Be interesting to see the setup for the French.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2024/7/29/olywhites-amp-football-ferns-at-the-2024-paris-olympics-the-game-two-blues
We blew it in the first thirty minutes, probably spoiling any hopes of progressing to the knockouts at the same time, and it was exactly what Italiano had talked about. It’s hard to get teams working with tactical cohesion with such a short time to prepare. The OlyWhites have the benefit of a number of players who’ve worked with Darren Bazeley and his staff heaps already, both with the All Whites and also the U20s... but they only had a short window together, with one known warm-up game and several late arrivals. Against Guinea it didn’t matter. They were as disjointed as we were and the OlyWhites rose to the occasion. Against the USA it was the complete opposite. Bazeley’s Boys looked passive and confused and then very quickly panicked. The back four was all over the place – they’d been too narrow against Guinea but the USA really stretched and discombobulated them. You could see it in the body language. You could see it in the simple mistakes they were making.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2024/7/29/olywhites-amp-football-ferns-at-the-2024-paris-olympics-the-game-two-blues
We blew it in the first thirty minutes, probably spoiling any hopes of progressing to the knockouts at the same time, and it was exactly what Italiano had talked about. It’s hard to get teams working with tactical cohesion with such a short time to prepare. The OlyWhites have the benefit of a number of players who’ve worked with Darren Bazeley and his staff heaps already, both with the All Whites and also the U20s... but they only had a short window together, with one known warm-up game and several late arrivals. Against Guinea it didn’t matter. They were as disjointed as we were and the OlyWhites rose to the occasion. Against the USA it was the complete opposite. Bazeley’s Boys looked passive and confused and then very quickly panicked. The back four was all over the place – they’d been too narrow against Guinea but the USA really stretched and discombobulated them. You could see it in the body language. You could see it in the simple mistakes they were making.
Ironically, Darren Bazeley copped some (valid) criticism for his tendency to switch to a back three at the last U20 World Cup despite the team being so much more balanced and effective with four guys back there. This was the opposite. They needed a back three (a back five, in effect) in order to cover the width without leaving big holes in the middle. To give individuals the cover to step aggressively into challenges and match the American intensity. Instead, all Baze did at half-time was swap out his ineffective wingers (Herdman and Bayliss off, Randall and Van Hattum on). When he did finally go to the back three, there were only fifteen minutes left... and we immediately scored a goal. Matt Sheridan came on at right wingback, Lukas Kelly-Heald came on at left-back, with Tyler Bindon moving centrally and Sam Sutton going into midfield.
Then again, the fact that the kiwis were so much better in the last quarter of an hour than they had been in the first quarter of an hour might, to be fair, have had more to do with the USA easing off. Perhaps the tactical reshuffle made no difference at all (although that’s just more evidence why it came too late).
In the other game in the group, France only won 1-0 against Guinea – with the African side producing an almighty backs-to-the-wall defensive performance that puts our win against them into some shinier context. France weren’t amazing though. They’ve not looked fluent at all yet but they’re fast and skilled, especially out wide, and that’s probably going to require the back five. Ideally with someone like Oskar van Hattum at RWB so that there’s still a bit of attacking edge (unless Baze reckons Matty Sheridan can handle the occasion, which maybe he can). Bazeley isn’t great at making changes on the fly during games but he’s definitely prone to a reactionary change between games. The OlyWhites would potentially still progress with a win against France... and until we don’t win, we have to try think we could win.
In the other game in the group, France only won 1-0 against Guinea – with the African side producing an almighty backs-to-the-wall defensive performance that puts our win against them into some shinier context. France weren’t amazing though. They’ve not looked fluent at all yet but they’re fast and skilled, especially out wide, and that’s probably going to require the back five. Ideally with someone like Oskar van Hattum at RWB so that there’s still a bit of attacking edge (unless Baze reckons Matty Sheridan can handle the occasion, which maybe he can). Bazeley isn’t great at making changes on the fly during games but he’s definitely prone to a reactionary change between games. The OlyWhites would potentially still progress with a win against France... and until we don’t win, we have to try think we could win.