World Cup Takeaways #1

June 11th to June 14th

Hello! It’s been a little while since I’ve been on this space writing about football. You would think my first post in more than three years would be about my beloved Arsenal winning the Premier League for the first time in twenty-two years (YES, WE ARE CHAMPIONS OF ENGLAND). But that will come later.

For now, my plan to return to this space is to share three half-baked takeaways, each from a different game, during the following weeks of the FIFA World Cup. These takeaways will cover a wide range of topics, from focusing on tactical trends to highlighting incredible goals, and overanalyzing refereeing decisions. Some of these takes will be more serious, others less so. Some will allow me to air my football grievances, and others will allow me to declare my love for certain players. But all takes will be in pursuit of the ultimate goal of converting readers (my parents and grandparents) to my way of watching and enjoying football (lol).

With a record-setting forty-eight teams, the storylines and questions leading into the 23rd edition of the competition are boundless. Which of the host nations will go the farthest (USA)? Will teams be able to press at a high intensity given the weather conditions (maybe)? Will Messi or Ronaldo have the better swan-song tournament (obviously Messi)? Is Lamine Yamal ready to establish himself as the best player in the world (sure!)? Is football coming home (I think it is…)?

We can’t, however, escape the unacceptable political backdrop of this tournament. From the illegal and unjust war in Iran to Omar Abdulkadir Artan being denied entry to referee at the World Cup, the United States government seems hell-bent on ruining this magical moment. Yet after seeing images of fans coming together at the start of this tournament, I’m hopeful that the worldwide football community can prove that nothing can get in the way of celebrating the beautiful game together.

So without further ado, here are my three half-baked takeaways from Week One (June 11th — June 14th) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup:

#1 Willing Runners and Willing Passers (South Korea 2–1 Czechia, 6/11)

After watching this game, I’m very excited to watch more of this South Korean team. The team showed a solid defensive structure in their 3–4–3. Both Hwang In-beom and Lee Kang-in impressed with their technical skill and ability to control the tempo in Korea’s favor.

But for me, the biggest takeaway from Korea’s impressive opening victory was how they broke down Czechia’s stubborn defense. Czechia defended in a back five, attempting to go man-to-man with Korea’s front three and wing-backs. Korea’s response to this tactic was to pull apart the Czechia back line with off-ball rotations and constant runs in behind. Korea’s front three dropped into the middle third to receive the ball and overload the Czechia midfield. Czechia, to counter this, tasked their center backs to follow the likes of Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung into midfield to give them less time on the ball. As a result, huge spaces opened up in the center-left and center-right channels of the Czechia defense. South Korea exploited this with a combination of constant runs in behind (from their wing-backs and midfielders rotating into the attacking positions) and a willingness to consistently play passes into the open spaces.

This could be seen with their winning goal in the 80th minute. As the ball arrives at Paik Seung-ho, Lee Kang-in checks towards him to receive the ball. Ladislav Krejčí, the Czechia center back, follows him into midfield, allowing him no space to turn if he receives it. So instead of playing the ball to Lee Kang-in, Paik Seung-ho instead plays a lofted ball into the space for Hwang In-beom, who makes a third-man run into the space created by Lee Kang-in and vacated by Krejčí. With Czechia’s defense now disorganized, they had no chance of stopping Hwang In-beom’s cross, which was finished by Oh Hyeon-gyu.

It will certainly be interesting to see if South Korea can generate similar success with this tactic against Mexico’s defense this coming Thursday.

#2 USA, USA, USA (USA 4–1 Paraguay, 6/12)

That was, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest game I have ever seen from the USMNT at a FIFA World Cup. My brother said he didn’t recognize this performance as one from a United States team at a World Cup, and I couldn’t agree more. Not only did we physically outmatch Paraguay, but the control we showed on the ball, led by Tim Ream, Tyler Adams, and Christian Pulisic, was impressive. The 3–2 build-up at the back and the dynamism of Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest on each flank gave the likes of Pulisic and Weston McKennie more freedom to take up advanced central positions that pushed the Paraguayan line back. Mauricio Pochettino seems to have cooked up a tactical blueprint that can be used for the rest of the group stage. The inclusion of Dest as the “right-winger” also gives this team defensive flexibility in the knockout stage against better teams, as he can easily drop deeper to form a back five. Usually it’s the USWNT and “Triple Espresso” that make me proud to be an American soccer fan. But after Friday night, this USMNT has me singing the Star-Spangled Banner and dreaming of a World Cup final (I’m joking). Let’s see what they can achieve this tournament.

#3 I’m Sad :( (Netherlands 2–2 Japan, 6/14)

This was an exciting game with two technical teams, plenty of chances, and some lovely goals. But I was still left disappointed. Why? Because my favorite Dutch and Japanese lads are injured and not at this World Cup.

Jurriën Timber, Arsenal’s star right-back, had to withdraw from the Netherlands squad after rushing back to play in the Champions League final. Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton’s free-flying winger, didn’t make the final Japanese squad due to a hamstring injury.

These two players easily would have been some of my favorites at this tournament. Timber is a lockdown tank of a defender with an incredible ability to dribble through an opposition press. He is the best right-back in the Premier League (and a Premier League champion). Mitoma, as a winger, is too much fun to watch. The way he can easily glide past defenders with simple body feints is so impressive. The guy literally wrote a thesis on understanding the science behind one-v-one duels on the pitch.

So yeah, I guess this game was a good watch. But let me be sad that I didn’t get to watch these two stars.

COYG