somewhat enthralling second half, albeit with less intensity in comparison to the first!
Germany were more commanding in attack and were able to get into better positions than they did before the break. They also exchanged play well, but almost always lacked that final touch into the box and weren’t able to convert their chances from open play.
Argentina continued to play with great discipline at the back and they covered spaces well practically all over the pitch; they did, however, have a couple of lapses in concentration in defense that could have cost them dearly (more on that soon!).
In attack, they lacked urgency at times, and at others, their 2 strikers were a tad too static in their positioning.
Moreover, their shortage of offensive options from central areas in midfield forced them to (uselessly) drift play out wide more often than not.
Germany vs. Argentina: Part 2:-
Coach Sabella decided to bring on Sergio Agüero after the break as he looked to inject more urgency and energy into Argentina’s play; slightly tweaking his formation in the process, with Lionel Messi dropping a bit deeper, Lucas Biglia in the now-vacant LM role and Agüero being deployed as a pure second-striker behind Higuaín.
The second half witnessed Argentina begin with a more aggressive offensive approach as they committed more bodies forward. Germany, on the other hand, were defending a bit deeper than they did in the 1st half.
It didn’t take long for the pace and rhythm to truly settle, and Germany were naturally enjoying more possession of the ball and attempting to break through Argentina’s backline from central areas rather than from out wide.
The Argentineans reverted to some long vertical play for a while in an attempt to catch Germany’s backline off-guard and hope to quickly break through on goal.
Germany's attacks were still suffering from their inability to deliver that final ball into the box as Lahm and Kroos were now pushing further forward.
Argentina’s “laid back” approach and lack of urgency going forward, coupled with a number of physical duels, all constantly chopped down the game’s tempo.
Germany then began to slowly adapt more and more to the game’s rhythm; playing better with the ball and correctly finding spaces at the back.
Meanwhile, Argentina rightly addressed the issue of the shortage of physical presence in the box and were now focusing play entirely down the right channel; but they were somewhat unable to hold onto possession and also had problems finding the right spaces behind Germany’s defense as Higuaín and Agüero were too static in their positional play.
As the 90 minutes drew ever closer, the Germans began to throw many bodies forward and they genuinely pressed Argentina back into their final third in search of that first (and, at this stage, probably winning) goal.
However, Klose’s inability to quickly adapt to the forward momentum saw him being constantly caught out of position as play was wasted from Germany’s point of view.
Which is, probably, why coach Löw decided to bring on Mario Götze for the current World Cup record goalscorer in the final few minutes, with Germany now deciding to play-out the rest of the game with their “false nine” system.
Coach Sabella also brought on some fresh legs in the latter stages of normal time (which was his last "playing card" after Rodrigo Palacio came on for Higuaín a while ago), with Fernando Gago now replacing Enzo Pérez in yet another slight tweak of Argentina’s formation; Biglia dropping back to the center of midfield in a holding 4-3-3/4-3-1-2 variation.
Neither substitution had any significant effect on the way the game went on; as both sides were unable to make the most out of ball possession and could not create any real chances from open play. Germany, though, still looked the more dangerous side going forward.
It was another somewhat enthralling second half, albeit with less intensity in comparison to the first!
Germany were more commanding in attack and were able to get into better positions than they did before the break. They also exchanged play well, but almost always lacked that final touch into the box and weren’t able to convert their chances from open play.
Argentina continued to play with great discipline at the back and they covered spaces well practically all over the pitch; they did, however, have a couple of lapses in concentration in defense that could have cost them dearly (more on that soon!).
In attack, they lacked urgency at times, and at others, their 2 strikers were a tad too static in their positioning.
Moreover, their shortage of offensive options from central areas in midfield forced them to (uselessly) drift play out wide more often than not.
Ahmad Al-Omar - 14. Jul, 10:43
