🪸MATUMAINI /3
🇩🇿 Mouhammed Valmy / 🇲🇿 Julio Boas Junior
To catch up on the previous logs
A striker who moves like there’s no gravity, and the non triviality of facing a Rennes youth team where players will light up from 30 yards out.
An all action Mozambique midfielder I liked. And I can say “I like him” without someone telling me “are you sure” because I would just end up repeating the same thing. Or just put togther a few notes
🇩🇿 Mouhammed Valmy
There’s few better football watching experiences than doing so where you have barely anything more useful to do ; a bus journey in instance.
Full expectation to get something out of the game by watching the tablet rather than the road, wow who’s that
And that’s a matchup between a player I don’t know yet (Valmy) and a player I collated notes about at the end of the week.
Valmy actually joined the Algerian NT halfway through the group stage, since Rennes needed all their firepower to keep their B team in National 3, which is the regionalised 5th division where most professional reserves play.
Rennes play their players up ; in 2020-21 my U19 league featured Rennes, who had a 15year old Mathys Tel, 16 year old Lesley Ugochukwu
or 17 year old Andy Diouf, Loum Tchaouna and many more
Mouhammed Valmy played 15 minutes in the 0-0 vs EA Guingamp on Sunday 17th as Algeria saw out South Africa (2-0), travelled to Morroco on Monday 18th
Trained on Tuesday 19th and played full 90s vs Senegal on Wednesday.
On Sunday 24th he faced Tanzania for one of the most entertaining games of the tournament.
Valmy will get the well known pathway to see out games in Ligue 1, start in Europa League, bag a few goals and see interest growing. Watch this space
Sorry what
Then rewinding the tape, something really impressive is how sharp his movement is. Every change of direction has an angle, no loss of speed or parasite movement. The more you watch players, the more your filter for noise is efficient and flags up players who can move.
Everyone has a “a first touch tells the tale about any player”. Range of movement allows a player to express himself. You’ve got to be really flipping good to perform at the top level if you move in treacle.
Ball recovery, checking the shoulder
First diagonal cut to stay on the move and give another indication to the CBs
Another broken line to receive short
A touch in his stride, whilst anticipating the challenge. That’s late career Harry Kane know-how
Touch kept in the stride
Shift after decelerating
Top level balance. I coached against Rennes U19s in the late 2010s early 2020s ; at that point they had Mathis Abline (didn’t score against my team), Andy Diouf (didn’t score against my team), but also Loum Tchaouna, Lesley Ugochukwu and Mathys Tel who could all light up from 30 yards in the trail of the unicorn Eduardo Camavinga.
They’re all top flight footballers, not because they were at Rennes, but because Rennes identified players who’d become top flight footballers.
There’s something in the water maybe, or simply the most qualified coaches in the circuit.
The left arm is opening wide,
Then swinging back across the body to allow the whole spine and pelvis to rotate and accelerates the kicking hip on the other side
Both arms organise the counterweight to make sure the centre of gravity stays over the support foot
The follow through is spot on with toes pointing towards the target, the effective “plantarflexion”
And the small hop releases the tension so that the support leg knee doesn’t hold the full force from the ground
A few moments later
A recovery below halfway, the change of direction is sharp
Curvilinear run to force the defender Mbegu to make a decision : defend the ball/goal line or track the curvilinear run.
See how Mbegu sort his feet at pace to spin,
Without losing pace. Hmm.
Valmy’s stride is eye catching, quick without windmills
Mbegu (the CB) does recover and tries to nick the ball, without enough strength to get the fluke because his support foot lands too far away from the vertical of his centre of gravity, but decent defensive recovery.
For Valmy, the deceleration sells the fake effectively
Bit more core strength to maintain centre of gravity over feet, and right foot landing closer to the ball for Mbegu
Valmy stays in possession and plays a front foot pass to a supporting player
The second goal comes from a Lampard / Drogba, Cesc Fàbregas / Diego Costa connection (or Xabi Alonso to Torres) : long ball over the top
For a pearoller finish, the Harry Kane special, where you brush the
FIFA implemented the Video Support system, which is a good organic innovation.
Instead of having referees frustrated to not have been given a central shift, in an air conditioned TV truck, stitching up their rivals/colleagues to make them take the wrong decision (that will obviously get them to swap seats the week after) - or outright telling them what to see. I’m not sure, what do you think, I’d check again, I’d dab and look unsure.
The actual ref watches the replay, and goes with or against his own decision helped by an operator. Stop diluting accountability.
Coaches have two requests per half, and if one is overturned they keep the challenge. The way the sport should be moving.
If it’s not obvious after a million slow-mo replays, then get on with it.
