Portugal 7-0 North Korea: Korean defence pushes up, Portugal exploit the space
The starting line-ups
A crushing victory in a game that was extremely tight for the first half hour.
Portugal made four changes from the first game. Hugo Almeida was in as the lone striker, Simao Sabrosa was on the right wing with Miguel behind him, and Tiago replaced Deco.
North Korea were unchanged from their 2-1 defeat to Brazil in the first game.
The most notable thing about the game was that North Korea pushed forward far more than in their first game. The wing-backs were just that (rather than full-backs in a five-man defence); they got forward and formed triangles on the flanks with the outside central midfielders and one of the forwards, getting the ball into good positions in the final third. They also went close with a couple of long-range shots.
A consequence of them playing more attacking as a whole was that their defensive line was much higher than against Brazil, where they denied Robinho and Luis Fabiano space in behind. Here, they played 10-15 yards higher up the pitch, which Portugal initially failed to exploit, with the wet pitch making through balls in behind the defence very difficult.
Portugal also struggled to create goalscoring chances because Tiago and Meireles were playing quite reserved, disciplined roles in front of Pedro Mendes. They were effectively leaving Portugal’s three forwards against six defensive North Korean players, with the two Korean central midfielders tracking their opposite numbers. Just like in the first game against the Ivory Coast, there were no driving runs from midfield, no-one looking to break forward and link up the the lone striker, who struggled to get into the game.
At first, Miguel and Fabio Coentrao were unable to move forward too much because they were concerned about the runs of the Korean strikers, who played closer together than in the first time and looked to move into wide areas when they didn’t have the ball. When Portugal realised that they needed to show more attacking threat, Pedro Mendes moved into an even deeper position, almost as a centre-half – creating 3 v 2 at the back, and allowing the full-backs to push on forward.
Attacking full-backs and midfield runners
That was the first part of getting Portugal ahead in the game. Just as Maicon held the key to unlocking the North Korean defence in the first game, ZM favourite Fabio Coentrao was the best player on the pitch, speeding up and down the left flank and drawing the defence out of position. Miguel did the same on the right – and the presence of attacking full-backs is exactly why the 5-3-2 system often proves unsuccessful.
The second part of breaking the deadlock was those runs from midfield. Meireles suddenly decided that he should be playing higher up the pitch, and on his first forward run, he met a superb through-ball from his midfield colleague Tiago and finished beautifully. This site suggested before the tournament that Deco’s time is up because he no longer plays between the lines or looks to move into the penalty area, and this game supports that thesis – Meireles was effectively moved forward into something more like the ‘Deco role’ – that is, the most attacking of the three midfielders, and whilst he isn’t as naturally talented as Deco, he was far more effective and provided more of a threat.
A run into the penalty area from Meireles also created Portugal’s second goal – he knocked a simple pass out towards Simao, who nutmegged the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
Portugal narrow the wingers
Portugal changed their approach well to expose North Korea’s weaknesses. Usually, they play the ball to the wide players on the touchline and hope for an individual bit of brilliance, but this didn’t work because Korea were able to double up easily with a wing-back and a centre-back. Instead, Ronaldo and Simao moved inside and played a more central role, which both drew the central defenders towards them, and narrowed the wing-backs – creating space for Portugal’s full-backs.
Portugal’s all-round game was far better than in their first game. Ricardo Carvalho brought the ball out of defence with more purpose, whilst Almeida’s movement upfront was better than Liedson’s in the first game (although, in fairness, he got more support than Liedson did).
Korea seemed demoralised, although they did attempt to get back in the game. Sadly for them (and for the tournament as a whole, if you’re of the belief that teams are playing too defensively), the more they pushed forward, the more gaps they left at the back, and the more goals they conceded. Almost every Portugal player aside from the centre-backs broke through the Korea defensive line at some point to meet a through-ball, and whilst 7-0 was harsh on Korea, it was a fairly accurate reflection of how easy it was for Portugal when Korea played a higher line.
In Korea’s two games, they have shown both the merits of playing very defensively (against Brazil in the first half) and the danger of pushing up and leaving space in behind (against Portugal in the second half). Most worryingly, they were no more dangerous in attacking terms when they played a higher defensive line – perhaps because that also gives them less space to exploit.
