Good morning tactics fans and welcome to the #TFIFriday newsletter – full of analysis, scouting and tactics. Fill up on your football knowledge – follow the Total Football Analysis page and be part of the squad that want more than just a match report.

In the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Brazil coach tweaked the tactics and Pia Sundhage, the manager, deployed some of her players out of their “regular” positions – the result was a 4-0 win over Panama. Sakhu Mpofo explains the plan and breaks the game down.

Xabi Alonso is one of the en-vogue coaches right now and big things are expected of his Leverkusen team this coming season – Luis Kircher gets into the tactics and what we can expect.

ICYMI yesterday, the Belgian Pro League returns this weekend, so our expert Brandon Liss has analysed Anderlecht’s and USG’s performance in the transfer market to decide who has had the better window.

Fintan O’Reilly has dipped into the 8000+ strong archive and found…

Yesterday, Portugal beat Vietnam 2-0 in a crucial World Cup clash for Francisco Neto’s side. The most-represented club in their starting XI — including goalscorer Francisca Nazareth — was Benfica; you can read about the Portuguese champions who emerged victorious from all but one of their league games last season in our 2022/23 team analysis.

Meanwhile, also in Group E, the USA and the Netherlands played out as thrilling a 1-1 draw as you can get in yesterday’s opening game. Lindsey Horan scored the United States’ goal. Now a Lyon player, you can read about how vital she was for Portland Thorns during her time at the NWSL club as well as the USWNT.

Manchester United and PSG are both reportedly chasing Rasmus Højlund at the moment. You can read about how the Atalanta forward stood out big time with Sturm Graz in 2021/22 via our scout report.

Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli are reportedly targeting Matthias Jaissle, having been rejected by Fulham’s Marco Silva. We’ve got all the info you need on the 35-year-old Red Bull Salzburg coach and his tactical preferences.

That’s it for this week – we are back at the same time on Monday. Spread the word!

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