Vasco da Gama 3-0 Inter Miami: Analysis, Notes, and Observations
Taking a closer look at La Rosanegra's international friendly loss on Saturday night
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Inter Miami’s preseason opener may have gotten plenty of attention for what transpired in the stands, but there were some interesting things that happened on the field as well.
Inter Miami’s 2023 friendlies are officially underway following the South Florida side’s 3-0 loss to Brazilian club Vasco da Gama at Drv Pnk Stadium on Saturday night. The exhibition provided fans and observers with a first glimpse at how this version of Inter Miami could play this season, leaving many nuggets and takeaways to chew on from both individual and collective standpoints.
Here are some observations, notes, and analysis from Inter Miami’s lopsided loss to Vasco da Gama:
The diamond formation returns
Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville hinted in the pregame press conference last Friday that he would be playing with a two-striker formation this season, and that is exactly how he deployed the team on Saturday.
Neville lined Inter Miami up in the 4-4-2 diamond that was seen a few times late in 2022. Leonardo Campana and Ariel Lassiter were used as the pair of center forwards vs. Vasco da Gama, and behind them was an active and shifty Corentin ‘Coco’ Jean as the de facto attacking midfielder.
The second line of the midfield saw Robert Taylor and Rodolfo Pizarro manning the half-spaces as joint 8s, with Taylor on the right side and Pizarro on the left. Team captain Gregore sat in behind them as a pure defensive midfielder that blanketed the back four.
Neville made wholesale changes to start the second half, fielding a completely different set of players, but the system stayed the same up until Robbie Robinson exited the game to leave Inter Miami to finish with 10 men.
The front six in the second half was comprised of Robinson and Jake La Cava as the double 9s, Edison Azcona as the No. 10, Benjamin Cremaschi as the left-sided box-to-box midfielder, academy player David Ruiz on the opposite side, and trialist Noble Okello as the pure 6.
The diamond setup, particularly in the first half, saw Inter Miami display more futbol ideas with the ball. There were a lot more quick touches and combination play, with the ball not getting stuck to any one player for too long.
For as improved as the play in the center of park was, La Rosanegra lacked profundity. Inter Miami was unable to really penetrate into the final third, possibly in part because it was Game 1 of preseason, possibly because there was no true No. 10 on the field for the home side during the opening 45 minutes, possibly because Vasco da Gama was a stiff test, or possibly due to all those factors.
Nonetheless, it seems that Inter Miami will be committing more numbers forward this year in an effort to score more goals and win more games.
Rodolfo Pizarro shows flashes in different role
Plenty of eyeballs were on the returning Rodolfo Pizarro during the first half, and he provided some flashes with the ball in the box-to-box role he was used in briefly during the late stages of the 2021 season.
Neville trotted Pizarro out on the left side of the narrow diamond, with the Mexican tasked to pick up the ball in the middle third to try and advance it forward either with incisive short passing or probing forward dribbles. One such individual moment with the ball led to a decent look for Pizarro, who marauded forward in possession before unleashing a soaring shot that went wide of the far post as Vasco da Gama fans loudly oohed in relief.
The Designated Player put in work defensively, but it remains clear that that part of the game is not his strong suit. Pizarro started to move up the field even if only a few feet or for just a half-second on the sequence that led to Vasco da Gama’s opener, but that was enough time and space to make the difference and hurt Pizarro when he had to track back to try and close down the low cross that was fired home.
Edison Azcona impresses with second-half team
The second half was difficult to analyze because of its unnatural state, but one player who shone despite the unusual circumstances was Edison Azcona.
Serving as the attacking midfielder with the second group of 11 Inter Miami players that took the field, Azcona looked sharp and was a threat in the final third against a tiring Vasco da Gama side. The teenager constantly got on the ball and progressed it forward into the final third with the type of quick passes that he is capable of but that he has too seldom delivered up until this point in his young career.
Unlike in previous showings, Azcona refrained from holding onto the ball too long or becoming overly individualistic. He played better within the team concept while also showing his own brilliance on Inter Miami’s best scoring chance of the night, turning one Vasco da Gama defender at the top of the penalty box with a filthy meg before uncorking a hard shot that was parried agonizingly over the crossbar.
It is a big year for Azcona, especially since he is expected to play in the Under-20 World Cup with the Dominican Republic, and the early signs are that he is locked in and ready to make good on the promise and potential he has.
Other Notes:
Vasco da Gama’s first two goals came in large part due to individual errors from Inter Miami players. DeAndre Yedlin bafflingly tried to dribble by a player in the Herons’ defensive third before getting stripped of the ball that led to the winner, and second-half goalkeeper Nick Marsman made a complete mess of a back pass from Aime Mabika that was pounced on by Vasco.
Robinson exited the game with some muscle tightness midway through the closing stanza, and that left Inter Miami to play the final 20-25 minutes with 10 men given that Neville had used all his 11 permitted substitutes. Robinson was seen with ice wrapped around his left leg after the match, but Neville said afterwards it was “nothing major.”
A team spokesperson said Kieran Gibbs and Victor Ulloa did not play in the friendly due to “load management.”
Other players who missed out on the action were Jean Mota, Bryce Duke, and Ryan Sailor. The trio are dealing with injuries.