Don’t talk about financial stakes the football industry wired 1.36 billion in gross commissions in the year 2025 to FIFA Agents to extremely ordinary footballers. Money that exits the system, doesn’t get reinvested in facilities, training and creating access to opportunities.
After a few minutes, the ref went on with his original decision : chest/throat is unconventional but it’s not handball. Goal stands
🇲🇿 Julio Boas Junior
Because I do this writing to get more first impressions on new players I don’t know, that was the third group stage game. And also I don’t have anyone offering unasked opinions between the send button, and me deciding I noticed something.
There’s many places where I’m read or listened to, but realising it’s also a sales job is equally exciting that it can be draining. So.
I like the reactiveness on the second ball
and the twist and turn to draw a free kick
Julio Junior isn’t a passenger defensively, knocking Ethiopia’s Biniyam Abrha (10) off the ball
Carry then clip over the top, a good way to get over scouting bias and assumotions that “flair” players only come from certain placs. Give them the ball, you’ll see.
Decision making in crisis situations :
A few notes spitballed on that sequence :
Mozambique with the pressing scheme to lock in on short goalkicks
10 jumps to form a 2, narrow wingers and two midfielders match up
These are some of the flicks Pelembe needs to clean up : be more dynamic, support foot closer to not reach and gamble
Pelembe has legs to get back behind the ball and screen the channel as his CB commited to stand up the defender
This is what crisis decision making looks like : the result of 11v0 shape training would suggest that if Pelembe is there, then Boas would need to “cover” him
Situational decision making gives that the defence is 2v2 screened by Pelembe, therefore the pass to screen is the one between players which is wjat Julio Jr does
Space doesn’t produce actions, players do. Block connections between players and they won’t access space. Block space only and they’ll find connections around.
That’s good decision making and a good stance because he can still run towards his goal.
Selling himself up with a left leg block would result in him getting spun
Julio Junior in midfield evidences several layers of trust : technical players in central areas, keen to get on the ball, belief in the technical ability to receive, belief in the teammate to find him.
Portugal’s coach Luis Guerreiro is 75, coaches since 1985.
Sometimes it’s important to keep in mind that “technical players in midfield” isn’t a new thing in fashion, it’s a philosophical belief.
Damn, more left footed bias.
Julio Junior isn’t, nor are Kiano and Matondo
On the MATUMAINI cover picture, I put Isiyoorodheshwa which is the Swahili for “unregistered”.
The only thing familiar with my Sebstack is the platform that hosts it (and registers it on the Web)
Anything else is outside of anything you’ll find. These players observations are unique, there might be slop here and there elsewhere but you just have to change the words and keep the generic tactico scout verbiage.
And when it comes to Luis Guerreiro - I like these competitions because coaches are hardly the main characters. Except when they’re former players I know, but oh well that’s my lore too.
There’s no storytelling, player / coach profile, opinions to fight for or against
Mbappé won the UEFA 2016 Euros with an eclectic set of team mates, from Issa Diop (I can’t believe the internal banter process since he’s playing in England, grew up in France, and has Senegalese and Moroccan roots) to Amine Harit, to Jean Christophe Bahebeck, Olivier Boscagli (Brighton), Marcus Thuram (hitting the bench hard, I had no idea he was there), Ludovic Blas and Jeando Fuchs. Point is : Ludovic Batelli came off a few Ligue 2 experiences at Amiens, but was never meant to be the main character and wasn’t anyway.
There’s still Petits Frères Des Bleus, a L’Equipe documentary - one of the coolest ways to follow National Teams because you actually see more of players as something closer to what they are. One of the last good ones I saw, with more glimpses and not too much corporate storytelling.
There’s Julio Boas Junior cutting the birthday cake on the Mozambique FA’s socials.
I don’t know Luis Guerreiro’s track record as a coach, maybe he was a three point one nil merchant. But what I witness is a 75 year old coach playing ballers in midfield and dribblers out wide.
Mozambique’s answer to Josh King.
A few moments later, things you can only spot watching the game
A recovery :
Shoulder check #1
“Yes I want”
Check #2
Ball rolled under the sole of left back Allan De Figuereido (middle below), quick, visible but not always connecting with team mates. Not sure what I made of him, scored a spectacular goal vs Angola
I saw Julio Jr moving to seek for space
Decision making lets him down, as he tries to slide it for the left wing runner. Should’ve used the striker decoy run to cut inside instead.
That’s why wave practice (3v2 becoming 3v4 etc…) is so valuable to actually develop attackers
Moussa was probably the better player at 17
Mozambique qualified for the 1995 and 2001 AFCON U17 ; and now 2026
They’ll definitely be involved at the 2026 U17 World Cup next Autumn in Qatar.
Great content let’s help each other