Xu Zhu's Successor's Football Journey

Chapter 529 The Prologue of the Opening Battle

For the various national teams, the preparations and promotional work for the World Cup in Germany have nothing to do with them.As one of the top 32 teams in the World Cup final stage, what they need to prepare is to adjust the state of the team, face the opponent in the best state, strive for good results, win glory for the country, and win honor for the team.

Three months ago, FIFA announced the news of the World Cup grouping.

The media have already learned about the grouping of the top 32 in the World Cup.But at that time, due to the lack of obvious differences in the strength division of each group, the football powers did not report too much on this matter, and it was only a generation. But now that the World Cup is about to open, everyone began to study the top 32 groups. According to the situation, to guess which team may appear, which team will be eliminated directly, which team may become a dark horse, and so on.

Before the game, the German "Kicker" newspaper analyzed the strength of each group of teams. Although it is a German newspaper, their views are very neutral, which can give fans an understanding of the strength of each team in the World Cup and bring a lot of Great reference value ---
Group A: Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador
As the host, the German team drew very well. They avoided the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro and the Czech Republic, which the team was most worried about.This made everyone in Germany breathe a sigh of relief.

In this group, it is obvious that Germany is the most likely to qualify, and the other qualifying team, no accident, will be one of Costa Rica and Poland.

As for Ecuador, this team is not too strong in South America, and the media are not optimistic about it.

Group B: England, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Sweden

This grouping made the Englishman breathe a sigh of relief.

The main reason is that the former England coach Eriksson is a Swede. If the Swede Eriksson continues to coach the England team, it will be a dramatic scene for them to meet the Swedish team now.

However, such a situation did not happen, the current head coach of the England team is McLaren, he is an orthodox Englishman.

In England's group, Paraguay has been a strong team in recent World Cups, and their chances of qualifying are very high. Sweden is also not a fuel-efficient lamp.

In the media evaluation, the competition between Paraguay and Sweden in Group B will be very fierce.

Group C: Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro, Netherlands

The meeting between the Netherlands and Argentina is obviously a death group. If you add the strong Serbia and Montenegro, and the African upstart Côte d'Ivoire, there is no doubt that the most watched group in the entire World Cup is Group C.

Each of the four teams in this group is likely to appear, and even if Arsenal are eliminated, it is really nothing unusual.

Except for the three groups A, B, and C that have received much attention, the other groups are:

Group D: Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal
Group E: Italy, Ghana, United States, Czech Republic

Group F: Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan

Group G: France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo

Group H: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

The new team of this European Cup is undoubtedly the Ukrainian team. Under the leadership of the Ukrainian nuclear warhead Shevchenko, this team directly broke into the World Cup finals. This is the first time in the history of the Ukrainian team.

However, the media are not optimistic about the Ukrainian team with the world's top striker Shevchenko, because if they want to enter the top 16 of the World Cup, they must eliminate Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. This is not an easy task. After all, Ukraine can really A one-man team called Sheva.

In Ukraine, he is even more important than Wang Li in England.

However, football is a team sport. The strength gap between Shevchenko and Wang Li is clear at a glance. It is too difficult for Ukraine to qualify.

Of course, these have little to do with the England team. For the England team, the most important thing now is that they are about to face an opening game-England VS Paraguay.

This is the first game of Group B and is also recognized by FIFA as the first game of all competitions, which means that England's 'all-star team' will play an opener for the opening game of the World Cup, and the venue is hosting the World Cup Opening ceremony at the Allianz Arena.

After the opening ceremony of the World Cup football, the two teams will directly stage the drama of European football and South American football at the Allianz Arena as the beginning of the World Cup.

Therefore, this game will attract much attention.

For the England team, the time is very tight now, they must be ready for everything.

In recent decades, in South American football, Paraguay is undoubtedly a very strong rising star. According to public evaluation, Paraguay has already formed a substantial threat to Brazil and Argentina after Uruguay!

This is Paraguay's third consecutive World Cup finals.

Now, in South American football, apart from Brazil and Argentina, no matter whether it is Colombia, the upstart Ecuador or the former aristocratic Uruguay, it is difficult to compete with the tenacious Paraguay.

As a South American team, Paraguay's biggest capital is defense.

In the Paraguayan team, there are three most important players --- captain Gamara, Santa Cruz and Baredes.

Gamara, who is 35 years old this year, can be said to be an evergreen tree in Paraguayan football. Since his debut in the national team in March 1993, Gamara has played nearly 3 games. Testa Torrales holds the record for the most caps for the national team in the history of Paraguay.Even Zilavert, the flag figure of Paraguayan football, is inferior to him. It can be said that he is the soul of the Paraguayan national team.

