World Cup Preview: France

We preview France, a team hoping to avenge their Euro 2016 final defeat behind stable organization, threatening attacking transitions, and one of the most talented squads in the tournament.
Sunday, 13.07.2025
We preview France, a team hoping to avenge their Euro 2016 final defeat behind stable organization, threatening attacking transitions, and one of the most talented squads in the tournament.
Back to back holders, Real Madrid met Liverpool in the 2018 Champions league final in Kiev. Without a league title to fight for, or any other trophies this clash had dominated the thoughts and preparations of both sides since they progressed from their respective semi-finals.
Atletico Madrid triumphed in a European final for the first time since 2012 by beating Marseille 3-0 in Lyon. The match was characterised by Atleti excelling in all defensive phases and turning regains into swift counter attacks.
Bayern make it to the DFB-Cup final over Bayer. Even if the team from Munich don’t do anything special at the moment, they’re especially good at what they’re doing.
Dortmund’s tenure with Peter Stöger as manager has hit a low – to the tune of a massive six goal loss to Bayern in Der Klassiker.
For the second edition of the SV Observatory, we profile the two biggest matches in Turkey over the weekend. League leaders Galatasarary visited their eternal rivals Fenerbahce over on the Asian side of Istanbul, sitting in fourth pace prior to kickoff. Elsewhere in the city, newcomers to Turkish success Istanbul Basaksehir hosted Besiktas, where both sides hoped to close the gap to one point on Galatasaray.
The FA WSL Continental Tyres Cup final was characterised by two completely different halves. In the first 45 minutes, Arsenal showed great ability to build up under pressure while the second half of the game was dominated by Manchester City. In contrast to Nick Cushing’s side, Arsenal were able to effectively use their dominant phase resulting in scoring the decisive 1-0 and therefore winning their fifth title in this competition.
We introduce a new series profiling matches in countries and leagues that are not frequently discussed on Spielverlagerung.
Manchester United extended their margin ahead of their rivals for second place to five points in a quintessential Jose Mourinho win.
… but it took some warm-up time in a game with interesting interactions that proceeded in different phases.