NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Johan Cruyff famously said, “Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring.”
It’s always been apparent that, in soccer, especially in settings where games are almost guaranteed to be tight, you can have one without the other. Small moments or random bounces can shape the 90-minute picture. One incident can eclipse a trend. Quality doesn’t always lead to a result, and a result isn’t a necessary consequence of quality.
In the end, of course, boring results are more desirable than pointless quality. That’s especially true in World Cup qualifying, where only the scoreboard matters.