Chapter 80
The focus match of Group E of the 2008 European Championship qualifiers will soon be staged at Wembley Stadium.
"In the first leg, Croatia beat England 2-0 at home. In today's second leg, which is the first round of the Group E match, England will host Croatia at home."
"The Russians lost to the weak Israel in the last round, handing the initiative to the England team. So far, the Russian team has 21 points, the England team has 23 points, and the Croatian team has 26 points."
"That is to say, as long as England draws with or beats Croatia in this match, they will advance together with Croatia!"
At 19:30 local time in the UK, many England fans who were not at the scene turned on the TV on time.
"Good evening, dear audience friends! Welcome to watch the last leg of the European Cup qualifiers, England vs. Croatia at home! We can clearly see that it is raining heavily outside. We pray very sincerely that the rain will stop soon, otherwise the players will play in the rain in fifteen minutes!"
"This may be a disadvantage for the Croatian players, because most of the England players are used to playing in the rain. The rain came at the right time, which greatly increased the chances of England winning."
"Croatia coach Bilic used a 532 formation for this game, with goalkeeper Pletiksa, defenders Srna, Djordje Šimic, Šimunić and R. Kovac, midfielders Modric, Kranjcar and N. Kovac, and forwards Eduardo and Olic."
"England manager McClaren used his favorite 451 formation for this game, with goalkeeper Endritt, defenders Campbell, Bridge, Letsker, Richardson, midfielders Gerrard, Barry, Lampard, Hargreaves, Bentley, and striker Crouch."
Although many English fans and England coaches were shocked by the defensive lineup after seeing the national team's roster announced yesterday, when they saw the shining name of goalkeeper "Endrit", they took a deep breath and were able to barely accept such a lineup.
Thanks to the generosity of the Russians, the England team only needs to draw to qualify, so it is not a big problem. With Endrit there, they can successfully advance even if the score is 0:0.
But at this moment, seeing the starting lineup officially submitted by McLaren before the game, many coaches who had given McLaren a lot of advice before the game suddenly felt dizzy: Why is this guy McLaren so stubborn! Didn't we say that given the current situation of the England team and all their performances this year, they are clearly no longer adaptable to tactical formations other than 442?
Do you really have to use your 451 formation? Wasn’t everything fine when the match roster was announced yesterday? Why did it change when we were about to play in the game today? You, old Deng, act without authorization, right?
"A draw will allow us to qualify, so we must be steady in this game! Steady! Got it?" After saying this in the locker room, McLaren turned his head and looked at Endritt, "Ritter, I hope you can save every goal. Please remember, every time you save a goal, we are closer to qualifying."
Endrette nodded without saying anything. McLaren didn't care. He turned around and called Crouch's name again, "Shoot when you have a chance. Don't hesitate. It's raining today. Try to kick high balls when it rains. Got it?"
After being lectured by McLaren, all the England players walked into Wembley Stadium in the rain. After standing on the court and enjoying the songs sung by black singers, the game was officially announced to have begun.
"Stars such as Owen, Rooney and Terry missed the game due to injuries. Beckham was also placed on the bench, and Crouch played as the lone center forward."
"This crucial match will be played in the rain. If the rain continues, there will be many unexpected events in this match. Our referee Frogfeldt is clearly ready to blow the whistle at any time."
Frogfield put the whistle to his lips and blew it hard. The game started and England had the ball.
After a period of constant probing, Gerrard found his chance in the seventh minute of the game, crossing from the wing and Hargreaves diving to head the ball.
The English fans at the scene could no longer sit still. They all stood up and watched the shot nervously with wide eyes.
"Hargreaves! Diving into the goal! This ball can go in... Oops!" The English commentator slapped his thigh with regret, "What a pity! The angle of the ball is too straight! Croatian goalkeeper Pletiksa easily caught the ball in his arms!"
But the England players on the field had no time to feel sad, because less than a minute after the restart, Croatian midfielder Kranjcar, who currently plays for Portsmouth, made a sudden shot from 25 yards in the penalty area. The football flew in the rain for a while and then hit the grass.
Endrit stopped subconsciously as he stared at the football that stopped hitting the ground, and the commentator's voice also sounded at the same time.
"Kranjcar's cold shot was not timed well... the ball bounced again! Ritter!!!"
At this moment, the commentators sitting in the studio could not speak their minds as fast as they wanted, but the anticipated Endrit was like a fish swimming in the water, he pushed hard with his feet and pounced directly towards the football.
With a dull "bang", Endritt fell directly on the grass. His body pressed down on the football, and the splashing water completely wet his jersey. After Endritt kicked the football to defender Campbell, he looked down and saw several mud spots on his white home jersey, which were particularly obvious.
But this was obviously not the time to dwell on such things. Endritt still remembered that England had lost to Croatia in this match in history, so he did not dare to be distracted at all. He immediately raised his head, blinked a few times, and looked forward through the rain.
A minute later, the ball was passed to the midfield. Hargreaves received the ball and passed it to Crouch. Crouch quickly judged the situation in front of the Croatian goal and chose to fall to the ground and tackle the ball, and the ball was passed to Richardson.
But Richardson obviously failed to understand his teammate Crouch's thoughts in time. He wasted a few seconds and failed to stop the ball. His hasty shot under the double-team of the opposing defender was easily saved by Pletiksa.
Sighs of regret were heard again from the stands.
In the 11th minute of the game, midfielder Barry made a cross pass at the bottom line. Crouch chose to shoot directly after receiving the ball, but unfortunately missed.
The ball was taken by the Croatian players, and the initiative on the field returned to Croatia.
Four minutes later, Croatia organized an attack.
Croatian striker Eduardo, who currently plays for Arsenal, faced three England defenders in front of the penalty area and successfully passed the ball to Olic who successfully got out of offside.
After facing Endrit, Olic first pretended to move to the left, and after failing to dribble past Endrit, he raised his foot and faked a shot to the left. After he bent his legs and retracted them, he found that Endrit was still standing firmly in the same place and was not dribbled. From the corner of his eye, he saw that the nearest English defender to him was already within reach. Olic did not dare to dribble again and tried to face the empty goal. After finding the most tricky angle he could kick, he raised his foot and shot a powerful shot.
Endrit jumped up and held the football in his arms. When Olic turned around with a dark face and ran back, he met the eyes of his teammate Eduardo. They saw each other's helplessness in each other's eyes: How come such a wonderful pass/shot just now didn't go in? !
The England team, which regained possession of the ball thanks to the goalkeeper, launched a counterattack three minutes later. Gerrard dribbled the ball directly into the opponent's penalty area, but before he could go any further, Gerrard was tackled by the opponent's player.
England gets a free kick!
The English fans at the scene were very excited. Endritt also stretched his neck to look at his teammate Barry who took the penalty kick, silently cheering for the player from Villa, the rival of his own club.
'You must come in, please! '
Endrit prayed silently in his heart. Barry accelerated and kicked the football hard. Under Endrit's eager gaze, the football hit the human wall directly without even seeing the opposite goal.
Endrit: ...
Endrit sighed silently in his heart, raised his forearm to wipe his face, and then cheered himself up again.
The forwards couldn't score, the defenders were completely unreliable, and Endrit felt like he was dreaming about his first game in the Champions League - no, it was obviously even worse now.
Endrit wiped his face again, secretly cursing the damn rainy day in England.
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