Tactical Preview IV: EURO 2022 Quarter-Final Series; France vs. the Netherlands
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This is the fourth and final article in a tactical preview series on the EURO 2022 quarter-finals. This one has been written by guest author Abdullah Abdullah.
Below are the previous three pieces:
England vs. Spain [July 20]
Germany vs. Austria [July 21]
Sweden vs. Belgium [July 22]
Abdullah currently runs a women’s football substack named ‘Pressing Matters’ in addition to hosting the London is Blue Podcast and Box to Box WSL. He also freelances for Analytics FC and The Equalizer and is the author of two books: Olympique Lyonnais Feminin: Queens of Europe and Europe's Next Powerhouse? The Evolution of Chelsea Under Emma Hayes.
Abdullah is currently working on his third book, which will chart England’s path to the 2023 World Cup under Sarina Wiegman.
While England has been Abdullah’s priority this tournament for obvious reasons, he made his mark on the WoSo tactical space by covering French football and remains a bonafide expert on Lyon and the national team. Thus, there are few better guest authors to educate you on Les Bleues and how they match up vs. the Netherlands.
France
Formation/s used: 4-3-3
Results: 5-1 W vs. Italy; 2-1 W vs. Belgium; 1-1 D vs. Iceland
Analysis
Corinne Diacre’s France exploded in their opening game against Italy, winning 5-1 to cement themselves as major contenders for the title. Their follow-up performance vs. Belgium was professional while squad rotations against Iceland left France less fluid than usual, contributing to a draw.
Diacre has devised a plan that has brought the best out of her key players: Marie-Antoinette Katoto (who is now injured), Kadidiatou Diani, Grace Geyoro, and Sakina Karchaoui, who, together, serve as the tactical nexus for the rest of the team.
From their 4-3-3, France are not afraid to go direct and generally look to get into their patterns of play as quickly as possible, exploiting wide areas via counter-movements to unleash overlapping runs.
These examples from Om Arvind’s article on France’s attacking methods might be the best ones from the group stage:
You can see Delphine Cascarino pull Italy’s interior midfielder deeper, giving Karchaoui a 1v1 in space. The PSG fullback has been on another level in the tournament so far and her sheer attacking intent has been critical to her side’s early successes.
As a bonus, all these interchanges draw defensive attention from the center and open up seams for Grace Geyoro and co. to attack; Diacre loves using her No. 8’s in an aggressive manner and has them make late runs into the box to finish cutbacks.
France’s interiors are able to get forward so readily thanks to the ball-playing ability of Wendie Renard — the Lyon center-back takes on a significant progression load and excels at finding forward gaps and launching crisp diagonals. It’s only when the ball hits the flank that the CM’s really spring into action.
Clara Mateo’s movement and reception in the half space follows a wide combination, allowing her to get up the pitch and thread a pass to Diani. Afterwards, Mateo executes a run into the box, demonstrating the freedom the No. 8’s have to influence the final third.
On top of all of this, France can lean on Diani’s 1v1 ability to break down deep blocks — a recourse that meshes naturally with Diacre’s emphasis on wide play and big switches. Diani is one of the best take-on artists in the world and has terrorized defenders in EURO 2022.
Despite France’s stellar showing against Italy in the opening group game, Diacre has experimented with lineups to see what combinations are best. There are many things to consider, but it’s interesting to note Clara Mateo’s qualities against Sandie Toletti’s. In my mind, Toletti is an all-round controller and playmaker that offers France a more refined presence in midfield, while Mateo is a more aggressive attacking threat and dribbler. The latter’s standout season for Paris FC showed her clinical edge and the No. 8-cum-No. 10 can even be used as a No. 9, although Melvine Malard or Ouleymata Sarr will replace the injured Katoto.
France were not tested much defensively in the groups stages and still conceded in every game, suffering lapses of concentration that will need to be cleaned up in the quarter-final. Their pressing and organization from their 4-1-4-1 is solid enough, but the likes of Karchaoui can fall asleep when play is on the far side. Additionally, Renard can sometimes be slow to cover spaces behind her fullbacks.
