Xu Zhu's Successor's Football Journey

Chapter 542
The group stage of the World Cup is finally over. After England and Sweden were confirmed to qualify in Group B, the top two teams of each group were released one after another, while the other teams that did not qualify went home directly. Their World Cup journey is over.

Of the four teams in Group A, Germany and Ecuador advanced.

As the host, they will definitely receive special care in the group draw. The German team has almost no opponents in Group A, and their situation is better than that of the England team.

In recent years, Germany's football performance has not been very good. They have not defeated the world's top teams for many years. Many people think that Germany has become a second-rate team. However, in such an uncompetitive group, qualifying is still guaranteed. .

In Group A, Poland, which is good at playing power football, is also favored by the media. Compared with the other two teams, Poland has more experience in major competitions. In addition, Poland borders Germany. It can be said that they occupy the right time and place.

However, it was Germany and Ecuador that eventually qualified.

Before the game, many media commented that Ecuador will definitely be at the bottom of Group A, because "they will only ask for some bargains at home on the plateau and the South American brothers who are also soft in the autumn wind", this is the original words of the "Kicker" newspaper, But now Ecuador has squeezed out Poland and appeared smoothly, which surprised the media.

In Group C, Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro, and the Netherlands did not have any dark horses. The Netherlands and Argentina appeared together. This result is what the public is optimistic about. The team still has some gaps with them.

The teams that qualified in Group D were Mexico and Portugal. The Asian team Iran, which was favored by many media, suffered two losses and one draw in three games.

Many people think that Iran is the Turkey of Asia. Many media think that Iran has a tough style, and they are likely to become a group of dark horses. Unfortunately, Iran with a tough style meets Portugal and Mexico with delicate footwork and good tactical awareness. Turned into a reckless man, they could do nothing but get a group point in front of Angola, who couldn't make any waves in the group.

Some people say that the real death group is Group E. The four teams in this group are Italy, the United States, the Czech Republic and Ghana.

Under the leadership of the famous coach Lippi, Italy showed the potential to win the championship. Their football is different from the conservative Italy in the past, because Lippi understands that in modern football, defense alone will not work, no matter how solid your defense is.

In this World Cup, the combination of Italian strikers Toni and Gilardino is very practical, coupled with Totti's fiery and Cassano's aura, they can even help out with Brazil's technology.

Italy has no pressure to qualify. They have three games, two wins and one tie with 7 points, and they easily stand out in the group.

In this group, the US team is also very concerned.Americans don't like football, but with the strong sports background and physique of the United States, a powerful American team was born.According to media comments, American players have excellent physical fitness and attach great importance to tactical coordination. The strength of the American team is good both at the individual level and at the overall level.

It's a pity that such an American team is a tragedy in this World Cup. They returned to North America after three games and three losses to continue their basketball.

And Ghana has qualified. This team has two wins and one loss in the group, and it is easy to qualify as No.2 with six points.

As for the Czech team?This 'old' team was not favored at all before the game. They only defeated the US team, but lost the other two games.

The situation in Group F is suspenseful, because in this group, Brazil can be said to be thriving, and among the other three teams, Croatia, Australia, and Japan, any team is likely to get No.2.

Finally, Australia won the right to qualify.

In Group G, France and Switzerland qualify together. This is a perfect result, because the other two teams, South Korea and Togo, are really far behind the European teams.

As for the teams that qualify from Group H in the final group, it is a bit amazing-Spain and Ukraine!
It is normal for Spain to qualify. Although this team has not won the World Cup, it is undeniable that Spain's strength is definitely the top in the world. Although the team members are not as valuable as Italy, Brazil, and England, the Spanish team has one characteristic and other What the team can't compare is that most of the players are all from the same club-Barcelona! !
Such a Spanish team can almost be said to be the Barcelona team. The cooperation between the players and the team's tactics are almost equivalent to the Barcelona team, and there are several more world-class stars in the Spanish team. It makes no sense.

The most surprising thing is the Ukrainian team, because this team is completely "nuclear warhead" Shevchenko's one-man team. The reason for saying this is because almost all the players in the Ukrainian team except Sheva are unknown. .

The Ukrainian team also entered the World Cup finals for the first time.

Entering the World Cup for the first time, being able to qualify for the group stage, this has to be looked at highly, and the fans are more willing to attribute the credit to the stars, so Shevchenko's reputation is even stronger.

