Teams with pure defensive control outperformed those with more attacking output

[Cryptomultiplier]

‎The world cup has come and gone with Spain being the winner. While watching the match last night, I said to my friend that the first team to score first, would win the game, but he doubted me because clearly everyone thinks Argentina would score more goals as they have always come from behind in the final minutes to equalize and win all their matches so far.

‎What I noticed and have realized so far throughout this tournament is that, the teams who had the tactics of defense dominated those who had pure attacking output and this is exactly what Spain did right from holding the midfield and from the beginning of the tournament, that they only conceded one goal across 8 matches till they got to the final and won still.
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‎My question is, are we seeing a time where national teams have to concentrate more on defensive control rather than attacking, in order to dominate and win major tournaments?
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‎Is defensive play returning to dominate the pure attacking tactics of play?

[Odusko]

Above all, Spain played a well coordinated game and they control the ball possession pretty well, if we compare them to how Argentina player's composure and pressure was in the world cup finals, Spain defense through put the world cup tournament is strong and considering the low goals conceded through the knockout and semi finals of the world cup, Spain defense absolutely paved the way for the successful attacking and midfielder they hard through out the world cup and eventually winning the world cup.

[Mahiyammahi]

Lol, take the Messi vs Argentina match. There, the opponent started playing in a completely defensive style after scoring a goal. Their main goal was to keep the goal they scored until the end. But in the end, they couldn't do that.

If you play only defense the whole time, then your opponent will attack one after another. And one out of five attacks can be successful in the end, right?

So I think playing defensively is definitely a good idea, but taking it to an excessive level is not right either. Because then that can lead to the opposite danger.

[Hatchy]

‎Is defensive play returning to dominate the pure attacking tactics of play?

I think having it balanced would be better. From the beginning of the world cup, Spain had this kind of settings that just made alot of sense. When it was time for attack they were all coordinated and when it was time for defending their home they were also ready on ground. Those kind of play was what made Spain turned out to be the best team on the world cup. Last night was really something else and they were able to use this same play to win over Argentina who were simply playing attack for a goal. Spain had their top defenders all over the place and strikers ready to move when the ball was out of the midfield. With such strategic moves, Argentina was already frustrated in the first half because Spain had the upper hand in all areas..

[Proty]

Defensive play is good but it doesn't that a team attacking midfield should be in total mess because without a good attacking midfield even with a defense it maybe hard to win a trophy. The fact that Spain was able to win through this method doesn't mean that it will favour all team, if we should look at Arsenal pattern of play last season in the premier League, it was all defensive. However, when they meet a formidable opponent like psg with good attacking midfield, they were unable to win the match despite scoring the first goal.

[Rashlyowl]

‎Is defensive play returning to dominate the pure attacking tactics of play?

Honestly, I don't understand what you mean in this thread, it's as if you're saying Spain has a defensive style of play while Argentina uses an attacking style. In my opinion, it was actually the other way around. The reason Spain won was that they played pragmatically, dominating across every line. Meanwhile, Argentina seems not to have learned from one of the teams they defeated, England. Relying on defense is not a good solution if the quality of the defenders is poor.

[Sammye3]

Another approach is that teams that maintain possession on the ball are more likely to win the game despite the attacking or defensive force of the opposing team. We saw that in the Spain vs France match, where France were outplayed despite the attacking prowess they have and the end result was against them.

We also could agree that African teams were pretty good defensively but lacked a good attack that could bring goals to win the game. This is the reason that some African teams lost after taking the lead and playing defensively. This happened with Senegal, Egypt, Dr Congo and Cape Verde so this is enough reason to conclude that the defense does not win matches but a team that has complete possession on the ball is likely to win.

[elzjmirra]

Spain not only defended, they had strong discipline and didn't rush into decisions, which is what made their ball possession higher than Argentina's. They didn't force things when it wasn't possible, and at first glance, they seemed to be more defensive. Even in last night's match, I barely saw any attacking moves from Argentina except in the final minutes. The coach's strategy was also very good, he started making substitutions in the second half when the Argentine players were starting to tire.

