Central and South American countries are taking the World Cup by storm. Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica have all reached the knockout phases, and did so with a game to spare, whilst Uruguay and Mexico overcame Italy and Croatia in their final games to qualify. A careful balance between caution and risk is paying off against European opposition, who have failed to cope with a new brand of counter-attacking football.
Formation: 5-2-3/4-5-1
Well designed formations, finely tuned to the strengths of the team, are the source of these convincing displays.
Where European managers might see negativity, Mexican coach Miguel Herrera, among others, sees opportunity. Deploying a five man defence, or a compact central midfield trio, encourages the opposition to push extra men forward, and guarantees that there will be space for the counter.
Done properly, these formations give the opposition a misguided sense of control. Opposition become accustomed to possession, playing in front of a rigid back line, but without any penetration. As a result, holding midfielders are more frequently joining attacks to break down such resistance.
This has a detrimental effect; with no space through the middle, these holding players find themselves forced down the channels. Crosses come into a congested box where, more often then not, play breaks down.
Once the ball is reclaimed, quick thinking goalkeepers, with excellent distribution, move quickly to exploit the positional frailties of the opposition. Talented dribblers like Alexis Sanchez and James Rodriguez drop deep to instigate fast, direct breaks into the space left by the holding midfielders.
Brazil's Paulinho was caught out of position numerous times against Mexico, leaving Luis Gustavo exposed. Thiago Silva, a superb reader of the game, made a series of crucial interceptions to spare Brazil's blushes.
Chile also found pockets of space in between Spain's defence and midfield, targeting Xabi Alonso, who lacked the pace to track back when Spain surrendered possession. Likewise, Steven Gerrard was caught too high up the field against Uruguay, and England were duly punished.
Carrying the ball to the opposing box, or distributing it out wide to the overlapping wing backs, these nimble wingers pull the opposition defence out of position. Centre backs are tempted to step up and make a challenge, whilst the full backs are forced into retreat.
This allows on running forwards to drift into dangerous areas onside, and unchallenged. Brain Ruiz's headed goal against Italy demonstrated this, as did Suarez's against England.
It is no coincidence that the only European side to play a five man defence, Louis Van Gaal's Holland, have had remarkable success.
Tactics: play in spurts
Embodied best by Colombia, these teams play in spurts, allowing the opposition to dominate possession for large periods of a half.
When possession begins to get sloppy and stagnant, as seen with Italy and Spain, it is a sure sign that the opposition are succumbing to the oppressive conditions. This is the signal to move up a gear, sometimes only for five minutes, and is done so at blistering pace.
These spurts are calculated; they come near the end of the first half, or at the beginning of the second, when European sides struggle to maintain optimum levels of performance.
Suarez scored in the 39th minute against England, Chile notched their second against Spain in the 43rd, and Ruiz headed Costa Rica into the lead in the 44th against Italy.
Uruguay should have been out of sight against England after a ferocious start to the second half, whilst Colombia put themselves out of reach against Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan after the break.
When preparing for their game against Croatia, Mexico will have learnt much from Costa Rica's defeat of Italy. An exhausted Italian outfit had nothing to offer come the second half, 90 minutes in Manaus having evidently caught up with them.
Although winners in Manaus against Cameroon, Croatia looked equally jaded in their next game. Mexico waited patiently, striking against tired legs in a lethal 10 minute spurt when the game became stretched.
This is how England, with so many Liverpool players in their team, would have liked to play. The simple problem is this - not once were England ahead in any of their fixtures. Rather then sit and wait for the opposition to make a mistake, England were always being made to chase the game.
Colombia ftw at 22/1!
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