Liverpool target Nabil Fekir should play ahead of Paul Pogba for France and other World Cup team fixes

Chris Bailey 18:03 08/06/2018
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  • The very best teams at the World Cup may make their opponents weak at the knees but, dig beneath the surface, and you’ll find that even the big boys are facing big questions.

    Here we probe the elite’s frailties and potential solutions starting with the top contenders from Groups A through D: Spain, Portugal, France and Argentina.

    SPAIN

    0806-WC-WEAKNESS SPAIN-new(1)

    Problem: Choosing the most effective striker

    The era of Fernando Torres and David Villa this is decidedly not. Such is the murkiness around Spain’s best forward options that it was judged more than a mild shock that a misfiring Alvaro Morata was deemed surplus to requirements.

    Diego Costa, Iago Aspas and Rodrigo have all had their moments in a Spain shirt but none of them fit like a glove around La Roja’s sleight of hand. Costa started the friendly draw with Switzerland and though he dwarfs his midfield minions in physicality, too often he scuppers attacks with a sub-par first touch.

    Aspas – once a figure of fun at Liverpool, now a 20-plus goal-a-season marksman for Celta Vigo – and Valencia’s Rodrigo are both in their element when playing off the last man as opposed to playing pinball in the final third.

    Solution: Start with a false No.9

    Spain coach Julen Lopetegui could just adapt his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation with a striker who isn’t truly there – the false No.9.

    If any side are set up to do just that, it’s Spain. David Silva, Marco Asensio and Isco, with one of Thiago or Koke alongside Andres Iniesta, will be able to suck defenders into the abyss.

    A free-roaming Isco can open up pockets of space – he’s Lionel Messi-lite for Spain – and then La Roja, so often accused of being one-dimensional, have a Plan B (Costa) and Plan C (Rodrigo/Aspas) off the bench.

    PORTUGAL

    0806-WC-WEAKNESS PORTUGAL-NEW

    Problem: Severe lack of pace in defence

    The combined age of Pepe, Bruno Alves and Jose Fonte is 105. That’s enough to make us all feel young again.

    Experience only makes up for so much of this. Pepe now plays for Besiktas, not Real Madrid, Fonte’s first game for Chinese club Dalian Yifang ended in an 8-0 defeat while Alves played just 20 league games for Rangers last season.

    Protecting the centre-back pairing in midfield is William Carvalho, a brute of a man who is quietly skillful yet has not been blessed with pace.

    This means the back-line has to sit deep with or without the ball – such is the risk they will be beaten over the top or slow to react to a sudden loss of possession.

    Solution: Play Ruben Dias

    On one hand the World Cup isn’t the ideal time to introduce the next generation. On the other hand four years is a long time to wonder what could have been.

    Benfica centre-back Ruben Dias, who is just 21, earned his first cap last month and has been linked with a big-money move to Arsenal.

    Tender in years he may be but he has swiftly been nicknamed ‘the Bodyguard’ given his manhandling of more experienced opponents.

    Dias can make up for in athleticism what the wily Pepe lacks if played alongside him. Youth worked in Portugal’s favour with Renato Sanches two years ago – fingers crossed against a similar regression.

    FRANCE

    0806-WC-WEAKNESS FRANCE

    Problem: How to get the best out of Paul Pogba

    While Paul Pogba gets a new haircut each week, many of his well-wishers simply tear their follicles out in frustration.

    The player who threatened to be great at Juventus has not shown a single shred of consistency for Manchester United, and crucially for Didier Deschamps, France.

    Too often apologists have claimed Pogba need only play in his favoured position on the left of a midfield three but he does so for Les Bleus on a regular basis and is just as likely to gallop around aimlessly as he is to make jaws drop in the right way.

    Solution: Drop Pogba

    If Deschamps needs reminding, he has a coterie of talent at his disposal. While it could be argued that Pogba is the most naturally gifted of the lot there are numerous players in the squad who have enjoyed far more productive seasons.

    With N’Golo Kante the forager and Blaise Matuidi yo-yoing from box to box, France need someone who can consistently make the right decisions and speed play up for Antoine Griezmann et al.

    Step forward Liverpool-bound Nabil Fekir, who arrives in Russia after an incredible season for Lyon that saw him score 18 goals and set up countless more.

    It’s time to put ‘reputations’ to one side.

    ARGENTINA

    0806-WC-WEAKNESS ARGENTINA

    Problem: Fixing a disjointed attack

    As foolish as it sounds to criticise an attacking line-up that boasts Messi, Argentina were simply hideous on the goals front during their qualification campaign.

    Jorge Sampaoli’s side mustered 19 goals in 18 games. The situation was so dire that he was forced to drop serial Serie A goal-getters Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Mauro Icardi due to their ineffectiveness.

    Only Icardi failed to make the cut but there are still concerns. Sampaoli has admitted Dybala occupies too many of the same spaces as Messi – while Higuain is now arguably past his peak as the spearhead.

    To make matters worse Manuel Lanzini, a viable option as an inside forward or just behind, succumbed to a summer-ending knee injury on Friday.

    Solution: Create width

    Argentina have had a ramshackle build-up, playing just one warm-up game, but extra time on the training pitch should do them good (apart from the unfortunate Lanzini).

    Let Messi do whatever he wants. He know better than you, me and Sampaoli. But the Chilean coach should hammer into his players the importance of width.

    With Sampaoli veering towards a 4-4-2 formation, and Lanzini out, Di Maria and Dybala are now seemingly their best options on the wings.

    They will naturally drift inside on occasion, of course, but not to the extent that they cross wires with Messi. And a few crosses out wide should help extract the best out of Higuain. It’ll be difficult on the right for either left-footed player. They should be talented enough to adapt.

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