Logic, that elusive concept
We have reached the end of the group stage and, as happens every four years, football insists on reminding us that the names on the back of the jerseys don’t win matches. While the traditional powerhouses walk on a razor’s edge, some teams that arrived quietly have built a wall of pragmatism to unnerve the giants. The group stage has been a festival of tactical mismatches and more than a few major surprises.
Let’s talk about Argentina. Forget the individual talents. What Scaloni has built is an exercise in pure architecture. The solidity of ‘Dibu’ Martínez between the sticks is the foundation, but the tactical heart beats through the deployment of Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez’s ability to stretch defenses, allowing players like De Paul to dictate the tempo with an insolent maturity. They have advanced with a firm step, 9 points out of 9, and a defensive solidity that is frightening: only one goal conceded in three matches.
On the other side of the fence, powerhouses like Germany, despite leading their group, have shown dangerous seams in defensive transition, allowing an unusual amount of goals for their lineage. For their part, Didier Deschamps’ France, led by a Kylian Mbappé who seems to be playing a different sport (10 goals to his name), is marching irresistibly, although one wonders if such dependence on individual talent will take its toll against a more compact defensive structure.
The great revelation, without a doubt, has been Morocco. With admirable tactical order and a Brahim Díaz who has established himself as the team’s brain with his 4 assists, they have managed the miracle of remaining undefeated in a group with Brazil. On the other hand, the disappointment of the tournament has a name: the Czech Republic and a Qatar that, following an astronomical investment, says goodbye with a defensive fragility that cries out to heaven.
The tournament’s statistical podium
| Player | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappé | 10 | 4 |
| Erling Haaland | 7 | 0 |
| Jude Bellingham | 7 | 0 |
| Ousmane Dembélé | 6 | 0 |
| Harry Kane | 6 | 0 |
| Michael Olise | 0 | 7 |
| Bruno Guimarães | 0 | 4 |
The data does not lie: the dominance of the French playmakers with Michael Olise at the forefront, or the balance provided by Bruno Guimarães for Brazil, are the real difference-makers. Those teams that fail to control these creative zones in the knockout stages will have their bags packed sooner than their fans expect.
Signed, Jacinto Perplejo.
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Photo: Generated by AI (Gemini Image) / Free License
By Jacinto Perplejo