Conclusion
Portugal were superb. When they hit their stride, they play a tremendous brand of football – organised in defence, resourceful with the ball in midfield, and devastatingly effective upfront. The lack of an out-and-out striker is, as always, a major problem – but if they can get goals from across the team, and especially from midfield runners, that won’t be a problem. Having six players score in one game is absolutely perfect for Queiroz considering Portugal’s problem with goalscoring, and on this form there is no reason why they can’t be a real force for the rest of the tournament.
Sadly, North Korea are already out of the competition. They have brought an interesting, unusual style of football to the tournament, and have been fascinating from a tactical point of view. Ultimately, their formation was always going to struggle with attacking full-backs, which is why successful teams playing three-man defences also seek to play three-man attacks as well – in order to pin back the full-backs. Otherwise, they become exposed on the flanks.
Portugal 7-0 North Korea: Korean defence pushes up, Portugal exploit the space
The aim of North Korea is wrong. If they took the same defensive stance as what they’ve done against Brazil, they might have got a 0-1 or 0-2 lose, or even score one goal. Pity they had chosen the wrong direction. I wish these North Korea players good luck after this tournament…
Maybe they weren’t content with bowing out of the tournament with respectable losses. I bet that the coach told them that they needed a draw (and hence to push for a goal) during his halftime instructions and the players responded accordingly. I would rather try to advance and get beat up then be not push for a place in the second round.
I was shocked however that they didn’t defensively shell once it was 4-0. If anything Ivory Coast could be in trouble because now North Korea can play for a respectable loss in their last game and shell up again.
The 5-3-2 was not the reason NK lost the game. Nor was it the attacking fullbacks of Portugal. NK lost because they had no final ball. They got the ball into the attacking 1/3 numerous times in the first half but had no clear ideas of how to work the ball into a good shooting position. Had they been able to convert some of that final 1/3 possession into a goal or two the result of this game would have been far different.
Having said that, NK did play a high line, which attacking fullbacks can exploit on the overlap regardless of whether the other team plays with 3,4 or 5 in the back. They played to their weaknesses and played into Portugal’s strength, which is speed on and off the ball. This, more than anything else, contributed to the goalfest we saw today. The team that deals with speed the best in any game is the team that increases their chances of winning.
It’ll be interesting to see how far this Portugal team will go, because when they play tight together like this (psychologically, not tactically), they really look like contenders.
I was just going to say the same. Many times in the first half they managed to get the ball upto the penalty box of Portugal, but they really lacked one or two players who could have made a difference inside the opposition p.box. If they had managed to score at least once in the first half, this would have been a different game.
Having said that I would not read much into the last 3/4 goals of Portugal, as NK were completely demoralised by then, more so by the realisation that they lack a killer upfront.
“The 5-3-2 was not the reason NK lost the game. Nor was it the attacking fullbacks of Portugal. NK lost because they had no final ball.”
What, that’s the only reason? Of course not. It might be the reason they failed to score, but it’s not the reason they conceded seven goals.
“Having said that, NK did play a high line, which attacking fullbacks can exploit on the overlap regardless of whether the other team plays with 3,4 or 5 in the back. They played to their weaknesses and played into Portugal’s strength, which is speed on and off the ball. This, more than anything else, contributed to the goalfest we saw today”
I pre-answered your reply
North Korea really looked they could have made a game of it from the first 30mins that I saw. Their organisation was fantastic and every player seemed perfectly in tune with his team-mates, which was probably more evident in a game in which they attacked than the defensive display against Brazil. Had they remained a bit more restrained though, and looked to counter with sensible attacks, they may have got a result. Instead they let Portugal catch them when they were vulnerable, and Quieroz’s team tore them a new one with their clinical play.
Is this why ‘minor’ teams resort to defensive play? A thrashing like this would be enough to make any manager decide to shut up shop. A pity, if so, but quite understandable. Are Portugal really good, or have they just reaped the rewards of a massive and mistaken shift in emphasis in Korean tactics? I’m reminded of Germany’s early win over Australia…
Germany beat Argentina 4-0 too!
