4-2-3-1 tactical formation and the 'faulty version' named Indonesia

Basics of the 4-2-3-1 formation

Modern football is increasingly pragmatic and perfectionist, and Southeast Asian teams are now applying the 4-2-3-1 formation quite commonly. The characteristic of this formation is 2 holding midfielders in front of a 4-man defense system, including 2 central defenders and 2 full-backs. With 1 striker and 1 attacking midfielder behind, this formation creates an ideal vertical axis and backbone for teams with good central attacking ability.

This formation has 5 players in the midfield when defending (4-5-1) to ensure the necessary numbers. When attacking, 4 players always operate near the 16m50 line, combined with 2 full-backs when pushing up can help form many coordination triangles on the field, creating many options.

Many world-class football teams are applying the 4-2-3-1 formation. Photo: Goal

With 2 holding midfielders, there will usually be 1 midfielder who tends to focus on defense and 1 midfielder who is an all-rounder. These two players not only have the task of bringing the ball up the line but also have to constantly stick to the sidelines, supporting the full-backs who are advancing. Therefore, when attacking, 4-2-3-1 still creates a sense of security.

In general, the 4-2-3-1 formation distributes players across the entire field, thereby serving two tasks: ball control and “pressing”, that is, keeping the ball as long as possible and winning it back as quickly as possible. Teams that apply this formation have many options in attack, from the center, from the left wing, right wing, through balls, long passes, headers, long shots...

However, the weakness of this formation is the position of the two full-backs. Therefore, the supporting role of the central midfielders and the full-backs also becomes heavier. On the other hand, opponents often exploit the space between the central defenders or between the central defenders and full-backs to launch through balls.

In the match against Thailand, Indonesia still did not deploy 4-2-3-1, instead it was 4-3-2-1 with 1 holding midfielder, 2 central midfielders with an attacking tendency, Stefano (10) and Evan Dimas (8). Photo: PSSI

Unlike the formations with 2 strikers, in difficult situations, the attacking midfielders mostly have to retreat to get the ball and support the defense, the striker is at risk of becoming lost up front. This position is usually reserved for tall players, with the ability to press, act as a wall and fight independently.

For the Indonesian team, this formation did not show the diversity and danger it had. Not only did Indonesia attack in a confused manner, but they also completely failed in defense when facing Thailand (lost 0-3), Malaysia (lost 2-3) and UAE (0-5).

There are two reasons for Indonesia’s poor results. Firstly, Coach McMenemy has just taken charge of the Indonesian national team and his playing style is still flawed. Secondly, Indonesian players are not at 100% fitness and form. Partly because Coach McMenemy’s players are at a disadvantage due to the domestic tournament schedule.

Box: The Indonesian national team has just called up naturalized center back Otavio Dutra to prepare for the match against Vietnam. The Brazilian-born player is 1.90m tall and of Brazilian descent. Currently, Otavio Dutra plays for Persebaya Surabaya Club and has never played for the Indonesian national team before.

Disorder of both defense and offense systems

Despite having to replace goalkeeper Andritany with Wawan, Indonesia has conceded a total of 11 goals in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Of these, 2 were penalties due to fouls and handballs in the penalty area.

In the 0-3 loss to Thailand, Indonesia's two defensive midfielders and two central defenders failed to fulfill their responsibilities, allowing Supachok to have space and shoot from a distance. In the third goal, the loss of concentration allowed Thailand to take advantage of the space behind the right-back.

Indonesia's lineup for the match between Malaysia and UAE formed a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders. Photo: Bola

Similarly, in Malaysia's 1-1 equalizer, Indonesia's right-back also left his position and the team's defense collapsed in an undisciplined manner, allowing Sumareh to escape comfortably.

The second goal conceded in that match, the Indonesian goalkeeper was in such poor form and the central defenders lacked the necessary concentration to allow Syafig to head the ball across the face. Once again, Indonesia's weakness on the wing was exploited by Malaysia for the third goal. That was the ball where Matthew Davies' low cross completely defeated the Indonesian defense.

In a 0-5 loss to a team with speed and diverse attacks like UAE, Indonesia's defense was too confused and conceded the first goal when goalkeeper Wawan made a mistake. A careless pass back from central midfielder Zulfiandi (number 4) caused Indonesia to concede the second goal.

