Tactical growth on show as Women's Euros enters knockout stage

When Norway's plan for their opening Women's Euro clash with Switzerland was thrown into disarray by a first-half goal for the hosts, it marked the first of many occasions that coaches at the tournament have had to adjust their tactics on the fly.

At halftime in that game, Norway coach Gemma Grainger managed to get her side to calm down and change tack. They went on to win 2-1 and then topped Group A with three wins in three games to set up a quarter-final clash with Italy in Geneva on Wednesday.

"For me, the best coaches make those decisions in game. It's easy to sit after a game, look at the video footage, look at the review and say, 'You know, we should have done this, we should have done that' - for me, the best coaches do that in game," Grainger told Reuters.

Up against another master tactician in Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage, the battle of wits ebbed and flowed through the game with Grainger and the Norwegians targeting the space behind the Swiss defence and the hosts trying to hit them on the break. 

"In football, I think you have to take the space that you're given, and that was where the space was. For them, they played a direct game - I think that that was their game plan, to try and stretch us and also to build a little bit of pressure," Grainger explained. 

"When you're dealing with long ball after long ball, you have to have high concentration, high focus. We knew that our forward players were quicker than their back-line players, so we had to get the ball in behind, but with good quality as well."

Communication is key when making adjustments, and though coaches trust players to solve the problems they encounter on the pitch, they are expected to do so within the tactical principles laid out in the game-plan. 

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