Group winners Italy face China, who came third in their group, in the last 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Italy come into the match as favourites following impressive wins over Jamaica and Australia, while China secured a victory over South Africa and a draw against Spain.
In this tactical preview, we examine what will be an interesting match with both sides fancying their chances of progressing, Italy will be expected to dominate the match with their superior technical ability. The Chinese side will look to counter this by deploying tactics similar to that which they used against Spain.
China’s attacking threat
China have looked to create scoring opportunities in this tournament by generating 1v1’s in wide areas of the pitch. The use of overloads in central areas has been a key component of this attacking strategy. With Li Ying and Wang Shanshan, operating as a front two, one of them will stay high and occupy the two centre backs preventing them from stepping forwards to follow the other, who will drop into space between the opponent’s midfield and defence, thus generating a central overload.
As their opponents are drawn towards the centre of the pitch, this leaves the wide players, normally Wang Shuang (on the right side) and Gu Yasha (on the left) with a 1v1 against the oppositions fullback. The Chinese fullbacks, Han Peng and Shanshan Liu, both look to support their respective wide player when the ball is in the final third of the pitch. this is a potential area that China can cause Italy problems due to the Italians’ narrow defensive shape.
Vital to this ploy is the ability to play longer passes into the wide spaces once the spaces have been opened up. To play these passes, the player on the ball requires sufficient time and space to effectively switch the play. Against South Africa, China were able to maintain a presence in the wide spaces thus enabling them to quickly switch the ball from one side of the pitch to the other.
Italy’s defensive shape
Out of possession, Italy are very compact horizontally, focusing on preventing the opponents from advancing through the centre of the pitch. They allow the opposition to play the ball into wider areas of the pitch before pressing them with the aim of regaining possession. This tactic proved particularly effective against Jamaica where they won possession in the wide area before counterattacking and winning a penalty.
This provides an interesting matchup as China prefer to attack using the wings, while Italy look to force their opponents into these areas. This may well prove to be a key battle in the outcome of this match. If Italy are able to successfully implement their defensive strategy and win possession in wide areas they will be able to nullify one of China’s main attacking weapons.
Italy’s high press
The Italian side presses high up the pitch aiming to win the ball back in the opposition’s defensive third. Whether it is Sabatino or Girelli occupying the central striking role for Italy, they will aim to prevent passes through the centre of the pitch. In their match against Brazil Italy adapted slightly to allow the Brazilians more possession of the ball but still positioned their defensive line high up the pitch. However, in this match, it can be expected that Italy will press more aggressively against China, similar to how they pressed Jamaica.
