Xu Zhu's Successor's Football Journey

Chapter 530 All-Star Opening

Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany.

After the opening ceremony of the World Cup, many staff members entered the field and cleared up some props. After clearing the venue, the main content that fans are most looking forward to this evening will begin——
England VS Paraguay! !

This game is today's grand finale. All the audience are looking forward to the game. Some real fans want to watch the top game, while the general spectators around want to see the stars of the two teams. .

Of course, the England team is still the main one. More than half of the players in the England team are all well-known stars.

Time passed quickly, and it was already [-]:[-] pm in the blink of an eye, and the two teams were already eager to try in the player tunnel. Each of them was holding the hand of a child, preparing to participate in the entrance ceremony.

At this time, the auditorium was very lively, but the player tunnel was very quiet. No player whispered to each other. They were all experiencing the atmosphere of the World Cup.

In these all kinds of attention-focused arenas, the mentality of the players is undoubtedly much more exciting. You must know that the attention of this game is no less than that of the Champions League final. The publicity is not as good as the Champions League final, but the title of 'World Cup' attracts an unimaginable number of viewers.And this is the first game after the opening ceremony of the World Cup, so the degree of attention can be imagined.

Wang Li was also standing in the player tunnel, listening to the voices in his ears, he couldn't wait to play the game, this kind of game was too tempting.

"Brother Allen, can you give me an autograph and a group photo after the game?"

At this time, the voice of little loli suddenly came from the quiet player tunnel, completely destroying the quiet atmosphere in the entire tunnel, and everyone's eyes were also focused on Wang Li.Wang Li is holding a 5,6 or [-]-year-old German little girl in his hand. This little girl has a cute face and looks at Wang Li with big eyes blinking.

Wang Li smiled at her, couldn't help pinching the little girl's cheekband with his hands, and said, "Okay, no problem."

Returning from the atmosphere in the stadium to the player tunnel, looking at the casual black-haired boy, the Paraguayan players felt a little nervous and looking forward to it.

In the Paraguayan team, most of the team's players have played in various professional leagues in South America. Although they have heard of the name 'Alan Wang' and watched Wang Li's game video, after all, Europe and South America are too far apart. , Many of them want to come to Europe to play football, and it is not easy to mix with an ordinary player.

The gap between them and Wang Li is absolutely unreasonable.

In this way, few people would consider what it would be like to compete with Wang Li.

Although before the game, Paraguay head coach Annibal Ruiz emphasized the defense against England, but he didn't actually go to the game. strong strength.

And the current England team, the entire lineup can really be described as an all-star, not only Wang Li, but Beckham, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard and other players are all famous.

Looking at the star players of the England team, the Paraguay players even feel ashamed.

However, this made them even more motivated.

If you defeat the same opponent, you will only feel a little excited, but if you defeat an opponent that is impossible to defeat in the eyes of the public, it will definitely feel very comfortable.

Compared to Paraguay, England is an almost impossible opponent to beat.

Not to mention other players, just Wang Li's net worth can buy several Paraguayan teams. Such a gap is really frustrating.

While the Paraguayan players were changing their minds, after a while, it was time to play. Each player in the player tunnel also calmed down, each led a caddy, and came to the court in order from the tunnel.

In an instant, cheers resounded through the Allianz Arena! !
Sky TV ---
"Let's take a look at the scene, the two teams finally played!"

"Today the England players wore a white jersey. It is said that the jersey designed by Enbao is designed to make the England team achieve better results in the World Cup, while the Paraguay team wore an all-blue jersey. The style of the World Cup hasn't changed much."

"This is the first game of this World Cup. In Group B, the England team is undoubtedly the strongest. They are also the team with the highest value in this World Cup lineup, because there is Alan Wang, the world's number one player. , they are nearly 2 million euros higher than the No.[-] Italian team."

"There is no doubt about the strength of a team of this value. Although England did not perform very well in the previous World Cup, they fell in the round of 16 several times, but this year's England team is still favored by the public fans. It’s because of Lun Wang, after all, this black-haired kid’s scoring efficiency is amazing. With him, at least in 10 years, no team will be stronger than England’s striker.”

"It is worth mentioning that this time the England team recruited two other teenagers. They are not only recruits from the World Cup, but also recruits from the England team. They are goalkeeper No. 1 Thomas and striker Halilson."

"The former is currently playing for Chelsea and is Chelsea's well-deserved No. [-] goalkeeper, while the latter ranked in the top three scorers in the Premier League last season and performed very well. This young player is also the hottest in the transfer market. One of the characters."

"It can be seen from this that there are many talented players emerging in England. These two young players, together with Alan and Rooney, make the England team look very young."

"The head star of the Paraguayan team, Santa Cruz, should not be underestimated. This player is currently playing for the Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich. He is very familiar with the Allianz Arena. Perhaps today in this stadium, he can."

