i am beckham

Chapter 203 A Penalty Kicked a Loneliness

At the end of the three rounds of the group stage, the England team ranked first in the group with 2 wins and 1 tie. The Netherlands and Scotland had 4 points and only had a goal difference advantage to qualify. The Swiss team tried their best in the first round.

Meanwhile, France and Spain advance from Group B, with the latter facing England in the quarter-finals.

There was something unexpected in Group C. Germany and the Czech Republic joined forces. The US World Cup runner-up Italy went home without even qualifying for the group.

In Group D, the defending champion Denmark team led by Schmeichel knelt down without qualifying. The two teams that qualified in this group were Portugal and Croatia.

Among them, the golden generation of the Portuguese team has taken shape, and the lineup of the Croatian World Cup dark horse is basically assembled. The two top teams in this group have a little hidden attribute.

This European Cup has been expanded, and the number of teams participating in the final stage has increased to 16.

The 8 teams that qualified for the group stage will play a single elimination round to decide the champion.

In addition, the rules of this European Cup have also changed. When two teams have the same points, they no longer compare the goal difference, but the fighting records in the group stage between the teams. The winner will be ranked first.

The most eye-catching change is the "golden ball system", which means that after the game is tied and enters overtime, the game ends immediately after either side scores a goal.For the first time, the new rule of the Golden Ball system was applied to an international competition, which aroused extensive discussions.

This competition system was later called the "Golden Ball Death Method". If the two teams participating in the knockout round draw in regular time, they will face the risk of being eliminated at any time.Once a team scores a goal, the game is declared over, and the description of cruelty and sudden death has the same effect.

Bringing together almost all the football powerhouse teams in Europe, this European Cup has played sparks flying from the beginning of the group stage, which is very intense.The third group is called the "Group of Death". The four traditional strong teams of Germany, Czech Republic, Italy and Russia compete for two places to qualify, which deduces the fierce competition of the European Championship to the extreme.

There are many famous German players, but the Czech Republic is also not too far behind. Players such as Poborski, Smicer, Nedved, Borg, and Nemechek have long been famous all over the world.However, due to historical feuds such as World War II, the Czech Republic and Germany played very hotly in the game, and there were countless fouls. The game also created a taste of hatred for the European Championship.

In the end, the Germans were superior and defeated the Czech Republic 2-0 in a very tough and tough style. The in-form Zieg and midfielder Muller scored goals respectively.

And then the Italian team played a big upset, not only was sent off by a red card in the game, but also defeated by the Czech Republic 10-2 in a bad situation with 1 players.Relatively speaking, the traditional powerful Russian team failed to fully inherit the football wealth of the former Soviet Union. They played tepidly in all three games and did not take the lead.

In the end, Germany and the Czech Republic made it out of this group. The Italian team performed poorly and packed up and left early.

For Manchester United fans, this European Cup is somewhat regrettable.

As the champion of the Premier League this season, only 4 players from the club participated in the European Cup. Except for Beckham and the Neville brothers, only Schmeichel participated in the competition.

The most depressing thing is that although Cantona, the king of Manchester United and the best player of the season in the Premier League, was selected for the squad, he lost the selection at the last moment.

When the king arrived in the French team, he suddenly seemed to be a different person. He didn't deal with the coach and his teammates.

The head coach of the French team is Jacquet, who is not well-known. He has already found the World Cup champion lineup two years later. The lineup composed of Didier Deschamps, Zidane, Blanco, Desailly, Thuram, Petit, Kalumbu, Djorkaeff, Lizarazu, and Butters already has a very strong combat effectiveness.

This group of players became famous all over the world in later generations, but at this time, they were just a private army recruited by Jacquet according to his personal likes and dislikes.

During the training camp, Jacquet couldn't restrain Cantona at all, and the latter was also in deep conflict with Deschamps, who was designated as the core of the team at the time.

In order not to let Cantona damage his prestige, in order not to let him damage the interests of the French team, Jacquet gritted his teeth and stamped his feet to make Cantona lose the election.

In fact, there have always been big problems within the French team.

Their stars have strong personalities, and everyone in the locker room only cares about their own feelings.

It is said that there is a problem with the internal unity of the Dutch team, but compared with the French team, their locker room news can only be regarded as quite satisfactory.

The players of the Dutch team are divided into Ajax and Eindhoven. There are also conflicts between whites and Surinamese, but at least a few groups can be separated.