According to rumors, after the end of the group stage, Abramovich, the owner of the Chelsea club, opened a blank transfer application form to AC Milan. In order to get this fellow, he no longer cares about the transfer fee.

The group stage has been completely over, and the World Cup competition has finally entered the most intense battlefield, and the knockout round of 16 is about to start.

According to the match rules of the World Cup knockout round, No.1 and No.2 in the two adjacent groups will play against each other respectively. Therefore, the comprehensive group confrontation situation of the top 16 knockout round is——
Germany VS Sweden; Argentina VS Mexico; England VS Ecuador; Portugal VS Netherlands; Italy VS Australia; Switzerland VS Ukraine; Brazil VS Ghana; Spain VS France.

The opponent of the England team is the No.2 Ecuador team in Group A. McLaren is still very satisfied with this result, and all England supporters are also very satisfied, because they missed the powerful Germany in Group A.

England's strength is definitely strong, encountering such a 'weak team' made England's supporters keep waving their flags and shouting. They hope that England can play a beautiful game and eliminate Ecuador with an absolute advantage.

"We're going to win!"

"The Sun" attracts the attention of England fans with such an exciting headline. In the article, they point out that England's road is bright, and at least there is no pressure to enter the quarter-finals. Perhaps now England should prepare for a match with the Netherlands or Portugal. It's a big fight.

If England can qualify smoothly, then the team will fight another 'Netherlands VS Portugal' Saints, and many fans have already begun to look forward to this game.

And "L'Equipe" is also very optimistic about England. They feel that there is no reason for England to lose against Ecuador. The most important thing is that England performed extremely well in the group stage. Even though they drew with Sweden in the last game, it is undeniable. England's strength.

"Beckham will be the key to victory!"

The "Kicker" newspaper thinks so, they feel that England's captain David Beckham may become a key figure in the outcome of the game.

Since 2002, Beckham's performance in the England team has not been very good, especially in the World Cup qualifiers, many media and fans have questioned Beckham's ability, saying that he has dragged down the entire team.

However, in this World Cup group stage, everyone has seen the outstanding performance of Beckham in the first two games, which makes them have great confidence in Beckham. At least this proves that Beckham is in good condition, although he Already 30 years old, but with a Bayesian curve ball, he still poses a great threat to opponents.

Most people still think that Wang Licai can truly become the master of the England team, and they hope to see that the royal consort, who is about to win the title of British nobleman, can lead the England team to better results.

At present, it is to lead the England team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup!
It seems that the situation is very good, but in fact there are still many media who are questioning the England team, just because they met a South American team.

Before this World Cup, England had played against South American teams 14 times in the World Cup, and the results were 6 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses. This data is not too bad, but since 86, there has been a strange pattern that has troubled them. For the English, that is, every time they meet South American teams in a major competition, they have to meet two in a row, and the final result will always be the same one win and one loss.

Among them, in the 86 World Cup, after the England team defeated Paraguay 3:0 in the knockout round, they lost to Argentina 1:2 in the quarterfinals;
After defeating Colombia 98:2 in the group stage in 0, they lost to Argentina on penalties in the knockout round;
02年则是小组赛1-0复仇阿根廷，八强赛被巴西2：1淘汰这一规律显然是厄瓜多尔队在赛前所乐于看到的，因为英格兰小组赛中已经6：0击败过巴拉圭。

In response to this law, many media reporters came to interview England players, wanting to know their views on the 'law', which of course can attract the attention of many fans before the competition.

"I never felt like there was a pattern, these were just coincidences."

In an interview, Beckham said: "Now the team is united and we will do everything we can to win. As for the previous rules, it doesn't matter at all. It is difficult to affect everyone's mentality."

Compared with Beckham, Wang Li was much more straightforward. When he heard the news, he laughed out loud and said, "Regular? That's just because I hadn't joined the England team at that time!"

"From this moment on, any laws and history will become a thing of the past. We will do our best. This law will only become the driving force for us to move forward!"

A "Gazzetta dello Sport" female reporter asked: "Alan, can you talk about your views on this game? We all want to know your views on this law and the upcoming Ecuadorian team?"

Wang Li smiled and said, "You know, I'm going to get married after the World Cup."

Hearing this, the reporters at the scene were taken aback, and then Wang Li continued: "I once said that the best wedding gift is the World Cup championship, which will make my marriage perfect! Now, the World Cup has just entered By the round of 16 we had only one underdog, yes underdogs, and you have to admit that, so do you think I'm going to let the team stumble at a time like this?"

Wang Li waved his hand and concluded, "This is impossible!"

