Chapter 539 Semi-final opponent——France!
Germany's elimination is good news for the host France team.
At least they have one less competitor for the championship, and judging from the performance of the Spanish team in this game, they don't seem to be that strong.
This gave the French confidence that they really had a chance to win the cup at home.
In the final quarter-final that followed, the French team also successfully played their own style and at their own level.
Facing Iceland, the biggest dark horse of this European Cup, the French showed no intention of showing mercy.
Four goals were scored in the first half, with Giroud, Pogba, Griezmann and Payet all scoring.
The French fans in the stands of the Stade de France were all very excited. This was the performance they thought the French team should have! The Icelandic team was a little confused by the beating. They lost four goals in the first half. The opponent's offensive power was so strong that it was beyond their imagination.
The huge disadvantage caused the second half of the game to enter garbage time before it even started.
In fact, it was not only the Icelanders who were shocked. Fans from other countries who watched the first half of the game were also shocked by the French's terrifying offensive ability.
Although Iceland is a dark horse, they have tied with Portugal and defeated England, so their strength is not weak.
But they seemed to be beaten without any chance to fight back in front of the French team, and the two sides seemed to be teams of completely different levels.
The scene in the first half was so bloody that some neutral fans couldn't bear it.
"It's too brutal! The French team was too harsh!"
"At this rate of scoring, the French team may break the European Cup score record in this match!"
"It's very likely. The number of goals scored in this game is already the highest in this European Cup!"
Perhaps he was a little complacent after taking a big lead, or perhaps he was trying to save his strength for the next, more crucial game.
After the start of the second half, the French team's performance was a little slack.
The opposing Icelandic team did not give up attacking even after knowing that they had no hope of advancing.
They are still trying hard to score a goal and try to save face.
And they did not have to wait too long for such an opportunity. In the 55th minute of the second half, after unremitting efforts, the Icelandic team finally scored a goal and changed the score to 4:1. After losing the ball, the French team took it seriously for a while. Only a few minutes later, Giroud scored twice and widened the gap to 4 points again.
After that, France coach Deschamps began to make large-scale substitutions. Giroud, who scored two goals, was replaced early in the 60th minute and received applause from the audience alone.
Subsequently, Payet, Griezmann and others were also replaced.
France's next opponent is defending champion Spain. Considering that Spain's game ended the day before them, they will have one more day of rest before the semi-final.
This is somewhat disadvantageous for the French team, so Deschamps replaced these main players early to reduce their physical energy consumption and give them more time to rest.
After the French team replaced a large number of main players, Iceland scored another goal in the 84th minute of the second half, setting the score at 5:2. After the game, the semi-final matchups of this European Cup were also announced.
The four teams that made it to the semi-finals were Portugal, Wales, Spain and host France.
Since both teams in the upper half are not very strong, the audience focused their attention on the semi-final in the lower half.
Everyone agrees that the winner between France and Spain will most likely be the champion of this European Cup.
As for the question of which team they prefer between Spain and France, fans are also very divided.
Some fans who support Spain believe that Spain has just defeated the powerful German team and proved its strength in a head-to-head contest.
Although the French team also advanced to the semi-finals, their opponents are not strong, which raises a question mark about the strength of the French team.
Without being tested by a truly strong enemy, their fighting ability is not so convincing.
Fans who support the French team are dismissive of this, as it is not like the French team has not fought tough battles in the past few years.
Teams such as Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Brazil have all lost to France in the past two years. France has won 10 consecutive games in all competitions.
Therefore, there is no need to question the strength of this French team. They definitely have the ability to defeat strong enemies.
"Hehe, do the results of the warm-up matches count?"
A Spanish fan responded bluntly:
"In the past two years, Spain has lost a lot of warm-up matches. Even teams like Chile and Georgia have beaten Spain in warm-up matches. Does this prove that the Spanish team is not as strong as these teams?"
"The warm-up matches are just a testing ground for teams to test their tactics, players' conditions and lineups. The results of the warm-up matches have no reference value at all!"
"The standard for testing a strong team is always its performance in major tournaments, and the performance of the French team in the past few major tournaments is really disappointing!"
The Spanish fans' counterattack was very sharp. They seized on the French team's poor performance in international competitions in recent years and made the French feel ashamed.
The French team is a traditional strong team, and its foundation is even stronger than that of Spain.
But since the 2006 World Cup, they have fallen into a slump and have not been able to recover from two World Cups and two European Cups.
It was not until a few years ago, after Deschamps took over the French team and vigorously promoted a group of young players, that the French team's performance showed some improvement.
The French team's performance at this time is obviously better than the previous low period, but before they have entered the test of major competitions and achieved enough results, the outside world has always had doubts about their strength.
…
After learning that the opponent was the French team, Spanish coach Bosque couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Although this French team does not have many honors, Bosque does not dare to underestimate the opponent.
This French team is definitely a strong team and is no easier to deal with than the German team.
Although their game ended one day earlier than France's, they had one more day of rest.
But the opponents they encountered along the way were all strong, such as Italy and Germany, who were the favorites to win this European Cup.
France's opponents are second- and third-rate teams such as Ireland and Iceland.
Compared to the Spanish team, the French team won more easily, with less consumption, and their players didn't even receive many yellow cards.
More importantly, the average age of this French team is very young, and it is a very young team.
Several of their core players, such as Pogba, Kante, Griezmann and others, are all under 25 years old, and they are all players with strong physical fitness and a wide range of activities on the court.
