Women’s World Cup: round of 16 summary
- Peter Glynn
- 26 June 2019
Ahead of the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals, we look at 5 of the key coaching discussion points from the round of 16 games.
1. Clinical finishing
Japan’s technically excellent performance against the Netherlands has, quite rightly, been heralded as the outstanding footballing display of the tournament so far. However, for all the plaudits afforded to Asako Takakura’s side the game ultimately ended in defeat. One missing ingredient: ruthless finishing. Japan repeatedly opened up their opponents in the second period but lacked conviction when converting chances.
With the quarter-finals promising a number of evenly matched affairs, capitalising on goalscoring opportunities will be crucial. With chances during open play few and far between, penalty-box predators could be the difference between progression and elimination.
In Ellen White, England have a forward who has demonstrated composure, accuracy and instinct when it has mattered. Similar decisiveness in front of goal will be needed if she is to add to her tally of four goals and guide the Lionesses into the semi-finals.
2. Set-piece control
Following England’s third goal against Cameroon - a well-worked corner routine that saw Alex Greenwood exploit space at the front of the penalty area - the Lionesses rushed to celebrate with goalkeeper coach, Mark Mason. It was deserved acknowledgement for training ground preparation transformed into matchday success.
With almost half of the goals scored in the round of 16 resulting from a free-kick, corner or penalty, set-piece success is a common theme at the tournament so far and further underlines the importance of diligent preparation.
Amidst the unpredictable nature of the game, attacking set-pieces afford coaches and players rare moments of control.
With such reward on offer, how much time should be spent on preparing for these scenarios in training?
3. Point of difference
Although there have been a number of notable individual auditions, the outstanding creative talent of this World Cup is still to emerge.
USA’s Rose Lavelle, Danielle van de Donk of the Netherlands and Norway’s Caroline Graham Hansen have all shown their potential for unlocking opposition defences. The quarter-finals is a platform for creators to stamp their identity on the competition.
Lavelle, in particular, has impressed with her ability to receive, deceive and conjure chances in pockets of space across the US frontline.
The Washington Spirit attacker has both the vision and execution to deliver penetrative passes behind opposition backlines to release teammates towards goal.
It is a technique that proved fruitful for both Sweden and Norway in their own round of 16 games and could well prove to be the key in creating goalscoring opportunities in the tight knockout games ahead.
4. Emotional control
Following the challenging nature of England’s round of 16 victory over Cameroon, Phil Neville’s squad have spoken of the benefits of having psychological support on hand as part of the team’s coaching staff.
By preparing for certain scenarios ahead of the game, the Lionesses remained largely unaffected by many testing situations allowing them to go on to complete the task at hand.
As highlighted in the group stage summary, those nations who can effectively manage the emotional pressure of the tournament, and any interruptions caused by VAR, will be in a stronger position to execute their gameplan during knockout stage ties.
The FA Advanced Youth Award has done much to highlight the importance of developing young players with strong psychological skills over the last few years.
Developing psychological skills doesn’t have to wait until players are in a senior team. The very youngest players can develop their focus, concentration and control through age-appropriate challenges as outlined in the England DNA Foundation phase guidelines.
5. Values, beliefs, behaviours
Phil Neville has been widely praised for his response to England’s challenging game against Cameroon. The Lionesses head coach stressed the importance of players acting as strong role models in order for the women’s game to continue to grow.
Having clear values and beliefs, and being willing to communicate these in public, are key elements of having a robust coaching philosophy.
Often a strong value system is most needed in times of adversity and goes beyond discussions about winning and losing.
Peter Glynn is the content editor for FA Education with coaching experience in both the grassroots and professional game.
Visit The Boot Room and @StGeorgesPark for more coaching discussion articles as the tournament progresses.
Article header courtesy of BPI/REX.
