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The Athletic FC Tactics Podcast
How To Win The World Cup
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Host Ali Maxwell and The Athletic's Michael Cox delve into World Cup data from every tournament since 1998 in an attempt to establish the anatomy of a World Cup-winning team...
How good do you actually have to be to win a World Cup? Is current form actually the best reason to pick a player and how big a role experience plays on the biggest stage of all.
Plus, odd trends involving unlikely stars of the tournament, slow-starters in the group stages, non-goalscoring no.9s, clean sheet records, Didier Deschamps' underrated tactical intelligence and plenty more myth-busting besides.
... Make sure you're subscribed to this feed to ensure you catch our two-part World Cup 2022 preview podcasts next week.
Produced by Adonis Pratsides
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