With the continuous introduction of the Sky TV commentator, the players of the two teams on the field have lined up and are ready to take turns singing the national anthem. This is a ceremony before the World Cup.

It starts with England singing the national anthem.

Listening to the rhythm of England's national anthem, Wang Li was at a loss. Perhaps the former Alan Wang knew about this national anthem, but after Wang Li came to this world, although he had heard the national anthem several times, he didn't know it at all. He can't sing, he doesn't have the heart to learn this kind of song.

Therefore, when Beckham and others were all engaged in singing, Wang Li looked at the audience blankly, opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what he was talking about.

Of course, it doesn't matter.

After the ceremony of singing the national anthem, the starting players of both sides began to take pictures. This is also an important part before the World Cup. own position.

At this time, the form and lineup on the court became clear.

England's starting formation is the standard 442, with Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen at the top.

Wang Li did not act as a striker. McLaren considered allowing Wang Li to play a greater role as the core of England's offense. Therefore, Wang Li is a midfielder, and his accurate positioning is the midfielder. Other players in the midfield And Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and team captain David Beckham.

England's midfield start did surprise Paraguay coach Annibal Ruiz, as well as most fans and the media, because when Eriksson was in charge of the England team, the midfielder's double virtue 'Lampard and Gerrard are the main players who are steady, but now Gerrard is on the bench and Lampard is in the starting lineup.

But thinking about it, McLaren's approach is understandable. The main thing is that there are too many star players in the England team, which makes England's frontcourt look very crowded.

For this World Cup, McLaren recruited five strikers: Wang Li, Owen, Rooney, Crouch and Halilson. Originally, he wanted to call four people into the team, but these five strikers each have their own characteristics. , It is really difficult for McLaren to win.

But at the forward position, only two players are needed at most, so at least two players will sit on the bench, and they will not even be able to enter the squad at all.

In this game, the unlucky guy who didn't make the big list was Halilson. Even though he performed well as a rookie, he was directly excluded by McLaren.

Wang Li was placed in the midfield so that Rooney and Owen could play at the same time. The combination of Manchester United's top scorer and England's golden boy has no doubts about its offensive ability. With Wang Li supporting from behind, England's forward offensive ability can be imagined.

But in this way, Wang Li occupies a starting position in the midfield, so Lampard and Gerrard can only have one starting position, because these two players are of the same type, and their ability to play wingers is not very strong. At least not as good as Chelsea's excellent professional winger Joe Cole.

And considering that Lampard was Wang Li's teammate before, he and Wang Li must have cooperated more skillfully than Gerrard, so Lampard got a chance.

Perhaps, he should also thank Wang Li for his performance.

Owen, Rooney, Wang Li, Lampard, Beckham, Joe Cole, this set of frontcourt starters made all the audience in the stadium excited when they made their first debut! !
Among these six players, apart from Joe Cole, whose reputation is slightly weaker, the other five players are definitely world-class stars. If we do a survey, 10 million of the 9.5 billion fans in the world may have heard of these words person's name.

This is the real all-star lineup! !

Compared with England's star-studded frontcourt, the four-man combination in the backcourt is a bit inferior. They are Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Gary Neville. The reason for their inferiority is not that there is a gap between the strength of these people and the frontcourt, but that the defenders themselves belong to a group that is not valued by the fans. Although the strength of these people is very good, their reputation is much worse. .

For example, when the commentators of various TV stations introduce players, they focus on England's frontcourt. As for the backcourt, they just pass by.

Although this makes the parties very depressed, it is the truth.

However, they may not be the most depressing, because TV stations in various countries (except Paraguay) have passed Paraguay's lineup: goalkeeper Villar, defender Nunes, Menzur, Gamara, Caceres , midfielder Barreto, Dos Santos, Acuna, Gavilan, striker Santa Cruz partner Valdes.

Santa Cruz may be the only familiar name in this lineup. Even the captain of the team, Gamara, is an unknown player. I am afraid that ordinary fans will not have heard of this name. After all, he is not playing for the top five European leagues. player of.

In this lively introduction, time has quietly passed, and then the referee whistled down, and the whole game finally started.

The formation of both teams is 442, but in fact the tactics of the two teams are completely different.

Under the guidance of McClaren, the England team mainly focuses on strong offense. They are good at attacking. McClaren's idea of ​​leading the team is to play artistic football, so this kind of offense is guided by his tactics. Incisively and vividly, the winger is not Phil Neville, but Joe Cole who is good at attacking. This is the reason why McLaren prefers to use the flexible Joe Cole compared to the slightly conservative Neville.

Paraguay is just the opposite. Their tactical thinking is to play defensive counterattacks.

In South American countries, there are not many teams that really play defensive counterattacks, and Paraguay is one of the best.Back then, relying on the bravery of the legendary goalkeeper Chilavert, the defensive counterattack became a family heirloom of the Paraguay team.

