The cautious approach of many teams in the opening round of world Cup of Qatar behind a record number of goalless draws in the tournament, said a technical study group at fifa in this Saturday.
But they predicted games would be more expansive and goals would start to flow once teams had a chance to qualify for the knockout stages or were facing the prospect of an early exit.
There were four goalless games in the opening 16 matches – a record 25% of games played in the first round of the group stage – and a fifth on Friday, when England and United States failed to score goals in their duel for the second round.
The record number of 0-0 ties at the World Cup stands at seven, which has happened in four different editions of the tournament, but Qatar 2022 is already close to that number, with just 20 of the 64 scheduled games completed before Saturday’s matches. .
At the last World Cup, in Russia, there was a single goalless draw, when Denmark and France failed to produce goals in a group stage clash.
“Teams didn’t want to take too much risk,” said former Nigeria player Sunday Oliseh, part of FIFA’s expert panel that is studying trends in the tournament.
“Past data shows that around 70% of teams that lose their first game at a World Cup are eliminated after the first round and I think teams are aware of that,” he added at a press conference on Saturday.
“Clearly many teams are relying on a cautious approach,” added teammate Alberto Zaccheroni, who won the Serie A with AC Milan and the Asian Cup while coaching Japan.
“There were a number of teams that defended with five defenders and played very tight and compact. They wanted to secure a minimum of one point from the opening game and if a chance came along, try to take it to win the game.”
“But as the tournament progresses, we’ll see the teams become a little bit braver,” he predicted.
high intensity
FIFA said the first few games had launched several interesting tactical trends, notably much more counter-attacks with multiple players and greater success in attacking from crosses.
There were 14 goals from crosses at the tournament in Qatar compared with three at the same stage at the last World Cup four years ago.
Oliseh also said he expected the high intensity on display at the tournament to continue as the tournament progressed.
“This is a very different World Cup, where players sleep in the same bed every night and each team has its own home base. There are no trips from one headquarters to another,” he said.
“It’s like they’re all playing at home. They are not facing the fatigue that comes with constant traveling and I don’t see the players getting tired anytime soon,” he added.
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Source: Moneytimes
I am an author and journalist with a focus on market news. I have worked for a global news website for the past two years, writing articles on a range of topics relating to the stock market. My work has been published in international publications and I have delivered talks at both academic institutions and business conferences around the world.
