For fans of the Icelandic women’s top flight, the Besta deild kvenna, the news that Valur Women have won the 2023 league title will have come as no surprise, with it being their fourth in the last five years and their 14th overall, putting them second in the all-time standings and taking them one step closer to Breiðablik Women, who sit top of the tree on 18.
However, it was not as straightforward a victory as some might have imagined, with Valur needing to negotiate a few obstacles as the season went on and, at times, having to overcome inconsistency and indifferent form on their road to glory, especially during the final few weeks when they only won two of their last five matches.
Nevertheless, despite any concerns that some may have had, Valur came through and won the league by six points in the end, and what many will point to when assessing what has allowed them to lift the trophy once again is the way that they play with simple tactics that are executed correctly so much of the time. It is easy for some coaches and teams to start implementing complicated ideas and complex systems, but Valur prefer to rely on basic ideas and on working hard to get the detail of their play right, as this tactical analysis will show.
Attacking variety
The first aspect of Valur Women’s play that this scout report will focus on is their ability to alternate how they create chances around the field, with them having a multitude of methods that they can turn to as they build momentum with the ball and ensure that unpredictability is at the heart of everything that they do.
Against teams who favour a high back line, for example, Valur have tended to focus more on long balls and on accessing the spaces behind opposing defenders as early as possible, with them employing a more direct style of play and not taking too many touches of the ball before sending it up the field.
That is not to say that they rush things, though, because there is still a great deal of calmness and composure as players go through processes and pick the right moments to release the ball. That was shown clearly during the visit of Keflavík Women, with defender Arna Ásgrímsdóttir initially shaping to take the ball towards the far side of the pitch here before making a sharp change in direction and instead sending it towards Keflavík’s third.
It might appear to some that this was a moment of indecision, but it was actually her way of creating a route to send the ball through by taking Margrét Lea Gísladóttir out of the way, with the latter initially positioned as if to stop the long pass from being attempted. However, Valur again had no concerns over that, and the result was that Ásgrímsdóttir was able to find her intended target here and to allow fellow Iceland international Amanda Andradóttir to put the ball into the Keflavík net with relative ease.
Valur do have a 61.6% accuracy, specifically for passes to the final third, but that is not the only way that they look to build chances and put their opponents under pressure. Against those who tend to sit back more and who don’t leave as much territory available to aim for, Pétur Pétursson’s side change things up and instead rely on the quality of their passing, with them having an overall accuracy of 80.7% for 2023, to keep moving the ball up the pitch and into promising areas.
The trip to Hafnarfjörður-based FH Women was one of those matches in which they needed to keep the ball on the ground more, and Valur were able to demonstrate another side to their game through players connecting with each other and constructing one-touch passing sequences as they progressed the ball through the FH ranks.
It proved to be just as effective in getting the ball into dangerous areas and in allowing Valur to test their luck, with Ísabella Sara Tryggvadóttir finding the back of the net here after combining with fellow forward Bryndís Arna Níelsdóttir to take two FH players out of the game. The critical thing to note here is the speed at which this move happened, with the defenders simply unable to react due to the decisiveness with which Valur passed the ball between them.
The champions topped the scoring charts in the 2023 Besta deild kvenna with 52 goals, at an average of 2.26 per game, and it is not hard to see why when looking at situations like this.
Even when they don’t have the ball, Valur are a difficult team to keep quiet, with there being some games when they have elected to press high up the field rather than waiting for their opponents to make a mistake. As with every aspect of their play, though, this is not a tactic they deploy in every game; instead, they wait for the appropriate moments to come along before committing to instigating it.
Pressing may appear to be an easy thing to do, but it is actually quite challenging to get right because it relies so heavily on the whole team working as one and buying into it as a concept, and not doing so could be the difference between opponents having no way out and them being able to move the ball around attackers and to take them out of the game.
Fortunately for Valur, they have rarely had any problems with it, and the trip to Selfoss Women was one match in which fans were allowed to witness the quality of their press in its full effect. In this situation, the home side have tried to play out from the back but have been put under instant pressure, with American forward Haley Lanier Berg getting tight to Áslaug Dóra Sigurbjörnsdóttir before Tryggvadóttir supported her by closing down Bergrós Ásgeirsdóttir on the near side of the field. The coordination of the team move meant that there was never an opportunity for Selfoss to play around them and to negate the threat.