Gutted for the North Korean’s, partly for their own sake and the positive attitude they’ve brought to the two games so far, but also because it’s likely to encourage unadventurous play from other ‘lesser teams’.
Portugal will be glad Ronaldo was able to find his feet and enjoy himself but of course it was far too easy for him. It finished seven, it could easily have been double figures. With that goal difference they can start their second round planning in earnest.
Here’s the shots and Ronaldo’s passes as generated using Total Football 2010:
http://totalfootball2010.posterous.com/prks-second-half-collapse-made-it-easy-for-po
Wow, every goal came from inside the box, pretty evenly distributed from left to right as well. That says a lot.
80+% of goals are scored from inside the box though, so it’s not a telling statistic in and of itself. The even distribution between left and right is, though.
Ronaldo played an incredible game. The first game against the Ivory Coast was a big disappointment. I believe for the same reason as the Brazil game was so tense. The Ivory Coast play very physical defense (read, hack, foul, whatever). This knocked all the Portugal players off their game, as it would anyone (even Brazil). I was very impressed with the Ivory Coast physicality. The ref shouldn’t have allowed it, but if he was going to, they sure took advantage.
In this game however, Ronaldo was in true playmaking spirit. I just hope he sticks to this style of play instead of just trying to do everything by himself. When he leads the attack as the focal center, but distributes, he is amazing to watch. If he is just attempting to take the other team on 1 on 1, he fails. Because the defending team don’t play him 1 on 1. They send 2 or 3 players at him. Thus, when a team sends that many players to defend you, the best option is to turn into a playmaker. If there are 2-3 defenders close to you, there is a lot of space open for everyone else. That’s what he did in the 2nd half today. Don’t hold on to the ball for long periods, run at the defense, draw attention and then create goal scoring opportunities for your teammates.
Great job Portugal.
You make a great point with the Portuguese full-backs. The problem in the first match was that neither the left or the right back joined the attack making Portugal outnumbered on its attacking midfielder.
It was odd once it’s not in their nature (specially F.Coentrão) to be defensive minded. Probably because Queiroz had instructed them to stay back once he didn’t want to take any chances.
But today, Portugal had (too) many players in attack. Both full-backs (sometimes at the same time), the 2 central midfielders Tiago and R.Meireles and even R.Carvalho made ocasional forward runs with the ball.
This facts aligned with Korea’s less defensive attitude has obviously created a much more open, paced, exciting match than the first one against Ivory Coast, resulting in a great amount of goals scored.
Honestly, I believe Korea had a bad approach to this match. Once they had barely lost to Brazil and after watching the Iberians poor performance against IVC the Asians thought they wouldn’t need to be so defensive minded, as they believed they actually could defeat Portugal.
Well, that was a bad idea once Portugal attacked with twice the players than in the opening round. This has also opened them a little bit causing Korea to have 2/3 long range shots in the first half.
However, it was clear that the way the Koreans were playing, once Portugal scored the first goal, many others were to come.
It’s a shame the Korea has to leave the WC this way after their performance with Brazil. Maybe if they had kept the same strategy of the 1st match they would have held the 0-0 a little bit more the goal difference would have been far smaller.
Anyway, it was a fabulous performance by Portugal.
However, it’s still early to see if they can be a real force in this tournament. We won’t see it against Brazil, cause the South-Americans will be rotating players, so I guess the last 16 will be their greatest test whether they play or not against Spain.
IMO the reason why North Korea changed tactics was not the game against Brazil, it was over the game in 1966.
For both Portugal and North Korea the 1966 quarter final is maybe their defining match – everybody Portuguese old enough has a story about seeing or not seeing that game and how they experienced that.
The draw gave North Korea a chance for a rematch. Portugal seemed to start slow. If there was one game North Korea wanted to win in this world cup, it was this one. They even showed it live on NKorean tv. They had to risk, so they did.
Portugal was much calmer, and IMO playing much faster. All the mess with Deco but I think I see now what Queiroz was complaining ( acording to Deco), Deco slows Portugal.
