our champion dream

Chapter 183

The next day, early in the morning in South Africa time, Li Xiaoming appeared at the hotel where England said he was staying.

For Li Xiaoming, it can be said that he hoped to get some information, and he also came to meet old friends.

I just entered the hotel, and I haven't taken out my mobile phone to make a call.Li Xiaoming's stomach was growling, because he hadn't had time to eat since he came out early in the morning.

Li Xiaoming was hungry, so he decided to have something to eat first.

Walking into the restaurant of the hotel, there is no one around here.Because most of the rooms here are contracted by Ingra above the 3rd floor.The reason why Li Xiaoming was able to come in was because of his connections.

The restaurant is buffet and open plan.After Li Xiaoming paid the money, he went to one of the tables and sat down.Then I asked the waiter for milk and bread, and ate alone.

"Eating so healthy?"

Just as Li Xiaoming was eating, a man in a white sportswear came over and sat down on the chair opposite Li Xiaoming with a large stack of food.

"David? Why did you come down? If you play at night, you should arrange rest at this time." Li Xiaoming asked curiously.

David Beckham said: "I am getting older, how can I still be able to sleep late and wake up late like before."

"Haha, but I haven't congratulated you yet on entering the national team. This is something you've thought about for a long time."

Beckham is also in a good mood, and he is also full of longing for his national team trip: "Fortunately, I have to thank you. I originally joined Manchester United just to be able to rebuild and return to the mainstream vision. , who knew that I not only recovered a very good state, but also won an unexpected championship."

"Naturally, everyone plays for the championship. Without everyone working together, it is impossible to win the championship." Li Xiaoming said with a smile. "But I came here this time with a mission."

"Task?" Beckham was a little curious.

"You also know that we haven't had the chance to play the World Cup, but I personally want to feel the atmosphere of the World Cup, so I followed our country's TV station to be a part-time guest." Li Xiaoming said: "It is convenient to disclose, you guys How's your preparation going?"

Beckham pondered for a while and said: "I can't talk about the tactics involving confidentiality, but I can talk about this World Cup from my own point of view. I think my teammates are still very strong. I think we played in this group. There is no problem. As for the future, it is natural to go further and further. And for me, my last dream is to be on the stage of the World Cup. I think for me, I have fulfilled this dream, so I can Say, I don't have any regrets."

"."

Then the two talked a lot about this topic.The two get along very well.

As time went by, in the restaurant one after another, Li Xiaoming saw the stars of England walking down one after another. In addition to his teammates in Manchester United, other players who injected into Chelsea, such as Lampard and Terry, also joined him. We all have occasional contacts with them. We are all professional players and have a good relationship.

So before leaving, Li Xiaoming took a rare photo with the England team members as a souvenir.

After all, I am from the Premier League. If I say which team I support most, it is the England team.

Although I have no chance to experience the World Cup for the time being, I can still feel the passion brought to them by the World Cup from these England national team players.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, as scheduled, the game between the US team and England started on time

It's just that everyone found that the guest commentator for this game is the star Li Xiaoming who they are very familiar with.

Li Xiaoming was wearing a black suit and sat with the most familiar commentator He Ping, and the two talked about the game.

"Hi everyone, I'm He Ping. This game is a Group C match in the 2010 World Cup. The two sides are the England team known as the Three Lions and the US team from North America. Introducing the special guests for this game. Li Xiaoming. Li Xiaoming, let’s say hello to everyone.”

Li Xiaoming was sitting upright, looking at the camera. He was a little nervous when he was about to start, but he was not so nervous now.

So after He Ping finished introducing himself, Li Xiaoming turned to the camera and said, "Hi everyone, I am the guest commentator for this game, Li Xiaoming."

After the introduction, He Ping deftly flipped through the materials in his hand and introduced: "In this game, in our opinion, the England national team has a very large advantage, whether it is in terms of the strength of the players or the recent Judging by the state of the friendly matches, everyone is very good."

After speaking, He Ping glanced at Li Xiaoming, motioning him to share his opinion.

