接上一篇
Conclusion
Hodgson’s usual gameplan is about sitting deep and breaking quickly, which seems to suit the majority of his players, but England’s transitions haven’t been particularly impressive in recent matches. If this can be solved, however, and Sterling and Sturridge replicate their Liverpool form, England could be both exciting and effective on the break.
It feels like Hodgson’s style acts a leveller. England fare better than you’d expect against strong opposition, but aren’t good at breaking down weak opponents, and it’s easy to imagine them drawing plenty of matches – which won’t be appreciated if they reach the knockout stage, considering their atrocious penalty shoot-out record.
Quick guide
Coach: Roy Hodgson, an old-school manager who concentrates heavily on defensive shape.
Formation: It should be 4-2-3-1, although in the past Rooney’s lack of discipline has made it more 4-4-2.
Key player: Henderson – England need mobility to prevent Gerrard being overrun.
Strength: Good defensive shape and pace on the break.
Weakness: Likely to be exposed in midfield
Key tactical question: How good are the transitions?

继续继续啊

继续继续啊，32强都齐了

勾手小王子能否再现江湖？

Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations last year, despite the fact they never found the perfect balance in midfield, and this is again their major issue.
Two men are assured of their place in the midfield, but not their actual role. John Obi Mikel, who plays a much more cultured, inventive role for Nigeria than for Chelsea, is the key midfielder. He won’t play in the deep-lying holding position, but instead as the ’second’ midfielder in this triangle, to the left, from where he can spread play to the flanks and dart forward to join attacks.
There’s an argument, however, that should be at the top of the midfield trio, because Nigeria have struggled to find someone suited to that position. In the 0-0 draw against Greece last week, Keshi tried to play forward Peter Odemwingie as the number ten, but he performed quite disastrously in that unfamiliar role, positioning himself poorly and unable to receive the ball on the run. For the next friendly, a 2-1 defeat against the United States, Keshi took the opposite approach, and played Ramos Azeez, a simple central midfielder who struggled to link midfield and attack.
There’s no obvious solution, and Keshi might consider moving Mikel forward and bringing in Reuben Gabriel as the deepest of the three midfielders. A more unorthodox solution would be to bring Victor Moses inside to play as the number ten, where he has played at club level, although he’s accustomed to a wide role.
The problem isn’t solely about creativity, either. With Mikel as the second midfielder in the trio, it means Ogenyi Onzai is forced to act as the deepest midfielder, which doesn’t suit his skillset – he’s more energetic and likes to cover lots of ground. This means he’s bypassed easily, and the defence can be exposed readily.
Onazi could do with someone behind him, and it’s odd that Keshi seems so determined to field a midfield in this format – with two deep and one ahead, when the two don’t look comfortable together deep, and there’s no obvious candidate to play just ahead. It’s hard to see Nigeria dominating matches with these problems, although their usual approach is to sit deep anyway.
Counter-attacking front three
That’s because their attackers are best playing quick, ruthless counter-attacking football. Moses starts from the left but drifts inside and tries to link midfield and attack – no-one else is doing so – by dribbling directly with the ball. He’s become more of a goal threat recently, although he rarely makes off-the-ball runs past the striker.
On the opposite side, Ahmed Musa as a pure speedster and stays much wider. He’s capable of solo runs by picking up the ball in deep positions, then simply roaring past the opposition left-back – his speed is incredible, but it’s his acceleration that causes most problems. He should score more goals, but is a brilliant ball-carrier.
Upfront will be Emmanuel Emenike, who runs the channels manfully and is capable of cool finishes – he was top goalscorer at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations. He might not last 90 minutes often, though, and Keshi has Shola Ameobi if he wants to play more of a long ball game. Alternative, Odemwingie can appear as a second striker in a 4-4-2 if Nigeria are chasing matches – that will solve the problem with the third midfielder.
Basic backline
The defence is unconvincing. Elderson Echiejile was a late withdrawal from the squad which means Juwon Oshaniwa should start at left-back – he’s physically imposing but average on the ball. Right-sided Efe Ambrose is similar – a converted centre-back and a willing runner.
Joseph Yobo is an option in the centre, but it seems more likely to be a partnership between Kenneth Omeruo and Godfrey Oboabona, who offer much more mobility. However, they need to be protected, and this is once again a great worry because of the problematic midfield format. In goal, however, Vincent Enyeama is genuinely excellent – by far the best of the African goalkeepers at this competition.
This will be a fairly simple counter-attacking team, playing into the hands of their speedy wide players, and hopefully hiding the lack of creativity and the structural concerns in the midfield zone. There’s a worry about where the goals will come from, though.
Conclusion
It feels like Nigeria should be in a better position – they have a core of good footballers and last year’s Africa Cup of Nations victory shows they have a winning mentality. But, not dislike Cameroon, there’s a question mark about the midfield trio, and a worry they might not play their best midfielder, Mikel, in the role that suits the side.
Their performance is really dependent upon the qualities of the transitions, and the decision-making of Moses and Musa on the break. The latter, in particular, could enjoy a very good tournament – the left-backs in Group F are weak, and his speed could cause real problems.
Quick guide
Coach: Stephen Keshi – won the Africa Cup of Nations last year, seems to have the side united but questions remain about his tactical ability
Formation: Some form of 4-3-3, although the midfield trio remains to be seen, so could shift to 4-2-3-1.
Key player: Musa needs to carry the ball forward quickly
Strength: Counter-attacking speed
Weakness: Lack of goalscorers, problematic structure
Key tactical question: Who is the third midfielder?

