FIFA World Cup 2022: The positives and negatives of playing with wingbacks – tactical analysis

Whisper it quietly, but the 2022 FIFA World Cup has already reached its halfway point, with the group stages over and 16 teams confirming their places in the knockout rounds. Fans both in the stadiums and back at home have been able to watch each of the 32 sides who made the trip to Qatar and assess their performances, and one thing that has stood out is how many of them have opted to set up with wing-backs during their games. As a system, it has been growing in popularity in recent years, both at club level and on the international stage, with current Tottenham Hotspur and former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte and ex-Manchester United and current Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal just two managers who have based their tactics around it throughout their managerial careers.

However, it is a very dangerous way of playing, because having the wrong players in each of the roles involved will lead to a lack of balance around the pitch and will make it easier for opponents to break them down. Therefore, this tactical theory article will look not only at the positives that can be attained by using wing-backs in the right way, drawing on examples from the ongoing World Cup but also at how it can lead to teams’ downfalls, with some sides who have featured in Qatar unable to play to their full potential due to the way that they have got their tactics wrong.

Attacking strengths

In attacking situations, having wing-backs can be highly beneficial, as it enables teams to push forward at pace and with more numbers than might have otherwise been possible. As a result, goals have been scored that might not have come about if the team had set up in a different way.

The biggest benefit of having these extra players in advanced areas is that teams can leave one player out of the main action and task them with providing a “backstop” option (as it might be described in cricket), ensuring that, should the ball come through the middle of the pitch without being either turned towards goal or cleared, the attack can be kept alive.

Denmark are one team who have generally done this well, with this situation showing Leeds United right-back Rasmus Kristensen in possession on the far side of the pitch and preparing to send the ball into the middle. However, should any of the three players in Australia’s goal area fail to connect with it, left wing-back Joakim Mæhle, in the red circle, is in a position where he can move forward at short notice and control it before either sending it back into the middle or finding a teammate in another area of the field.