When the contradictions in the French team became serious, everyone could form their own faction, and later they even did things like stop training.

In the World Series over the years, the French team either performed extremely well, or the team took pictures of each other's brains.

The most powerful French team in history is the result of the head coach taking great risks to persuade the stars to quit the game.

Jacquet rejected Cantona and Ginola, and the king then announced his withdrawal from the national team, leaving endless regrets for Manchester United fans.

Only then did Beckham realize that he had never known Cantona before. The brain circuit of this buddy is really quite strange.

There is not much pressure to appear on the stage. Beckham is doing well these days. Every day, he opens his mouth for food and stretches out his hands for clothes. The pressure of performance has really eased a lot.

The England media's evaluation of them in less than 10 days can be called a 90-degree rotation. The first game of the group stage was tied by the Swiss team. The media sprayed Venables as a quack.

After the victory over Scotland, the media environment suddenly stabilized.

In the third round of the group stage, the England team beat the Netherlands by 4 goals, and they became the favorites to win the championship in the eyes of the media.

These days, the "Sun" made Beckham feel very funny. The better the England team performed, the more Anderton was scolded.

Nick has been clamoring that the two wings of this England team are not perfect, and Anderton can only defend but not attack, and likes to move in the middle, making the team's midfield look particularly strange.

To be reasonable, Anderton, who is at the peak of his career, is 1 meters tall and has the appearance of a male model. It stands to reason that he can attract fans with his face. Nick said that he is completely selfish.

In terms of strength, he is now England's No. [-] right midfielder. He has both offensive and defensive skills and excellent passing ability.

At the beginning of the season, Ferguson would rather buy him at a high price of 1800 million pounds, but he didn't buy anyone, which shows how strong this handsome guy is.

Venables gave him total confidence, but transformed him.

The England team nominally has two midfielders and two full-backs, but Venables made Anderton a central player, while McManaman, who can control both left and right, can go to any wing he wants.

Of course, the eyes of the masses are still discerning. Many people are supporting Anderton. Only Beckham's brainless fans are stubbornly resisting. But the problem is that the number of these people is growing, and they are determined to support their idols.

In the quarter-finals, the England team met Spain, the king of the qualifiers.

In this game, Venables only made one adjustment, which was to replace Ince with Pratt. He only really wanted to change to a midfielder with excellent skills to suppress Spain.

Facts have proved that the Spanish team is not afraid of playing technology.

The two teams wanted to use their technical advantages to suppress their opponents at the beginning, but neither of them had very good results.

The England team's passing errors began to increase, and the Spanish team did not have any famous players from later generations, which seemed a bit lazy to most people.

So the England team patiently endured with the French players. The two sides survived the first half and the second half.

The game enters overtime, and the team that concedes a goal and is eliminated in this situation is generally full of tragedy.

No one wants to be the first to be eliminated in this format.

Venables was a little anxious at this time. Seeing that it was going to a penalty shootout, he had to let a few players look pleasing to the eye, otherwise it would be a pity to lose.

In the 11th minute of the first half of extra time, Venables waved his hand and Beckham got another chance to play.

He replaced Anderton, the manager wanted a late rush and then another set-piece maestro.

When Beckham was about to play, Venables warned: "David, don't rush too hard in the middle, our purpose is to push them back to the half with the pass.

Get ready for a penalty kick! "

Beckham gave a thumbs up, indicating that there is no problem.

Neither side achieved anything in the last 15 minutes, and the game went to a penalty shootout.

The England players who fought for 120 minutes sat in a circle on the ground and listened to Venables' arrangements.

He pointed to Shearer and Pratt and said, "You two want the first five kicks."

Shearer is the most stable penalty shooter in the England team. His penalty kick method does not make fake moves, that is, he blows the pole in front of the goalkeeper, and he almost never misses.

Platt's footwork is good, and his penalty kick is extremely deceptive, which is the opposite of Shearer.

Then Gascoigne also raised his hand, and Venables nodded: "You are one of them."

Immediately afterwards, Pierce also raised his hand, and he was also recognized by the head coach.

Seeing that four of the five pits in the penalty shootout were occupied in an instant, Beckham immediately raised his hand. He felt that it was better for him to go up and kick than a rough guy like Adams.

Of course, there are also players who are unwilling to take a penalty kick and leave their fate to their teammates. McManaman and Sheringham kept their heads down and did not look at the head coach at all.

