Chapter 128 European Cup, here I come! (1)
Eriksen's training plan is very boring, it is always tactical drills. This kind of training is different from that in the club. The task of the national team coach is to make the star players of these clubs cooperate with each other and play to their strengths without worrying about their skills, strength not meeting the standards or inability to adapt to the team's style of play.
For the head coach of a national team, there is no headache for not having players. If they can't adapt, just make a substitution. It's that simple.
During this process, Wang Li also became familiar with his teammates. In addition to Beckham and others, he also got along well with several young people such as Rooney and Bridge.
…………
The boring training life is finally over. These big-name stars couldn't stand living in the players' dormitory and eating nutritious meals every day. After Eriksson announced the end of the training, they immediately dispersed.
To celebrate the end of this "hard" life, Wang Li followed Rooney, Joe Cole, Bridge and others directly to the pub next to the London Park.
"No, I really can't drink!" Under the enthusiastic greetings of several teammates, Wang Li was a little overwhelmed and took a bottle of drink from the side, trying to get away with it.
In fact, he did this on purpose. Several teammates next to him had no idea how much Wang Li could drink and kept asking him to drink. When Wang Li saw this situation, it was as if he had seen their ending. When he thought about taking care of three grown men, he felt a little headache, so he kept refusing.
But others did not understand his thoughts. The wine table is another battlefield for men. When Rooney and others saw Wang Li's performance, they thought he was easy to "bully", so they used all their strength to deal with him.
In the previous week of training, Wang Li's performance could really be described as stunning, at least in terms of technology. They knew that they could not compare with him at all, so they wanted to get him drunk to get revenge, which might be what most people would think.
"Today, you must drink. The training is over, and we should celebrate happily. Come on, Alan, let's have a drink together!" Bridge saw that the persuasion of several people did not work, so he raised his glass, tilted his head back and drank it all, then said smugly: "See, this is what a man is!"
Wang Li looked at him with a slightly sympathetic eye, thinking, I'm doing this for your own good. Now that things have come to this, it would be too disrespectful if I didn't drink. He could only smile bitterly and drink the wine glass in one gulp.
Bridget felt that there was something unusual in Wang Li's eyes, but when he saw Wang Li drink the wine in the glass, he immediately forgot about it in excitement.
"Alan, you're lucky to be in the European Cup the first time you join the England team. Maybe you can score a goal this time. That would be a record-breaking achievement! The youngest goalscorer in the European Cup, what a wonderful title! Cheers!"
"I wish the England team good results. Go!"
"Alan, come to Chelsea next season. I welcome you on behalf of the team. Go!"
…
After Wang Li started drinking, several people began to find excuses to get him drunk, but after a few drinks, they felt that something was wrong. When they were all dizzy, Wang Li was still sitting there smiling, as if he had not drunk the wine at all.
However, it was too late. After a while, all three of them were not conscious. Except for Joe Cole who could still speak, Rooney and Bridge had already fallen asleep.
Seeing this situation, Wang Li frowned and thought for a while, then took out Rooney's mobile phone from his trouser pocket, found the number of his girlfriend Colleen, and called her directly.
"Hello, I'm Rooney's teammate. Something's happened to him. Come to Hoddle's Bar, the one on Marley Street!"
"Is that Mr. Hossen? Something happened to Bridget, right here at Hodel's Bar, hurry up, he might have to go to the hospital!"
After making the two calls, Wang Li asked the waiter for two bottles of drinks, and chatted with Joe Cole while helping him sober up.
"Alan, I can't tell. You're so mean."
“I didn’t want to drink it.”
"I mean, you call their family and just say 'something happened', it's scary!" Joe Cole said with lingering fear. He really couldn't imagine what would happen if he collapsed now and his wife found out. You know, his status in the family was not high.
"Don't you think this would be useful? I have to go on a date with Angela later and won't have time to take care of them." Wang Li spread his hands and said helplessly.
"You really value women over friendship!"
"Thank you for the compliment!"
…
Sure enough, after a while, Colleen hurried over and took away the drunk Rooney. Then Bridget's father Hossen took Bridget who was lying under the table away, and also expressed his gratitude to Wang Li and Joe Cole.
"Look, they even want to thank me." Sitting at the table, Wang Li pointed at Huo Sen's back and said to Joe Cole.
"..." At this moment, Joe Cole decided that he would never drink with Wang Li again.
…………
On May 24th, the draw ceremony for the group stage of the European Cup finals was held in Lisbon, Portugal. England head coach Eriksson and FA CEO Horvan De Lisa represented the England team in the group draw.
This afternoon, UEFA announced the grouping results of the European Cup:
Group A: Portugal, Spain, Russia, Greece
Group B: France, England, Switzerland, Croatia
Group C: Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria
Group D: Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Latvia
According to the usual rules, the four teams will compete against each other, and the two teams with the most points in three games will advance to the knockout stage, which is the quarter-finals.
In Group B, the media is of course still optimistic about the defending champion France team. The thought of a team composed of stars such as Desailly, Pires, Vieira, Zidane, Henry, Trezeguet and others is daunting. Unlike the England team which has many new stars, most of the French team members are members of the glorious generation of 1998 (the French team won the World Cup in 1998). In the hearts of the fans, the French team has almost secured a place in the knockout rounds, which even the England media cannot deny.
"We hope to repeat our performance in the 2000 European Championship in Portugal and not do as badly as in the 2002 World Cup finals. The players are very confident and I believe in them!" As the head coach of the defending champion French team, Jacques Santini bears an unspoken burden, but when he was interviewed by the media, he looked very optimistic.
Of course, the England team followed closely behind. The England team led by Beckham and Owen is no less impressive than the French team in terms of lineup, and even their total value is higher than that of the French team. However, due to the England team's historical decline in international competitions, they are not favored by the media. But qualifying from the group should not be a problem, after all, the gap between Switzerland and Croatia and the two seeded teams is too big.
But some foreign media are also optimistic about Croatia. This team has always been known for its tenacity. The team composed of many stars such as Butina Simic, Robert Kovac, Tudor, Simunić and others should not be underestimated. Although the lineup is not as good as the French and English teams, their fighting spirit is worthy of recognition. No team can guarantee that they can beat the 1998 World Cup third place!