"We will win! There is no doubt about it. As for the rules, it is just the past. Just for my marriage, I will not let England lose here. We will easily beat them and rush into the championship. "

Wang Li's speech lifted the spirits of England supporters!

Perhaps England fans have all evolved into Wang Li's supporters, because when many media questioned the England team, this black-haired boy could always stand up and 'point out their mistakes'.Immediately after this, the media will unanimously support Wang Li's statement.

This ability to influence 'media thinking' is really incredible.

But in fact, the media all over Europe and even the world are a little numb to Wang Li. Why?

Because in the past, every time Wang Li said 'we will win', he would be criticized by a large group of media. They satirized Wang Li more than once, and all they got was bitter fruit in the end.When Wang Li's team wins in the end, readers will question the media reporters' intentional reporting of "distorted facts" to attract public attention.

So, they became clowns.

So now, when Wang Li said something certain, many media have all changed their views unanimously to support Wang Li's words. First, such reports can use Wang Li's name to attract the attention of fans. If the statement is proved to be wrong, they can also shift the responsibility to Wang Li.

This is really killing two birds with one stone, and there is no worries at all.

Of course, these have nothing to do with the training of the England team. In fact, since the end of the group stage, the England team has been training in Munich. On the 23rd, they took the bus to Stuttgart. The next game against Ecuador, It will be held at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart.

The World Cup schedule is also tight. After the end of the group stage, the England team only had a five-day rest period. After arriving in Stuttgart, the knockout round of 16 was also approaching.

Number 25!
This game was held on the 25th and was the third round of the knockout round of 16.

On the second day, after the training, the England team returned to the hotel to rest one after another. The players also had some entertainment, because the first match of the World Cup knockout match had already begun. And 'by luck' the No.1 Swedish team in Group B who had three games and three draws.

The final result was 2:0. Perhaps the luck of the Swedish team had run out, and they lost to the German team cleanly.

After watching the whole game, the England players are ready to rest, because they will play the next day, and they will become the protagonists of the world.

After breakfast the next morning, McLaren was not in a hurry to let the players go to training, but directly held a tactical class to make specific arrangements and instructions before the evening game.

These tasks have already been arranged. At this time, the tactical class is just in case during the game. If some unexpected situations are encountered, this arrangement may play a big role.

Of course, the most important thing is to tell each player what needs to be paid attention to on the court and the game tasks that need to be completed.

McLaren did not tell Wang Li that as a striker and England's top scorer, Wang Li's task is to score goals, nothing more.

If he can score goals, he has completed his task. Leading the England team to victory is his main purpose.

As for how Wang Li wants to play on the field, McLaren doesn't care at all. This may be a kind of absolute trust. Tactics may limit the performance of this black-haired kid on the court.

With Mourinho and Carlo's experience in arranging Wang Li, McLaren felt that everything went well and naturally was the best choice.

"You play freely on the field, and your task is to score goals! Let the team score more goals!" McLaren exhorted after the tactical training session.

Wang Li nodded in understanding.

In the afternoon, the England bus drove into the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium.

Gottlieb Daimler Stadium is the home stadium of the Bundesliga team Stuttgart. Its predecessor was the Naka Stadium, which was built in 1933. Since then, it has been expanded and renovated five times. of title.

In 1999, in order to meet the standards set by the National Football Federation for the World Cup, the Stuttgart city government spent a total of 5150 million euros to rebuild the stadium again, and it was completed in 2005. After the reconstruction, Gottlieb Daimler The stadium can accommodate 53200 people (including 47757 seats).

This new stadium that meets the World Cup specifications is very advanced in technology. The entire stadium has been replaced with brand-new Philips lighting equipment, which makes the stadium light more adequate and reasonable, and can mobilize the passion of the fans. In addition, a large TV screen, The public address system and safety technology not only improve the quality of on-site viewing, but also increase the safety factor of the stadium.

In the entire stadium, the most eye-catching thing is the newly added two display screens, each with 115 square meters, which is currently the largest display screen in Europe.

When the entire England team entered the stadium to warm up, almost everyone was watching the two monitors. Joe Cole joked: "If only I could score goals, my attack will be played on these two monitors." Playing it back, that must have felt really good."

"shush"

The other players booed unanimously, but in fact, each of them had some ideas. After all, the display screen is too prominent, and the player images played on it will definitely stand out.

Even Wang Li felt that playing replays of his goals here was definitely a good feeling.

(End of this chapter)