Gamarra serves as a central defender and is currently the captain of the Paraguayan national team. He is also the only candidate for the team's sweeper and trailing central defender. He is the most important piece in the Paraguay team's defensive counterattack system.

Gamara has a strong body and an excellent header. He is the pinnacle of Paraguay's defense. In the 1998 World Cup, Gamara was selected as the best team in the World Cup.

Judging from these honors and experience, although Gamara is old, his strength must not be underestimated.As long as Gamara is there, Paraguay's defense is very solid.

Paraguay's second superstar is the 25-year-old Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz. He is a typical talented player.

When he was only 9 years old, Santa Cruz had entered the famous Olympia club in Paraguay, and represented the team in competitions at the age of 15. With his excellent physical condition, good shooting awareness and handsome appearance, Luo G. Santa Cruz quickly stood out and became an idol star in Paraguayan football.
In the 1997 World Youth Championship, Roque Santa Cruz began to show his talents. In the 1999 America's Cup, he scored three goals in a row and staged a hat-trick, which finally attracted the attention of European powerhouses. The Bundesliga boss Bayern Munich took the lead and called him to the account.

However, Roque Santa Cruz's name is not well-known in Europe, and few fans will pay more attention to this Bayern striker.But this is not because Santa Cruz is not strong, but because he has a fatal weakness that is very easy to get injured!
This weakness is the natural enemy of any football player.

In Bayern Munich, Santa Cruz was injured almost every season, and in more than a dozen league games played in each season, he always had a bright spot and helped the team score goals.

His scoring efficiency is very high!
Although he has not become the absolute main force of Bayern and has not gained much fame in Europe, no one can deny the strength of Santa Cruz, and now Santa Cruz is in very good physical condition, and all his injuries have fully recovered.In this World Cup, he must be Paraguay's leading striker.

In addition to these two, Carlos Baredes is also the pillar of Paraguay, he is a pillar of the midfield.

As the head star of the Italian Reggina team, Baredes' strength should not be underestimated. In the past season, as a player with both offense and defense, he scored for Reggina in 27 games. Scoring 9 goals, in a small club team, such efficiency is already amazing.

This year, Varedes is 30 years old, but before the start of the World Cup, he still transferred to the Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon for 650 million euros.

It can be seen that his value cannot be underestimated.

Paraguay has three generals such as forwards, midfielders and defenders, which shows the strength of the team.

Many media are also optimistic that Paraguay can qualify in Group B. Just like the last two World Cups, this team can still qualify from the group. Some media even commented that Paraguay may threaten the performance of the England team.

The market for such views is small, but many South American fans enjoy talking about it.

Of course, it's just a threat.

After all, Paraguay's lineup is not comparable to that of the England team. Their so-called star players may not even be able to play as substitutes in the England team.

Although this does not prove that Paraguay has no possibility of victory, it can also explain the gap between the two teams from one aspect.

The England team came in a hurry. They came to Munich when the team was fully prepared, but the England game started after the opening ceremony tomorrow.

Such a tight itinerary made the media reporters puzzled, and they felt that it would affect the performance of the England team.

"We're ready and once we're here, all we need to do is play hard."

In an interview, McLaren said: "They all felt that they should arrive two days earlier, but I think the environment here will make the players relax and their game state will be affected, so I came a day late."

McLaren's words seemed very relaxed, and it seemed that everything was indeed his arrangement.

Now Munich has been completely overwhelmed by lights, blessings, and passion. This important city for hosting the World Cup has become splendid, and all kinds of media and fans have arrived here.

If England had come a day earlier, they would have been 'harassed' in various ways, which would have been detrimental to their opening game.

For these, the players certainly don't care, so the England team was long overdue.

As a member of the team, Wang Li will of course follow the team all the time. This is not his first visit to Munich. In fact, he just came here two months ago and led Real Madrid to defeat Bayern Munich.

And now, here he is again.

Therefore, after arriving in Munich, Wang Li became a "tour guide" to his teammates. In fact, he was also a road blind. In such a big city, how could he know everyone.

He was just talking casually, and if he really didn't understand it, he made it up. Anyway, his teammates don't know, right?
Of course, what he didn't know was that just as he was explaining the meaning of a symbolic urn to Halilson and Thomas, Hargreaves behind him couldn't hold back his laughter——
Don't forget that he is a member of Bayern Munich.

In short, after coming to Munich, the atmosphere inside the England team is very relaxed, and it doesn't look like there will be an official game tomorrow.

