Why Morocco Could Spark a Tactical Revolution
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 кві 2024
- Check Out Soccerment for in-depth Statistics: bit.ly/3U3vOn5
When observing the evolution of football tactics, there’s always a constant shift from one philosophy to another. The unpredictability of the WM formation made for some beautiful offensive football in the 1950s, before meeting its match with the rise of the extremely defensive mentality of the Catenaccio in the 1960. The Focus shifted once again in the 70s with Dutch total football, that was able to easily exploit spaces left by these outdated systems. But as teams grew wary of these intricate movements, it in turn led to the development of zonal marking, with managers such as Arrigo sacchi taking AC Milan to new highs in the 1980s, ensuring that dangerous spaces were covered, meaning all these fancy rotations couldn’t easily create gaps.
The constant back and forth from offensive to defensive tactics has shaped the game for all its existence, and there’s reason to believe we might be at a tipping point in the next few years.
The past decade has been dominated by possession football, with managers such as pep Guardiola being regarded as one of the greatest ever with his heavy inspiration on Cruyffs total football, Taking it to new levels with constant possession and intricate passing moves to disrupt the opposition. But if the Qatar world cup has shown us anything, its that a well organised defensive system can make any team incredibly dangerous, and there’s no better example than Regragui’s Morocco.
Morocco may not have made the world cup final, but their run into the semifinal was nothing short of spectacular, knocking out Belgium, Spain and Portugal, before putting up and incredibly entertaining display against France. But what important to note is that they made it that far with only 32% possession and while conceding only 1 goal (excluding semifinal), the second lowest in the competition behind costa rica. So how can a team that never has the ball be so dangerous? And what does this tell us about how tactics could be shifting. Lets take a look.
Formation Database: www.patreon.com/FootballMeta?...
If you enjoyed this video please leave a like & subscribe for more!
__________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW THESE AWESOME PAGES
INSTAGRAM: / thefootballmeta
PATREON: www.patreon.com/FootballMeta?...
NFT'S: opensea.io/Football_Meta
MUSIC: / cram_sounds
TWITTER: / footballmeta1
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:23 Morocco's World Cup
01:52 The Tactics
04:04 The Consequence
06:08 The Start of Something New? - Спорт
Sais and Aguerd the best two CBs in the moroccan defence were injured and they couldn't play in the last two games that's why their defence looked so shaky against France and Croatia
Just a perfect remark.
exactly right
Yes exactly !!
Couldn’t be more right! This is the main issue the team had, they should get good substitutes next time.
Yeah you’re right
Only thing morocco needed was a GOOD striker that can turn the chances into goals and maybe work on the bench team cause an injured player was very critical and decisive
Our main striker Tissoudali got injured few months before the World Cup. En-nesyri is more of a finisher and cannot dribble past the defenders. Our hopes were high for the other striker Hamdallah, but turned out to be a big upset, since the Saudi league where he plays lacks pace and competitiveness.
But FIFA is help france to win
You could see that in the semi-finals, tactically Morocco was leaps and bounds ahead of France, but the individual players were too tired or injured to make use of that advantage.
@@erolish En-Nesyri is better for this system than Tissoudali, because of his speed and the pressure he can give. The opponent couldn’t build up because of him. Tissoudali was deffinatly missed for coming of the bench. Cheddira and Hamdallah made me miss Rayan Mmae (and I hate him)
@@frenchmontana5880 yes, but tissoudali would have been the Perfect sub. Even Haddadi. I was Amazed that he choosed chedira over haddadi
After the Spain game, I thought nobody could beat that Morocco team with that kind of formation and discipline, little did I realize that injuries play a huge part of the game.
Remember Euro 2012 Italy-Spain matches.
Healthy Italy hold Spain in an entertaining draw, in group stage.
Unfortunately we cannot see the same in the final because of two reasons:
1. Italy change in formation
2. Injuries to Italian squad
And the fatigue also.
Injuries and trashy strikers lol
Dicipline and fighting spirit is why they got far. Not tactics nor formation. It's a sad day for football if this type of play picks up. But other teams do need to improve their fighting spirit. Let's just hope it won't ruin the style of the game too much.
I was saying 1) the noneexisting manager's experience in compact tournaments, 2) lack of efficiency and 3) bad luck affected Morocco in the first place. Injuries and fatigue are just results. But this tournament will teach him a lot as it is his first in its type.
1) I understand he wanted to learn from 98 WC and 2018 WC experiences (not losing the first match), but if you want to win the WC, you should start by winning the two first matches in order to get a rest in the third. France did that so technically they played 90 min less than Morocco.
2) To win the world Cup you should finish the matches as early as possible. Canada's first half should be more than 2-1 to be mentally good to play with a back 4 instead of suffering with a back 5. The spain's match should end in 90 mins by being efficient in front of the goals. So France played another 30 min less than Morocco (120 min in total)
3) Bad luck presents itself mainly in Tissoudali's injury which led to a huge decrease in Morocco's efficiency. Moreover, anyone who get in the path of Spain's tiki taka is gonna lose something (either the game or the freshness in the next games), Morocco and Japan were the victimes of bad luck in this case.
Watching them against France and Portugal, the way they moved the ball through the midfield and to the box was magical, if it weren’t for the lucky deflections they got, they could be the ones playing Argentina in the finals
But they weren’t oh well 🙁 not good enough, lucky deflections or not
@@mardengonzalez3561 why you hating man
@@mardengonzalez3561 maybe your butt still hurt after a lose!!! no worries you will feel better soon
Simply fifa doesn't want us to be in final .2 penalties are not considered eve.n French people said it .absolutely inaccepttable
@@simosoufiassse7648 if Morocco were good enough then they wouldn't need penalties to win
Morocco amazed me. The story behind this journer, players, the discipline of the formation, fighting soul, human qualities, fans.. thank you
❤️🇲🇦
🙏🏼🇲🇦❤️💪🏼
Thank you!
Was impressed with their game yes. Not as impressed with their political message when celebrating their wins.
