The Gauls Arsene Wenger, Director of World Soccer Development at FIFAEnsured that the team “with the best wingers will win” in Qatar World Cup 2022 because 58% of attacks happen through the band when “the central lanes are blocked”, and he highlighted France and England more than other teams.
“The teams with the best wingers have more chances to win the World Cup. The full-backs are also key, you have to get these players to take advantage of the band. They include France. This will be dangerous until the end,” he said in an appearance where the World Cup organizing body released data on the group stage.
“There was a certain tactical deadlock in the first half because they were studying, and in the second half there was more free football,” he commented. Wenger.
“There is a huge interest in this World Cup, despite all the negative publicity we have heard. In addition, at the architectural level, Qatar’s are the best stadiums I have seen in my life”, he reflected at the beginning of his speech.
An appearance in which he emphasized that 58% of the goals came from wing attacks -30% on the left and 28% on the right-, so the goals after crosses increased by 83% compared to Russia 2018.
In this World Cup the shots on goal are reduced. 14.1 in South Africa, 12.9 in Brazil, 12 in Russia and 10.9 in the first phase of Qatar 2022.
In addition, he recalled that Germany attempted the most shots, 67, and, however, left the contest at the first change. Spain tried 38.
A goalscoring section where the drop in goals in stoppage time is notable – from 21 in Russia 2018 to 12 in Qatar 2022 – despite the fact that the additions are greater. An event he attributed to the possibility of making five changes, which he assured to keep.
“No one wants to go back to three changes. I just want to note that there are only three opportunities to trade five players. There are requests for more opportunities for innovation, yes. I don’t think we will go back to the three changes, but we will add more time”, he assured.
Wenger pointed out that the big change in football is in goalkeepers. “The main change in our sport is linked to the goalkeepers. They are, more and more, players on the field. They offered to get the ball 433 times in Russia, through 726 in Qatar. The distribution from the goalkeeper is an important option for the team. In the future, we have to think and see the goalkeeper as an outfield player”, he commented.
Another noteworthy information from the appearance is the fact that Argentina is the team that covers the fewest kilometers in the group stage, with 105. The United States leads this classification with 123 and Wenger explained that this is because the Albiceleste is one of the teams “that they recover the ball earlier” and he is confident that he can “increase these numbers” of the distance covered if the requirement in the playoffs allows it.
In addition, FIFA’s director of World Football Development praised Morocco’s “surprising” game, which he “would like to see” against Spain in the round of 16 next Tuesday and expressed confidence in the growth of African football.
“I hope they are represented more in the World Cups. I am increasingly involved in the development of African talent. We expect Africa to be one of the great competitors in the final stages of future World Cups”, he pointed out.
Some future championships will change their format, starting with 48 participating teams to “help develop football” in more countries. Of course, there is still no defined format.
“This is something that has not been decided yet. If there will be 16 groups with three teams, 12 with four, two different teams… let’s see. We will not decide. That decision will be made next year,” he announced.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
