Wednesday 14 September 2016 13:07, UK
From a new role for No 9s to the return of the long ball, a detailed study of Euro 2016 has highlighted football's latest tactical trends.
The UEFA technical report into the France showpiece is an in-depth breakdown of the stats from this summer's European Championships, and also includes insight from 'UEFA's technical team', a group of observers including Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Gareth Southgate.
Here, we pick out a few key points from the study which reflect the ever-changing modern game…
The changing role of a striker
At Euro 2016 18 of the 24 teams led their line with just one solitary frontman. That total includes Germany, who at times played without a striker at all. Eventual winners Portugal were among the minority to play two up top and their success proves a strike partnership is not yet something to be discounted. But a lack of goals by strikers in the group stages raised debate about their role in the modern game.
UEFA technical team member Alain Giresse, a Euro 1984 winner with France, said: "This is a fundemental question when coaches are writing job descriptions for their players. Is the No 9 there to score goals? Or does he give priority to other missions?"
With defences often deep and compact at the tournament, crosses and long-range shooting were the sources of most open-play goals, while just seven goals were scored in 36 group games with through balls. At Euro 2016, frontmen instead worked to maintain possession high up the field and play in team-mates.
Counter attacks not as effective as previously
After Leicester's Premier League heroics, it was an interesting development to see counter-attacks - such a successful tool for Claudio Ranieri's men - so often negated at the Euros. At Euro 2008, 46 per cent of open-play goals had come on the break but at Euro 2012 and 2016 that figure dropped to 23 per cent.
Most of the counter-attack goals scored in France came late on in matches when opponents were searching for a result. Indeed, just three counter-attack goals opened the scoring in Euro 2016 fixtures.
That wasn't necessarily through a lack of trying. Poland coach Adam Nawalka said: "There were times when Germany took the initiative but we gave it to them consciously to allow ourselves space to hit them on the counter-attack." But instead teams on the attack remained prepared for the counter.
The report says "minimising risk was a hallmark of the tournament" and highlights, for instance, the growing trend of teams placing all of their players into a small area of the pitch at goal-kicks. While their chances of winning the ball from the kick were reduced, the high numbers of players in the vicinity gave them a better chance of winning the second or third ball and stopping a counter-attack.
The long ball is back
At Euro 2012 nearly a third of teams at the competition hardly used long balls at all. In fact, 31 per cent of teams used long passes less than 10 per cent of the time. In contrast, at Euro 2016 not one team could claim that. Even Spain (10 per cent), France (11 per cent) and Germany (12 per cent - the same as England) resorted to direct play at times.
This was best highlighted in Spain's knockout tie with Italy. When faced with high pressure from Antonio Conte's men, David de Gea made 19 long passes. He'd made just 20 in the entire group stage.
While Italy's high press was the reason for De Gea's approach, the report suggests deep defences are forcing opponents to go long more often. "After years of focusing on the possession play of Spain, Barcelona or Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich, deep defensive blocks are currently encouraging teams to revert to more direct attacking solutions," it says.
Formation variations
Euro 2016 confirmed 4-2-3-1 is the most fashionable formation of the moment, with 10 teams using the tactic in the summer tournament. However, with the increase to 24 teams, there was a greater variation of systems on show, compared to Euro 2012.
In Poland and Ukraine four years ago, seven of the 16 teams involved went with 4-2-3-1, five opted for 4-3-3, four used 4-4-2 and Italy played 3-5-2.
At this summer's showpiece, there was the 4-5-1 used by Albania and Northern Ireland, with the latter adopting 3-5-2 in their opener against Poland and last-16 match with Wales. Chris Coleman's side had success with 3-4-3, which allowed Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale to support the main striker. The Republic of Ireland, meanwhile, played 4-1-4-1, a variant of the 4-4-2 used by Iceland and Sweden.
While 4-2-3-1 is the favourite formation, there was plenty of evidence this summer to show football managers are increasingly flexible in their approach, depending on their opponent and aims.
Crosses to get around deep blocks
Another solution to the deep defences seen at the tournament was a remarkable increase in crosses. At Euro 2012 there were 26.16 crosses per match on average. Four years on and the average in France had rocketed to 40.76 per match. That's a huge increase of 56 per cent.
It's a trend replicated in the Champions League, where there has been a 24 per cent increase in the number of goals from crosses. Indeed, 35 per cent of open play goals started from out wide in the Champions League last season.
"What has changed from the past is the areas from which crosses are delivered and the type of crosses," England U21 boss Southgate told the report. "There have been a number of inswinging crosses, which tallies with teams increasingly playing opposite-footed wingers, while cutbacks have also become more and more part of the game, as you don't see so many wingers running to the byline and crossing from those wider areas."
Manchester City and Belgium ace Kevin De Bruyne was one of the most frequent crosses at the Euros, making in excess of 10 per game. He also completed 37 per cent of those crosses, one of the best completion rates at the tournament.
