Soccer has bad games and good games, great games, like any sport.
And its not the sports fault if you couldn’t see the tactics. Tactics permeate the game: how the team lines up, how its shape and tactics in attack and defence attempts to defeat and combat the other team’s and viceversa, individual players positions and what they do on the field in both attack and defence, how the coach/manager will change team, players and tactics during the game.
So many tactics in a game of soccer, perhaps that shows that they are subtle and that soccer isn’t a mindless game of kickabout.
I agree that I am not able to see the patterns or the tactics. But I grew up watching baseball, football, and basketball.
Baseball tactics you can easily see because of all the standing about. Mangers position players based on statistics of where the batter hits a specific pitcher, on an on. It’s a slow game, a chess match. Easy to see. American football you watch lineups and match ups with a pause to see what is going on. I get that. Soccer I just have not watched enough to understand what is going on.
I will watch it when the clock properly counts down. I am stubborn about that issue. But I am a Scotsman born in America so I can be unreasonably stubborn about things. It’s in my nature!
I hope you enjoy the World Cup, and I hope I can learn to enjoy it as well!