@@ironlionzion1380 free Palestine
As a goalkeeper who played in the 70t in France and Sweden, I see Morocco’s tactics quite innovative. Their success lied in turning the four midfielders and the striker, Nseyri, to defenders and attackers. The opposing teams were frustrated and opened themselves to the lethal attacks of the Moroccans. A good credit to their coach Walid Regragui.
Well said. However, the drawback of this playstyle is the sheer amount of physical burden the players receive with each game. Which leads to high risk of players getting injured. This is the reason that caused Morocco to loose to France and Croatia. By the time they played France, almost all of the key players were either unable to play or are playing through injury. That being said, we must not forget that Morocco only had 2 months to prepare all of this. Which is astonishing if you think about it.
Most of the injured moroccan players came injured to the world cup. Saiss, Hakimi and Mazraoui started the WC being injured.
Yeah this World Cup became right after the clubs so most of the players were already injured prior. If it were a traditional World Cup the Moroccans would have been ready.
Moroccan coach said his tactic was inspired by France's one in 2018 too. And french tactic in 2022 is very similar to the one of Morocco
No. They just didn't have the bench's depth that big nations had. Also they played better teams and went to extra time. France did rotate their team.
The players came actually not 100% in shape from the clubs they are playing in.. And the substitutes weren't that highly expérienced.. Can you modify ur comment Accordingly plz to give the right image
Morocco won our hearts
why? its just a small country who made ut to semi finals 😂😂😂😂
@@dcmrizimile0395what country are your from😂
@@dcmrizimile0395
it's bigger than Portugal and has the same population as Spain
Morocco’s problem is they don’t have a good finishing striker and their substitutes are not good to replace the injured ones, they need to work on the substitutes coz their last match against Croatia you can feel the vacant places of the injured players ( Saiss, Aguerd and mazraoui) and the continuous mistakes of the substitutes and the non harmony on the new team !!! Besides that they did great, they played with their heart like beasts, they had the spirit, the best defense, a good coach, but the injuries were an obstacle. I just wonder what would’ve happened if there was no injuries in the team also Amrabat was so tired and you can feel it in the last match . For Their match against france that was a scandal refereeing… After all Qatar just hosted the best World Cup and vamos Argentina 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷 wishing Morocco the best luck in 2026, I hope I can see the Same faces and why not the first African country to win a World Cup !!!!! Do not stop dreaming and work harder.
if you're from argentina congratulations, you guys really deserve it
2 forward players got injured just before the World Cup a total disappointment.
We do have a finishing striker .but guess what he's injured too hh
His name is harit
They technically had only 2 days of pause while the opponents (Croatia) had three days
@@majd257 harit is not a striker he is CAM
Morocco was the most entertaining team this WC. I'll never understand how they withstood Portugal's intensive assault for the last 30m of the second half. They had two penalties not called in the France match too., their captain was limping after literally 10 minutes. Their biggest mistake was changing from 414`1 to a joke 541 formation, putting sais on the field.
Sadly the coaches inexperience, and I think, the weight of the moment, got to him. Otherwise, spot on with your analysis.
I think the injury of aguerd and saiss and mazraoui was fatal.
@@dorkasaurus_rex I think it was more so due to a lack of time for the plans and counters to be integrated in the team than the inexperience of the coaches. Don't forget, Walid was only with the team for around 2 to 3 months, only a few months ago the team was downright dysfunctional and many key players were refusing to come back. Honestly, this is probably just the start, and I believe with Walid becoming a regular, more prep time and better substitute players the Moroccan national team could even reach the quarter-finals/semi-finals again in the next WC, if not do even better.
@@cscs6587 amrabat was taking pain injections throughout the knockout stages. Ziyech and Hakimi were injured too but played. En Nesyri was injured and couldn’t play for more than 65 minutes. It was a disaster lol
its more like the match was sold, the next day france admitted that the dessert is a moroccan land and they solved the visa problem we have with them, it's just really weird
I was for Argentina from getgo.. BUT - after couple group games, Morocco stole my heart .. I luv the way they play n were the most physically fit team at world cup- bar none .. congrats Lions great job.. .. tnx
Morocco was an absolute shocker... No doubt!!! What a game they had played... I really am impressed by their tactics... Wishing them the best of luck in all their upcoming matches..
Can you imagine that the offensive way of playing in Spain was created because of a Moroccan player called Ben Mbark, around the 40s Spain football had no idea about short passes, they were playing more physically and with long balls like Italian football, but when Ben Mbark came to Atletico Madrid, cuz he was already a talented player who likes short passes and dribbling then scoring, he was like an inspiration of Spain football around the 40's to become more offensive.
I wanna know more about this.. thanks for the insight
@@_theomoore his name is Larbi Benbarka. The true God of football. Pele said: if I'm the king of football, then larbi is its god
That´s ridiculous, crediting some random guy that only played two years in Spain (1950-51) with Atletico de Madrid for Spain´s style of play. I personally had never heard about the guy, the most influential player of that era was DiStefano by far. Also Atletico de Madrid has always been a rocky, defensive minded team, unlike Barca or Sevilla.
@@dangonzalezb not hearing about him doesn't make him not exist brother. He was a legend at his time. And Pele s words are more than enough for his credit.
@@dangonzalezb 40s not "50's" Ben Mbark was in Atletico before Distefano came to Real, he came after the domination of Atletico's Ben Mbrak in la liga, you may don't know him cuz he African, Spain don't wanna look like they were influenced by an African, so they won't talk about it.
Destifano came to make Real great again just like Ben Mbark did with Atletico.
proof that this is wrong to be logical, and I will accept it, don't just talk.
My name is Ali. I was professional player in Morocco. I played in France and Italy where I spent 28 yrs. I am holder of Diploms UEFA: B & A. I appreciate your analyse. I want to important factors that were at the Regragui's secret: the 1st time our national team was coached by true professional ex-player who knows not only our football but our mentality AS WELL. He gave his best to UNITE THE GROUP: 1st strength of our group and the most important declaration was: ( talking to the all players) Here the stars are not YOU, THE TRUE STARS ARE : MOROCCO & MOROCCAN PEOPLE. You have to paly for OUR COUNTRY...