Li Xiaoming said: "Yes, because I am a Manchester United player, it can be said that this national team has a lot of my teammates. I personally support character. But I must mention that if football is completely determined by social status , Then you don’t need to play, the reason why football can attract people so much lies in its unpredictability.”

He Ping took over the conversation and continued: "I completely agree with Li Xiaoming's statement, then you can ask Li Xiaoming to help us analyze, or predict the trend of this game."

Li Xiaoming looked at the notes that he had done his homework before and said: "England's advantage, the strongest point lies in their midfield. The double German combination can be said to be the most powerful midfield combination in the World Championship. But we must see that the double How to match the German combination is the key point. After all, both of them are very good at attacking, so that their personal style is upward. In the past games, it is not difficult to see that the combination of the double German is actually not good. The second is England. Defensively, there is only the problem of error-prone."

He Ping nodded and continued: "That's true. We rushed to the game and saw that when Lampard and Gerrard appeared on the field, England's style of play was very chaotic, and two players with similar types often appeared. In the same position, or playing with each other, we will see if England can solve this problem in this game. In the pre-match list we got, Lampard and Gerrard appeared as the front and back midfielders of this game respectively In the game."

Li Xiaoming pondered for a while and continued to add: "In my opinion, my personal opinion is that the England team needs a person who can control the rhythm. This person's scheduling in the backcourt can release the attacks of Gerrard and Lampard. force."

"Oh. This is a very new idea. How do you say it?" He Ping asked curiously.Because in his opinion, the issue of dual virtues is an obvious problem in the world. These two are undoubtedly the midfield combination with the strongest offensive ability in the world, but they cannot play the role of one plus one equals two, or even less than one.

Li Xiaoming continued: "In European football, it is not difficult for us to see that the core rear has gradually become a very important idea. This is how Barcelona play, and we also play this way at Manchester United. Even many powerful European teams are gradually Put the command baton that controls the rhythm of offense and defense in the backcourt. Take myself as an example, Ferguson put me more in the frontcourt, and then let Carrick and Beckham provide me with enough possession of the ball. I need What I do is to make the last pass, or to attack the goal directly. It’s not that I can’t organize an attack in the frontcourt, but the backcourt is safer and can see farther.”

"So how do you think England will solve this problem."

"If it were me, I would offer such an idea that Carrick or Beckham could appear in the midfield, push Lampard to the front midfielder, and Gerrard, who has better running ability, can be placed on the right. Location."

"Thank you for Li Xiaoming's analysis. I have said so much, but the answer will always be found in the game. Let's enter the game."

The first round of Group C of the 2010 World Cup officially started.The referee blew the whistle to start the game.In the 4th minute, Husky made the ball, and the new captain Gerrard broke into the penalty area and ejected with his right foot to score.In the 40th minute, Dempsey made a long shot from the outside, and Green threw the ball off his hands and rolled into the goal.

In a series of warm-up matches before the World Cup, the England team led by Capello performed very well. In the last 4 games, they have maintained a complete victory. The two teams have fought 10 games in history, and the England team has 8 wins and 2 losses. leading.The most classic confrontation between the two teams should be in the 1950 World Cup. At that time, the little-known United States defeated England, the originator of modern football, 1-0. Therefore, "England beat the United States 10-1" joke.

In this campaign, Capello selected the striker combination of Rooney and Heskey, Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield, Lennon and Milner one left and one right, Ledley King and Terry guarded the defense, and Green guarded door.In the United States, Donovan and Altidore worked together as a striker, and Howard guarded the gate.

Only 4 minutes into the game, England got off to a fantastic start. Lampard passed the ball, Rooney made a stab in the frontcourt, and Heskey made a ball with his back at the top of the penalty area. Gerrard, who followed up, ejected from the instep of his right foot in the middle of the penalty area. , the ball rolled into the bottom right corner of the goal, England lead 1-0!This is Gerrard's 17th national team goal.World Cup-England 1-1 United States Steven Gerrard scored a gift from the goalkeeper. In the 9th minute, Lampard directly hit the goal with a long-range free kick. The ball hit Donovan's leg and popped out of the bottom line.In the 11th minute, the U.S. team made a cross from the right, and Dempsey headed in the penalty area to grab the goal. Green performed very steadily.

