Leo Messi has found his new wingman. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner forged a terrific society with Jordi Alba for over a decade at FC Barcelona and he now seems to have found a new partner at the Argentinian national team with Nahuel Molina. The 24-year-old right back from Atletico de Madrid has proven a very solid mutual game understanding with 'La Pulga', becoming the "Hidden Key" for Argentina in the World Cup
In the past years there has been a huge evolution when it comes to game models. But, has it been in the right direction? In Ekkono’s view, building a game model is like drawing a tree. In order to be successful, you must draw a very detailed tree full of tiny branches first and then only keep those branches that will be part of the game model.
What does Griezmann, Morocco and Argentina have to do with Nara Club (Japan)? In this article we talk about the ‘Performance Keys’, as part of the Ekkono Method Pros approach to game models. These concepts help teams elevate their performance throughout the season. At Nara Club (Japan), three performance keys were implemented last season, helping them keep a very solid level throughout the whole season and helped them become champions and promote in the J-League.
Argentina are FIFA World Cup champions after one of the most dramatic finals in history. Many will recall this game as anything we’ve ever seen before, surpassing all of our expectations. Yet, these is so much more details that have escaped the public eye after all the celebrations and World Cup aftermath. As you know, at Ekkono we like to dive much deeper and analyze aspects of the game that are normally never seen. Today we will consequently look into the “Hidden Key” for the Argentinian national team in this final and understand how their tactics and playing style boosted their success against a very impressive France to become FIFA World Cup champions.
The Quarter-final match between the two European powerhouses of France and England gave us a true spectacle, along with the possibility to perform an in-depth dive on how France was able to overcome England through clever tactics and continue their World Cup dream. Along with this analysis, we will also look into similar tactical patterns from the rest of the World Cup semi-finalists. France, Croatia, Morocco and Argentina share this "Hidden Key" that has shaped their playing style and become part of top four teams in the World Cup.
The current West Ham midfielder, born in Rio de Janeiro, has established himself as a player with consistent level in European football. Yet, many don’t seem to appreciate his unique and valuable contributions to the teams he has played for. His role is unfortunately often overseen. Paquetá is a player that tends to strive as an advanced midfielder in a three-man midfield, as this formation allows him to contribute with his flexibility and adaptability to the different game scenarios.
Morocco’s striker has been key for his team during the group stage at Qatar 2022 World Cup. Despite not playing with regularity at Sevilla during this season, En-Nesyri has played all three matches as a starter and played a very important role, both in attack and defense. En-Nesyri, is one of the few strikers in this World Cup edition who have proved to be a true team player, in both phases of the game, providing efforts to help their team elevate their performance.
João Cancelo has proven to be one of the best full-backs in the World, playing at both flanks for Manchester City. The Portuguese started his career as a deep right full-back at Valencia showing good dribbling abilities. His consolidation in the elite came under Pep Guardiola, who elevated his comprehension of the game and performance level, hence being able to adapt his positioning - outside or inside - based on the team needs. This usual performance level and confidence, however, has not shown during this first phase of the World Cup.
France, the current World Cup title holders, are one of the candidates to also win the 2022 edition. Most are focusing on Griezmann and Mbappé, as the major threats the French national team has in attack - after Benzema and Nkunku injuries during the training camps before starting the World Cup. In this analysis, though, we want to focus on their center backs - Upamecano and Varane - and their behavior in the attacking phase.
Gavi, Pedri, and Musiala are some of the main leaders of this next wave of football players as they continue to prove that they are world-class despite their age. These three wonderkids portray a new way of playing, one that focuses on the game-understanding approach to football rather than a physical one. Hence, in this article we explore and analyze the role of these three key players with their respective national teams across the first fixture of the World Cup.