Given how Valur executed the press, it was no surprise to anyone watching that Selfoss very quickly lost the ball and was scored within a few phases by Níelsdóttir, who had run into the middle in anticipation of a chance potentially coming about. However, it is still the case that Valur needed to get each aspect of the press right to create the opportunity in the first place, and that is the key point here as it again shows how they can vary their attacking play and again make themselves as unpredictable to play against as possible.
Use of the wings
When looking at how Valur Women have set themselves up structurally throughout the campaign, what has been especially noticeable is how they have depended heavily on using the wings to make the pitch as big as possible, and this is something that is worth exploring in detail as it shows again how their success is built on simplicity.
This starts inside their own half of the field, with the defensive line tasked with providing the blueprint for the team when they regain possession. The way the full-backs are standing virtually on the sidelines here indicates how prominent that desire to make the pitch as big as possible is regardless of where the ball is positioned on the field.
The main reason that they play this way is that it makes it a lot harder for opposing sides to isolate the ball and to win it back, with there always being options for it to be moved to should a press be attempted, and the way that Keflavík are not seeking to apply any significant pressure here indicates how they recognise the futility of closing the ball down for this reason.
When considering this, it is not hard to see why Valur have averaged 56.67% possession during the 2023 season, and it is also not hard to see why opponents have often found it difficult to limit their attacking capabilities once they have the ball.
As a result, it has been common to see Valur get into areas like this and ask multiple questions of their opponents. Set pieces have been a noticeable example of when this ability to switch the ball from side to side has given them an edge.
To explain, Valur have the ball here following a corner and have taken it back into a deeper area of the pitch, and now the aim is clearly for Málfríður Anna Eiríksdóttir to try and send the ball into the collection of bodies in front of her to see if she can set up a shot on goal. However, she very quickly realises that doing so would give Þróttur Reykjavik an easy chance of winning the ball and clearing their lines, with them still having plenty of players back as they tried to protect their goal at the corner.
Therefore, Eiríksdóttir instead sends the ball across the pitch to where she has a teammate waiting, and this is where the natural ability of the Valur players to make cross-field passes allows them to be patient and to again wait for the right moment to deliver the ball into the middle. It also forces the issue with regards to the opponents, with Þróttur’s players following the pass here and leaving a gap open for Valur to exploit, which they take full advantage of through Níelsdóttir as she sends the ball into the net as soon as it arrives at her feet.
Therefore, again, this shows how Valur’s use of the wings and ability to move the ball around the pitch is a crucial aspect of their overall game plan, and there is little doubting that it has been a primary reason for them lifting the league trophy once again.
However, there is again variety in the way that they use the wide channels, with them not only sending in early deliveries like that one but also taking it towards the goal line before pulling it back for teammates. In this case, Andradóttir has opted for the latter, with her now tight to the edge of the pitch whilst under pressure from Stjarnan Women’s Sædís Rún Heiðarsdóttir before creating a chance for Ásdís Karen Halldórsdóttir to shoot at goal from.
Even though this effort doesn’t lead to a goal, with Halldórsdóttir’s effort travelling over the crossbar, the fact that the chance came about at all is down to Valur’s ability to mix up their play. On this occasion, it once again forced the opposing side into abandoning their defensive shape and closing the ball down, too, just as the previous example did, opening up the pocket of space for Halldórsdóttir to shoot at goal from.
Therefore, regardless of what Valur look to do in these areas, they always pose a threat, which is important when looking at why they were able to secure another league title.
Taking the ball up to the goal line is not uncommon in Icelandic tactics, with many teams including it as a critical part of their game plans, so the fact that Valur play this way is not a surprise.
However, as this graphic shows, it is the vast variety of things that they can do that really matters here, with them able to send in early balls or hold onto it for extended periods of play and the fact that opponents generally never know which they will look to do until it happens is one of the main reasons that they have been so difficult to play against as the season has gone on.
Defensive structure
However, as with any successful team, attacking is only half of the story, and defending as a team and not being too easy to break down have played just as significant a role in Valur Women securing a third consecutive Besta deild kvenna triumph.
