Mexico Vs Germany: This was MLS tactics at their best

Mexico dismantled World Champions Germany in their opening match of the 2018 World Cup. And they did it with MLS tactics. This was Juan Carlos Osorio utilising the MLS approach at its very best.

Germany was never meant to be an easy start to the 2018 World Cup for Mexico. It didn’t seem like that. Not only was it the El Tri that waltzed away with the three points and their Group F destiny in their own hands, but they could and should have won by far more than the slender goal that they did win by.

The 1-0 scoreline was harsh on Mexico, which is staggering considering the quality of their opposition. And yet, that is a picture of their dominance, even if the possession stats perhaps paint a different story.

Because Mexico were brilliant in their dismantling of the Germans. And they were brilliant because the oft-criticism, ever-infuriating Juan Carlos Osorio adopted a very MLS tactic.

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Speed was the name of the game for Osorio’s side. Excellent in transition when Germany lost possession, it was the speed at which Mexico played that carved open Die Mannschaft. And not just the speed of their players, though an attacking quartet that featured LAFC’s Carlos Vela was blisteringly quick. It was the directness of their distribution, immediately looking forwards. The speed of thought, to pick and execute the right passes quickly. The relentless pace at which they pressed the Germans deep in their own territory. The out-ran the World Champions.

That is a typically MLS tactic. As an Englishman, I grew up with Premier League football. I have a far deeper experience of English and continental European tactics. So when it came to first watching MLS games, I couldn’t believe the difference in style. At times, it looked like a different sport.

The natural athleticism of the players, the break-neck counter-attacks that almost all managers employed, the speed of almost every single player on the pitch, the lack of slow but controlled possession, in favour of a more direct approach. This is the strategy that Osorio used with Mexico. It worked wonderfully.

It was perhaps most evident from corners. Mexico would deliberately leave three attackers up the pitch. Germany were therefore forced to drop an extra defender in a deeper area, meaning that they had fewer players in the penalty box. As soon as there was an opportunity to clear, any defender would play a long pass as far up the pitch as possible, hoping to catch the Germans out with an overload of already advanced attackers.

While this tactic is from a set play, Osorio clearly wanted his players to do the same thing in open play. Whenever Germany lost the ball, long clearances were pumped up to Javier Hernandez and Vela to circumnavigate the midfield and give the pacy Mexico attackers a chance to drive into space against far less mobile defenders. Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, consequently, were utterly exposed time and time again.

Next: Mexico Vs Germany: 3 things we learned

Had it not been for wasteful finishing, poor decision-making and wayward passing, this could very well have been a three or four-goal victory. In all honesty, it should have been. And that is all because of the adopting of MLS tactics that Osorio employed. This was such a strategy at its very best, and it beat the best national team in the world. Oh, my.

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