Chapter 691
The list announced early by Deschamps will give Hierro more time to adjust accordingly, although he doesn't know why Deschamps did this, it's like giving Spain a chance to adjust first.
"Their goalkeeper is Lori, the three central defenders remain the same, the midfield is still Kante and Pogba, Mbappe is in the frontcourt, Benzema is placed in the middle and Griezmann is in the middle, which is very conventional."
“In previous games they have used Griezmann to drop back, just like we used Lin before, with Griezmann on the ball, with Kante defending, and then pushing Pogba forward.”
"So the ones we need to focus on are not Griezmann, but Pogba and Mbappe."
"With Benzema he plays more lively, Benzema can pass the ball to him, he has the ability to assist Mbappe, and then he can score himself, so we need to make double preparations. I don't think Eric Garcia can start!"
The first thing Hierro had to do was to deny Xavi's idea of starting Eric Garcia.
"He does have a good defensive IQ as a centre-back, but he's not strong enough to defend against Benzema. Once he can't defend against Benzema, Laporte will have to be distracted to help him."
"But Laporte needs to face Mbappe. Even if he doesn't distract himself, it will be difficult to defend Mbappe, so we must let a player who is strong enough and can understand what Benzema wants to do to defend him!"
Zabia already understood what Hierro wanted to do. Klopp had also used this trick before!
“I put Rodri at centre-back, Busquets starting as defensive midfielder, then Pedri starting, then add Lin, let Busquets control to stop Pogba, and let Rodri defend Benzema.”
"In this way, Laporte can concentrate on defending Mbappe. We also need faster full-backs who can help defend Mbappe and prevent Pavard from attacking!"
Hierro figured out Deschamps' idea based on France's starting lineup.
Although Rabiot plays as a left midfielder, his attacking ability is actually not as good as Griezmann or Pogba.
The reason why Deschamps made such an arrangement is to allow Pavard to help the team attack, so that when the French team attacks, Mbappe can play as both center forward and left winger.
Benzema is still the center forward, while Pavard can be both the right winger and the right midfielder!
But when it came to choosing offensive players, several coaches started to struggle again!
"Sarabia must start!"
"He can help us stop Pavard effectively!"
"It's these center forward and right winger. I don't want Morata to play, nor do I want Oyarzabal to play!"
When Zabia heard that Morata didn't want to play, he didn't quite understand what Hierro was trying to do.
If the center forward is not allowed to play, which other center forward can Spain use besides Morata?
The center forward candidate Hierro mentioned next made Xavi and Gabia laugh at the same time. They thought Hierro was joking!
"Seriously Hierro, don't tell me you really want Olmo to play center forward!"
"He has never played as a centre-forward, neither for club nor for the national team!"
"If he plays as a center forward, it's better to let Morata play. Really, Morata will definitely be better than him!"
Xavi and Zabia didn't think Olmo could play as a center forward, but Hierro asked them to calm down first.
"Let's think about it. The French team's defenders are obviously strong and obviously weak."
"Lenglet is not good at defending on the ground, and Kimpembe is not good at defending in the air. We let Olmo start. Olmo plays on the ground when he gets the ball. He has better footwork and can make more ground passes!"
"If the ball can't be penetrated on the ground, Lenglet will let Olmo pass the ball to Sarabia, Sarabia will cross the ball and find Lin in the air, asking him to attack Kimpembe and play aerial confrontation with Kimpembe!"
