Need help with 3421

[Fmhnunter]

Hello everyone. I am playing with Poland and we have just been eliminated from the nations league 

These are my tactics  

Any help is welcome 

[CARRERA]

22 minutes ago, Fmhnunter said:

Any help is welcome 

what are you looking for tho? Keeping the ball, creating chances, becoming defensively solid?

[Fmhnunter]

Im looking to having possesion and creating chances. Defensively I want my wingbacks to help against wide men

[Prolix]

• None of your 4 central players are disciplined with or without the ball. Yes you have 3 players back at all times, but your opponents will find it easy to run at them when you turn the ball over. Both of your deepest midfielders (BBM and RPM) look to arrive near the opponent's box at the end of moves, so there will be huge space behind them.
• Balanced Mentality + Shorter Passing + Low Tempo + Play Out of Defense + Work Ball Into Box points to a possession game, but SK-a + 2x BPD + Pass Into Space + Play For Set Pieces + looks like trying to go direct.
• I'm not sure whether the Polish national team has the quality to play a style that's dependent on possession. Klich as an AP? Glik and Bednarek in a high defensive line? I'm not very familiar with these players, but IRL they are a midlevel national team at best.

[LHurlz]

Calm down the TIs. You have way too many. Start with 3-5 and work from there.  It's impossible for us to even tell what style of football you want to play.

[MessiMessiMessi]

Why do you want to play 3-4-2-1 with Poland? Keeping your best player on support? No holding midfielder? Playing on possession in Division A Nations League with Poland doesn't seem reliable as well.

[Fmhnunter]

From all the feedback, I have decided that I might have to switch formations. I have created a vertical tiki taka 433 dm. Intent to keep possession and  create chances from all over the pitch.  As always help is greatly appreciated.

[CARRERA]

On 05/07/2021 at 22:38, Fmhnunter said:

Im looking to having possesion and creating chances.

Having possession and creating chances are tied together very closely as one requires the other. However, remaining in possession and creating chances are quite far apart from each other and somehow even contradict each other. And its quite easy to understand why. To keep the ball, the players need to be very cautious, always looking for the safest (best) option to remain in possession. This, though, makes it easy for the defending team to keep their shape and predict your attack which makes it hard for you to create quality chances. On the other hand, when trying to created chances, your players need to take more risks to play the final ball, take the long shot or look for the dribbling. However, this might cause a loss of possession. So it is mandatory to find the right balance for your team that allows them to maintain the ball until an opportunitiy arises but then go for the vertikal /diagonal ball or some other high risk action to create a quality chance. It is also to note, that your distribution of roles & duties has a huge influence on how your team will approach your attack. If you are looking for complex combination patters, you should create mobility (attack duties) from a deeper area and allow forwards to link up the play and support the attack. On the other had if you are looking for a more expansive game with quick transitions, you should immediately create depth (attack duties) with your forwards after possession is won. You can also mix things up to create a balance between complex and expansive build up patters.

Keeping the ball is always by defensive nature as it allows your players to rest on the ball and not allowing the other team to create something. But as soon as teams are trying to force the issue they will take more risks to unsettle the others team defense. Even barca in their "tiki-taka" prime were looking for quick vertical and diagonal passes to bring their players into scoring positions. In Reallife teams will change their style of play and tempo (intensity) several times during a match. As mentioned before, there might be phases where a team focusses heavily on the principles of possession where they just pass around the ball without creating anything and might then switch to a higher intensity with more direct approaches at the cost of possession.

You can answer these questions to yourself by observing your play and act accordingly:

• Are too many long balls played? -> Create more complex patterns
• Is your build up play too slow? -> create more expansive patterns
• No vertikal / diagonal passes played into the box? -> increase passing directness
• Your players end up isolated inside the box with no chance of proper supply? -> decrease mentality if you are looking for the likes of possession OR increase passing directness to force the final ball.
• Your attack is too concentrated? -> increase width
• Your players are loosing the ball while being preassured? -> increase tempo
• The other Team is pressing high up the pitch? -> Use pass into Space
• Your players are often outnumbered when looking for the dribbling? -> dribble less

There are also some numbers you can look at, to make your decision

• passing completition % should be between 85 - 90% for top sides and 80-85% for low-mid sides.
• your average xG per shot, you can compare that to the other team or your league rivals. If your team is underperforming, then something must be wrong.
• is your team able to create clear-cut or at least half cut chances?
• excessive corssing even with WBIB activated indicates, that there must be something wrong with your attacking play. Keep in mind tho, that a corner does also count as a cross.

So my advice for you is to start with a clean slate and set up your roles & duties together with your mentality and then start fine-tuning it with team instructions after a few matches and your first impressions.

Edited July 6, 2021 by CARRERA