FT: WALES 1 - 1 CROATIA. Match thread

[Tuerto]

He's got to close down the player with the ball IMO, cos it's 1 v 1 and their FB had the option to beat his man on either side if the space isn't minimized. The CH should have stepped up and moved closer to player on the edge of the box when he saw Ampadu moving across towards the ball. We don't have a lot of experience in a number of positions, and the counterattack was fairly rapid, so hopefully they will learn from it.

The centre back is spare, fullback tucked in , all right. Ampadu decided to just do what he thought was best, he shouldn't have. He'll learn.

[Wales-Bales]

The centre back is spare, fullback tucked in , all right. Ampadu decided to just do what he thought was best, he shouldn't have. He'll learn.

The Full Back has just waltzed pass two Welsh players as though they weren't there, so there is no way Ampadu is going to leave him 1 v 1 in front of goal. Our CH never tried to minimize the distance between himself and the players in front of him, and he retreated as they advanced. Their FB was never getting past our defender and Ampadu, so the CH didn't need to take up that deep position. Like I said earlier it was a team effort that allowed the goal, so I wouldn't single out any one player. They need to work these things out on the training pitch.

BTW it was a very well worked goal and they knew what they were doing. They probably practice those moves a lot.

[Tuerto]

The Full Back has just waltzed pass two Welsh players as though they weren't there, so there is no way Ampadu is going to leave him 1 v 1 in front of goal. Our CH never tried to minimize the distance between himself and the players in front of him, and he retreated as they advanced. Their FB was never getting past our defender and Ampadu, so the CH didn't need to take up that deep position. Like I said earlier it was a team effort that allowed the goal, so I wouldn't single out any one player. They need to work these things out on the training pitch.

BTW it was a very well worked goal and they knew what they were doing. They probably practice those moves a lot.

The centre half is where he should be, honest mate, i know this, he's spare, protecting that area between him and the keeper, anticipating the delivery. The Central defender can't be pulled out of that position, he reacts when Ampadu decides to do what he likes without looking what's going on around him.

[Wales-Bales]

The centre half is where he should be, honest mate, i know this, he's spare, protecting that area between him and the keeper, anticipating the delivery. The Central defender can't be pulled out of that position, he reacts when Ampadu decides to do what he likes without looking what's going on around him.

We can discuss this all day, but I think you are analysing it in reverse after the the goal has been scored, and then tracing events backwards. I am looking at it from when their full-back first gets the ball, and then does his best impression of Maradona when he scored against England in '86. He cut us apart like a hot knife through butter. The moment it became a 1 v 1 inside the box he was a clear and present danger. I've never seen a situation like this where it is left to chance, and the nearest player runs in the opposite direction. They will always double up on him to prevent a shot at goal. If he had scored there would have been hell to play, and everybody would be moaning at Ampadu for not closing him down. Hindsight is a wonderful thing in football

[cyril evans awaydays]

The centre half is where he should be, honest mate, i know this, he's spare, protecting that area between him and the keeper, anticipating the delivery. The Central defender can't be pulled out of that position, he reacts when Ampadu decides to do what he likes without looking what's going on around him.

Agree. Amadu was impetuous and gets sucked towards the ball rather than staying with the 20 who he had covered. This allowed Brekalu, who I thought was the best player on the pitch, an out ball when there shouldn't have been one. He'll learn as he's a top prospect who needs games and experience under his belt. Hope he gets it at Leipzig rather than learning the hard way internationally though!

[Wales-Bales]

Agree. Amadu was impetuous and gets sucked towards the ball rather than staying with the 20 who he had covered. This allowed Brekalu, who I thought was the best player on the pitch, an out ball when there shouldn't have been one. He'll learn as he's a top prospect who needs games and experience under his belt. Hope he gets it at Leipzig rather than learning the hard way internationally though!

You are seeing into the future mate, Ampadu had no idea what Brekalu was going to do. You can only react to what happens in front of you. Allen was already out of the game, so he had to cover for him as well. CH should have stepped up once he saw Ampadu moving towards the ball. What happens if Brekalu beats his man? What would we be discussing then?

[Tuerto]

You are seeing into the future mate, Ampadu had no idea what Brekalu was going to do. You can only react to what happens in front of you. Allen was already out of the game, so he had to cover for him as well. CH should have stepped up once he saw Ampadu moving towards the ball. What happens if Brekalu beats his man? What would we be discussing then?

You don't react at that level, you anticipate and keep your shape. If the Croatian player does the fullback and the keeper then well done to him, it's the fullback and keepers problem, not ampadu. He should 'be held his position, that would've forced the attacker to take the fullback on-fill your boots son-The central defender is in the correct position, he doesn't need to step out leaving a huge space to exploit. You are so wrong on all of this.

[Rjk]

You don't react at that level, you anticipate and keep your shape. If the Croatian player does the fullback and the keeper then well done to him, it's the fullback and keepers problem, not ampadu. He should 'be held his position, that would've forced the attacker to take the fullback on-fill your boots son-The central defender is in the correct position, he doesn't need to step out leaving a huge space to exploit. You are so wrong on all of this.

Aside from anything else, if the Croat beats the fullback then there's no way that ampadu would get there before he got a shot away.

[Heisenberg]

The centre back is spare, fullback tucked in , all right. Ampadu decided to just do what he thought was best, he shouldn't have. He'll learn.

This.

If you watch the goal again, Brekalo only managed to get it past Lockyer. Roberts' (not Rodon as I said earlier ) body position means Brekalo has to square it as he doesn't have the space to take it around him at that point. Allen, although massively out of position in the build up, is the one who is covering - so why Ampadu gets attracted to the ball is anyone's guess.

Like you said, he's still incredibly young and inexperienced and can only get better if he learns from these types of mistakes. He'll definitely be a huge player for us.