What the heck was North Korea’s manager thinking? If they played the hard-defensive style they utilized versus Brazil they could have won. Of course they couldn’t score. By playing their rear line so far up they crowded themselves out of any opportunities. Their defensive strategy against Brazil allowed them to draw the Brazilians towards their goal and made their counter-attacks so threatening. I seriously do not understand what North Korea’s manager was thinking. Why would they mess with a decent strategy that was working out relatively decently for them? Makes no sense. They could have drawn or even won by a goal but instead they went for broke, left their back completely open, and got slaughtered. Very, very disappointing game tactically.
Before we damn the manager, it is quite conceivable given the politics of their country that their style of play in today’s game was dictated from on high, back home. Food for thought.
I think North Korea lost it because they didn’t track the runs of Meireles, who kept getting into the box. Coentrao looked really good on the flank as well. Of course, when they pushed up and conceded the second goal, the game was over. Still can’t see Portugal getting anything against Brazil, but stranger things have happened this tournament. When was the last time Portugal scored 2 or more goals, Faroe Islands or something?
Portugal won 3-0 to Mozambique and 3-1 to Cameroon on the friendlies before WC
Before that China 2-0. On real matches 3-0 Hungary, 4-0 Malta last autumn. Otherwise it was only Cabo Verde they could not crack, but sometimes there are games like that. It is not so bad once we get into a cup format rather than the group stage.
Haha ok thanks, forgot about those matches.
a goalfest indeed and in my opinion a few things came to light
- there was a shift of emphasis in this game by korea dpr, believing that they could actually get something from this game compared to the brazil game.
- the demise of korea dpr came from lack of defensive descipline, failing to continue the fine double teaming they carried out so well in the first half. Yes; ronaldo played inside more than on the wing but that doesn’t explain their demise becoz even in the first half ronaldo did drift inwards but the doubling up done on Fabio Coentrao and migel was effective.
-talking about fullbacks, Fabio Coentrao should provide an interesting test for maicon on friday as he showed attacking intent and to me deserved to be man of the match.
- the 3 defenders that play infront of the back 5 form an attacking triangle rather than a defensive triangle which shuld have its apex infront of the other two players that form the triangle. Its is due to this that has led to them conceeding two goals; 2nd goal in the brazil game and the first goal in today’s game.
- with ronaldo drifting inside portugal shuld have made more use of combination play outside the edge of the penalty area to create shooting or through ball opportunities since they wuld have had numerical superiority over the 3 men protecting the back 5.
I only see people not giving value to the portuguese game. What’s the problem? Portugal took the game and made them the bosses. If Portugal fail’s to score it’s a shame if they score 7 goal’s it’s only because the other team didn’t play well…
Calm down, it’s just a bit of analysis, not a piece of anti-Portugal propaganda.
It does have value. However, let’s be honest, the 7-0 was, in big part, the result of a demoralized North Korea. Had they played like they know all the time, the result would have been a 2-0, 3-0 at best.
Of course, this is just my perception. Another thing I see is that North Korea is criticized for deciding to go into attack. Well, what other option they had? Playing to get a 0-0 would have been a bad idea. And after going down in the score they were out of the tournament already… so, they had no other choice but to attack.
The defensive strategy they employed versus Brazil allowed them to make effective, rapid counterattacks when the Brazilian rear line was advanced up the field in attack. Thus the 1 goal they scored and the 1 goal they almost scored but Juan tipped away at the last second. By playing so offensively they allowed Portugal to cover more space instead of forcing them to press forward, opening up the back. They may have ended up being more of an offensive threat had they gone with their original tactic.
i’m not talking about anti-portugal propaganda, i’m just saying that Portugal is always underrated when win’s that’s all. Of course Korea played bad but still…
Will Portugal play to win against Brazil? Or will it depend on how Spain gets on in Group H?
The Portugal-Brazil game will be like a friendly match between to brother countries.
Brazil will rest players once they’re already qualified and there’s no point on fighting for 1st place because Spain only plays on the next day.
