Finally, if teams are going to get results against strong opposition, they ideally need to create their own threat on the ball.
South Africa had 14 shots to South Koreaโs seven in the match, while having only 31% possession.
Central to this was their ability to get the ball onto the pitch more consciously, rather than simply playing out wide.
The underdogs who did well often played with short goal kicks, drawing pressure from the larger nations who were more prone to high pressing before breaking them into groups of players in space.
Weโve seen teams like Cape Verde, Iraq and South Africa use short goal kicks by interestingly positioning players far apart.
The idea is that by creating greater distances between players, opponents who want to press individually must travel greater distances to close down the opponent. During this time, defenders will be able to find midfielders and strikers in space.