钱不够，就罢踢

With Cameroon, off-field issues are of greater concern than tactical factors.
They always have some kind of problem in terms of organisation, and it was no great great surprise when a row about bonusesthreatened to take over again. There have also been problems between Samuel Eto’o and Alex Song, Cameroon’s star players, in the past.
Following an extremely unconvincing qualification campaign, where Cameroon suffered from infighting, had three different coaches and only escaped elimination because Togo were found guilty of fielding an ineligible player, it was difficult to see any hope for them at this World Cup. A recent 2-2 draw with Germany suggests all is not lost, however.
Coach Volker Finke was once renowned as an attack-minded coach, but with Cameroon has found himself lacking in the creative midfield department, and therefore has tried to make his side organised, compact and disciplined, and depended upon quick attacking down the flanks. The major question is how he structures his midfield trio, to get the balance between defensive solidity and attacking potential.
The key player in this zone is Alexander Song, who has experienced a couple of poor seasons at Barcelona but is nevertheless capable of fine midfield performances. The problem, however, is that these days no-one’s entirely sure what of Song’s best position or role. At Arsenal he was initially a pure holding midfielder, then became part of a double pivot with license to move forward, and then ended up providing an amazing number of clever, lofted through-balls for Arsenal’s attackers. At Barcelona he was recruited because of his technical quality, but plays a limited role.
It’s arguable that Song has been a victim of the same problem John Obi Mikel and Yaya Toure suffered from. At club level they’re seen as defensive-minded tacklers (Toure in his Barcelona guise), but at international level they’re charged with bringing more creativity to the table. In the warm-up against Germany, Song started as the deepest of the three midfielders, but then increasingly moved forward, both to press and to help attack, with Eyong Enoh covering for him. Those two are guaranteed to start, but there’s still a question about their position, and it’s not impossible Finke could even tilt the midfield triangle and play them as a double pivot, although there’s no obvious contender to play at the top of the triangle.
The final midfield slot is up for grabs. Stephane Mbia is an option, but is another hard worker and a physical presence who doesn’t offer much ability on the ball. Jean Makoun seems the best choice on paper but has barely been used, with the energetic Landry N’Guemo more likely to get playing time. It’s even arguably Song should start at the top of the midfield trio, although at least he’s given freedom to move forward from his deep position.
Defence
Cameroon’s area of strength is at centre-back, where the combination of Aurelian Chedjou and Nicolas N’Koulou seemed settled until they were torn apart in a 5-1 thrashing against Portugal in Match, so Schalke’s Joel Matip has been used in place of Chedjou, who has also been suffering from injury. Again, however, Matip would be another decent midfield option – he’s equally happy playing there – so this arguably weakens the side as a whole.
The full-backs attack well. Allan Nyom brings the ball forward purposefully, while left-sided Henri Bedemo is better at making off-the-ball runs before crossing.
Forwards
Samuel Eto’o has often played a deep role for his national side, but in this 4-3-3 he plays upfront as the central striker, and no longer feels the need to drop back and help create chances, partly because he doesn’t have the mobility these days. Still quick over short distances and a lethal finisher, he remains a top-class striker.
On the flanks, Cameroon are likely to field two pacey wingers who cut inside and shoot. Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting has scored twice in warm-up games to confirm his place in the side, although he doesn’t always appear the best team player. On the opposite side, Vincent Aboubakar had a great season with Lorient, is another good dribbler and can also dart into the box to become a second striker too.
Individually, the three forwards are all excellent. But, on and off the pitch, it’s all about how Cameroon work as a group.
Quick guide
Coach: Volker Finke - playing more defensively than he would like
Formation: It should be a 4-3-3
Key player: Song has to provide the creativity
Strength: Three dangerous forwards
Weakness: Lack of off-field cohesion
Key tactical question: Who completes the midfield trio?