The puzzle can not be complete without these two important FACTORS. Thank you for you analyse. Cheers
Nice one Mr Ali. The people comes first. I'd like to have a conversation with you if you don't mind
@kaouia Ali let’s connect if possible
You are partly wrong here. Regurgui said that you have to treat players differently according to their importance. He gave an example of Zyich. What he did is he made sure that certain individuals are more important so they can produce and carry the team.
This approach was excellent throughout all the WC. Only failed in the semi final with Sais playing injured and imposing himself to the coach even when he did not warm up with team. Sais made the two centre backs feel nervous about their abilities and not enter in the game until he was out and until France was already up 1 nil. Because of Regurgui reconciling character the structure of Morocco with Sais in was shaken and played 3 5 3 when they used to play 4141.
Anyway Regurgui did not say to the players that here it s about the team. He recognised the individuals and their importance. With big Egos like Zyich, Boufal and others it was the only way to proceed.
African Teams are just know having african coaches who played for the main leagues and we are now watching that improvment
@@autismo1 true that, same thing happent with croatia between after 2018 wc to end of Euro 2020 (2021). Dalić was to afraid to Kick out out of form players because they brought him silver on wc (best example: Rebić) After that disasteres euro, Dalić slamed down his hand on table and look at croatia now, mixture of young and veterans more United than ever.
Even though croatia's way of play can be broring, it was tactically effective, keep the ball as much as possible to bore out the opposition with slow movement of play
Only thing croatia lacked in that play style of was last pass towards a striker
Their run was amazing , watching them perform was like a chess match , they were very well organized and a lot of discipline by the players respecting the coach tactic , unfortunately they lost 2 key central defenders in the last two games that’s why their defense didn’t look the same since Aguerd and Saiss are world class quality defenders , people who said they parked 2 buses and got lucky just go watch old tapes of Barcelona and shut up
It was a lucky stretch at best. They essentially played for the coin toss of a shootout at the end. When your keeper is your best player, you know you're surviving on sheer luck. But the thing is that playing 120 minutes with a squad with sub-optimal fitness, the team is destined for an implosion sooner or later. The sad thing is that they played their best football when they went behind, showing that they had the quality but they'd rather park a double decker and pry for Bono to save them on pens.
@@kvineet631 how can you say that it’s a lucky stretch , and how can you say that the same teams who won champions leagues world cups or reached big tournaments in semis or finals with the same tactic and you can take Italy as an example , how can you say that is luck when you don’t the have the same quality players like other countries and when the manager took charge of the team just 3 months before the World Cup do you think that he would’ve done something if he followed this mindset of you should play open football with better teams on paper and in the end you just go home loosing that was the best strategy for just a 3 months preparations you do with the weapons that you got and you make them work to win and nothing more in the end it doesn’t matter how you play it only matters if you win or not , and their GK won only 2 times motm , it’s just impossible to call this luck that’s modern football and genius tactic setting and also you can say that Portugal and Spain or Belgium or Canada lost by luck but the reality is that there is no luck , you can just see how many times Messi won the champions league while having the best team of the world for more than a decade
@@AM-yt3yj Having a team built around defensive mindset and a team parking the bus for survival are two different things. The Italians are called a defensive team but in 2006 the only match they won on pens was the final. There is a difference. Morocco were not capable of playing even what they wanted to play. Parking the bus drains your players much more than passing around and they ran out of gas by the semis.
This style of play which took them to the semis, also doomed them for implosion. Yes they survived against Portugal but the cost was too much. One has to wonder how it would've been had they played like they played against France? But they'd rather put players like Hakimi in a back five and hope that Bono keeps coming through.🤷🏻♀️
Anyways, I guess their biggest win is that we are actually talking about them. They won the eyeballs that's for sure. Rest are all opinions.
@@kvineet631 fact 👌
Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness.
I agree with you ...also, I want to say that when Moroccan team played possession football they lost against France and Croatia . However , I think if they played 4-1-4-1 against France and Croatia , the results probably would change ..but the injuries forced Moroccan team to change their tactical game . I also want to say that this team reminds me of Italy 2006 WC ...Italy played defensive game and they have conceded one goal by their defender .
i think all the 1st team defense players where injured
By those games they had 7 starters injured
Also cheated from penalties vs France and one penalty vs Croatia
yeah all starting defender were unjury exept hakimi
@@atlasmanga8058 hakimi played while injured
I think one thing people need to reconsider when talking about Morocco's team in the WC is that Walid (including many of the amazing staff he brought in) was only with the team for around 2 to 3 months, and don't forget that only a few months ago the team was downright dysfunctional and many key players were refusing to come back, whilst others were called on a short notice. It becomes clear that there wasn't much time for the plans and counters to be integrated deeply in the team. Even then, I think most of their problems stemmed from a lack of good substitutes and the injuries of important CB players (as well as fatigue).
I honestly feel that this is probably just the start, and I believe with Walid becoming a regular, more prep time and better substitute players, the Moroccan national team could even reach the quarter-finals/semi-finals again in the next WC, if not do even better.
thats the point indeed, not all the "out of possession" teams are the same by any means, people need to differentiate between a boring, panicked classic underdogs that concede the play aiming for a draw as the optimum result, and between those that are more dangerous than the opponent while not having the ball...the individual qualities of the Moroccan players were unmatched regarding tight link-up plays and 1 v 1 situations
Great video and explanation. That 4-1-4-1 working from essentially a mid block defensively setting traps, with well executed and sometimes beautiful, technical and lethal counters was engaging to watch.
I am going to have to watch more Fiorentina because Amrabat was exceptional in the defensive midfield, making me a fan no doubt! A key component to the formula…
I’d like to add the one additional component that makes this all work is the ability to track and defend the most dangerous opposing runners which requires great team communication, discipline, and focus over 90 min (exhausting!) So many teams lack some component within this area of the game that generally leads to the dagger(s) and their ultimate downfall. Morocco were tireless and committed 💯…
Key injuries (Saiss in particular) and I think ultimate quality of opponent in France lead to their ultimate downfall but Morocco should be so proud and have a great foundation to build from if they continue down their current path. It’s going to be tough to hold onto that coach though, who I think had this team fully buying into a system and mindset.
