Counter Culture: The World Cup So Far

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.

England Must Respect Italy, But They Needn't Fear Them

Offer Italy a draw in Manaus, and they would almost certainly take it. The Azzurri, their fans, and critics alike, have traditionally maintained the opinion that it is better to draw the opening game of a World Cup, then go for the win and end up losing.

Such cautious thought has its origins in the long, defensively inclined history of Italian football, and means it is highly likely that the Italians will adopt a patient, prying approach when they meet England in Brazil. No doubt, England will come unstuck if they try to match Italy's tactics, for they are technically inferior. Instead they should be aiming to score first, and unsettle Italy from what will be a very specific game plan. To do so, England will need to target the weaknesses in Italy's compact, narrow 4-3-1-2 formation.

Italy's defence relies heavily on Juventus personal. Gianluigi Buffon is still a tough nut to crack, and will want to go out on a high, but in front of him there are frailties. Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Bazagli, and Leonardo Bonucci are tough in the tackle and read the game well, but none of them are blessed with pace.

When faced with more talented opposition, the trio have struggled - last year Juventus went out at the group stages of the Champions League, in what was an underwhelming campaign. Domestically, the Old Lady romped to the Serie A title with a record points total to boast, but in a league falling well behind the rest of Europe in terms of quality, this was hardly spectacular.

England would do well to follow Liverpool's lead if they are to exploit Italy's lack of pace. Possession play is not England's strength, and while in the long term this needs to be addressed, it does not necessarily work against them in the short. The ball must be zipped around quickly to unsettle the Italians and draw them out of their rigid formation.

England will rely on Steven Gerrard to instigate these quick counter-attacks, and his trademark raking balls must be directed out wide, where Raheem Sterling awaits. The likes of Ignazio Abate are a far cry from solid predecessors such as Paolo Maldini, and from here the Liverpool winger should be able to glide past with ease.

Once in dangerous positions, England must not play to Italy's defensive strengths. Lofted balls into the box will be useless, as the back four are immense in the air. Keeping the ball on the floor, England can undo Italy's towering defence through a series of quickfire crosses across the face of goal. It is here where a marauding Luke Shaw, who can quickly get to the byline, would arguably create more goal scoring opportunities then Leighton Baines would, with his precise aerial balls. Diagonal through balls from deeper positions will also cause trouble to Italy's top heavy defenders, who are slow on the turn.

Paul Scholes was spot on with his recent comments regarding Wayne Rooney's role for England. The team will profit best by deploying Rooney as an out and out striker, who stays central in order to occupy Chiellini, Italy's best defender. This will create space for Daniel Sturridge, whose movement in the box will be too good for Bazagli.

A lack of mobility runs through Italy's entire midfield. Andrea Pirlo will find it tough to maintain his performance for 90 minutes, in what is likely to be sweltering conditions. Riccardo Montolivo plays in a nonchalant fashion, and should Italy find themselves chasing the game, he will probably go missing.

Be it Daniele De Rossi or Thiago Motta, perhaps even both depending on how safe coach Cesare Prandelli wants to play it, neither are the most agile, and look uncomfortable out of position. Getting the ball out wide will reduce the effectiveness of Italy's holding midfielders, who do not like to venture from their central birth, whilst tiring them out in the process.

Both managers will need to use their substitutions wisely, as this is where the game may well be won and lost. Where Roy Hodgson can call on Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, not only fresh legs, but pacey ones too, Prandelli has only more flair players, who offer little in the way of a plan B.

Napoli's Lorenzo Insigne and Fiorentina's Alberto Aquilani have had fine domestic seasons, and would be perfect replacements should Italy find themselves cruising. But in terms of raw pace, which can make the difference in what many predict will be a tight affair, it is England who have the strength in depth.

Upfront, only Mario Balotelli has notched 10 plus goals for Italy since the 2010 World Cup. Having had an up and down season with Milan, he is not entering the tournament in prime form. Elsewhere, Giuseppe Rossi is struggling to prove his fitness, Antonio Cassano is unpredictable, and new boys Mattia Destro and Ciro Immobile are unproven at international level.

In short, Italy's forward line is not one that Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka should be afraid of; the former's performances this season have shown that he can mix it with the very best. If there is one question mark surrounding England's centre-back pairing, it is that they are prone to pace in behind. Thankfully, Italy do not have the resources to play this style of football.

In the end it might not matter what England do. Italy are masters of their own self-destruction, and their record at major tournaments is inconsistent at best. As with France, you never know quite what to expect from the Italians - humiliation at the hands of South Korea in 2002, winners against the odds in 2006, and a laughing stock in 2010, as they failed to get out of a group containing Slovakia and New Zealand.

If England are willing to treat this tournament as a stepping stone, then they should have the confidence to try something new. They have to take the game to Italy, get an early goal, and then push for an immediate second, as Liverpool have done so well this year. Do this, and the shackles might just come off for England.