Not impressed with Sampaoli either. He looked like a complete idiot on the sideline. Set his team up to play like idiots too. He just seemed lost.
I definitely think you can play good football with a national team. Just look at Germany prior to this tournament. You just need to make an effort to build something and then trust the experienced players who have taken you through the qualifiers. You forge a national team during several years, not with the final 23 man squad selection.
I do think a lot of national teams adopt a defensive or possession-controlling attitude because they switch coaches too many times and don't feel like they have a good, established identity to fall back on. Or, like France, because they try to push through a generational shift too early. But then again, the defensive tactics are so rarely successful that it would probably be better to go out swinging. At least people would give you credit for trying.