Regragui aint going anywhere. He is now working on having a bench with the same quality as the starting 11. He is aiming for WC 2026. Pure genius of the moroccan coaching and management style.
2 important défendeurs were injured:
The captain Romain Saiss (ex défender of Wolverhampton and today Besiktas with a long expérience)
Nayef Aguerd the défender of west Ham.
Also Hakimi was injured since the game against belgium, Amrabat also played injured against portugal.
The team was also tired after that 120min against spain.
Anyway, today's football oblige you to have worldclass players on the bench too.
@@AdamAzzr Im pretty sure Amrabat played every minute of every game, he was gassed by the time they played France, Morocco literally doesn't have a backup CDM in the squas
Regragui is a candidate to manage Brazil national team
@@dejomrsic6093
Amrabat stayed in the hospital till 3 at night before the game against portugal.
Apparently The moroccan players will go back exhausted to their teams
They did phenomenal. They’re young. They’ll come back. Taking Spain to PKs was intelligent management. I hope other teams take note from this.
This could seriously be the return of Route One football. Super teams are now looking for strikers in the mold of Haaland and are also bringing back 4-4-2 in a big way.
Nah. It won't lead to return of route one football but a mixture of it
Nope.. not at all
You’d be more likely to see 4-1-4-1 (You need a CDM) in that case. Teams almost always have inverted winger from now on so, route one wouldn’t work in the same set up either
4-4-2 is absolute in towards football...too much pressure on the midfield to hold onto the game unless you have a crazy killer uplink like Cavani and Suarez in their prime but it won't put you far in a tournament.
No the 4-1-4-1 proved that it's the best balanced line up that could give any coach the defensive and the attacking style.
I became a fan of Morocco a little after the 2018 world cup. I have high hopes for Zakaria. He's still young and may help give a better offensive punch that Morocco lacked.
thank you Mr Pedro
Zakaria who? because it's a generic first name in Morocco. Thanks !
@@HAmesa-KAmyster-soul aboukhlal he play in the ligue 1 france
For those who never watched Morocco and don't know about the way Morocco play they are 100% an attacking side, they like to possess the ball and create chances with highly technical players they always play good but they never achieve great things because of the defensive gaps they let behind that's why even us North African who are familiar with the way Morroco plays were astonished by this new approach of Walid Ragragi he made an attacking team play well structured defensively as a unit with zonal marking players like Boufal and Zyiech who were never known for their defensive discipline, commit themsleves for the team tactics rather than showboating but when the opportunity arise to play the ball did that 4-1-4-1 with square positions created always a cover and overload with every zone in the game what this can tell that even highly attacking teams can play as a defensive unit if they are instructed and coached well close enough to what Real madrid do give possession to opposition make a defensive block and play fast counter tac king style even through they have players who are highly technical in possession like Kroos and Modric and it also mark an end to Tiki Taka and possessing the ball for long period of times without creating any danger for 90 minutes
.
Interesting but I disagree on this. There is no end to possession football and tiki taka as this is the essence of football. If possession fails, either the offense is too weak or the defense is too strong. Morocco surprised Spain with insane intensity and duel wins and pressure. Spain's lack of percussion and quality forwards is their demise. Spain had a late opportunity that hit the post. That still went to penalties... No one can say that Morocco dominated this game or the game against Portugal. They won because they had incredible will power and a great team as well as rock solid organisation.
🤣🤣
Their fans are pretty attacking also.... rioting all over Europe. They should be banned from football and fined.
Regardless of how it ended for the team representing the Kingdom of Morocco, everyone who knows Walid Regragui and the talents Morocco has across the globe are very positive about the future of Football in the kingdom of Morocco, beside being a quick learner ( Walid Regragui started his coaching career back in 2014 ), a good technician, Walid is a Master when it comes to gaining the trust of the changing room, he only spent a couple months with the players to prepare them for the big avenue and still they're already ready to die for him, he even had big old conflicts with Badr banoune when he was a coach of a moroccan club but after the end of game vs croatia Badr showed up in tears thanking Walid not just for calling him for the world up but for saving his career as he was planning to retire 4 months before the world up because of heart issues similar to Erikssen, not forgeting bringing back Ziyech and Mezraoui to the team after they both decared their International retarement because of the way the Ex coach treated them, with all this I can't describe how he can Pyschologicaly gain the trust of anyone, he's the most positive person you can ever meet, you don't just change 80% of a team just two months before the world and they end up showing this kind of discipline for five games unil the referee's wisthle.
The bigest reason for going down against France and Croatia was the losse of the key players in the defensive line, the subs weren't able to the respect the amount of discipline required to satisfy regragui's needs, but he said that himself in the middle of the competition " to wind the world cup you need a good bunch ".
Portugal came with two teams they didn't make it.
Spain came with two teams, they didn't make it.
Germany came with two teams, they didn't even make it to the second round!.
Brasil came with THREE teams, they didn't make it.
As a Moroccan, I believe if Walid Regragui will be left alone to deal with team, and fully protected for the so called Football agents which are the biggest poision in Moroccan football and also protected from french political pressure which has some weight in Moroccan Politics while Walid Regragui was born in France and there are million ways for them to blackmail him, if the Moroccan authorities Protected Walid from all of that then in GOD'S WILLING the world football will hear about us in the african cup of nation next year and will see us in the Continents cup in 2025 before they show respect in 2026 World cup 🤲
They played an amazing and beautiful football. They showed heart, courage & discipline. They were very enjoyable to watch.
Low possession is indeed a new successful trend. When teams possess a lot but have to take a lot of potshots, they lose a grip on the game and present an easy opening for the counter.
France won the last World Cup with 34% possession. And had less of it in 3 of their 4 knockout games.
fr all you need are just some moments of brilliance on the counter to win a game (mbappe)
In cup competitions where you can be “knocked out”; counter attacking was never out of style-I don’t get this point.
Real Madrid play counter attacking football. The last winner of the UCL who lead the competition in possession was Barcelona 2010-11.
@@yurhomi4478 Yes RM in UCL 22 underscored the same trend of low possession success. Few shots on goal, but high conversion. The reason it is a point of discussion is that I think it reverses the trend started by TikaTaka's success in the last decade.
