Two midfielders — young and energetic — will be carrying the hopes of their respective countries in the World Cup quarter-final clash in Dallas on Monday.
Pedri of Spain and Portugal’s Vitinha have shrugged off their rigidity that was so much visible in the early part of the tournament and now are slowly getting back into the groove. Monday will be the day when world football’s two most talented midfielders will reignite the debate of who is the best.
The punishing schedule of modern-day football had initially prevented them from taking their club form to the World Cup — players’ fatigue is one aspect that has become one of the prime concerns in the build-up to the tournament — but it’s no denying they are too good a player to be caged for long.
Pedri is the driving force of the Barcelona engine. Pulling the strings, doing tireless running, conjuring a forward move when it seems the only option is to play the ball to the goalkeeper.
His vision is exemplary, and that’s why he is the automatic choice of coaches, be it Hansi Flick at Barca or Luis de la Fuente in the Spain national team.
De la Fuente was using him as an advanced midfielder, something Pedri does not do for his club. There, he plays a much deeper role, allowing him to dictate the tempo of the match. De la Fuente had defended his decision. “For me, Pedri is better for Spain than he is for Barcelona!” he had said last month.
Pedri was in his own self in the 4-3-3 formation De Fa Funete employed against Austria, where he played much deeper. Whenever Austria tried to press aggressively, Pedri found pockets of space to link up with either Rodri or Dani Olmo.
That is what Pedri loves to do, dictate the tempo. He does not do much chasing.
Now 23, Pedri was a promising teenager in the Qatar World Cup in 2022 under then-national coach Luis Enrique. Once Hansi Flick took over the reins at Barca, Pedri soared. He has transformed into one of those midfielders Spain are known to have produced consistently.
His fitness has improved — the breakdown after more than 70 matches in 2021 when he played for Barcelona, Spain in Euro and the Tokyo Olympic Games is now a thing of the past.
His performance is not gauged by the number of goals or assists accumulated. Pedri is more than that. He is the barometer of Spain’s performance on the pitch.
On Monday, Pedri’s duel against Portugal’s midfield —Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Neves — could be one of the defining tactical battles of the tournament.
Three years senior to Pedri, Vitinha’s path to becoming one of the most outstanding midfielders came through his club coach. After Luis Enrique took over the reins at Paris Saint-Germain, Vitinha became the fulcrum of a team which just rolls over their rivals.
In a team with a glut of talented players like Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, it’s Vitinha who does the main job from the midfield.
In this World Cup, Vitinha has not been able to produce the extraordinary performances he gives for PSG, but then, to be fair to him, the team’s collective structure has never functioned with the same precision.
That’s not an aberration. National teams often struggle to extract the same level of performance from outstanding club players since coaches do not get much time to work on certain patterns.
Also, Portugal’s obsession with their captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, at one level is hindering the performance of players like Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes.
Still, on Monday, Vitinha has the perfect stage. If Portugal hope to eliminate one of the tournament favourites, they will require Vitinha, the silent yet effective performer.
The World Cup may finally experience what PSG enjoyed for two remarkable seasons, what Inter Milan and Arsenal endured in two Champions League finals.
So enjoy the battle of two midfielders, who eschew force and bring in a more cerebral element on the pitch.