World Cup Round of 16 Talking Points

Olivier Giroud has made a career defying the odds. He never played for any of France’s youth teams and did not even make his senior team debut until he was 25, in a season when he also ended up winning Ligue 1 with Montpellier, as well as the golden boot.

Morocco boss, Walid Regrgahoui had been praised especially against Belgium for outsmarting his opposite number, Roberto Martinez.

It is probably now well documented that Senegal’s biggest Achilles heel was a lack of ball progressor from midfield areas to help turn defensive actions into attacking ones as soon as possible this tournament.

Japan Fail To Tame Another Giant

Japan shocked the footballing world after topping their group, having stunned Germany and Spain to secure a date with Croatia in the round of 16.

Against Germany, coach Hajime Moriyasu’s substitutions in the second half turned around fortunes for them, as they used their pacey players to take advantage of the gaps Germany were leaving.

Takuma Asano’s winning goal came through exploiting Antonio Rudiger’s inability to defend Zonally, as he got on the end of a channel ball by Kou Itakura before slotting it home.

Against Spain, Japan were excellent at turning over possession when Spain tried to play out from the back before exploiting those gaps Spain left, although their winner was embroiled in controversy as the ball appeared to go out of play before Kaoru Mitoma cut it back for Ao Tanaka to slot it home.

They could not repeat the same streak against Croatia, who were excellent at retaining possession, spearheaded by their vastly experienced midfield of Luca Modric, Matteo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic.

They rarely gave sloppy passes away and as a result, Japan struggled to create inroads, although their only goal came from a well executed set-piece.

After Croatia equalized through Ivan Perisic, the game became a damp squib and had to be settled on penalties. Japanese hearts were broken. However, they have certainly left a positive indelible impression in Qatar as the team that tamed footballing giants.

No Ronaldo, No Problem For Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo came into this World Cup on the back of making the headlines for all the wrong reasons that resulted in his contract being terminated at Manchester United. He also came into the tournament looking to break Eusebio’s record as Portugal’s all time leading world Cup goalscorer.

Portugal had beaten both Ghana and Uruguay with Ronaldo failing to get on the score sheet. He even tried claiming a goal that was not his against the Uruguayans.

Coach Fernando Santos opted to rest a couple of players against South Korea, but opted to keep starting Ronaldo, possibly to try and break this record. However, he flattered to deceive and got substituted.

Santos questioned his reaction to being substituted and disciplined him by dropping him against Switzerland. The Portuguese players truly obliged, and they expressed themselves better, which made them run through Switzerland like panzerfaust through a church gate.

His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, took his place and grabbed it with both hands, as his hat trick summed up his excellent performance. He combined well with Felix who had the freedom to dribble his way through tighter spaces, creating space for Ramos to then attack the gaps and score.

He was the provider for 2 of his 3 goals. Maybe Portugal stand a realistic chance of trying to win it in spite of Ronaldo.

Tactically Resolute Morocco

Morocco boss, Walid Regrgahoui had been praised especially against Belgium for outsmarting his opposite number, Roberto Martinez.

He slightly adjusted left back Nozzair Mazroui’s position to try and tame Kevin De Bruyne’s influence on the right hand channel by using Mazroui’s ambidextrous ability to stay narrow in midfield.

He followed this by setting up Morocco to play exactly how tournaments ought to be played. They defended resolutely and concentrated well while at it against Spain.

They held their shape when they lost the ball and made sure not to tight mark Pedri and Gavi, who are excellent at receiving the ball under pressure and playing their way out of trouble.

Morocco’s superior physicality to Spain also helped their cause, as players like the immobile captain, Sergio Busquets, struggled to cope with the physicality of the Moroccan midfielder spearheaded by defensive midfielder Sofiane Amrabat.

It also did not help Spain’s cause that Luis Enrique is the type of manager that has a very distinctive way of playing the game and lacks a plan B.