@@blueSkyIs1 yep, man city deal with this everytime.. real madrid is a very good example..
Agree with most comments, Morrocco was the most entertaining team in the last world cup, such a pleasure watching them control the play on their half and their entertaining counter attacks.
Big fan of their offensive winger runs and partner teamwork passes.
Astonishing displays of defensive and fast precise counter attacking football. Where would you find such players to play like this every week? They be exhausted and wasted and prone to injury due to the high intensity. Perfect tournament strategy especially if the squad has depth.
I was listening to the TV few years ago here in Italy, and one famous coach, don't remember whom, he said "I don't give a shit about possession. It's just a fetish for these new coaches, getting the most passes, most possession etc. But at the end of the day if you're team has the most possession but concedes more goals, then there you have it, your possession goes down the toilet."
I liked Morocco playing style, kinda reminded me of how Italy used to play between the 90s and early 2000s, rock solid defending but scoring on counterattacks.
Morocco lacked the strikers but the heart was there.
Morocco played more defensively in the France and Croatia match because a lot of the main defense players were injured , other key players have been substituted too . Morocco didn't play against France and Croatia with the same team that won the previous matches . Plus , in the France match , the ref did them dirty by denying a penalty . And we have seen in the final match Argentina vs France how much penalities change everything .
People need to accept that small teams are never gonna win WC. FIFA just wont allow it. It happens time and time again, FIFA gifting penalties to big teams. This is also last time Argentina won. FIFA wont carry them next WC when Messi is no longer among their ranks. Only hope for small teams to win this tournament is to develop superstar players on the level of Messi and Ronaldo but that is highly unlikely.
@@saellenx3528 wrong, the gap between small teams and big teams are getting closer, and this world cup is proof of that. Tactically, all the teams in RO16 and onwards played brilliantly, the ultimate decider was the experience and quality of the players on field. I can guarantee you that the next two WCs are gonna be revolutionary for smaller teams.
@@spinyslasher6586 Read again what i wrote, then think about it a little. People need to learn to understand what they are reading before commenting.
@@saellenx3528 I did read what you wrote, and no, I don't think they need superstar players, they need consistently good players.
@@spinyslasher6586 Then you should have seen that i wrote that FIFA wont allow small teams to win. This has happened time and time again. Them giving penalty to big team as a slight push ahead or not giving penalties to small teams. In 2018 Final they gave non existent penalty to France and a free kick that caused goal after Griezman dived.(something VAR should have cleared) You cant beat corrupted FIFA no matter how good you play. Remember 2002 and South Korea?
Thank you for this analysis. Keep up the great content!
Great video but this only explains how difficult they are to breakdown. It is what Morocco does when they win back the ball which makes it exciting. The players were extremely confident in their own technique to pass the ball out of trouble or dribble their way out. They constantly found a way to beat the press whenever they won the ball back. It is not a typical quick counter attack that defensive teams that park the bus adopt.
Yes you are right it was like magic with 1.2.3 pass under pressure and voila
The writing was on the wall for possession football when Mourinho parked the Inter bus in front of the goal against Barcelona. Morocco is an evolution of such tactic, a somewhat more mobile bus that sometimes attacks.
That inter team together with other Mou teams were unwatchable. Ugly stuff too. Moroccos defensive approach was ver enjoyable because of the transitions.
For a coach who has only played 3 warm-up matches since his appointment as head of the Lions team, in addition to the injuries, I believe he has had a good run.
that's true Moroccan team was incredibly playing with a unique style and tactic.....respect to morocco ❤
They only lacked 2 quality center backs to replace the ones that were injured if they did they would seriously had a chance to win it all the two games they lost they did not have their primary CBs.
They also needed a striker who could finish the ball on his own when he's alone with a keeper infront. They lost so many counter attacks because of that.
Thanks Very much For taking the time to make This Video Happen.
Well, you may notice that The Moroccan Team in Qatar WC 2022 was Just warming up For the African CAF!
They were Building a team that can win the next World Cup 2030 in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Best of luck 👍 ✨️ To the Moroccan Team.
one thing to also note is that beautiful both entertaining and effective attacking style from the wings. For me, it was the first time that I see 2-3 players attacking from one side in a compact form like that (Boufal Mazraoui Ounahi) from one side and (Hakimi Ziyach Ounahi) from the other - they were all highly skilled technically very smooth and just beautiful to watch. As a North African Im delighted to see Moroccans' also focusing on individual skills just like football in the good old 90s days and how we grow up playing as well. Happy that this style of football is coming back to relieve us from this current European strictly tactical robot like style - I cant event watch the UCL anymore
If Morocco had a single Top Class Striker...The story would be far greater
Morocco coach got inspired by Anciloti tactic with Madrid. He let u get the ball but u will NOT pass the middle of their half, when u lose the ball u get count attack with Venisius speed and Karim effective scoring. He said it in an interview. Very solid defense and counter attack will win u titles. However, not every team can be very organised defensvely when u play against high caliber attackers like Portugal, if u don't execute it well u end up losing 5:0
that tactic made our team get exhausted , if we had qualities in the bench like the 11 starting , will be playing the final , but unfortunately . we had so much injuries and everyone give 100 % in every game . it was hard for us against France to keep up with qualities like Mbappe , we learned and the coach learned , now time for hard work hoping our players will change clubs and get more quality games in their legs , and coach need to improve transition from defense to attack so quickly with more efficiency .
You say the tactic made the team exhausted. Do you have stats on Km ran compared to other teams to confirm this theory? I simply think it was a bench problem as you mentioned.
they were robbed against France...to penalties were not awarded for the moroccan team,,they could be playing for the final if it was a fair game.
@@seanou2837 It wasn't a robbery and that wasn't a penalty. France had the better tactic.
@fay guled actually not, watch the match again, France was on their back foot throughout the game, they cheated to move on..not my words by the way.
@@seanou2837 fog off
Didn't Greece already did that in 2004?
