Side shots, low efficiency and lack of offensive objectivity. This was the performance of the Brazilian team’s “crab” midfield in the 1-1 draw with Morocco, in the opening match of the World Cup, according to statistics.
The five midfielders who played in the match made most of the passes to the sides and had little impact on the attack. The worst performance was from Paquetá, precisely the player who should have supported the front men.
Paquetá completed just 79.5% of his passes, the worst performance among midfielders. Of these, only 25.6% of passes went forward. He preferred to pass 43.6% to the sides and 30.8% to the back. The Flamengo player was substituted 16 minutes into the 2nd half and ended the match as the biggest passer (39 times) among midfielders.
The biggest target of criticism after the match, veteran Casemiro had the best pass rate, with 94.4% accuracy. However, he only made 5.6% of his touches forward. The player, who is expected to leave Manchester City (England) for Inter Miami (USA) owned by Argentine Messi, was another player who opted for side touches, reaching the highest mark among Brazilian midfielders: 83.3%.
Fabinho replaced Casemiro at half-time, in the famous “six for half a dozen” exchange. The Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia) midfielder maintained his pace, with 64.7% of passes to the sides, the majority (47.1%) to the right and just 23.5% forward.
The most objective player in the team’s midfield was Bruno Guimarães. He made 31.6% of his forward passes, but missed 28.6% of them. He also contributed 23.7% of backward passes. In total, the Newcastle (England) midfielder completed 89.5% of his passes, the second best in the sector.
Another fact that shows the inefficiency of the midfield was in relation to throws, or long passes. Only four were given throughout the match and only one (by Bruno Guimarães) was correct. Short touches totaled 122 among midfielders.
Botafogo midfielder Danilo Santos came on just 35 minutes into the second half. He made just four passes, making all of them, but none forward, two to the left and two to the back.
To avoid the crab style, coach Carlo Ancelotti has already declared that the team “needs to improve” to be more objective, dynamic and offensive.
To achieve this, the Italian coach must make changes to the midfield and attack for Friday’s match against Haiti, in Philadelphia, at 9:30 pm.
All the midfielders who started against Morocco are threatened with losing their place in the starting lineup, as are strikers Igor Thiago and Raphinha. Vinicius Junior, scorer of the equalizing goal, is the only guaranteed goal.
Changes could also happen on the sides, especially with the departure of Ibañez on the right.
Worst passing performance
Taking advantage of the right passes against Morocco
Paquetá – 79.5%
Fabinho – 88.2%
Bruno Guimarães – 89.5%
Casemiro – 94,4%
Who played the most sideways
Crab style predominates at debut
Casemiro – 83,3%
Fabinho – 64.7%
Bruno Guimarães – 44.8%
Paquetá – 43.6%
Who else played backwards
Lack of objectivity slows down the offensive sector
Paquetá – 30.8%
Bruno Guimarães – 23.7%
Fabinho – 11.8%
Casemiro – 11,1%
Who missed the most passes in attack
Allowing the opponent to recover the ball
Bruno Guimarães – 28.6%
Paquetá – 23.3%
Casemiro – 7,7%
Fabinho – 0% (completed all passes in attack)
The numbers of Danilo Santos, who came on at the end and made just four passes, were not taken into account.
