Post by The Globe and Mail

Canada’s run to the round of 16 at the World Cup has drawn the attention of FIFA’s technical study group. The panel features a who’s who of football talent under the guidance of Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development and former Arsenal manager. The group points to the U.S., Ecuador, Canada and Germany as teams “with clear plans to counter-press.” And it reports that winning teams had an average ball recovery time of 14.8 seconds, compared to 18.6 seconds on average for losing sides. Canadian Luc de Fougerolles topped the FIFA power rankings for defenders with a score of 7.4 out of 10, ahead of Spain’s Rodri and Aymeric Laporte, both at 7.3. Fellow Canadian Derek Cornelius was ninth at 7.1. Read more, by The Globe’s sports reporter Neil Davidson: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gDaVNuRg