Positional play is still effective in well drilled club teams with adequate resources
Close but not similar because Morocco don't actually mark the player itself but the way where the ball can reach him and there for force them to play the wing's game where the 4 top defender's literally awaiting for anyone that unfortunate enough to have the ball
And Greece in other hand give much space to the attackers in mid feald and relay only on there defence player's to do there job
Basically what I said is Morocco work a selective defense
I would rather point to France in 2018 or all of the Mourinho teams, especially the 2010 Inter squad.
Walid regragui has the power of self-confidence in his opinions and ideas that's why Morocco made history 🇲🇦🔥
thank you for this amazing video, hello from morocco
Watching this team counter attack from 18 to 18, especially playing through tight spaces was impressive. In my opinion, the reason for such success is the level of quality players with an. advanced understanding of discipline. In comparison to the lack of discipline displayed by the. US team, just goes to show you how coaching at the highest level is critical. As the US continues to grow in the sport, the US federation needs use this Moroccan success as a blue print for future competition.
Morocco was for me by far the most entertaining Team in this world cup.
It was great to see an underdog performing this way. The only thing that was lacking was a good striker.
If you know that the majority of the players such as Amallah and Ziyech were not even playing enough at their clubs...
The biggest thing that amazed me is the way they did the transition between Defence and offensive.
They really did not let any ball through until they played against France. BUT even against France, we saw that they were the best side and if they only got (if I am not wrong) two or at least one deserved Pen, they would have made it harder for France.
The only negative was that they did not have a bench that is as strong as the starting Eleven like France, Argentina, Brazil...etc.
I think that there is still a lot to come in the next year from this side as the average age in only at 25/26 considering that there are at least 2/3 players that were above 30 and that should not be playing for Morocco anymore lie Hamdallah who really did not deserve to be at the WC on behalf of other skilled player that were left home.
# Dima_Maghrib
P.S: the Best Fans Ever. I hoped they would be playing against Argentina because the two Fans were by far the best in this WC.
the only way for African team to win world cup is surprise the world one time until the the end of the tournament chancee come one time big mistake for team to give up before end it correctly hard to make this rich player to play from they heart Agian after 4 years
Great analysis! Thank you!
They were spectacular…. Great to watch!
Marocco Played really impressive Football but its not only because of the good Tactics its mainly because every Player gave everything they had so the workrate of each Player was fenomenal.
Maroccos Tactic isnt something new Atletico played like this 10 years ago under Simeone but for such a Tactic you need extraordenary good Players who are fast, strong and have a lot of fighting spirit.
The big problem about the style of play is that it is very self destructev because the players are overpacing and get injured very fast so that happend to Marocco and they were not capable to perform in the last two games of the tournement.
But Marocco showed us that when you leave your Heart on the Pitch you can achieve a lot.
Would have been nice too see a Croacia vs Morocco final
You deliver a piece of art here... thank you for this deep insight !
Tank you.for this beautiful video
Everyone is out there examining Morocco, but they should probably go rewatch Japan too.
Japan has always been tactifully strong
The Moroccan national coach came only three months before the start of the World Cup, he didn't have time to rebuild the national team and find replacement players at the required level , I wish them success ,as a Moroccan I'm proud of them 🇲🇦💗
Lmao he didn't have to, his team was made by Vahid Halihodzic, an actual world class coach.
@@andreledoux7143. World class? He’s a world clown 🤡 😂
@@mrboss9105 whatever you think of the man himself he had the results everywhere. Gave a hell of a time to Germany as the head coach of Algeria in 2014. Now made this team and was sacked because he had a fight with Ziyech I think.
@@andreledoux7143 He was sacked because his coaching was poor in general and he refused to bring the full team.
If Vahid was with Morocco in this World Cup. They woulda lost all three games in the group stage and went home bottom 😂
@@andreledoux7143 and that resulted in the Afcon humiliation and big losses afterwards in friendly matches preparing for World Cup. And his team had losing mentality. He had to go.
Walid took this Morocco team from dust and mud Vahid left it in . Got the right team together and went Qatar and made history. That’s the real man.
this is an insanely well thought out video
Regragui has found a tactique who can match perfectly with the morrocan football spirit, he brought discipline and he has uninhibited the status of his players to make everything possible in this WC 👏 🇲🇦
and 4 months later, guardiola has revived it yet again
As a defensive minded player, this is the brand of football I would love to implement and coach. I've said it to friends for a while I love a 442 or variations thereof like the 4141 or 4411, as opposed to a strict 442. It's brilliance is apparent given the players who learn and understand the system. It also helps players cover each others minor flaws or weak points by being a constant assistant to your closest team members. Basically the system can make your team a little stronger by utilizing true teamwork (positioning/zonal marking) every second of the game False 9's and 433's are systems that relies on talented players who can use their exceptional abilities to break down opponents. But this doesn't require breaking down of a defense but rather a demoralizing and exhausting game of smothering offensive chances. So many players have their tendencies to want to be a progressive player. And it can help but also is very risky over 90 minutes. Staying defensively sound and not worrying about a lead keeps a mentality that you are controlling the game. The others get angry frustrated and desperate causing many tactical errors, that can be capitalized upon by a sound defense, who will inevitably have great chances to counter. The best chances to counter though needs to be recognized by all and have that forward commitment in unison on those handful of best counter chances. Many positives in this system. Morocco was so appealing to me because they had the philosophy I've had in my head and heart for as long as I've been playing or studying the game. This play excites every fiber of being because it shows how important defense and defenders truly are. True fact many don't know; The scoreline most common of every professional game every played is 1-0. It is essential to not allow goals as opposed to many sports where constant scoring is the aim. I hear it from many that the point is to score goals. This is just 100% wrong. With long point based season's where a 1 point day is an acceptable performance or the 0-0 second leg advances your team to next round, or 0-0 secures progression on a final day of group stages it is fact and should just be understood through basic math, based upon point structure and tiebreaker possibilities that defensive performances are more valuable towards long term success. I'm so shocked how little defense is valued. Ballon d or and best players in the world shouldn't have a biased towards just offensive players. If this shift in strategy comes it could lead to many more teams all on a more consistent lower floor, as well as a smaller gap in possible ceilings. This would just make the entire sport more enjoyable. It has the potential to be the most significant revolution of tactics we will ever witness. If you read all this thank you. You are appreciated by me, as I love this sport and want to be able to contribute as much of my knowledge or ideas as possible. It is my passion. It is my life. And if just one person thinks any of this was beneficial or learned something, it gives me all I could hope for: a contribution to a community that I cherish (the footballing community) This sport gave me friends gave me life lessons and continues to enrich my life everyday. Happy new year from Colorado. Much love and respect to you all
Let’s gooo my manager is here. I love you so much you made a video about us🇲🇦🇲🇦🇲🇦
Very interesting analysis 👍🏼 it made go back and watch the morocco games again
Possession will never die, the team that hold the ball longer will always have more chances if ofc they have good attacking players who can finish every actions. Don't let the spain team fool you, Spain has no killer in attack.
