Women’s World Cup Knockout Stage Teams and Their Styles of Play
A popular sports adage that certainly applies to the World Cup is, “styles make fights”. No matter how great a team is, there is always another team with the right style of play and tactics to win. That’s the beauty of sports, we can try to predict what’ll happen but we’re not psychic. Did anyone see Jamaica using their defensive and counter attacking style to keep Brazil to a draw and advance?
If you did you might actually be psychic after all. The point being, contrasting styles make for better matchups and we want to make sure you’re covered. Here’s a breakdown of the 16 remaining teams and how they like to play.
Defensive/Counter Attacking
Nigeria
The Super Falcons had 40% possession or less in all three of their group stage games and yet they’re in the Round of 16. Their goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie has been incredible but their defense also took on a bend but not break mentality. Their ability to break and attack the other way was evident with three goals against the Matildas. They held Canada and Ireland to 0-0 draws. This shows their defense can get clean sheets and their offense can get going behind Asisat Oshoala. If they’re defending well and use their physicality and speed to their advantage they are a problem.
Jamaica
The same can be said for Jamaica who found a way to keep Brazil scoreless with just 27% possession. They also did this to France in their first game which was just as impressive. The Reggae Girlz have their own superstar up front in Bunny Shaw who is perfect for spearheading any counter attack. The Jamaican women are technically the fastest in the world. This is based on Jamaicans taking all three medals in the 100m Final in Japan at the Olympics. If the Jamicans keep defending like this, their pace makes them a threat to score at any time.
South Africa
Of all the teams mentioned to this point, South Africa has the deadliest counter attack of all. Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo are incredibly skilled and Jermaine Seoposenwe has provided some great support as well. To score six goals all on the counter attack shows just how great their finishing is. They aren’t selfish when they counter attack either, the ball moves quickly and everyone will try for the extra pass. The Netherlands are another ideal matchup for them in the Round of 16.
Switzerland
The Swiss are known for being neutral and that’s true with their playing style as well. I would like to put them under the balanced category but only scoring twice against the Philippines. This was then followed by a couple 0-0 draws with New Zealand and Norway isn’t all that impressive. They don’t take a ton of risk and could probably stand to do more offensively. This is why they fall under a more defensive-minded set up. Spain is a good matchup for them because of their defense but will they be able to score, time will tell.
Sweden
Sweden has always been known as a strong defensive team that can make you pay on the counter attack. Just ask their arch rival, the USWNT. Their toughness and physicality give them an advantage over most teams. The one wrinkle that Sweden has that no other defensive team has is their advantage on set pieces. They utterly dominated Italy by pounding the six-yard box with crosses over and over and heading the ball home. Their set piece ability to go with their counter attacking style makes them one of the toughest teams to beat. They’ve held the majority of possession because they’re the best team in the group, expect it to shift in the knockout stages.
Balanced/Versatile
Japan
Japan is truly the most balanced team in the world because they don’t truly commit to one style of play. The Japanese are masters at analyzing a team’s strengths and weaknesses and exploiting them. Look no further than their group stage matches. In their first two games they used their precision and technique to control possession and outscore Zambia and Costa Rica 7-0. Then in a game against Spain, knowing that Spain would out pass them and keep the ball, they sat back and invited the pressure. Japan knew as long as they kept the ball in front of them, Spain could pass all day and it wouldn’t amount to anything. Instead they counterattacked to perfection and won 4-0. Whether they sit back or attack you, this team doesn’t beat themselves and can play multiple ways. Japan isn’t being talked about enough right now.
Australia
The co-hosts for the longest time have been considered a strong attacking team without a proper defense to support them. Outside of the Nigeria game, they kept two clean sheets, something that this Matildas team has struggled with in the past. Not only has their defense improved but they’ve figured out how to win without their star play Sam Kerr who has missed most of the Group Stage. Manager Tony Gustavsson, a former assistant of Jill Ellis, wanted to make sure this team wouldn’t be one-dimensional by just getting the ball to Kerr and it worked. They’d won eight of their nine games coming into the World Cup and turned into a Round of 16 appearance. A balanced Matildas side might push them to their best finish ever at the World Cup.
England
England have always been balanced but their strength is usually in their attack. They’ve had to adapt with injuries to important players and have shown they can defend just as well. 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark were enough to get the job done with great individual attacking prowess to go with a strong defense. England are in the same boat as the USWNT in the sense that injuries have impacted roster selection but the Brits are making it work. They can switch from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-1-2 and not even blink. China isn’t an easy team to break down and England put six goals past them. The Lionesses have more than enough pieces to win it all and they’re balanced enough to do it.
