Sofyan Amrabat: Play-breaker to playmaker

His laser-focused recovery runs, smash-and - grab raids of the ball and marauding bursts out of defence were amongst the highlights of a stellar tournament campaign that saw his nation record a remarkable fourth-place finish. We are referring to the engine in the Moroccan machine, Sofyan Amrabat.

From winning the ball to dictating the play, the Fiorentina man, who is currently on a season-long loan at Manchester United, is a three-dimensional defensive midfielder in the moment for every moment of a match. Ever-ready to carry out his defensive duties, he constantly has an eye on attack and an instinctive urge to get forwards. Not content with merely averting danger, the Moroccan linchpin looks to turn defence into attack at every opportunity, driving forwards as he seeks vertical passing options that pick out team-mates occupying space between the lines or making runs in behind. The following video footage illustrates Amrabat’s play-breaker to playmaker signature skill set in various scenarios.

When defending in the final third, Amrabat is quick to perceive danger and seek to gain a tactical advantage. He protects central areas positioning himself in between or slightly behind opposition players, with a view to reducing the space available to them and in readiness to press. When the opposition probe in wide areas, he makes sure that he is ahead of play, which enables him to double up defensively and close off attacking avenues. Even quicker at eradicating attacking threats, Amrabat often takes opponents by surprise with the speed and bite of his challenges, the sheer force of which knocking them off balance as he presses to win the ball with an authority and personality assured by his own physicality.

After winning the ball or when receiving it under pressure, Amrabat’s footballing instinct is to seek transitional advantage. His burst of pace and deceptively agile technique allow him to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye, as he evades the attentions of opponents and explodes into pockets of space in the middle third. Disregarding regressive, sideways football, his natural inclination an attribute shared by a host of iconic deep-lying midfielders – is to get his head up and look long for more penetrative, vertical passing options to team-mates in areas between the lines or shaping to make a run in behind the opposition’s defence.

From a tactical perspective, Amrabat’s signature skill paves the way for attacking opportunities. His forward forays, often launched from inside his own defensive third, with such intent that they tend to catch opposition teams off guard, with a number of players ahead of the ball and the backline pushed up towards halfway. His in-behind passes seek to take advantage of compacted distance between himself and a high defensive line that is vulnerable to penetration. When this passing option is not available, he instead runs with the ball and delays his pass to draw opponents towards him, which serves to create space for his team-mates to exploit.

Our opening clip, which features a sequence from the first half of extra time in Morocco’s round-of-16 meeting with Spain at Qatar 2022™, illustrates Amrabat’s signature skill perfectly. The footage provides a snapshot of his footballing mindset, which revolves around looking forwards and playing vertically, while also highlighting his impressive physical force on the ball and unerring ability to identify optimal attacking solutions. We pick up the action with Amrabat, who is the deepest lying defender in this instance, receiving the ball under pressure and turning towards his own penalty box.

(1/6) With his team-mate on the opposite side of the penalty area signaling for Amrabat (number 4) to play the ball back to his goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, and Spain attackers, Álvaro Morata, Carlos Soler (number 19), Dani Olmo and Ansu Fati, preparing to press, the most obvious choice would be the safety-first option.

(2/6) Sensing that Morata expects him to play the ball back to Bounou, Amrabat identifies an opportunity to turn play forwards. A slight twist of his right ankle and a nudge of the ball leaves Morata off balance and facing the opposite direction.

(3/6) With one simple shift of the ball, Amrabat turns defence into attack, taking Morata out of the game in the process. With 10m of space to power into and despite being aware of a number of short passing options, he does what all exceptional players do: gets his head up and looks long for more progressive, penetrating options higher up the pitch.

(4/6) Marauding forward with his head up, Amrabat spots the opportunity to break into the space beyond the opponents to his left (Soler) and right (Olmo, number 21), both of whom are inanimate to his intentions.

(5/6) Amrabat injects a burst of pace, relegating Soler and Olmo to the role of mere bystanders, as he steadies himself while continuing to look forwards in readiness and now in perfect range to slip the ball through to his team-mate, Walid Cheddira, who makes the run in behind the Spain backline.

(6/6) Amrabat plays a perfectly weighted and beautifully curved angled, vertical pass that slices through three compact opposition lines and sees Cheddira bear down on Unai Simón just six seconds after our midfield ace began the move with a slight twist of his ankle in his own defensive third.

The footage below, also taken from Morocco’s last-16 showdown against La Roja, illustrates a slightly different aspect of Amrabat’s collective skill set, focusing instead on the defensive side of his game. It emphasises his tactical qualities when called into defensive action and the composure and tenacity he displays to find an optimal solution to progress play when under pressure. The sequence also highlights Amrabat’s game awareness when looking for passing solutions and reflects how his decision-making is based on the information he gathers. We join the action with Amrabat acting as a defensive shield in front of his backline as a trio of Spain attackers pour towards him.

(1/7) As Pedri drives towards him with the ball, Amrabat occupies a deeper position than the opponents to his left (Soler, number 19) and right (Ansu Fati), putting him in a perfect position to press or intercept a ball played to either player.

(2/7) Anticipating that Pedri will play the ball to Soler, Amrabat is already on the move to press the ball.

(3/7) Amrabat’s alertness and physical prowess enable him to wrestle the ball away from Soler. With his focus on turning defence into attack, he uses his immense strength to fend off the Spain attacker as he twists forwards to emerge with the ball.

(4/7) Under pressure from both Soler and Pedri, Amrabat’s speed of thought and clever footwork earn him a yard of space.

