TACTICS
Diagram 4 – Slovenia ’ s 4-4-2 ( against England )
Diagram 5 – Croatia ’ s 4-3-2-1 ( against Italy )
STILL STANDING : RARELY USED SYSTEMS
Slovenia was the only team to deploy 4-4-2 in this EURO ( Sweden was the only one in 2021 ) and they used it primarily with a defensive idea ( diagram 4 ). This goes against the usual view of this formation , whose weakness theoretically is a numerical disadvantage in the middle of the field . As most teams today play with three central midfielders , the 2v3 “ numbers down ” aspect is regarded as one of the main reasons for the formation ’ s demise . But with disciplined movement of the attackers , their proximity to the midfield line and general awareness of the opponents ’ runs , 4-4-2 not only eradicates this weaknesses but becomes , as Slovenia had shown ( or confirmed ), a defensive bastion .
One could easily confuse Croatia ’ s system with 4-3-3 , but after closer inspection it becomes clear it was 4-3-2-1 ( diagram 5 ). The Croatians played with two attacking midfielders occupying so-called half spaces rather than wingers . It ’ s a rarely used formation , regarded as pretty one-dimensional , as it lacks width , both in and out of possession . But , as Croatia already had extremely strong midfield with Modrić , Brozović and Kovačić , additionally strengthening the attack through the middle sounds like a reasonable plan .
Colombia playing in the same system in this year ’ s Copa America edition but , in practice , it is a rarely used system in today ’ s football .
France applied a modern interpretation of it which resolves , in big measure , the problem of covering wide areas when out of possession . Two attackers , in this case Mbappé and Kolo Muani , are wingers as much as they are strikers , so when retreating they almost naturally tended to cover opposition full backs ( diagram 6 ). Hence , the formation defensively looked like a 4-3-3 ( or even a 4-3-3-0 as there were no center-forwards left ). Updated like this , and being somewhere between a 4-3-3 and its traditional version , the 4-3-1-2 , surely this makes it a candidate for more frequent use .
COMMON GROUND BUT DIFFERENT APPROACH- ES : THREE AT THE BACK
Among teams that used three center-back systems for defensive purposes , Hungary used the more rigid 5-4-1 , while Scotland and Georgia opted to pair a center-forward with a second striker or a winger who could easily drop back laterally when the team was out of possession , thus switching from 5-3-2 in attack to 5-4-1 in defense ( diagram 7 ).
It ’ s been a long time since Italy played in a 4-3-1-2 against Spain in the EURO 2012 final . More recently , we saw
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