Goalkeepers as outfield players, little pressing and increasingly important wingers: The 2022 World Cup in Qatar brings some insights into trends and tactics.
A World Cup is always a stage for possible trends and innovations in world football. So does the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where some developments are evident after 56 out of 64 games.
Goalkeepers as playmakers of their teams
In the Gulf state, for example, goalkeepers who play along are increasingly in demand. Many teams rely on keepers as directors, who often give the starting signal for their own attacks with opening passes. “That’s a big change“, said Arsene Wenger on this development. For him, the Brazilian Alisson is a prototype of this style of play.
The coaching legend leads the so-called Technical Study Group (TSG), which analyzes sporting trends at the World Cup for FIFA. In addition to Wenger, it also includes Jürgen Klinsmann, Sunday Oliseh, Alberto Zaccheroni, Cha Du-Ri, Faryd Mondragon and Pascal Zuberbühler.
For Klinsmann, too, the goalkeepers are increasingly taking on the role of the first build-up player: “We see that the goalkeeper is the number one playmaker. He’s the backbone of the team.”
Meikel Schönweitz, head coach of the DFB U-national teams up to and including the round of 16 in Qatar, believes that this development does not apply to all teams. “In the so-called smaller teams that were successful, the goalkeeper didn’t play extremely well“, he said.
So far harmless standards at the 2022 World Cup
Another trend in Qatar: Far fewer goals are scored from standard situations than four years ago, but more goals are being scored that are prepared from the flank.
Wing play more and more important
One of TSG’s most important findings is that playing from outside is extremely promising at this World Cup. Wenger is”convinced that the teams with the best wingers have the best chances of winning the title“. He referred, for example, to defending champions France, who used the game as a stylistic device via their fast wingers Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembele, or to Brazil with Vinicius Junior and Raphinha.
In Wenger’s opinion, most teams at the 2022 World Cup are defending the center so well that the wingers, whether attacking or defensive, have an increasingly important role to play in breaking through a massive defence.
The numbers support his thesis: almost two thirds of the attacks in the group phase came from the flanks. Schönweitz also sees the fact that wing play plays such a big role in the current tournament, who is responsible for this development for “noticeable” stops.
Importance of pressing decreases
Pressing, on the other hand, only plays a minor role in Qatar. “This takes place more situationally, for example with a view to stationary balls“Schoenweitz explained.
The 42-year-old instead recognizes a growing importance of a role he “game accelerator“ called. Dynamism, positioning, pass quality, the right moment to start running – these qualities decide games.
Game quality increases through substitutions
Another trend is that substitutes have a greater impact on gameplay than in the past. In Qatar, five changes are possible for the first time, and even six if extended. According to TSG, the quality of the match increases, but because the game is often defended awake until the end, there are fewer late goals – despite longer stoppage time.
What is also evident in Qatar: many shots on goal do not guarantee a hit. The German national team had to experience this during their preliminary round. She had the highest number of “expected goals” (“expected goals”, a parameter representing the probability of a scoring opportunity that can lead to a goal) but won only one game.
A lot doesn’t always mean a lot
The DFB team was in line with the trend. Of the 38 wins in the group stage, 12 went to teams that shot less often. This also applied to three rounds of 16. The team with the higher “expected goals” value only won half of the games – in the Bundesliga the rate was 66.6 percent in a comparable period.
So far, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has not shined through actual innovations, but rather through modifications. Now it remains exciting to see whether there will be new insights in the remaining eight games of the 2022 World Cup.