Portugal, after this result will want to win to keep an high confidence. However, Queiroz will still rest the players with yellow cards, except for Ronaldo who always plays
Don’t you think, Portugal allowed some space for Koreans on the right side in the first 40mins ? Korea managed many runs towards penalty area but they never got proper positioning and their first touch was too bad. Otherwise they could have easily scored at lease a goal in first half
Great game by Portugal – but let’s be honest, North Korea did everything wrong. They had two, three shots that worried Eduardo and that was it. They should’ve played the same strategy like they did against Brazil.
Playing a high defensive line was suicidal; if they had some consistent talent upfront or in midfield, it could be a decent bet, but they don’t. Let’s face it, Tae-Se has just a little more technique and attitude than his home-based partners. He’s no better then Yong-Jo, the captain.
I agree with everything, except the quote on Liedson/Almeida. Sure, Almeida had a great game, scoring and participating on another goal, but he played against a shit of a defence, unlike Liedson, who had far more problems against Toure and Zokora. When he entered the game, he also scored and partcipated on another goal, only in 20 minutes. He is my first choice for this team.
Aside the awful game by the koreans, none of that take the credit from Portugal. Great game by the Lusitanos, excellent individual performances (Coentrão, Meireles, Tiago, Ronaldo, Almeida, Carvalho). It will be a great battle against Brazil.
north korea don’t play with wide players because they only have left-wingers
We’ll have to see what Portugal is really capable of once the knockout stage begins.
Personally I thought Portugal were not nearly as impressive as the commentators suggested. They were the beneficiaries of a tactical half time switch which allowed them to pick gaps left and right and pick holes on the counter. In fact, North Korea defended well with a flat 5. While Coentrao may have been Portugal’s best player (along with Meireles) in the first half, it still mostly came to nothing.
The first goal was Portugal’s best because it actually penetrated the wall of Koreans. Up until that point, Korea were coasting as far as I’m concerned. However such a defensive set up meant they couldn’t really mount anything forward, even if they successfully went through the middle a couple of times.
Then they go behind 1 goal, and North Korea go all out, virtually going from a flat back 5, to a 3 man defense, with the fullbacks now going forward.
For me, this one change is the difference between 1-0 and 4-0. I say 4-0 (and not 7-0) because North Korea decided to close up after 4, reverting back to a flat 5. The next 2 goals, unfortunately, were simply individual defensive mistakes. The seventh goal I cant remember! The switch didn’t pay off. Not only did they get exposed in those wide positions (and consequently through the middle), the full backs didn’t really do anything going forward, aside from giving Korea presence on the flanks. Their passing was far from exemplary in the 2nd half. It was a risk, and it didnt pay off.
That’s my simplistic view anyway.
North Korea was totally overated due to Brazil’s struggle to break them down. They qualified against countries like Turkmenistan and Bahrain and also in the playoffs against Bahrain they just made it (0-0 and 1-0)…. If Dunga would have risked a little bit more Brazil also would have won something like 4:0 or 5-1 ….
Let’s face it, the Brazilians have issues breaking down a team that is set up to defend them. I actually think that Brazil is the most over-rated of all the teams. The announcers think they are gods and all the analysts have them as the favorites by far. Don’t get me wrong, I too believe that Brazil are a very good team. But they have holes in their team, the major one being creativity.
Brazil is a counter-attacking team. They lack the creativity of a Spain. They don’t have a load of playmakers. They counter-attack and are very direct. This style of play works great against a team like Spain, a possession oriented team which likes to pass the ball over and over. They come forward, they give up possession, and Brazil takes advantage by using their direct counter attacking style.
However the North Koreans played everyone behind the ball. It is very difficult to break this down. If it werent for the wide gap in talent, i think Brazil would have been kept to a 0-0 draw. To break down a team like that you need passing and creativity. Of course someone like Ronaldihno is now fat and lazy, but a guy like that can go a long way to breaking down a 10 man defense.
This will be Brazil’s problem i’m afraid. They are lucky the Italian’s are looking so horrible. They would have a very difficult time getting through a team like the Italians.
On the other hand, Portugal seems to be a very underrated team. Is there a better defensive team than the Portugese? With a stout defense, and incredible talent in attack, i am absolutely amazed that they are picked as a favorite going forward. You can blame the qualification round and friendlies for this. However, this is not the qualification rounds. This is the world cup. And teams play with 100% effort. I think Portugal should be considered as a favorite. They looked incredible out there and their confidence must be sky high. Remember that the Portugal team made the semi-finals in the last world cup. I wouldn’t be surprised at all with another semi-final run, depending on their competition.