If the third goal was lost, the Indonesian captain deliberately used his hand to play the ball, then in the fourth goal, the offside trap of this team once again caused disaster when Gavin (11) stood too low compared to his teammates, creating conditions for the number 7 of the UAE side to easily escape and face the goalkeeper. The fifth goal came from an indecisive push of the Indonesian goalkeeper.

In the 3 matches, Coach McMenemy also showed his inability in personnel matters when he continuously made changes in the squad, especially in the goalkeeper, right-back and defensive midfielder positions. The weakest positions in the Indonesian squad.

If in the match against Thailand it was goalkeeper Andritany, central defender Hansamu Yama (23) - Rudolof Basna (5), right back Yustinus Pae (3) and left back Ruben Sanadi (14), then in the match against Malaysia, the head coach of Indonesia put central defender Rudolof Basna and left back Ruben Sanadi on the bench.

The central midfield trio of Stefano Lilpaly (10), Manahati Hanif (16) and Evan Dimas (8) tended to attack, but in the match against Malaysia and UAE, only Zulfiandi and Hanif remained, with winger Irfan Bachdim (17) moving into the middle to support right behind veteran Beto Goncalves (9).

Coach Simon McMenemy has not had much time with the Indonesian national team. Photo: PSSI

Unlike the match against Thailand, Indonesia's two full-backs against Malaysia and UAE were also in disarray with Ricky Fajrin (15) on the left wing and Gavin Kwan (11) on the right wing. In short, each individual in the Indonesian squad did not fulfill their duties and the stability in the opponent's defensive system was also lacking.

Overall, Indonesia's weakest point is the defensive support ability of the highly anticipated holding midfielder pair, the two full-backs cannot control their positions and the offside trap ability of the Indonesian defenders is extremely poor.

Malaysia and UAE have exploited this weakness very well to tear apart the defense. With the Vietnam team, we can completely rely on the speed of the 3 players above, Van Toan, Quang Hai and Cong Phuong, from there taking advantage of the high passes with falling points of Hung Dung or Que Ngoc Hai like in the recent match against Malaysia.

With Tuan Anh absent, Duc Huy will likely be the name to pair with Hung Dung to strengthen the steel. Indonesia is a team with physical strength, not afraid of collision and many tricks to create advantages on the field.

Duc Huy will likely replace the injured Tuan Anh. Photo: Hai Hoang

Indonesia's attack is still highly rated with striker Beto Goncalves (9) above. Although he is 38 years old, the Brazilian striker has experience, cunning and excellent long-range shooting ability. In the match against Malaysia, this player was successful once with a shot from close to the 16m50 line.

Objectively speaking, in the match against Malaysia, Indonesia applied the 4-2-3-1 formation and attacked quite effectively with 2 goals. However, their messy and loose defense system caused the home team to lose the match in the final minutes.

In the past, Vietnam has not had a good record against Indonesia. Specifically, the two teams have met 23 times in the past in all major and minor tournaments. Indonesia has the advantage as the team with more wins with 9 times. Meanwhile, Vietnam has only defeated its opponent 5 times.

In the last 5 matches, Vietnam has only won Indonesia once and in recent years, the head-to-head record between the two teams has been very balanced. However, the past is only the past, the Vietnam team comes to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers with the mindset of a champion of the AFF Cup 2018 and is also of a higher level than Indonesia.

With the solid defensive style of 3-4-3 brought by Coach Park Hang-seo, the Vietnam team can completely confidently deal with Indonesia in Bali. However, in the context of Anh Duc just returning from injury, the absence of Phan Van Duc has also partly made the Vietnam team have fewer options in attack.

The possibility of Vietnam winning against Indonesia in the match at Kapten I Wayan Dipta tomorrow (October 15) is very high, but with the pragmatism of the 5-defender formation and Cong Phuong's not-so-best form, it is predicted that Vietnam will find it difficult to create a big win.

'Vietnam national team has learned about Indonesia's strengths and weaknesses'

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of October 13, the Vietnam National Team had its second training session in Bali (Indonesia) before the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against the host team. During this training session, striker Nguyen Cong Phuong revealed that the Vietnam National Team had carefully studied the host team's playing style and shared about his own performance.