The 4-1-4-1 tactic requires having 22 players on the same par and this is where Morocco failed after reaching the semi finals with few initially injured players in the team. This aside, the referee demeaned the team vs France by not giving at least an obvious penalty to Boufal in the first half which could have changed the odds
Clear clean graphics 👍🏾
Excellent, sharp analysis as usual
Morocco impressed everyone at this WC, but the shift away from possession football has nothing to do with them. Just look at France, they've been perfecting counter football for years (getting them to two consecutive WC finals).
Not completely true, Morocco had a big problem due to injuries, otherwise the result would have been different and don’t forget the two penalties they should have received if the ref used the VAR
@@bakkalid your comment is totally unrelated to what I said
@@markodon1000 I don’t think France plays defensive football if you go back you’ll see that they play high press
Exactly why France playing boring football despite the avalanche of resources at their disposal.
@@youneslachheb1854 my point is that they don't rely on possession football and often prefer less of the ball. Their overall possession share for WC 2022 was 51%, with only two matches played in which they were not clear favourites. But in any case, I just used France as an example...more importantly, I think it's really a stretch to suggest Morocco will spark a turning point in football because of their success at the WC. Rather, this kind of direct football has been adopted by various teams in recent years.
i liked the way Argentina played in the 1st 63 minutes of the final.keeping possession while attacking more than most "pointless possession " teams do.
The problem is that they got tired and became prone to dumb comebacks, happened both against Netherlands and Fr*nce
The bullshit penalties didn't help either
1st 79 minutes*
Super video. Well informed and well studied
Thanks for your video. An outstanding footballtactics analysis and predictions for fotball tactics future.🤗🤗🤗👍👍👍
I thought that tactically Morocco was complete. The defense is an art as you mentioned . Even the fast build-ups and the way they trick the opposition to press them on one side in order to switch to the other side and open spaces for dribbling.
The other important thing IMO is the study of Moroccan football culture that Regragui conducted. In fact, moroccans (or generally Maghrebins in Europe or Maghreb) generally learned football in the streets and tight spaces (before 12 yo) . They like to have freedom and enjoy dribbling and combinations when they attack thus their impredictability and confidence when Regragui gave it to them. I think the return of Tissoudali and Harit will add to their creative powers.
Finally, while the whole world was surprised by Ounahi, Me as a moroccan I wasn't and I won't be with Tissoudali in the African cup. BUT MADRE MIA where did that 18 years old EL KHANNOUSS came from !!!! 😍😍 Multiple key passes that successfully have opened many times the midfield of Modric and kovacic. Did we won the next De Bruyne?!!
Ecuador also used this tactic and played incredibly well against qatar and the netherlands. The moment they didn't they lost against senegal, albeit at half time they returned to their old style and played significantly better than in the first half. Mendez was in the Amrabat role and caicedo in the Ounahi role.
Right.. Morocco showed the new era of football tactic. Great video.
Thanks for the breakdown
I saw this during the Games and I was so impressed by there 4-1-4-1 Formation that they where doing. I do not think at it is an easy formation to play Specially against Teams like Spain and Portugal.
As someone who loves football I like to have action from both teams to have more shows but in the end what matters is what was your performance in the competition this is what we will remember from, If I ask who gave the best shows maybe Spain, brazil but we will not remember them what we will remember that Argentina wine the cup vs France
As a Moroccan I liked that my country reached the semi final and I will give you some points that some of you do not know them:
1- the coach has just taken the team three months before the start of the competition
2- several players of the Moroccan team were injured even before starting the first matches (Hakimi, Ziyach, Mrabet, Saiss etc)
3- Players do not play regularly in their teams
4- Many players do not play in big teams to have the experience of big competition
5- The substitutes are not enough good which did not allow the coach to have more manpower (as the two attackers)
6- There were players who abstained before the start of the competition due to injuries which did not give the coach a chance to find good replacements
7- the national league is not strong enough like in Europe to have local players in good physical condition (you drive a toyota corolla in formula one)
8- If you noticed in the France match, Morocco at the beginning started to play 5-4-1 (with Saiss not recovered from his injury as a defensive midfielder) because the defenders are not as good as for this big matches and the first goal came from one of them trying to cut the ball before it came at Grizeman and even in Croatie matches they are substituted in the seconde half
And more other small details
But Chapeau for all the team they did their best and we are proud of them
Dima Maroc
As an Argentinian I think it's not your right but your duty to be proud of your team, they did amazing and I was really looking forward to see them in the finals.
You did it once, you can do it twice, stay strong folks!
Ok, Jeroen, respect voor je netheid.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.
فيديو أكثر من رائع، استمتعت كثيراً.
اشكرك على اهتمامك بالمنتخب المغربي واشكرك ايضا على هذا التحليل 😊🇲🇦❤️
It takes some extraordinary to beat this type of defense. Build up to Hernandez's goal in the semis came from a perfect through pass, then magic from Mbappe, Gvardiol and Orsic.
Sais and Aguerd the best two CBs in the moroccan defence were injured and they couldn't play in the last two games that's why their defence looked so shaky against France and Croatia
@@youshy406 and even then they were playing amazingly,
they were deflections from mbappe for both goals, not a pass
Also the fact that the experienced defenders who were supposed to stop the balls (Saiss and Aguerd) were injured.
The opponent needs to move fast around the field to unbalance such a team. Slow players have no chance.
