Slovakia Defeats Italy: How Did They Do It?

Slovakia sends Italy—the defending champions—packing.

How did they do it? Were they that fantastic, or was it because Italy wasn't good enough on this occasion?

The Slovakian team is not bad but it's far from fantastic. The team's performance today was certainly not incredible. I'm not trying to take away from the Slovakians' victory, I am just being objective in analysing their performance.

What was certainly present in the Slovakians' effort today was control, and a person can't say this enough, even if one runs the danger of sounding clichéd: midfield, midfield, midfield...If a team controls the midfield, it controls the game. And Slovakia did that.

The Slovakian defense didn't have to cope with undue pressure from the Italian attack. That also meant that the Slovakians could play the game at their own pace, avoiding frantic decisions on and off the ball.

Again, it meant that they could take advantage of opportunities to drive the ball to their attackers in the spots where the Italian defense was vulnerable. If you ask how or why they were able to score three goals against the favored Italians, there is your answer.

But how Slovakia was able to control the midfield against experienced and quality Italian players is not easy to say. The answer could be that the Slovakian players—though wanting the same level of experience—possess no less quality than the Italians, they are just not as well known.

One thing was vital to the Slovakians' victory in this match: they controlled all the initiative. They also scored first. That gave them the momentum, transferring pressure to the Italians as a result. I'd bet that had Italy scored first, the Slovakian side wouldn't have won the match.

In the final minutes of the game, when momentum began to shift the Italians' way, one thing saved the Slovakians: they scored again. Making the score line 3-1 meant that the wind was taken from of the Italians' collective sail.

When the Italians scored their second goal, they started to believe again, it was, however, too late at that point. If they had more time, with their confidence on the upsurge and the momentum now favoring them, they could have tied the game and advanced to the next round of the World Cup.

I have touched on the pace at which the match was played, which favored the Slovakians. This was vital, as was out-foxing the Italians at pretense, though the referee was not fooled by those tactics.

First it was goalkeeper Jan Mucha, who went down early in the second half from the slightest of challenges from an Italian attacker. Then there was the melee in the goal when the Italians scored their second goal.

Then, of course, there were the usual time-wasting tactics in the dying minutes by the winning side: exaggerating tackles, and making a needless substitution in the final one or two minutes of the game.

These are negatives, but the point is that the Slovakians did not allow the Italians—who are one of the world's best at these tactics—to play that card.

We saw Kader Keita (of Cote d'Ivoire) use this tactic as a reply to the Brazilians, who had begun playing this card in the dying minutes of their game, resulting in Kaka being sent off. The underdogs are catching on that both sides can play that game.

Returning to another question asked in the beginning, was Italy not good enough on this occasion?

The advantage must go the way of the Italians in terms of the quality of players and their combined experience on the pitch. They also had the added advantage of being the current World Champions, and yet again, the advantage of reputation built over the years as a world power in football. So what was wrong with them?

Passion, plain and simple. We saw the Americans play like their lives depended on the outcome of their games, twice when the tide of their matches were against them. Each time they came through.

Had the Italians played with the same passion they displayed in the final 10 minutes of the match, the story would be different. This says a great deal about a nation that is usually not wanting in passion.

The Italians' upsurge in the final minutes and goals showed that it's not difficult to rattle the Slovakians, or score against them. The moral of this is, never put off attending to situations until the last moment. While if you pull it off, it would make for a glorious ending, the chances are you may not have enough time, or luck for that glorious finish. 

This advice comes too late for the Italians but not for the Americans, who have waited until the final minutes to take care of their business thus far. Next time, they may not be so lucky.

The Slovakians may take this advice as well, even though they didn't need it this time. To put it differently, they must continue to take the initiative, for if they do, their Cinderella story may yet continue even against their next opponent, the Dutch.

For now, it is congratulations to them, especially to my friend, Ivana. If you are reading this, I hope you are celebrating, and good luck against the Dutch.