Chapter 129 European Cup, here I come! (2)
“What a pity this kick was!”
"That goalkeeper is amazing. I think he is no worse than David. When did English Football League One produce such a goalkeeper? I think he is less than 20 years old."
“Maybe it was an accident, but when I saw the way he saved the penalty just now, I thought it was Buffon. It was so beautiful!”
…
At this moment, a fierce warm-up match is being staged at Wembley Stadium. The two teams are the England national team and Bristol Rovers from the English League One. The strength gap between the two teams is too great. From the opening to now, the England team has been pressing forward and launched a fierce bombardment around Bristol Rovers' half.
Originally, Eriksen arranged this warm-up match to help these players find their confidence and the offensive players find their shooting feel before the European Cup. The performance of Bristol Rovers' number one goalkeeper was so outstanding that even Eriksen was moved.
From the beginning to now, he has saved three sure goals and a penalty kick in a row, so the game has been going on for more than 40 minutes, but the score shown on the big screen is only a pitiful 1:0. This made the fans who came to watch the game on the sidelines start to cheer for the Bristol Rovers goalkeeper!
"Who is he?"
"I think he can make the national team. At least he is much better than David!"
Wang Li sat steadily on the bench, squinting his eyes as he looked at the big white guy in a black and green jersey in front of the opponent's goal. He felt quite gratified. Of course he knew that man, it was Thomas, his roommate in the Wolverhampton youth team!
When Thomas was in Wolverhampton youth team, he was just a mediocre substitute goalkeeper. Unexpectedly, he immediately became the main goalkeeper when he arrived at Bristol Rovers. Judging from his performance in this game, he can even reach the level of a Premier League goalkeeper.
How did Thomas make such a big change in such a short period of time?
Of course it was the Subduing Tiger Fist taught to him by Wang Li!
When Wang Li gave him the album, he just wanted to satisfy his curiosity. However, he did not expect Thomas to be so talented that he actually used these moves on the football field. Seeing Thomas's posture and the strange ball-catching action, he realized the righteous Shaolin martial arts. Although it was just an empty move, it also greatly helped him to perform on the football field.
Even Wang Li had not thought of this. Since he came to this world, he had been thinking about how to be an excellent striker, but he never thought that his skills were more suitable for the goalkeeper position. Whether it was the Tianshan Zhemei Hand, Tianshan Liuyang Palm or Shaolin and other martial arts, most of them were hand skills. If he were to be a goalkeeper, it would be much easier to reach the level of a world-class goalkeeper than to become an outstanding striker.
"Forget it!" Wang Li shook his head and said to himself.
As a goalkeeper, no matter how outstanding he is, how much love will he get from fans? This is definitely very different from a striker, and the job of a goalkeeper on the football field is definitely boring.
Wang Li does not like the position of goalkeeper, because playing football is a kind of enjoyment for him now, and it is not all for becoming a big star or making money. His grandfather's inheritance is enough for him to squander at will, and Wang Li does not need to worry about his future life at all.
…………
There was no halftime break in the warm-up match, and players could be substituted at will. When the time reached 50 minutes, Eriksen waved his hand and Rooney, Ashley Cole, Wang Li, Bridge and King on the bench came on the court one after another.
"Be careful, the other team's goalkeeper is really good." As he passed by Wang Li, Owen kindly reminded him with a frustrated look on his face. Just now on the court, he was blocked twice in a row, which really hit him.
"Thank you, that's Thomas, my former roommate, haha." Wang Li replied ostentatiously.
"Roommate?" Irving stopped at the sideline and blinked in confusion, as if he didn't understand what Wang Li meant. Then he returned to the bench in confusion.
Although Thomas played very well and failed to make England's goal funnel, Bristol Rovers, as a pure English League One team, was too far behind England. It can be said that any player from England could earn as much as their entire team, and this gap cannot be made up by a single goalkeeper.
Sure enough, Wang Li had just been on the pitch for a few minutes, and had even just touched the ball once, when Rooney's cold shot from outside the small penalty area broke through Thomas's goal. Even if Thomas knew a few moves of the Fu Hu Quan, and was faster, there was no way he could defend against such a fast and tricky shot.
"Well done!" Wang Li ran over and clapped his hands with Rooney to celebrate.
"That goalkeeper is very good, you guys know each other. I saw him calling your name just now, could he be your... fan?" Thinking of this possibility, Rooney showed a slightly jealous expression on his face.
“That was my old roommate.”
"So that's how it is!" Rooney exhaled, "Be sure to introduce him to me after the game. He is really good."
…………
Perhaps Thomas' outstanding performance angered these big-name stars. In subsequent games, England's offense did not slow down due to the decline in physical strength, but became more powerful.
Lampard sent a sideline ball from the left side, King received the pass, dribbled past the opponent's defender, and kicked the ball into the penalty area. Rooney directly knocked away the two defenders next to him, jumped up and headed the ball!
Unfortunately, Thomas hit the ball directly out of the baseline with one hand while his body was unbalanced. This beautiful move even attracted applause from the England players. Looking at the roommate mentioned by Wang Li, Rooney could only smile bitterly and give Thomas a thumbs up.
Lampard took a corner kick, and the ball flew towards the back post in a dazzling arc. Unfortunately, the Bristol Rovers defender got into position this time and kicked the ball out of the penalty area.
After a while, the England team made a comeback. Wang Li received a pass in the penalty area, took two steps forward, suddenly changed his stance, easily dribbled past the opponent's defender and lifted the ball directly into the small penalty area. Butt picked it up and headed it towards the left corner of the goal. Thomas, who was on the right, was helpless and could only watch the ball fly into the goal.
Three to zero.
…………
Before the game, no one expected that Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Thomas would be the protagonist of this warm-up match. Subsequent games allowed these big-name English forwards to experience what it was like to be a 'Chinese striker'. No matter how hard they shot, they just couldn't score.
There were four consecutive shots, one each from Gerrard, Rooney, Beckham and Wang Li, but all were blocked left and right by the big white guy in front of the goal. This made the forwards depressed, but also made Eriksen's eyes light up on the sidelines.
England has never had an outstanding goalkeeper. Both Lehmann before and Howard now have various problems and neither can satisfy Eriksson, so he cares a lot about the goalkeepers.
"But it's impossible this time." Eriksson shook his head. If he had been discovered earlier, maybe taking him with him would have been a good choice. However, now the England team's roster has been reported to FIFA. It is difficult to change players, and no one can guarantee that the performance of this big guy on the field is not an accident.
…………
Looking at the ostentatious and amused expression on Thomas' face in front of Bristol Rovers' goal, Wang Li really wanted to teach him a lesson.
When the game was almost over, he finally found his chance. Gerrard's cross was touched by the foot of a Bristol Rovers defender, causing the ball to roll towards him in a disguised direction.
Now, Wang Li's position is right on the edge of the small penalty area, and because of the previous ball, there is no one guarding him. Wang Li will not miss this rare opportunity. With a sly smile on his face, he took a step with his right foot and made a powerful shot.
The ball whizzed towards Thomas. Looking at the ball, Thomas had no time to react. He seemed to have seen his tragic future of being hit in the face by the ball and then being disfigured and hospitalized.
In Thomas' despair, the ball brushed past his right ear and flew into the goal!
After scoring the goal, Wang Li jumped up excitedly and swung his right hand downward in the air. This scene was captured by a reporter and became the cover picture in the newspaper the next day.
PS: Uploading is a bit late, sorry.