Author

Mateo Rivas

Modern tactical analyst

Writers on Upon Review are fictional editorial personas used for voice and perspective.

Match breakdowns and video analysis across La Liga and European competition.

he/him · Barcelona

Video analysis
Pressing triggers
La Liga
Sequence breakdowns

Mateo Rivas is a tactical analyst based in Barcelona who specializes in video breakdowns of pressing triggers, spacing, rotations, and the decisions players make before the pass or shot. He worked in academy analysis before moving into public match writing and has contributed breakdown threads and longer pieces to several Spanish and European football outlets.

His work at Upon Review focuses on sequence-level explanation: what a team was trying to build, where the structure held, and where recognition or spacing broke down. He covers La Liga weekly and European competition on a match-by-match basis.

Rivas writes in English and Spanish and is a regular on Upon Review's soccer desk.

Articles

Norway - England
Bellingham Finished It, but Norway's Corners Made England Earn Every Minute
Two goals from Jude Bellingham decided the match, but Norway's corner-driven threat — 7 corners, 6 shots, 1.22 xG, one goal — kept the contest alive until the 93rd minute.
July 11, 2026
Spain - Austria
Spain's Wide Service, Oyarzabal's Central Runs, and the Spacing Problem Austria Never Solved
Spain beat Austria 3-0 by running the same wide-to-central combination twice through Cucurella and Oyarzabal — and when that lane closed, Baena and Porro found the same spacing gap from the other side.
July 2, 2026
Mexico - Ecuador
Mexico Found the Picture. Ecuador Found the Ball.
Mexico finished with 43% possession and two goals. Ecuador had 57% and none. The gap between ball volume and goal-mouth threat explains everything about this match — and Julián Quiñones sat at the center of it.
July 1, 2026
France - Sweden
Sweden Had No Answer. France Had Several.
The 3-0 is clean, but the match ran on two threads: Sweden never built a real attacking platform, while France layered threat through Olise's creation, Mbappé's finishing, and a fast-break lane that kept reopening.
June 30, 2026
Brazil - Japan
Control Isn't a Scoreline: How Brazil Finally Broke Japan in Stoppage Time
Brazil had the territory, the shots, and the chance-quality edge — but Japan's box protection and one fast-break goal kept it tight until Martinelli's stoppage-time finish closed the gap between process and scoreline.
June 29, 2026
South Africa - Canada
The Ball Was South Africa's. The Box Was Canada's.
South Africa completed 550 passes and generated almost no box threat. Canada had less of the ball, won the air, and built a chance profile that should have ended the game earlier than stoppage time.
June 28, 2026
Algeria - Austria
Algeria Built It Right. Austria Headed It Level.
Algeria circulated 755 passes at 93% accuracy and converted twice through the same Aouar-to-Mahrez lane. Austria answered with a single aerial delivery in stoppage time. Two very different ideas about access — one draw.
June 28, 2026
Jordan - Argentina
Argentina's Circulation Set the Terms — Until Jordan Forced a Real Question
Argentina controlled 73% of the ball and scored twice from dead balls, but a halftime double change gave Jordan nine minutes of genuine threat. The final 1-3 scoreline belongs to both stories.
June 28, 2026
New Zealand - Belgium
Belgium's 5-1 Ran on Multiple Engines
The scoreline is accurate. What it hides is how many separate chance-creation routes Belgium ran simultaneously — early burst, sustained box access, a central distributor, a corner lane, and a bench that finished the job.
June 27, 2026
Türkiye - USA
Supply Line and Late Answer: How Berhalter Built It and Ayhan Broke It
The USA fed corners and crosses through Sebastian Berhalter all game. Türkiye answered with one substitution and one devastating stoppage-time finish. The scoreline makes sense only once both threads are traced.
June 26, 2026
Tunisia - Netherlands
Van Hecke and the Dutch Machine: How the Netherlands Built a 3-1 That Was Never Really Close
The Netherlands didn't just beat Tunisia — they imposed a structure that left Tunisia clearing their lines all night. Van Hecke is the clearest single player through which to read the whole thing.
June 25, 2026
Bosnia & Herzegovina - Qatar
Bosnia Beat Qatar 3-1 Because Three Mechanisms Each Worked Once
A right-side isolation opened the scoring, a central hub kept Bosnia moving, Qatar's stronger chances hit the post and missed, and two substitutes sealed it at 80. The result followed the structure.
June 24, 2026
England - Ghana
England Circled, Ghana Cleared, Nobody Scored
England's 79% possession kept Ghana pinned — but deep circulation through the center-backs was as much a ceiling as a foundation. The match stayed goalless because one side never found the vertical pass and the other only needed one moment to threaten.
June 23, 2026
Argentina - Austria
The Space Austria Left Open: How Argentina's Fast Breaks Decided a 2-0 Win
Austria pushed high enough to invite the transition all game. Argentina's central hub kept finding it — and two late changes ensured the corridor stayed open into stoppage time.
June 22, 2026
New Zealand - Egypt
How Egypt Built a 3-1 Win: Attia's Base, the Ziko-Salah Sequence, and the 15 Minutes That Decided It
Egypt's victory wasn't a momentum story. It was a sequence: central buildup created the platform, Ziko and Salah converted it into goals, and a dominant opening phase of the second half made the result irreversible.
June 22, 2026
Uruguay - Cabo Verde
Uruguay Led 2-1. Then the Structure Came Apart.
Uruguay's attacking-half occupation broke the match open late in the first half. But Cabo Verde's clearance-heavy resistance, one substitution, and a final phase that left space behind Uruguay pulled it back to 2-2.
June 21, 2026
Belgium - Iran
Iran's Wall Held: Box Protection, a Red Card, and Beiranvand Kept Belgium Scoreless
Belgium found their best route down the right flank, generated real chances, and finished with nothing. Iran's compact defense, Nathan Ngoy's red card, and seven Beiranvand saves explain exactly how.
June 21, 2026
Germany - Côte d'Ivoire
Undav's Two Goals Finished It, But the 60th Minute Built the Frame
Germany trailed Côte d'Ivoire and were generating almost nothing. Two substitutions at the hour mark changed what the final thirty minutes looked like — and two goals from the same man sealed it.
June 20, 2026
Switzerland - Bosnia & Herzegovina
The Block Held Until It Didn't: How Switzerland Turned a Scoreless Game Into a Rout
Bosnia kept Switzerland's 62% possession at near-zero chance quality for 45 minutes. Three substitutes at 71, one red card at 80, and the structure that made it work ran out of numbers.
June 18, 2026
Uzbekistan - Colombia
Colombia Built It in Three Layers — and Uzbekistan Had No Answer for Any of Them
Possession set the baseline, advanced fullbacks opened the first goal lane, and two late substitutions closed it at 3-1. Each layer made the next one possible.
June 18, 2026
Saudi Arabia - Uruguay
Uruguay Had the Ball. Saudi Arabia Had the Point.
With two-thirds of possession and 27 shots, Uruguay looked in command. They were not. Saudi Arabia retreated deep, absorbed everything, and scored the only goal that mattered from a four-minute corner burst.
June 15, 2026
Sweden - Tunisia
Isak and Gyökeres Set the Table. Ayari Ate Everything.
Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1 not through possession dominance but through a central transition spine: two forwards combining in fast breaks, a midfielder converting chances a model would miss nineteen times out of twenty, and a bench that arrived ready to finish the job.
June 15, 2026
Mexico - South Africa
Two Routes, One Red Card, and the Transition Problem Neither Team Could Hide
Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 through two distinct progression sequences — then both sides revealed the same rest-defense flaw when transitions turned dangerous in the final stretch.
June 11, 2026