You left out what Regragui also added as remarks: beyond tactics, Morocco played also with a set of values that are quite particular, and with what he calls 'Nya', it is yet to be proved if another team can replicate this way of playing if it doesn't have the same Moroccan values.
The presentation of your videos has improved a notch.
Great video 🙌
Possession football: your opponent can't win if they don't have the ball
Morocco defensive football: your opponent can't win if they can't get past the midfield
I would love to see if this tactics can be used in league settings, not just long tournament.
This coach just won the Moroccan league and the african champions league using the same tactics
Morocco should be looking now for two solid defenders playing right behind Amrabat in case Saìss and Negured were injured cause 4 1 defence and Amrabat up front were amazing I think that it was the foundation of this new system or you can old one if you like.
this tactic is like plying near risk all time not gonna always work we need speed after taking the ⚽
Morocco has brought a new way of tactics for the world and class of quality skills
Interesting analysis 😊
Morocco had 3 unplayable injuries for 3 defenders (the key players in this tactic) Nayef Aguerd and Roman Sais the captain.. and Mazraoui.. they were out for portugal and france game.. Also hakimi was playing with half his potential .. he got injured in the first game.. and still played all the tournament ... also amrabet the key player in the defensive tactic .. was playing with painkillers all the tournament... and all of that... they still played better than france.. also some strange reef decisions .. 2 penalties not given.. morocco could really win the world cup.. with less injuries .. and some luck.. but the good side is .. their team is young... if they work more to get a more solid bench .. with how experienced their players will be in 2026.. they will be favorites .. and im pretty sure .. if they continue to work and dream.. they will be the first nation to win the world cup for Africa
Like you said, Morocco's defensive system works from the front and forces opponents to bypass the midfield instead of parking the bus and waiting for them to get into the attacking third. This kind of defensive setup was much more entertaining to watch.
Very well done video.
the amazigh moroccans are warriors and played with heart during the world cup
This was the 80's and 90's Italian atteccante style. The trap counter attack. That's now being used by Lazio and Napoli a lot. Atalanta use it most but they try and keep the ball high up and only leave the wings open so opposition thinj they can counter on the wings but it's a trap. They counter the counter attack by this trap. They can score in possession and on counters. 3-5-2/3-4-3 used first by Gaspirini then Conte and Sarri are devastating but need specific player types otherwise it doesn't work. Amrabat is essential because of his intelligence and mobility. Davids, Cambiasso, Brozovic, Milnkovic Savic, Ndombele are these types. 😉
RIght, nothing revolutionary here.
World Cups typically have 1-3 defense-first teams mostly because most national team players don't play with each other as much. In the more recent years there has been a push to make football more TV-worthy so that you cash in on a worldwide audience not just people who can drive up to the stadium. Club teams will adopt these tactics if they end up with Morocco like resources or are ready to give up tv-worthiness( pundits sing your praises) in favour of winning at all costs
Well thought out!
Impeccable video!
My answer is no, mainly because 1) you need the ball to do something 2) possession works both ways offensively and defensively.
This form of football will continue but probably only in knockout football not football in general.
This form always existed. Italian teams, the Italian team, atlético madrid, small teams…
The moroccan's head coach won 3 leagues titles
@@essesoueu4313 Also Mourinho
@@facundotomasmezaalarcon3401 remember Mou was the main reason teams started using 433 and also this form of football works best when you have elite attackers
@@yassine8240 Fair play to him but I'm definitely sure his club teams average 50+% of the ball
Unfortunately, Morocco's 4-1-4-1 was changed to a 5-2-3 against France for some mysterious reason. They conceided the first goal in 5' because the new tactic freed the midfield for France and Morocco was defending from the back. In min 20' when Saiss couldn't continue playing due to injury, the coach brought back the old tactic and that's when Morocco started dominating. But they were trying to score by that time so the tactic also changed to the offensive which wasn't enough because they don't have a strong striker who could put balls in the net despite reaching the penalty box 24 TIMES! It was a huge tactical mistake by coach Regragui to start the match against France with a 5-2-3.
Most of our defenders were injured, and we hade to change to 5-2-3 to make it easier for left and right
The coach answered that. He said it's because Saiss was injured and he wanted to give him less space to cover and limit his workload. In short Morocco did not have substitute players as good as the first 11.
It wasn't a mistake, it was a decision made due to injury.
I agree this a shift in football tactics and a new model that big teams were surprised to witness.
I love how you break down these tactics. Please do one for Napoli
It does make life very difficult for any team. However, it requires astronomical discipline, proper timing and if there's any hope to win at all, lethal strikers....
And they were anything but lethal against France.
the coach was forced to change formation ,they played with 5 defenses simply coz all 1st team defenders where injuried, that make the decision between defending with 5 defenders and loose 1 midfielder or 1 atacker, so i think nothing to blame them
They were cheated in the France game
Almost as if half their star players were injured...
@@HighLordBlazeReborn
Clear chances to score were created. Clear enough for any professional striker. They missed. That's it. It happens
When Greece played like them 18 years ago. You drank milk!
GReece did not have magicians like ziyech, boufal or hakimi. They had a greek En-Nesyri that's all
I meant about tactics, not individuals players. Of course if Greece had players where played for Chelsea, psg etc they will had lift the World Cup!
Interesting analysis. I think this works for nations that aren’t heavily represented in the top 5 leagues. The 4-1-4-1 has the hallmarks of the Bielsa system at Leeds. It requires not only a lot discipline but serious fitness.
I could see Moroccos's success leading to a change in tactical thinking, especially among smaller clubs. Possession football requires very talented and technical players and, with the massive disparity in wealth between clubs, most of these players are being snapped up by larger clubs. I could see some of the smaller and more data oriented clubs pushing for a system like this, but it'll be interesting to see whether it can work on the club side. Since international games tend to have worse chemistry and focus mostly on defence (a badly drilled offence can still get goals in through luck or individual quality, a badly drilled defence will always concede), it'll be interesting to see whether these tactics work on the club side
Further, there might just not be enough high-quality fullbacks (at the level of, say, Hakimi) for the system to be broadly viable. Anyway, it's very interesting and I could definitely see some teams trying systems like this out