The 2018 FIFA World Cup final is set, but its never too late to track back and explore the tactical nuances of earlier matches. Saudi Arabia and Egypt played each other on the final matchday of Group A. Although both teams were mathematically eliminated, each side felt they had something to fight for. Lets explore how Saudi Arabia managed to overcome early embarrassment to defeat Mohamed Salahs Egypt.
The Lesser of Two&Suboptimals
The fight for third-place in Group A quickly became a bid to be less bad than the other side. Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia defended appallingly, especially early on. In the first half, Mohamed Salah was the X factor that Egypt needed to take the lead. He was positioned often as a second striker, sitting behind Marwan Mohsen or overlapping him. Trézéguet was also a major attacking threat for the Egyptians.
Saudi forward Fahad Al Muwallad once again failed to make an impact in Russia. Left-back Yasir Al Shahrani was perhaps Saudi Arabias best attacking presence. His overlaps on the left-flank provided numerical advantages versus a compact Egyptian backline. One overlap, in particular, won Saudi Arabia a penalty.
Exposed Saudis Gift CSubscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Login if you have a TFA subscription
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.
More than 12,000+ articles.
Subscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.More than 12,000+ articles.