Much like Pep Guardiola, Enrique’s football is positional play oriented and is largely expansive, where players cannot occupy the same lateral or horizontal zones at the same time with an emphasis of creating numerical advantages. It played perfectly into Morocco’s hands.

Giroud the Record Breaker

Olivier Giroud has made a career defying all the odds. He never played for any of France’s youth teams and did not even make his senior team debut until he was 25, in a season when he also ended up winning Ligue 1 with Montpellier, as well as the golden boot.

He polarized opinion for his relatively profligate nature in front of goal in an Arsenal shirt in the 5 and a half seasons he was there, even though he ended up scoring 108 goals for them.

At Chelsea, he held his own, mostly as a substitute and at 36, is leading the line for Milan, a club he helped win Serie A last season.

All the while, France boss, Didier Deschamps has held faith in him, and it has finally paid off as he became France’s all time leading goalscorer with 52 goals from 117 caps. Not only that, he now has 3 goals at the tournament, an improvement from the last edition .

He came under severe criticism for not netting a single goal in Russia 4 years ago, even though his link up and hold up play actually played a significant role in making Kylian Mbappe express himself, and he is now doing the same thing in his withdrawn role. However, the goals are now going in for him.

Denzel Dumfries Torments USA

Although the USA have improved as a footballing nation over the last 8 years, they still have some way to go if they are to become a force to be reckoned with at the next edition in 2026.

This was exposed in their match against the Netherlands on Saturday as Denzel Dumfries ran riot down the left flank, displaying a man of the match performance where he scored one and registered two assists.

He delicately cut back the ball for Memphis Depay to open the scoring on 9 minutes. Just before the break, he repeated the very same move for Davy Classen to score his second of the tournament to put them 2-0 up.

The third goal epitomized the importance of wingbacks to Louis Van Gaal’s system, as Daley Blind swang in an early cross which Dumfries got on the end of. As Netherlands prepare to face Argentina in a few days time, Nicolas Tagliafico of Argentina will certainly be having sleepless nights. He should be wary of Dumfries’ danger.

Senegal Inability to Resist Opposition Pressure exposed

It is probably now well documented that Senegal’s biggest Achilles heel was a lack of ball progressor from midfield areas to help turn defensive actions into attacking ones as soon as possible this tournament.

As a result, they were having to rely on Kalidou Koulibaly’s long range passing to find the wider attackers, who would then try and create attacking situations either through winning fouls in dangerous areas when they carry it into the box (Ismaila Sarr’s opening goal against Ecuador illustrates this) or actually fashioning chances for themselves by cutting inside.

Sadio Mane as a result, was a big miss. However England exposed something else. Their inability to resist pressure upon receiving the ball. Although Senegal tried to play it out from the back, they lost possession in dangerous areas because they could not resist England’s high press.

Jude Bellingham was instrumental and key to all of England’s goals against Senegal, and he is the profile of player Senega need if they are to make strides moving forwards. Someone adept at receiving the ball under pressure from the opposition and resisting it before passing it forwards or carrying it.

Argentina Soldier On

Argentina managed to beat a stubborn Soceroos to set a date with the Netherlands in the quarter finals in a few days’ time.

Coach Lionel Scaloni has been missing one of his key players, Giovani Lo Celso due to injury, and as a result, has tested both Alexis McAllister and Papu Gomez as replacements.

Papu Gomez flattered to deceive against Saudi Arabia before McAllister was tested against Poland and Mexico and the Brighton midfielder did well, combining with Messi and creating overloads in the midfield while Di Maria stretched play on the right.

This created space for Julian Alvarez on the other flank and it was a dynamic that won them 6 points. It was surprising therefore, to see Di Maria dropped for the Australia game and naturally, they struggled to create inroads.

In the second half however, the introduction of Lautaro Martinez gave the side a different dynamic, as they attacked in a 4-2-2-2 formation that teared through that resolute Australian defense and allowed them to create more inroads.

Although Martinez came under criticism for being profligate, it at least brought other players in and was enough to give Argentina a chance to soldier on.