Articles

Bellingham Finished It, but Norway's Corners Made England Earn Every Minute

Spain's Wide Service, Oyarzabal's Central Runs, and the Spacing Problem Austria Never Solved

Mexico Found the Picture. Ecuador Found the Ball.

Sweden Had No Answer. France Had Several.

Control Isn't a Scoreline: How Brazil Finally Broke Japan in Stoppage Time

The Ball Was South Africa's. The Box Was Canada's.

Algeria Built It Right. Austria Headed It Level.

Argentina's Circulation Set the Terms — Until Jordan Forced a Real Question

Belgium's 5-1 Ran on Multiple Engines

Supply Line and Late Answer: How Berhalter Built It and Ayhan Broke It

Van Hecke and the Dutch Machine: How the Netherlands Built a 3-1 That Was Never Really Close

Bosnia Beat Qatar 3-1 Because Three Mechanisms Each Worked Once

England Circled, Ghana Cleared, Nobody Scored

The Space Austria Left Open: How Argentina's Fast Breaks Decided a 2-0 Win

How Egypt Built a 3-1 Win: Attia's Base, the Ziko-Salah Sequence, and the 15 Minutes That Decided It

Uruguay Led 2-1. Then the Structure Came Apart.

Iran's Wall Held: Box Protection, a Red Card, and Beiranvand Kept Belgium Scoreless

Undav's Two Goals Finished It, But the 60th Minute Built the Frame

The Block Held Until It Didn't: How Switzerland Turned a Scoreless Game Into a Rout

Colombia Built It in Three Layers — and Uzbekistan Had No Answer for Any of Them

Uruguay Had the Ball. Saudi Arabia Had the Point.

Isak and Gyökeres Set the Table. Ayari Ate Everything.

Two Routes, One Red Card, and the Transition Problem Neither Team Could Hide