A 3-man defense is undefeated against a 4-man defense

Interesting.

quote:

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A three-man defence has played a four-man defence (at least from the start)

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Makes me wonder how many of these 3-man-D teams grabbed the early lead and then put in a 4th defender?

A 3 man defense can easily become a 5 man defense when the wingbacks stay back. What's been most interesting is that the 3 man defense is usually deployed against two strikers, but this tournament they've been deployed against a lone striker, which creates a mismatch in midfield usually. The Netherlands made an an adjustment to a 4 man defense in the second half during the Spain game, as they had a hard time picking up Costa in the first half.

That's a good point, but a false 9 with dynamic movement could stretch the CB's as long as the midfield battle favors the opposition.

The 3 man defense also frees 2 players for attack instead of one, putting pressure on the opposition while conceding possession.