Cote d’Ivoire and Portugal made up the marquee match-up on Tuesday, but it was the efforts of New Zealand (against Slovakia) and North Korea (against Brazil) that wrote the stories. In this edition of the World Cup Buzz podcast, I’m joined by special guest The Gaffer to wrap-up Tuesday’s action from South Africa 2010.
Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I enjoy your show and have been listening to it every day. About a week ago I made a comment (referring to France and Uruguay) and was surprised to find it was responded to in one of your shows. I hadn’t expected that.
By the way I appreciate Kartik’s straight-forwardness on the show. There’s no crime in having an opinion, (especially when you’re as well-informed as he is) and stating it boldly.
I live in Argentina and although we’re bombarded with football information, I’m always curious to see what’s being said elsewhere, and that’s how I came upon your show.
Anyway, great work! Keep it coming.
Inler beats Barca, again
del Bosque started off with the wrong tactics by playing a holding MF and 2 sitting playmakers against a defensive team that will only hit on the counter. Either of Alonso or Busquets should have not been in the starting lineup. both played well, but tactically it was all wrong. In attack the Spanish had no width with Silva cutting in on his left and Iniesta on his right. Playing without any width in the front six made it easy for the Swiss to pack the center of the park.
Silva was poor, offering no width on the right as he constantly drifted inside. If he’s going to do that then Ramos has to attack the space he’s creating by dragging the swiss LB inside. Formationally that transformed Spain’s 4-3-3 into a left leaning 4-3-2-1 The result was that the LB was able to play as a third central defender, effectively nullifying Villa as Iniesta Silva and Xavi all tried to thread the needle with passes into Villa. Iniesta wasn’t incisive enough from the left in the forward line. he’s better in behind a front 3 line where he can roam around and pick his spots. How many times could you throw the proverbial blanket over Silva Villa and Iniesta?
del Bosque got the changes right, but Torres looked rusty, esp his heavy first touch. Navas was probably their only bright spot in attack, offering width on the right that Silva didn’t provide and a willingness to attack players rather than just try to pass around them. Pedro made no impact on the left
Well played by the swiss, hitting on the counter and defending the middle of the field. All the pretty passes in the world won’t win games if there’s no end product. They deserved the win.