Frenetic attacks and a solid mid-block: The tactics behind Danish Superliga leaders FC Nordsjælland – scout report

Founded in 1997, FC Nordsjaelland has become one of the most interesting and exciting teams all over the world, after their achievements to qualify for the UEFA Europa League in 2008 or their first title in the Danish Superliga in 2012 that allowed them to play for the first time in their history, the most prestigious tournament in the continent, the UEFA Champions League, where they faced against teams like Juventus and Chelsea in that season.

Their development and team plan are probably one of the most serious and established in Denmark and around the world. FC Nordsjaelland are the youngest team in the league, averaging 20,7 years of age. They count on the most foreigners with 19 players abroad too, and plenty of opportunities for their young players that come through the academy.

After 12 matches played, the Farums football club has ended the first round as leaders of the league, with the irregular starts of big teams in the country like Kobenhavn. They could be on their way to achieving what they havent done since 2012, with a great coaching staff and a tactical plan that we are going to assess next.

Let’s take a look at the tactics deployed by Flemming Pedersen. This tactical analysis piece will be a team scout report of Denmark Superliga side FC Nordsjaelland early into the 2022/23 campaign.

Short pressing and a locked mid-block

FC Nordsjaelland possess intense and young players that like to commit to the defensive phase of the team. However, Pedersens team have a mature and strict shape when theyre off-the-ball and it has been working game after game, which has taken them top of the league.

When the opponents are building up from the back, they like to press very high for a few seconds, with the fast sprint and energy from players like Ernest Nuamah in the centre-forward spot or Andreas Schjelderup, who has been of interest for Arsenal, and Mads Hansen in the wings, the first one tries to take the goalkeeper, shadowing the 6 behind him, and wingers go for the centre-backs, with other players taking mixed responsibilities on zonal and man-marking roles.

In the example below, we can see them setting up a 4-4-2 where the left-winger has pulled the trigger to press high, as well as Mohamed Diomandé, the attacking midfielder, having joined the defensive shape as a striker. In this occasion, we see automatic movements when Nordsjaelland sits on a mid-block and some of their attackers decide to jump off this block and try to steal the ball in more advanced positions.

Nevertheless, this doesnt last for much time, only for 4 or 6 seconds, and if this wont have success, they track back to set up a solid, rigid and locked mid-block that usually is formed in a 4-3-3 with narrow attackers, or a 4-4-2. They look to overload the central areas and force the rivals to take hasty decisions where they can win the ball back and counterattack with high speed in most of their players. They also look to stress them by leaving them more time with the ball, but blocking all the spaces to possibly break lines, as when they dont find the pockets to do this, they can take the worst decisions, allowing them to get the ball back.

As we can see in this mid-block moment, the three attackers like to stay more narrow to block passing lanes through the middle, where midfielders behind them overload and lock these central spaces very well. This is the kind of situation that repeats frequently in the defensive part of the Nordsjaelland game plan- Short, high-pressing that lasts in a maximum time of up to 6 seconds, and then the whole squad are tactically smart to track back, recognise their positions and form this tough block.