And now even though Chilavert is gone, the Paraguay team still inherits this style of play. Although in the World Cup qualifiers, many media are questioning Paraguay's style of play. Can Paraguay survive without Chilavert? Keep the line of defense so strong?

However, Paraguay responded strongly to these doubts with facts.

In the South American qualifiers, Paraguay scored a total of 18 goals in 21 games. Its offensive ability is weak, but with its tenacious defense and sharp counterattacks by Santa Cruz and others, Paraguay still managed to qualify smoothly. In the South American competition, their defense also suffered a lot from Brazil and Argentina, which are full of offensive firepower.

In this World Cup, if Paraguay wants to qualify from strong teams such as England and Sweden, defensive counterattack will definitely become their magic weapon for victory.

And now, the England team is facing this solid line of defense.

Is England's all-clear forward line more powerful, or Paraguay's solid defense more solid?
All fans have this question in their hearts. On the current court, the two teams are using real contests to explain all this.

England's attack.

Wang Li replaced Gerrard in the first game, but his mission is different from Gerrard's. He is the core of the team's offense. McLaren did not give him any defensive mission. His mission is only one , That is to lead this striker to score goals.

Now in England's midfield, Joe Cole and Lampard are his teammates at Chelsea, while David Beckham on the right is his teammate at Real Madrid. After a few days of training, their cooperation is no problem at all of.

Therefore, in the offense, Wang Li will choose to pass the ball more.

The performance of other players was also very good. At the beginning of the game, the English players made relatively few mistakes, while Paraguay's offensive power was not strong, which made football always under the control of the England team.

Another Wang Li ball.

After the game started, Wang Li felt that he was in a surprisingly good state today. Although the head coach unanimously emphasized the strength of Paraguay's defense before the game, Wang Li didn't feel much. There is really some gap, at least until now Wang Li has not felt much.

So, this time he wanted to try it himself.

After getting the ball near the center line, Wang Li took it to the frontcourt alone.

At this time, the tacit understanding between the players in the middle and Wang Li was shown. Beckham and Joe Cole flew forward from the wing, while Lampard was behind and ready to support at any time. Wang Li feels at ease because he has many choices.

"Alan dribbled forward with the ball!"

Seeing this scene, the commentators of TV stations from all over the world said excitedly that up to now, Wang Li's dribbling has become a picture with urgent appreciation value. Fans feel that they can see the performance of this black-haired boy live It's worth the fare.

These are all off-court matters, but Wang Li is still running forward with the ball step by step.

At this time, he saw a young player stepping forward to grab the ball. This is the 22-year-old Edgar Barreto from Paraguay. This young player is currently playing for the Eredivisie club Nijmegen, and his performance is not bad. This World Cup is also an important platform for the growth of such players.

As a little-known young player, Barreto is very confident in his defensive ability. In the Eredivisie League, he often accurately predicts the next step of the opponent's offensive player, which also makes him famous in the Netherlands .

Therefore, when he posted it, he kept staring at Wang Li's feet, trying to predict in advance which direction Wang Li would take the ball in, so as to find opportunities to steal.

Wang Li didn't change his dribbling speed because Barreto stepped forward, he just took it step by step, as if he was completely ignorant of Barreto's running, which made the fans in the audience a little worried.

The England fans are full of confidence, and they are all looking forward to the next scene, because they know that it is almost impossible to grab Wang Li's ball with just a defender.

In fact, this is also the case. When Barreto felt that he had found the right direction, he directly stepped forward to steal while retreating, and he stepped forward to the right.

But at the next moment, Wang Li made a light change to the left, without even changing the speed of the ball, and directly dodged the steal. This scene made Barreto, who was pulled away, feel incredible.

However, Wang Li has already taken the ball forward and continued to attack!

After passing Barreto, Wang Li had already dribbled the ball to five meters from the front of the penalty area. At this time, two Paraguayans had already ran towards each other to steal, and Barreto was following up behind him. The siege of players can threaten Wang Li's dribbling.

It's just a threat.

Before being surrounded, Wang Li made a light pass, and the football flew directly to Owen's point in the penalty area.

In this way, the walls of the Paraguayan players became useless, and the defense of the penalty area seemed a little loose-there was only one defensive player next to Irving. After he jumped up a little, he rubbed his head on the ball, and the football passed to the penalty area. left side.

There, Joe Cole stepped in!

Joe Cole's speed and awareness are unquestionable. When he got the opportunity, he slapped the ball with his feet, and then directly chose to volley in the rhythm!
"Shoot!"

It's a pity that the far corner of the ball was slightly too wide. Although the goalkeeper Villar failed to touch the ball, the football still flew out of the baseline.

However, the fans are all excited.

Just at the beginning of the game, the England team showed tacit cooperation and strong offensive firepower.

(End of this chapter)