5 artistic minds who mastered the game of trump cards in the World Cup

The round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup witnessed a dramatic shift in the philosophy of match management, and five coaches showed great courage in changing their tactical plans, relying on players coming from the bench, especially with the availability of the sixth substitution in extra time in the current World Cup, in winning cards that reflected tactical operations that created victory in the final meters, whether through the “remontada”, or through players who are good at executing penalty kicks.

The course of the matches confirmed the ability of these coaches to consolidate this philosophy, and that the matches were played with 16 players, after their success in employing members of the bench to achieve qualification ambitions, in substitutions that contributed to changing the course of five elimination matches, after the players coming from the bench at crucial times were able to score eight goals, and assist four others during this round.

Emirates Today monitors the five most daring coaches in making tactical changes during the quarter-finals, who demonstrated their own philosophy in creating victories that led to qualification, as follows..

Lafuente.. qualified Spain with substitutes

The Portuguese national team prevented its Spanish counterpart from scoring until the fatal time, after playing with a tight tactic, in a match that was indicating that its regular time was going to end in a goalless draw and resort to extra time, before the Spanish coach, Luis de Lafuente, made a tactical change by bringing in winger Ferran Torres and midfielder Mikel Merino, to revive the offensive side and increase the intensity inside the penalty area, so the first succeeded in creating and the second in scoring.

Garcia destroys the American dream

The technical decisions of Belgium national team coach, Rudi Garcia, played a decisive role in the hosts overcoming the American team, amid the great crowd momentum.

Despite Belgium leading 2-1, the American team intensified its attack in search of an equalizer, before Garcia intervened by bringing forward Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Hans Vanaken, during the last 20 minutes, to exploit the spaces in the American defense, which resulted in the substitutes scoring the third and fourth goals immediately after coming on, so that the match ended with Belgium winning (4-1), confirming the ability of the Belgian bench to decide major matches.

Yakin.. Swiss kicks from the bench

The balanced technical reading of the Swiss national team coach, Murat Yakin, led to a difficult victory over Colombia, after a match that lasted 120 minutes and was only decided by penalty kicks after a goalless draw.

The Swiss coach decided not to exhaust his main players in executing penalty kicks, taking advantage of the “sixth substitution” rule, after fielding three substitutes who had the psychological and technical characteristics suitable for executing the kicks, namely: Zaki Amdouni, Cédric Etienne, and Ruben Vargas. Amdouni and Etienne scored their kicks successfully, before Vargas took responsibility for the fifth and decisive kick, with which he scored the Colombian net, giving Switzerland the victory (4-3).

Tuchel…and the engineering of England’s defensive line

The tactical thinking of the German coach, Thomas Tuchel, led the England national team to win the difficult confrontation against its Mexican counterpart.

The English national team entered the second half with its sights set on securing the result, after Tuchel brought in substitutes in the back lines to close the spaces in front of the speed of the Mexican attack, and to compensate for the numerical deficiency that the “Three Lions” had been exposed to since the 54th minute, following the expulsion of defender Garel Quansah.

Tuchel supported the back line with John Stones and Dan Byrne, in substitutions during which the two players showed great resilience in protecting the goal, and contributed to ensuring the English team’s passage to the quarter-finals with a victory (3-2).

Scaloni escapes with the “Remontada” imprint

Argentina celebrated the “dramatic comeback” achieved by the “Tango” team against Egypt with a score of (3-2) in the eighth final, after the world champion found himself trailing by two unanswered goals against an Egyptian team that fought fiercely and was characterized by strength of character.

Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni, showed great tactical flexibility, by making quick substitutions in the midfield and in the depth of the defense, which restored vitality to Argentina, and gave the wings greater freedom to apply high pressure inside the Egyptian team’s areas, which paved the way for building a historic “remontada”, by scoring three consecutive goals within 14 minutes, and snatching a difficult victory with a score of (3-2), which secured the “Albiceleste” team the ticket to qualify for the quarter-finals.

• The five coaches proved that matches are managed perfectly with 16 players.