Morocco
When there’s a will, there’s a way. Morocco bounced back from a 6-0 drubbing against Germany to pull off two historic 1-0 victories over Colombia and South Korea. The key in both games was defense. Through the three group stage games they averaged around 33-34% possession which indicates they spent a lot of time in their own half defending. Credit this team for defending like champions and taking their chances when they came along. Their defensive, counter attacking style is going to have to get ready for another tough test against France who we’ve seen can concede a goal or two themselves.
Denmark
Denmark weren’t the most convincing in the group stages but they showed just enough on both sides of the ball to advance. 1-0 over China and 2-0 over Haiti indicates the Danes are tough in defense and can keep a clean sheet when need be. Plus they kept England to one goal in a tight game. Denmark emphasizes defense based on their personnel because other than Pernille Harder they aren’t strong in attack. Still, the Danes prefer to be balanced but taking out the Matildas might require their offense to produce more than usual.
Colombia
Colombia are tough, rugged and not afraid to put in a challenge or pick up a yellow card. Five yellow cards in their first two games are incredibly high, which also makes players think twice in some situations knowing the Colombians will put in a hard challenge. Up until this point it’s worked and they’ve been able to keep possession and had more of it against a team like South Korea who enjoys keeping the ball. The Colombians also showed their ability to defend against Germany, and ended up stealing the game late thanks to Linda Caicedo. They will not be an easy out based on what they’ve shown so far, whoever they play, it’s going to be tough and it’s going to hurt.
Norway
Norway left everyone stunned with the opening game loss to New Zealand and the only game where they dominated possession was the 6-0 win over the Philippines. Their star players do well in space and when on the counter attack that puts Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten in the best positions to succeed. Unfortunately Ada Hegerberg has been injured which impacts how Norway wants to play. They play in a 4-3-3 formation with the option to move into a 3-4-3 making them more of a balanced side but they simply haven’t put it all together yet.
Possession/Attacking
Spain
Spain has and always will be possession football. It has its pros and cons, and the biggest pro being the more you hold the ball and make the other team run the more fatigued they get and the more mistakes they make. Not only that but it allows for some of the more beautiful passing you’ll ever see in the game. However, at the end of the day the name of the game is putting the ball in the net. Spain looked great using this style against Zambia and Costa Rica as they should have. However, Japan exposed them in a big way scoring on practically every counter attack they had. Spain’s defense is not on par with their offense right now and while Switzerland might not be able to expose that weakness, other teams in the later stages should be able to do so. Spain will always be easy on the eye but their finishing has to be better if they are to become world champs.
Netherlands
The Dutch looked great for a majority of their match against the United States and they used their possession style approach to do it. Holland represents “total football” where any outfield player can take over for another at any time. A lot of Holland’s players have versatility at multiple positions and that allows them to keep the ball in different areas across the pitch. The USWNT tried pressing the Dutch and for most of the game it didn’t work because Holland had players with enough technical ability to beat the USWNT’s press. They thumped Vietnam 7-0, putting together the kind of performance that the USWNT were supposed to have against Vietnam. The Dutch are back in a big way and their attacking style poses problems for a lot of teams.
France
France always seems to have a plethora of flashy players who can embarrass you with their dribbling or blow by with their speed. They even have the technical players at the back and in attack to break opposing defenses. Their offense has always been their strength with their defense letting them down in key moments. The best example was their last game against Panama, they scored six but gave up three to a Panama team that was shutout by Jamaica and Brazil. If there’s an area to be exploited it’s their defense but their attack is good enough to outscore most teams, time will tell if they can get over the hump and reach a semifinal or further.
USWNT
Of all 16 teams the USWNT has always been the team to press teams the most. The moment they lose possession or don’t have the ball they do whatever is possible to get the ball back. Here’s the thing, because the USWNT has been dominant, most teams have no choice but to sit back and defend which leads to the Americans getting the majority of possession.
The only time you’ll see someone have as much possession if not more is if the USWNT plays the Netherlands or Spain, otherwise the Americans will keep the ball at close to 50% if not more. The defense and defensive midfield has been the one major flaw in this team and it’s been exploited by the Netherlands. The USWNT is now one of the only teams that doesn’t have a true left back and uses a midfielder like Crystal Dunn or Sofia Huerta to play that role. It’s the attack that makes the USWNT scary because of how many options to worry about. There’s Morgan, Smith, Rodman, Williams, Lavelle, Horan, Rapinoe, Mewis who have all produced at the international level.
They just need to come through in the knockout stages. Sweden is one of the tougher matchups the US could’ve gotten but seeing a lot of people doubt them might be the motivation this teams needs to silence public opinion.
Featured image via Getty Images
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