The Netherlands
Formation/s used: 4-2-3-1
Results: 1-1 D vs. Sweden; 3-2 W vs. Portugal; 4-1 W vs. Switzerland
Analysis
The core principles of Mark Parsons’ system are the use of interior overloads and combination play, with the No. 10 enjoying a free role to connect the movement of the two inside-forward/playmakers. The fullbacks are not very aggressive in order to give the wide attackers more freedom. However, this is an issue with the injury to Lieke Martens, as it leaves the Netherlands without a true winger.
A lot of the Dutch build-up involves the central midfielders dropping to play wall passes to create more time to make a decision on the final pass. In the below example, Aniek Nouwen attempts a long ball but it came after a sequence of shorter connections.
Notwithstanding these fundamentally-sound mechanisms, the Dutch side are over-reliant on Jackie Groenen to progress. The Manchester United midfielder is an excellent off-ball specialist, but her on-ball game is often underrated, and she has done an immense job bridging the gap between the first two lines to help the Netherlands get the ball into the final third.
Further forward, Miedema is the key cog that enables Roord and van de Donk to find spaces in the interior channels. Coupled with deeper midfield help, the tactic works, especially when Lieke Martens was available to occupy space and act as an immaculate supply center.
This goal against Sweden involved all three of the Netherlands’ key players. Miedema’s timing and quality pass into the middle were key and, although there was an element of luck involved, the goal was coming, as the Dutch took advantage of Hanna Glas’ advanced positioning in the second half.
The other key to the Oranje’s draw against Sweden was the positional swap between Roord and van de Donk, bringing the former into a more central position, which surprisingly didn’t last into the following games.
The Lyon playmaker is much more suited to playing as an inside No. 10 from the right wing in contrast to Roord, who prefers vertical movements and late runs.
Defensively, the Dutch have been very hit and miss and their back line being damaged by injury hasn’t helped. While their rest defense is questionable, the biggest issue revolves around the utilization of Dominique Janssen, who has deputized at left back to minimal success; Janssen will often defend without tucking inside, leaving space between her and the center-back (ask Kosovare Asllani and she’ll tell you all about it).
However, there is also an overarching problem when it comes to defending the channels:
The Swiss move seen above should be stopped higher up the pitch, but a step up from the center-back and poor compactness on the wing meant that there was enough space to exploit in behind.
How They Match Up
There is a case to make for both teams in regard to dynamics and/or adjustments that could decide the fate of the encounter. For example, it is easy to envision France’s wide combinations and switches obliterating the Netherland’s poor defensive positioning.
This clip might not display a marauding, overlapping fullback — like you’d expect from the French — but the space for one is there. Regardless, a good touch and some miscommunication between the Dutch players ensured that the Swiss were able to create something, anyway.
Among many things, the Netherlands will need to figure out a way to nullify long balls from Renard, which is the source of many of France’s wide attacks in the first place. Pressing Renard is worth a try, as it could force the fullbacks to drop slightly deeper (namely, Karchoaui, as Eve Perisset tends to operate deeper as a rule) and hand Charlotte Bilbault more responsibility in build-up. The elder stateswoman isn’t the most efficient on the ball and testing her in possession might be a source of joy for the Dutch, given the speed they have in transition.
However, in the event that France manage to progress, it will still be important for the Netherlands to protect the lanes between their fullback and center-back. While Sharida Spitse is an excellent ball controller and set-piece threat, Damaris might be the solution for this.
The Spanish-turned-Dutch midfielder reads the game diligently and has protected Renard and Griedge Mbock at club level, even filling in as an auxiliary center-back. Her knowledge of when to drop deep and step forward to control the tempo is her speciality, and giving her a start will also provide the Netherlands an element of control against the hyper-aggressive French No. 8’s.
Both teams have the individuals to find a way through to the semi-finals, but it will be the outfit with greater systemic cohesion that will come out on top. For this reason, France vs. the Netherlands might end up being one of the most intriguing tactical battles of EURO 2022.
Additional Reading: