Reported Liverpool target Mathieu Valbuena made 29 successful final-third passes in France’s win over Honduras.
The 29-year-old produced a lively display during his side’s 3-0 dismantling of their Group E rivals – and everyone else at the World Cup is yet to match it, with Valbuena’s tally being the highest at the tournament so far.
That was despite the Marseille man coming off with 12 minutes to spare, although he was perhaps aided by Wilson Palacios’ sending off for the Hondurans, while their defensive abilities did not exactly stretch the French forward line to the limit.
| Team | Successful Final Third Pass | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathieu Valbuena | France | 29.00 | 78 |
| Toni Kroos | Germany | 24.00 | 90 |
| James Rodríguez | Colombia | 24.00 | 90 |
| Blaise Matuidi | France | 21.00 | 90 |
| João Moutinho | Portugal | 20.00 | 90 |
| Ogenyi Onazi | Nigeria | 20.00 | 90 |
| David Silva | Spain | 20.00 | 168 |
Nevertheless, as Opta stats show, Valbuena’s tally was an impressive one, with Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos – also playing against 10 men for a huge portion of Germany’s game against Portugal – his closest competitor alongside Monaco and Colombia’s James Rodriguez.
But how does Frenchman Valbuena compare with Liverpool’s other transfer targets?
| Team | Dribble/ apps | Accurate Cross/ apps | Accurate Pass/ apps | Touches /apps | Successful Final-Third Passes/ apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Sánchez | Chile | 4.00 | 0 | 25.50 | 61.50 | 14.00 | 180 |
| Xherdan Shaqiri | Switzerland | 3.00 | 3.00 | 33.00 | 66.00 | 12.00 | 90 |
| Mathieu Valbuena | France | 2.00 | 2.00 | 53.00 | 85.00 | 29.00 | 78 |
| Pedro | Spain | 1.50 | 0 | 18.50 | 33.50 | 8.50 | 103 |
As well as the 29-year-old, the Reds have also been strongly linked with moves for Alexis Sanchez, Xherdan Shaqiri and Pedro this summer. And the likelihood, of course, will be a move to Merseyside for just one of the four.
Looking at successful final-third passes, Valbuena holds a considerable lead, while the Marseille man also got considerably more involved during France’s win over Honduras, with the midfielder averaging more touches per game and making significantly more accurate passes.
In terms of providing width, though, Bayern Munich’s Shaqiri could be the man Liverpool turn to, with the 22-year-old averaging three accurate crosses per game, and also winning more contests on the ball against Ecuador than Valbuena did in his opener.
However, if it is dribbling Brendan Rodgers is most focused on, Barcelona man Sanchez leads the way – especially after his impressive performance during Chile’s 2-0 win against Spain last night. Averaging four successful dribbles (won contests) per game, Sanchez has clearly used this World Cup to demonstrate his pace and strength when taking defenders on with the ball.
Pedro, meanwhile, comes off worse in all four areas, although the winger’s displays were undeniably affected by Spain’s dismal showing as a whole.
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