[PostQuantumBTC]

‎My question is, are we seeing a time where national teams have to concentrate more on defensive control rather than attacking, in order to dominate and win major tournaments?
‎
‎Is defensive play returning to dominate the pure attacking tactics of play?

Just like I have said on my last post, it is Spain time, that is the reason they won the world cup. Have you not seen a match that the defense will later be broken? If Argentina mistakenly scored a goal earlier, the Spanish defense may be broken as it will change how the match will continue. Defense is very good, but attacking is also very necessary.

[alastantiger]

The world cup has come and gone with Spain being the winner. While watching the match last night, I said to my friend that the first team to score first, would win the game, but he doubted me because clearly everyone thinks Argentina would score more goals as they have always come from behind in the final minutes to equalize and win all their matches so far.

Strong attack wins you games but strong defence wins you titles, this was the exact word of a great manager and that is what happened yesterday. Argentina did not have a good game plan coming into the world cup finals but Spain had a good game plan and their defence has been the strongest in this tournament so far. Spain has only conceded one goal all throughout the tournament so I did not see anyway Argentina was going to score them although everyone thought Messi was going to perform his magic again but this time around Spain did not allow Argentina to have the ball and Argentina was chasing the game from the beginning of the game to the ending.

Football won yesterday and the best team in the tournament won which is Spain, Argentina has just been favoured all throughout this tournament and they are not a good team to play in the finals and it showed as they did not perform in any way. A good defence is needed to prevent your opponent from scoring and even though you have an average attack, you can score a goal and win the match.

[Merit.s]

It's better for National teams to prioritize both defense and attack so that, they will be strong in all angles. Don't get it twisted Spain wasn't only strong in defense but also is attack if not, they wouldn't be able to win the world cup.

The fact is that Spain is in their peak form and that was why they were able to win the world cup don't forget that it was this same team that won the European Nation Cup. They are excellent.

[Churchillvv]

Who is to answer this questions and how correct are we going to be with our guesses? Of course nobody can give a straight answer to this questions if not making guesses.

Each national team had their game plans for the World Cup but however putting defense first not to concede goals was a good plan and if you watch the Argentina team they had a good defense too but not in pressure to defend but to attack and win in second half’s but they did play defensive games every first half but focus on attack on second half and this game plan has been understood by most of teams that played against them.

[Marykeller]

When a team has a good set of players, they will be hard to break apart(lose a game). Spain had the best defending and attacking players in this world cup that each player is ready to deliver the task given to him successfully. That's why it all feels like they have a  structured approach from all angles, not to concede more than one goal that they can hold on to, and that they can win any match against them since they have good attacking players

[OgNasty]

There is a saying in basketball that seems to apply here.

“Defense wins Championships.”

There is also the saying, “The best offense is a good defense.”

While I am not an expert on soccer by any means, I can see how defending your goal is the most important thing in the game. With such a low final score, stopping every goal is crucial.

[Livingleged]

I don’t think OP you’re right at referring to this particular Spain team I watched in the tournament as defensive playing side, in fact all the Spain matches that they played throughout the tournament they never seat back to defend. They play the ball from the midfield holding the ball away from their opponents while scoring most of the chances they get. Although they had a good set of defenders that help the team in conceding less goals, but they never sat behind to defend. If you watch the game from yesterday you’ll realize it was Argentina that was defending while Spain was playing most of the ball.

[Crypto_Timothy]

‎I think a strong defense is becoming more important again, but I wouldn't say it has replaced attacking football. The best national teams usually find the right balance between defending well, controlling the midfield and taking their chances when they come, just like Spain did throughout the word cup tournament.
Now a solid defensive structure gives a team consistency over a long tournament because it reduces mistakes and keeps games within reach, while attacking quality is still needed to score the goals that win matches.

