The World cup kicked with the hosts Russia turning on the style in demolishing Saudi Arabia by a total of 5 goals without a reply.
The tactics played out well for Russia and they now need to win another match to be in a good position to progress to the latter stages of the competition.
The hosts utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that was no match for their counterparts’ experimental 4-1-4-1 formation.
But how will these formations be effective at the World Cup?
Let’s have a look at some of the trending formations that will be utilized by some of the top teams to grind results or overcome their opponents.
1. 4-2-3-1
In this formation, a team plays with a lone striker as the target man and the pivot of the team. The play is directed at him and the teams performance in the final third is largely depended on the lone strikers to hold up possession and wait for support or to bully defenders and find ways through on goal.
2. 4-1-4-1
This formation requires that players are extremely versatile with infinite ability to switch positions when being pressure or when without the ball.
It makes use of four attacking minded players playing in front of the holding midfielder whose role is to primarily break attacks and disrupt possession.
3. 4-4-1-1
This is a more manipulable formation as it can easily be switched to a 4-4-2 formation or a possession-based 4-3-3 depending on the available players on the pitch.
The supporting striker taking up the number ten role plays just behind the main striker and the two can switch positions at any point in the game or play on a leveled position upfront.
4. 4-4-2 [Narrow and Diamond Midfield]
In the 4-4-2 narrow formation, the wingers are drifted into the play while horizontally lying central midfielders occupy the centre of the park. This formation is used to command complete control of the midfield and ensure that the strikers or attackers are well fed.
The 4-4-2 diamond midfield is utilized by most teams who are currently at the world cup.
5.3-4-3
This formation has been adopted by most sides in world football and put to use in the past two years. It works well with really versatile players as the wingbacks playing on either side of two central midfielders are attack-minded defenders.
This means that the formation can easily switch to 5-2-3 when possession is lost or when the team is under attack.
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