Some people are of the idea that if a player is being marked by a number of players or getting fouled it proves his class. But what they fail to realize is that a player gets marked or fouled only if he is doing a basic mistake of keeping the ball too much to himself. A coach at any level would suggest passing the ball quickly else the opponent will eventually go for the man, they are there to play and win not to applaud or pose for selfies.
There is a game that is played with the ball, people love and understand that but there is another game that is being played without the ball that is equally if not more important. A player needs to pass the ball then be at the right spot either to receive the ball back or draw out defenders to create space for others.
People who believe that having the ball possession is a moral victory lacks the basic understanding that it is not important to have the ball to yourself, providing square passes or back passes to your teammates but what matters most is whether or not you are having the ball to disturb the opponent’s defense or not. You need to ask how many times you been able to reach the opponent box and pose a threat to their goal. That can be done either by playing 22 passes or by not touching the ball a single time.
And if you see the record books you will find that it’s not the team with possessions, but it is the teams who play more direct football does better eventually. Example, in 1994 Brazil took the direct approach reaching the goal mouth with an average 3-4 passes and won the tournament but in 2006 they held on to the ball much longer and exited the tournament in the first round.