Portugal the best defensive team? Dude maybe you’re exaggerating a little bit.
I’m Portuguese and even though I think we have a very good defense, it has a weak spot – the right side. Paulo Ferreira used to be a great, balanced right-back , but now he´s old and is not the same anymore (not to mention Miguel). It worried me the amount of times that a player like Gervinho got through him in the opening round. It was clear that difference between the right wing and the left one when F.Coentrão offered safety and barely made mistakes.
Maybe if Bosingwa wasn’t injured Portugal could have a perfect, solid, balanced defense.
It’s funny how we’ve always had great right-backs and struggled to find a decent left-back and now, suddenly, the tables are turned. But we’ve always managed to have some of the best centre-backs in the world and no one can take that from us.
And there yes, I believe it’s fair to claim that in R.Carvalho and B.Alves Portugal has the best pair of centre-backs in the world cup
Great article, just a suggeston that it might be a good idea to reverse the North Korean colours on the diagram. As it is both teams are to red and it makes it harder to view.
I love the fact that there was barely a mention of Ronaldo in the article, even though during the 2nd half of this game he provided the best play of anyone in the tournament thus far. He created at least 4 passes which should have been goals, not to mention other plays where he was the “hocky assist” (the pass before the assist).
Let’s be frank. If Messi had even created 1 of those plays, the author of this blog would have said something like this:
“There is none other, Maradona’s mentor! A king among kids; as beautiful as he is charming; the greatest killa in manilla; hung like a horse; and wonderful in bed as well…MESSI MESSI MESSI!!!”
I dont think the author is biased as i have read all his articles and never found them biased. Wonder why ZM did not mention him? But yes, Ronaldo was brilliant in the second half. He was involved in almost every goal and passed superbly. Clearly, the single most brilliant performance of the world cup so far.
By at least the second goal, North Korea had more or less already lost, as then they played a highly offensive game which did not suit them at all. There’s really not that much to talk about after that, other than that it simply aggravated the problems that had led to them being behind in the first place, and along with demoralization meant that nothing interesting would happen for the rest of the game.
Agree. But when we talk tactics, we should also talk about the initiator. The Man of the match deserves some footage. But as I mentioned earlier its okay, i smell no foul
One of the great pleasures of the analyses on this website is their emphasis on strategy and tactics, not individual players; its warm detachment rather than opinionated platitudes and partisan views. I hope very much that this doesn’t change.
I believe that North Korea’s manager has actually admitted to having played bad tactics, so hopefully they can learn from this. I quite enjoyed their match against Brazil, so it would be great if we can see more of that in the future, rather than the rather bizarre offensive play of the Portugal match.
However, given that Australia had also gotten thrashed by Germany after playing a high defensive line, it seems that this is generally not a good idea for minnows playing major teams. On the other hand, the major teams seem to have struggled a fair bit against more defensive-minded sides, and Chile hadn’t looked much better than Switzerland until they went a man up.
“I only see people not giving value to the portuguese game. What’s the problem? Portugal took the game and made them the bosses. If Portugal fail’s to score it’s a shame if they score 7 goal’s it’s only because the other team didn’t play well…”
Technically, Germany’s performance against Australia can largely be put down to similar factors. I think that just about any major side could have taken down this North Korean side quite easily if they played the same way as against Portugal. Of course, it’s quite possible that they would not have, as in the case of Portugal the two sides have a history here which probably lead to the North Koreans being far too offensive.
When it comes to Brazil having had a high scoreline if they had risked more, I don’t think that that’s accurate at all. One certainly can’t derive it from this game, as Portugal were facing more or less a completely different North Korea.
Of course, Spain beating 2-0 the mighty Honduras seems to solidify their status as favourites… %)
Let’s face it, people have a hard time letting go of their misconceptions. Any little thing that goes in the way expected is “definite proof” and anything that goes against it is “casual”. This is a known effect called Expectation Bias.