In fact, in fact, every player attaches great importance to tomorrow's game.

When training at Wembley Stadium, McLaren has carefully explained the biggest competitor they will face in the group stage --- Paraguay. This team is a strong team in South America. The strength is very different from that of the England team, but since it can threaten Brazil and Argentina, it must have the strength to threaten the England team.

In the World Cup, the team's performance cannot be simply described by value.

In such an atmosphere, the next day came quickly.

For the teams participating in the World Cup, the first thing to do is of course to participate in the opening ceremony of the World Cup. This opening ceremony does not have strict requirements for players to participate. Most of the time they are just watching the performance of the opening ceremony. , what is important is the next game, especially for the England team that is about to stage the opener.

The return of the World Cup to Europe is definitely something that European fans should celebrate. Both UEFA and the German Football Association attach great importance to this World Cup. As early as three months ago, the German Football Association announced to the outside world that the opening ceremony of the World Cup is ready. completely.

The opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup was held at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The Allianz Stadium cost 6.6 million euros to build and can accommodate more than 6000 spectators.

This stadium is the home stadium of Bayern Munich Club and Munich 1860 Club. Its good hardware facilities are favored by the organizing committee, so the German Football Association chose it as the venue for the opening ceremony.

It was the first time for Wang Li to watch the opening ceremony of the World Cup live. Of course, this was also his first World Cup since he came to this world.

Wang Li felt that the opening ceremony held at the Allianz Arena was worth appreciating, especially the first event of the opening ceremony, which attracted the attention of fans, the media and various players, that is, in the opening ceremony, there were 170 former World Cup champion players collective appearance!
This scene is really shocking. Among the 170 former World Cup champions, many of them are not well-known at all, or they have long been forgotten by the fans, but now they all appear on the venue.

Among them, everyone is most concerned about Maradona and Pele.

The appearance of these two football kings even caused a momentary sensation in the entire Allianz Arena. Wang Li also stared at these two without blinking. Before him, these two players can be said to be world football achievements. the highest.

With Wang Li's current reputation, although he is not inferior to the two, if he wants to surpass these two, he must win a championship trophy of sufficient weight, that is, the Hercules Cup.

"Hercules Cup!!!" Now Wang Li is only one championship trophy away from being crowned world champion.

At this moment, he is looking forward to the World Cup game even more.

After the appearance of 170 World Cup champion players, there will be some German-style programs or folk art activities. These activities look pretty good and are worth appreciating. London's drowsy musicals are much better.

However, as a player of the England team, it is impossible for him to appreciate the opening ceremony of the World Cup all the time, because after all the programs are over, the England team will all appear on the stage and become the focus of attention of the audience. The grand finale!

In the middle of the show, all England players returned to the left-wing dressing room.

At this time, the Allianz Arena was full of fiery atmosphere, and the locker room was obviously not quiet. After returning, many players looked out of the empty windows, and they all looked a little absent-minded.

"We're about to race!"

Seeing this situation, McLaren said solemnly.The reason why he let the English players come to Munich so late is that he is afraid of this situation. The atmosphere of the World Cup is too hot. Many players will be intoxicated by it, but forget that they are the protagonists of the World Cup, so they cannot perform at a normal level.

"Guys, you have to cheer up and get back to the game. There is nothing outside, nothing!! We are about to have a world-class confrontation. Do you want to make a fool of yourself in the game?"

Although the activities outside are very hot, the game is the most important thing. Wait a moment, the England team will replace those performers as the theme of the whole stadium, so what's the point of enjoying the performances of those 'peers'?

These thoughts are not very meaningful in themselves, but McLaren's words still have some effect, at least no players looked out the window.

Even though the noise made them feel like cats' paws, they just endured and sat still.

"Okay, okay! Don't pay attention to the things outside. The most important thing now is to put on the jersey and do some pre-match pre-match exercises. You will be on the field in half an hour."

Amid the worries, McLaren kept reminding the players what to do.

Although the current England team has not undergone a major change, at least one-third of the main players are all rookies in the World Cup. Such a team is really worrying.

Wang Li is also one of the rookies, but he performed better than those veterans.

After returning to the locker room, he didn't look outside again, but directly sat in the resting position, silently channeling his internal energy to adjust his physical condition. Now, his blood is already boiling, and he is looking forward to playing in the competition.

The horn of the World Cup is about to start!
　"Tai Sui on the Stadium", ISBN: 2142204, written by an innocent boy Ai Shen: Create iron-blooded passion, a legend of a devil!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)