The US team focused on England's top card Rooney, and the Manchester United star performed mediocrely in the first 15 minutes.In the 12th minute, Donovan took a corner kick, and AC Milan defender Onieu's header was blocked from the bottom line in the melee.In the 18th minute, Donovan made an oblique pass from the right to the penalty area, and Altidore headed the ball from the center to grab a spot and missed the goal slightly. One minute later, England played a subtle attack, Lennon made a cross from the right, and Cherendolo made a key interception.Subsequently, Rooney made a vigorous low shot from the outside and hit Taizheng.

In the 26th minute, Dempsey's shot was blocked by Terry, and then Milner tripped Cherendolo behind his back and received the first yellow card of the game. Donovan took a free kick on the right, and Onyewu again It was to grab the landing point and shake his head to attack the goal, but the ball missed the left post.In the 28th minute, Glenn Johnson made a low pass from the right to the penalty area. Howard fell to the ground and threw the ball away. While saving the ball, Husky kicked Howard hard with his leg.In the 31st minute, Capello made an unexpected substitution, and Wright Jr. replaced Milner, who had a yellow card. After 1 minute, Altidore tried a long shot from the outside, and Green easily got the ball.

In the 35th minute, Wright Jr. and Ashley Cole made a wonderful cooperation. The Chelsea Magic Wings entered the penalty area and returned, but was blocked by Cherendolo stretching his legs. Two minutes later, Wright Jr. volleyed with his right foot from 2 yards and missed.In the 26th minute, Cherendolo received a yellow card for a tactical foul on the wing. The US team equalized in the 39th minute. Dempsey's long-range shot from outside the penalty area was originally weak, but England goalkeeper Green made a fatal mistake. He set up his posture He leaned over to hug the ball, but the ball unexpectedly jumped out of his arms and rolled towards the gate. Green turned back and couldn't catch up, 40-1!The United States was lucky to equalize.The sinner Green stood in front of the gate blankly, and the broadcast camera was also specially aimed at Hart and James on the bench.

Changing sides to fight again, Capello continued to deploy troops, and Carragher replaced the injured Ledley King.In the 47th minute, Demerit deliberately fouled Rooney with a handball in order to prevent Rooney from getting the ball. Brazilian referee Simon showed a yellow card warning. One minute later, Lennon passed Boca Negra back from the bottom line with amazing speed, but Rooney was in a bad position and missed an excellent outflanking opportunity.In the 1th minute, Onyewu scrambled for a header, and Rooney hit an empty goal in the penalty area. The defender made a clearance on the goal line, but the line referee raised the flag to signal offside. After 50 minute, Lennon Mousse and Husky made an excellent single Opportunity, Howard firmly blocked the ball.

In the 60th minute, Carragher used scissors feet near the midfield to tackle Finley and received a yellow card. One minute later, Gerrard stepped on Dempsey in the backcourt and was booked for a foul. Donovan passed to the penalty area and Bocanegra headed wide.In the 1rd minute, Lampard dunked the defender with his right foot and volleyed vigorously with his left foot. Howard did not dare to neglect the ball and lifted the ball over the crossbar. Lampard took a corner kick. Glenn Johnson then stopped the ball and volleyed for the first time Partial.In the 63th minute, Altidore broke into the penalty area with Carragher raw, and forced a shot from a small angle on the left. Green struggled to support it, and the ball hit the post and popped out!England escaped.

In the 68th minute, Lampard hit the stands with a free kick from 28 yards.In the 71st minute, Gerrard made a cross, and Rooney headed the goal wide.In the 74th minute, Finley brought down Gerrard and got a yellow card for a foul.Subsequently, Lampard passed the ball, Rooney shot a cold arrow from the outside, and the ball went slightly wide.In the 75th minute, Rooney made the ball, and Wright Jr. shot with his right foot from the left side of the penalty area and was blocked.In the 79th minute, Capello used the last substitution and Crouch replaced Heskey.In the 84th minute, Lennon passed the ball from the right, and Lampard outflanked and missed the opportunity.At the end of the game, England finally tied the United States 1-1.

(End of this chapter)