The key reason for that is again keeping things simple; in this case, their structure demonstrates that, with clear tactical principles to which the whole team subscribes.
One of those that is at the forefront of everything that they do is the need for three players to be at the back at all times, regardless of where the ball is on the pitch, and this has proven instrumental in allowing them to slow opposing attacks down and to ensure that they don’t get caught out whenever they concede possession.
Against teams like Þór/KA, who have some very dangerous players in their squad and who were one of the leading title contenders for much of the season, this was crucial, as they are a team capable of launching rapid counterattacks and so slowing their advance down was always going to be necessary if Valur were to prevent them from finding ways into the space behind them whenever they gained the ball.
In this case, the three-player shape has done just that, with Þór/KA now unable to maintain the momentum they had built up until this point and instead forced to look in another direction as they try to keep the ball.
On this occasion, that meant sending it towards Margrét Árnadóttir in the middle, slowing them down and allowing Valur to come out and close the ball down. However, they need to ensure that they don’t leave a gap open behind them whilst doing so, and that is where the teamwork element in their defensive setup really comes into the equation.
At this point, despite wanting to move forward and secure possession, Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir is unable to do so and instead has to hold her position, but once Eiríksdóttir tracks back, she can then move out and force an error from Árnadóttir.
This is not the only time that there has been a rotation like this in Valur’s defensive line. It not only allows critical players to get into areas where they can have an effect on the game but also demonstrates again how the whole team understand the need to keep three players back and why it benefits them to do so.
Another advantage of having this structure in place is that it can lead to teams who do manage to break through the line being unable to convert their attacking runs into anything meaningful. In this case, Breiðablik’s Birta Georgsdóttir has done just that and is now looking to find Agla María Albertsdóttir inside the goal area. Still, the way that both Lillý Rut Hlynsdóttir and Ásgrímsdóttir have set up here means that she only has a very tight corridor through which to send the ball if she is to avoid it being intercepted before reaching her teammate.
On this occasion, she is unable to keep the ball away from Valur, and Ásgrímsdóttir wins the ball to end the threat; this shows again how Valur’s robust line and insistence on having three players as their rearguard at all times has paid dividends for them and has made them a really tough team to score against.
It is of no surprise that they had the best defensive record in the league last season, with 19 goals conceded at an average of 0.83 per game, and won both 68% of their defensive duels and 53.5% of their aerial duels when considering how they dealt with situations like this which could have been very costly for them.
However, as with every aspect of their play, there is a lot of variety in how they defend, and they can adapt to different situations as needed and change between tactics as required. In this case, with Breiðablik once again in a promising area and looking to shoot at goal through Albertsdóttir, a straight line would not have the right effect, as it would only allow Breiðablik to keep the ball and to move it around as they try to fashion a route through to goal.
Therefore, Valur have changed to a player-to-player setup, with Eiríksdóttir closing Albertsdóttir down. All three of the other Breiðablik players are picked up by a defender, and the result is that once Albertsdóttir’s shot is deflected into the air, it is not easy for her teammates to win the ball first and to get a clean shot away at goal.
Whilst it is a different look, the critical characteristics of teamwork and organisation highlighted throughout this analysis are once again clear to see, and that shows again how keeping things simple is at the heart of Valur’s title win.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has taken a closer look at Valur Women, who were crowned champions of the Besta deild kvenna at the weekend and who have once again had a season to remember. It has not been a straightforward campaign for them, with a few tricky periods needing to be navigated over the last few months, but they will be happy to have done so and to have emerged with the trophy once again firmly in their grasp.
It is worth remembering that, whilst the domestic side of things has now come to an end, Valur’s season is not yet over, with them in Champions League action and still in contention to reach the 2023/24 group stages. To do so, they must get past Austrian side St Pölten Frauen in a two-legged tie, which could be difficult after their 4-0 first-leg defeat at home on Tuesday night.
However, they will still harbour hopes of making it through and of competing alongside already-qualified Barcelona Femení, Lyon Féminin, Bayern Munich Frauen and Chelsea Women for the chance to reach the knockouts, and the resilience that they have shown throughout their 2023 domestic campaign will stand them in great stead as they look to extend their season for another few months.
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