Take the match of (England Vs Argentina) if you watched that match, you wouldn't expect England to score 6 goals in 3rd match but when they were in the semis and scored 1 goal, they just locked up and kept giving Argentina chances to equalise and then winning.

[lombok]

‎I think a strong defense is becoming more important again, but I wouldn't say it has replaced attacking football. The best national teams usually find the right balance between defending well, controlling the midfield and taking their chances when they come, just like Spain did throughout the word cup tournament.
Now a solid defensive structure gives a team consistency over a long tournament because it reduces mistakes and keeps games within reach, while attacking quality is still needed to score the goals that win matches.

Take a match of (England Vs Argentina) if you watched that match, you wouldn't expect England to score 6 goals in 3rd match but when they were in the semis and scored 1 goal, they just locked up and kept giving Argentina chances to equalise and then winning.

To achieve a championship a team must be well defined in defense and have a keen attacking skill. Strong defense can help not to give up goals during important periods of the game whereas offensive skills can make the team win. Slip in focus is one of the things that lead to failure to sustain a thin margin as has been witnessed in teams which lack focus in the semifinals.

[Hispo]

I don't there there will be a complete over-haul on the way teams are trained around the world just because of how this world cup played out for those who preferred to play in a defensive role.

While statistics do not like, I don't think those results are remarkable enough in order to change how football is taught.

Though, I must say that there were specific teams which under-performed in such a way, that their training routine will definitely change before they can have the chance to partake in the next world cup. We may need to get comfortable of the idea of an Argentina without Messi and being able to improve their attack, because their last performance in the world cup was very lacklustre.

[Rubuchi]

Defensive play is good but it doesn't that a team attacking midfield should be in total mess because without a good attacking midfield even with a defense it maybe hard to win a trophy. The fact that Spain was able to win through this method doesn't mean that it will favour all team, if we should look at Arsenal pattern of play last season in the premier League, it was all defensive. However, when they meet a formidable opponent like psg with good attacking midfield, they were unable to win the match despite scoring the first goal.

having a good forward is important for a team, having a strong attacking midfielder is more important and having a formidable defensive presence and play is most important. I’ve seen all of these formations and tactics play out in the last World Cup competition and a very good example of such team is Spain and Argentina. Argentina had some good defensive players but seem to pay more attention to the midfield than any leaving the defensive line less powerful and the attack was also not so impressive but the team that exemplified this strategy and exercised it the most are the Spanish team, they experimented that a game isn’t only won by heavyweight players or a strong attacking force but a calm, balanced and formidable network between the entire component of the squad, they showed that every player in the pitch matters and are patient to always make their goals in the most legitimate and confident manner. They have understood that football is played in 90 minutes and every minute of pass and goal possession matters and do count in the making of the final goal and victory of the team.

[OsaiEmma]

‎The world cup has come and gone with Spain being the winner. While watching the match last night, I said to my friend that the first team to score first, would win the game, but he doubted me because clearly everyone thinks Argentina would score more goals as they have always come from behind in the final minutes to equalize and win all their matches so far.

‎What I noticed and have realized so far throughout this tournament is that, the teams who had the tactics of defense dominated those who had pure attacking output and this is exactly what Spain did right from holding the midfield and from the beginning of the tournament, that they only conceded one goal across 8 matches till they got to the final and won still.
‎
‎My question is, are we seeing a time where national teams have to concentrate more on defensive control rather than attacking, in order to dominate and win major tournaments?
‎
‎Is defensive play returning to dominate the pure attacking tactics of play?

It is a great feat, I guess they've set the record as a world cup champion with the fewest goals conceded. Previously, we had 2 goals conceded as a world cup champion, and Spain was among those teams in their 2010 World cup run, now they have broken that record.

Playing defensively without a good attack will make you look like a mediocre team at best and won't take you far, for instance Switzerland in the 2006 World cup didn't concede any goal in open play, they were eliminated in the round of 16. They had a very strong defense, but that can only take you so far, at best to the semi-final.

You need a strong attack coupled with your strong defense to truly be a champion.