Saturday, 12.07.2025
Pressing, Gegenpressing, total football … those are all terms usually associated with the Dutch national team from 1974 or, recently, with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Bayern Munich. But, during history, there have been other divisive figures who contributed to modern football. Valeriy Lobanovskyi has long gone underappreciated but he put his mark on the sport, and his USSR team gave a strong contribution to the game.
In what was Germany’s first win over Italy since 1995, Joachim Löw’s side showed clear improvement compared to the loss they suffered against England on Saturday. Germany again didn’t keep a clean sheet, but this time dominated their opponent fairly easily.
Germany hosted England in the last week of international friendlies before EURO 2016. Joachim Löw continued to disregard Marcel Schmelzer’s existence as the World champions started with a back line of Hector, Hummels, Rüdiger and Can. Hodgson selected a much more predictable line-up and Delle Alli was given his second start as an England international.
Although international friendlies often hold little significance, those in the run-up to a major tournament can often give you an important glimpse into how each team will set up during the tournament itself. Thursday’s friendly was significant as it was between two of the favourites to win the Euros, as well as being a repeat of the final of Euro 2012, a match in which Spain outclassed the Italians. This match, however, was a different story completely and proof of Spain’s decline since the aforementioned victory.
In the early 1990s, the Italian national team were in a distinct crisis. To solve the tactical issues, the Federazione drew on the secret weapon of domestic Italian football: Arrigo Sacchi.
Despite emerging victorious and reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history, England displayed some serious deficiencies in their possession game.
Sampaoli’s Chile emerged as unsurprising victors against Bolivia whose uncoordinated pressing system was exposed by the intelligent hosts’ possession game.
The Copa America promises to be a festival of South American football. Jorge Sampaoli’s Chile side are an embodiment of the excitement, skill, and intensity that South American football is associated with.
England, despite tactical flaws, pulled off somewhat of an upset against a team regarded as one of the best youth teams in the world, possessing over 600 more club appearances than their home opposition.
It was a Davidvili versus Goliath kind of matchup, with Germany dominating the game most of the time. The defending world champion won 2-0 at Georgia.