Venables began asking for opinions: "Who's going to be first?"

Hiller immediately raised his hand, then patted his chest.

"Two Davids playing second and third, Paul fourth, Stewart fifth."

As soon as Venables finished speaking, Pierce expressed his opinion: "I want to advance the pick, and I want to play third!"

After some discussion, England's penalty order is Shearer, Pratt, Pierce, Gascoigne, Beckham.

Hearing this order, Beckham was a little nervous. He was the last one to play, and if he failed to score, he would be a sinner.

His own head coach is also too ambitious. If a 21-year-old player is playing fifth, isn't he afraid that his mentality will explode?
Beckham thinks that his penalty kick level is not bad, but he has never played a penalty shootout since he entered the first team. He did not expect to be assigned to this level of competition for the first time.

The order of penalty kicks was drawn out, England kicked first, Spain kicked later.

I feel that the order is not as good as the opponent, but the penalty kick depends entirely on the psychological quality, and basically has little to do with the order of the first move.

Regardless of whether it is first or second, it depends on the result.

England and Spain players stand in a straight line at each end.

Beckham is holding Adams with his left arm and Gary Neville with his right hand. The height difference between the two people on the left and right makes him look like he has sloping shoulders, but he can't take care of these now.

Because Alan Shearer had already placed the football on the penalty spot, he swung the ball for 10 seconds before slowly backing away.

As soon as he stopped, the referee immediately blew his whistle.

Shearer moved forward slowly like a tank, and Beckham felt his heart beating. He felt that the run-up was a bit slow and he should accelerate more.

Shearer trotted to the football and paused, then suddenly exerted force, and the football hit the upper left corner of the goal.

Amid the cheers from England fans, Beckham let out a sigh of relief.

He felt that the goalkeeper's fingertips were about to touch the football, but the strange thing was that he couldn't touch it, so amazing!

Shearer's goal did not lessen his tension, more like it opened the valve of his tension.

The players of the Spanish team followed the same path as Shearer, running slowly and swinging their legs vigorously. He also wanted to attack the overlord.

But unfortunately, his footwork was still a little rough, and he kicked the football off the crossbar and bounced away.

1:0.

The second player to play was Pratt, the Arsenal midfielder whose hairline was rising day by day did not feint, watching the hard push from the right side of the goal.

2 to 0, the Spanish goalkeeper Zubizarreta still did not touch the football.

Spain's No.2 player tricked Seaman into scoring a penalty.

2:1.

The third player to play is Pierce, one of the spiritual leaders of the team. The midfield players of this England team are very tough.

Pierce hit the lower right corner of the goal with his left foot, and Subisaret was right again, but still did not touch the football.

Pierce yelled excitedly, but Beckham couldn't hear him, his voice was completely lost in the sound of the pitch.

3:1.

Spain's No.3 player successfully kicked the ball in, and waved and shouted excitedly.

Seeing that he was about to play, Beckham's heart beat more and more violently, and the drumbeat became faster and faster.

God, this feels so excruciating!
Spain's third player to play scored a penalty.

3:2.

Beckham wanted to chat with Gary next to him to divert his attention.

He turned his head and saw that the other party was closing his eyes and his face was pale.

Forget it, each bears their own emotions, and don't share them.

Maybe once you share it, your mentality will get worse.

Beckham can only divert his attention casually, the three ways of beef pie, the wink of Sophie Marceau's shirt, and the old man's article in the "Guardian".

Just as he was trying to divert attention, Gascoigne feigned a push to the right, the keeper dived sideways, and then he scored the goal into the bottom left corner.

Neat!

4:2.

After the goal, Gascoigne pouted his butt and made a coquettish celebration. Why does it feel that he is in such a good mood?

Beckham kept thinking about how to kick, whether to use strength or fake moves?

Bastard, Spain's No.4 player has run up and I can't make up my mind!

Beckham took a deep breath slowly to calm himself down, that's what kicking a penalty kick is all about, just go up and kick it and it's over.

While he was trying to build himself mentally, the Spanish player swung his right leg vigorously and kicked the football in the middle of the goal.

Seaman throws the football away!
The game is over!
Accompanied by the tsunami-like cheers at Wembley Stadium, England players rushed towards Seaman.

Beckham reacted on the spot for a few seconds before running.

I kicked a lonely penalty.
(End of this chapter)