(5/7) Having engineered some space to his right, Amrabat ignores the option to play a simple vertical pass to the team-mate positioned within 10 metres.

(6/7) After ignoring the obvious option, Amrabat performs an audacious turn that wrong-foots the tenacious Soler, who is now facing the opposite direction, and moves towards the left in search of a solution to progress the play.

(7/7) After quickly adjusting his feet, a simple pass to Abde Ezzalzouli ultimately results in a goalscoring opportunity. It is worth noting that as Amrabat plays the ball to Ezzalzouli, the Morocco player positioned on the far right of the image, Hakim Ziyech, is just returning to his feet after having gone to ground when the sequence began. This circumstance helps to explain Amrabat’s decision to shift the action towards the left and highlights his awareness to see beyond the first line of play, despite being under intense pressure and with space at a premium.

Our third clip, which comes from a sequence that took place in the sixth minute of additional time in Morocco’s quarter-final encounter against Portugal in Qatar, offers a splendid example of Amrabat’s transitional force, while also showcasing his game craft and physicality as he extinguishes an opposition attempt to make inroads down the left flank. The footage also displays his instinct and resolve to power forwards from deep defensive positions in an effort to influence proceedings by playing penetrating vertical passes. The sequence begins with a Morocco defender heading the ball clear towards halfway, with Amrabat the first player to react to the next phase.

(1/7) As the ball drops towards an opponent, Amrabat anticipates that he will head it towards Rafael Leão on the left flank and therefore slightly diverts his run to police any threat of penetration down the wing.

(2/7) Anticipating that Leão will shift the ball into space and look to get the better of Achraf Hakim in a foot race, Amrabat avoids the temptation to engage with the pair, opting instead to accelerate beyond them to provide defensive cover in case Leão outpaces his team-mate.

(3/7) After getting to the ball first, Amrabat (number 4) uses his strength to shield the ball from Leão and stay goalside, while twisting forwards into a position to emerge with the ball and turn defence into attack.

(4/7) Powering infield with intent, Amrabat ignores the passive passing options inside, seeking instead to progress play vertically.

(5/7) Having identified the opportunity to play a vertical pass to a team-mate, Amrabat darts between two Portugal players before intelligently delaying his pass, thereby drawing an opponent towards him and away from his team-mate to create the space to play the pass.

(6/7) With opponents closing in, Amrabat shows tremendous composure to evade a sliding challenge before playing a delicately slotted pass with the outside of his right foot into the space created for his team-mate to progress.

(7/7) Amrabat’s individualism crafts a fantastic opportunity for Morocco to exploit the Seleção’s high backline, but unfortunately, the through-ball played by his team-mate lacked quality and the move broke down.

Our final sequence – taken from the latter stages of the second half of the Atlas Lions’ final group-stage match on Qatari soil, against Canada – features Amrabat’s signature skill in all of its glory and illustrates the speed with which he blocks off central areas and forces his opponent to relinquish possession. The footage below also offers evidence of Amrabat’s footballing mindset as he takes advantage of a transition in which the opposition are caught high up the pitch. We also witness how he harnesses his considerable power to create space for a team-mate to exploit. We pick up the action with Amrabat positioned between the penalty arc and the right-hand edge of his own box as he anticipates a diagonal pass played into Alphonso Davies.

(1/7) As the in-possession Canada player, Alistair Johnston, darts infield, Amrabat, head up, is alert to the potential pass inside and is already on the move to press the ball.

(2/7) As the pass is poked into Davies, Amrabat’s aggressive press and intense physicality in the challenge forces the forward to lose control of the ball and his footing.

(3/7) After a number of players become briefly entangled, Amrabat steals in and takes the ball from his team-mate, accelerating forwards, head raised, to look for attacking options.

(4/7) With several Canada players trailing in his wake, Amrabat seeks a progressive solution. After spotting a team-mate’s potential run in behind is covered by a defender, he resists the temptation to play the pass and powers on.

(5/7) In an effort to up the tempo of the counter-attack and to draw the defender towards him and away from his team-mate, Amrabat shifts the ball further in front of himself. The Canada defender senses an opportunity to win the ball and breaks his stride, which paves the way for Amrabat to play the initially delayed pass.

(6/7) Stretching out a right leg, Amrabat reaches the ball just before the defender and prods the pass to his team-mate. Regardless of whether it was indeed a genius ploy to create space for his team-mate or an overhit touch, Amrabat’s admirable confidence in his physical traits enables him to get to the ball first.

(7/7) Amrabat’s individual brilliance frees his team-mate into acres of space, giving him the chance to bear down on goal.

A defensive stalwart in one guise, a playmaker in another, Amrabat’s dual-role profile offers a fine blend of destruction and creativity. Tactically agile and highly attuned to potential threats, he consistently positions himself in the right place at the right time and then calls on his imposing physical prowess to hustle the ball from opponents before embarking on determined forays towards opposition territory. The transitional force Amrabat brings to his team in the seamless shift from play-breaker to playmaker in one fluid motion is a joy to behold. Of particular note is his ability to initiate transitions from deep inside his own half as he capitalises on the opposition’s high defensive line and exploits spaces left unguarded by opponents who have ventured beyond the ball. Amrabat exudes an air of serene calmness and irresistible individualism, all while maintaining collective intent. Whether progressing play through opposition lines by playing incisive vertical passes or delaying the pass to entice an opponent towards him, the talented ball-playing midfielder consistently strives to unlock defensive doors and create strategic advantages for his team.