Facing such a young and aggressive opponent, it is difficult for Spain's aging lineup to gain an advantage.
To this end, Bosque must make targeted adjustments to the team's tactical play to avoid being dragged down by the younger French team.
…
Bosque is having a headache about how to deal with the French team, and France's coach Deschamps is also worried about how to limit Spain's Lin Quan.
In the past few games, the French team has started from the flanks.
But in terms of wing attacking strength, the Spanish team is better because they have a presence that is difficult for the French team to defend.
How to limit Lin Quan's performance is the key to whether the French team can win the game.
If they could successfully freeze Lin Quan and prevent him from fully exerting his strength, it would not be difficult for the French team to win the game given their lineup strength.
And there is another advantage for the French team, that is, their lineup is relatively neat, while the Spanish team's lineup is not neat.
"Have you found out the extent of Iniesta's injury?"
After Xavi retired, Xiaobai became the most indispensable player in the Spanish midfield.
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This general was injured in the last game against Germany.
It has only been two or three days since the last game. If Iniesta's injury was a little more serious, he would definitely not be able to catch up with this game.
Once Spain's midfield is missing Iniesta, their offensive threat will be greatly reduced, and the French team can safely and boldly invest more manpower to limit Lin Quan.
"The Spanish team has blocked the news. It is not clear what the injury situation of Iniesta is, but I think there is a high probability that he will not be able to play!"
Regarding Iniesta's injury, the Spanish team was very cautious and did not release any information. Obviously, they did not want their opponents to know the news in advance.
"Spain's midfield is not as luxurious as before. If Iniesta is really unable to play, we have to be careful that Bosque will withdraw Lin Quan's position and let him become the midfield commander."
Deschamps has studied Lin Quan in depth and also inquired about Lin Quan's information from his club teammate Kante, knowing that he often retreated to the middle in Manchester City.
If Spain really does this, although it will weaken the offensive power of the front line, the strength of the midfield will obviously be greatly enhanced.
The 20-year-old Lin Quan is obviously much stronger than the 32-year-old Iniesta.
After some research, Deschamps made a decision: "Let Kante mark him, and let Griezmann assist Kante. Once the ball is successfully intercepted, with Griezmann's ability, he can immediately launch a counterattack and threaten the opponent's goal!"
…
The departure of Xavi and Xabi Alonso and the absence of Cazorla have made the Spanish midfield configuration much dimmer than before and not as luxurious as it was a few years ago.
Among the new generation of midfielders, there is no one who can reach the level of Habasit.
This resulted in Spain having few options, and Bosque did not choose to call Diego Costa into the team, which also reduced the strength of Spain's forward line.
Morata's performance has improved, but it's not enough.
He alone is not able to carry the heavy responsibility of Spain's attack.
Before the game, the bookmakers published the odds for this game.
Although there are many voices outside that are pessimistic about the French team, the betting companies obviously do not think so.
The odds of defending champion Spain are not much higher than those of France. The odds offered by the bookmakers are that the visiting team will give half a goal or no goal at all.
Compared with the handicap of the French and Spanish teams, the handicap of Portugal and Wales is clearer.
Although Portugal's road to promotion in the group stage was very bumpy, it almost relied on the advantage of goal difference to get the last qualifying spot.
But their performance in the knockout rounds was indeed good, first defeating Croatia and then losing to Poland. These two games changed the outside world's impression of them. Although not many people are optimistic about them winning the championship, there are still many people who think they will defeat Wales.
Before the game, the odds offered by the bookmakers were that the home team would give up 1 goal, and almost everyone was optimistic that Portugal would win.
It’s quite interesting to say that all the people Ronaldo met along the way were teammates from his club.
In the quarter-finals, they faced Croatia led by Modric, and in the semi-finals, they faced Wales led by Bale.
If they can really beat Wales, they will advance by stepping on the dead bodies of their teammates.
This can't help but remind people of the time when Ronaldo and Rooney were teammates and Rooney's red card in the match between Portugal and England.
When it comes to killing his teammates, Ronaldo is professional.
On July 7, the match between Portugal and Wales kicked off first.
C Ronaldo did not disappoint the outside world's expectations. In the match against Wales, he really stepped forward and scored the first goal to help Portugal establish the lead.
After falling behind in the score, Wales was in chaos and the players were anxious to counterattack, but they did not expect that they exposed their own loopholes and were hit by a fatal counterattack by the opponent.
Only 3 minutes later, Portugal scored another goal with Nani's goal, changing the score to 2:0. After conceding two goals in just 3 minutes, Wales was in chaos and the players' morale plummeted.
Although they launched a fierce counterattack after falling behind, Bale even received a yellow card for his hasty counterattack.
But their efforts went unrewarded in the face of the experienced Portuguese team.
At the end of the game, the score was fixed at 2:0.
Portugal was the first to reach the final! Despite their poor performance in the group stage, they made it all the way to the final.
This is really incredible!
However, even if they made it to the final, the outside world was not optimistic about Portugal. After all, Portugal's strength was not even enough to make it into the top four in this European Cup.
Belgium, Italy, Germany, France and Spain, which of these four teams is not better than them?
"Haha, I was just lucky. The opponents I met along the way were all weaklings, so I only made it to the finals. There's nothing to be happy about!"
Because Ronaldo is the absolute core of the Portuguese team, a large number of Ronaldo's black fans have been mocking him online.
Of course, there are many Messi fans who have been fighting with Ronaldo fans for many years.
(End of this chapter)