Italy vs England
Overview
Discover the world of computerised match analysis software and learn all about the performances and styles of teams and players. The match analysis software can provide a concise, unbiased evaluation of team players and opponents during the game played. This game analysis provides a deeper understanding and a unique view beyond what can be seen either in person at the game or viewed on video afterwards. For example, it sometimes happens that the unobtrusive player proves to be the most productive performer on the team. Often mistaken for a plodder, this is the player who drags their side back from the brink of defeat in the nick of time. Now, this match analysis software gives this player the recognition he deserves.
| Bring On The Goals |
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This chart shows the sequence of passes which led to the score. The Goal originated from an inter cepted pass off of Neville (#2) of England by Cannavaro (#5). Cannavaro (#5) intercepted the ball setting off a sequence of plays where by D. Baggio (#4) received the ball passing it back to Costacurta (#6) who then sent a long pass up to Zola (#11) in the penalty box which led to the only score in two qualifying games between these World Cup contenders.
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 ne quest for coaches traveling to France is to come up with ways
to beat packed defenses. And it is going to be hard because in the
qualifying games it was tough for teams to score goals.
To demonstrate to you just how tough, SoftSport's Second
Look match analysis software was applied to dissect the tactics used in the two
qualifying games between Italy and England. The first game at Wembley ended
in a 1-0 victory for Italy and the second game at Italy ended 0-0.In the
first game it was obvious from the collected data that Italy went to Wembley
determined not to concede a goal.
The data shows exactly where players were throughout the 90 minutes. And while coaches may say they played 4: 3: 3: or 4: 4: 2:. The computerized analysis data shows whether that actually happened.
Analysis of the Match
Italy System of Play
Line-ups are dynamic and change with the circumstances of the game
but SecondLook revealed that from where the Italian players spent most of
their time during the game in England their system is best described as 6:
2: 2. Although it could be possibly construed as 4: 4: 2. At times Italy
had nine players in the defensive 1/3 of the field and throughout the 90
minutes only Zola and Casiraghi foraged in midfield and on the attack.
Examine the charts of where the Italians touched the ball and you
will see that even Casiraghi came back to help defend.
Italy System of Play
In England | |
Italy System of Play
In Italy |
| England | England |
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| Italy | Italy |
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England System of Play
No wonder it was Zola that scored the winning goal, a beautiful
strike after a build-up that involved seven players.
At Wembley while Italy showed up with a defensive minded attitude,
England were under pressure to win even before they conceded what was to
become the deciding goal.
The analysis would quantify their system as 3: 2: 5 in the first
game. Apart from central defender Campbell all the England players crossed
the halfway line to lend a hand on the attack ... to no avail though.
By the time the two teams met in Italy, the fortunes of the two
teams had reversed and a draw suited England. They then reverted to 4: 4: 2.
Italy needed to win to assure qualification and so while they did not abandon their defensive mindset... usually playing six at the back they added a third forward. The system is best described as 5: 2: 3.
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England System of Play
In England |
England System of Play
In Italy |
| Italy | Italy |
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| England | England |
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The Players
The focus was put on the play of the England goalkeeper David Seaman in Game 2. (the game played in Rome).
| Seaman #1 - All Passes | |
Seaman #1 - Performance Summery |
| Italy | |
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| England | |
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Now obviously he did not concede a goal but our analysis showed a flaw in his distribution of the ball. While all his short passes to England players in the defensive half of the field were completed it was a different story with his long clearances.
Only eight of 23 punts up the field went to England players, which begs a number of questions:
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| Vieri #9 - All Passes |
Vieri #9 - Performance Summery |
| Italy | |
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| England | |
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He touched the ball 31 times and passed successfully to a team mate 15 times although none of his six passes into the England penalty area found a colleague.
And although he played mainly from midfield to England's goal area
in the center of the field, most of his competed passes were backwards.
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Conclusion
What can be learned from this match-up? The most obvious conclusion from simply the results of the two games is that the defensive minded team achieved the result it wanted. Italy got the result it wanted away from home; likewise England. That leaves us with the big question as to why two teams with some of the best attacking players in the world could muster only one goal in two games?
Looking ahead to France does that mean that coaches will go into the game thinking "defense first"?, Will playing "not to lose" be enough for teams to qualify for the second round now that only two teams from each group move forward? or more importantly will the coaches of teams such as England and Italy learn from the qualifying games how to score more goals?
In essence all the games in France are away games - except for the
host nation of course - so will the prevailing tactics be defensive?
Your comments regarding this service are welcome. E-mail: Softsport
A P P E N D I X
Figure 1
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Figure 2
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Each oval around the player represents the player's playing zone.
(Each red dot represents each time the player touched the ball)
Figure 3
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Each oval around the player represents the player's playing zone.
(Each red dot represents each time the player touched the ball)
Figure 4
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Each oval around the player represents the player's playing zone.
(Each blue dot represents each time the player touched the ball)
Figure 5
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Each oval around the player represents the player's playing zone.
(Each blue dot represents each time the player touched the ball)
Figure 6
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Figure 7
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Figure 8
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Figure 9
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