Chapter 142: Great Victory (2)
The development of this game was completely beyond the expectations of the media and fans. From the beginning, the England team did not make any tentative attacks, but pressed forward in a big way, looking like they had the opponent sure of their victory. The activeness of Rooney and Owen in the penalty area, the threatening long shots of Gerrard and Scholes, and the accurate crosses of Beckham made the Swiss team miss the goal frequently.
Five minutes into the game, Switzerland head coach Jakob Kuhn could not help but stand on the sidelines on the bench, gesturing to the team to defend well. He also kept walking back and forth, shouting to remind the defensive players, fearing that they would be scored by the opponent if they were not careful.
However, Switzerland's defense, which relied on numbers, had little effect on England. England's midfielders Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes were all very good at long-range shots, and Beckham was a world-class set-piece expert, which made Switzerland dare not use fouls to stop England's attack.
Beckham was just too good. His casual arc passes could even be accurate to within one meter, and each time they would cause cheers from the audience and make Jacob Kuhn on the sidelines break out in a cold sweat. This 69-year-old Swiss coach was leading his team to participate in the European Cup finals for the first time. At this time, the fourth official immediately ran over and persuaded the white-haired and heavily breathing old man to leave. They didn't want anyone to lose their lives because of a game.
Hard work always pays off. In the 23rd minute of the game, England scored a goal.
Beckham made a cross from the right, Owen stopped the ball and then passed it to Rooney, who made a diving move and headed the ball into the goal.
At this moment, all the England fans in the audience stood up and cheered for the goal. This was also Rooney's first goal in the European Cup finals after joining the national team.
The commentator also took the opportunity to praise: "Wayne Rooney is indeed a genius. Looking at the first 20 minutes of the game, the Swiss defenders had no way to deal with him. With him, England will not lack forward players in the next 10 or even 15 years."
The Swiss fans looked at the ball rolling in their own goal with disappointment. They didn't know what they felt. Should they defend the ball? It was only 20 minutes into the game.
After the game resumed, England not only had the advantage in score, but the mentality of the players of both teams also changed. England was full of energy and bombarded the opponent's goal. Unlike the beginning of the game, with a one-point advantage, the players had less pressure, which made them play more easily. Just like what the Swede Eriksson said before the game, "After scoring the first goal, you should think about scoring the second goal. You must not be satisfied. Football games are a life-and-death battlefield. You must never stop chasing goals to make the opponent unable to fight back."
The crazy offensive frenzy did not end until the halftime whistle. The England players walked towards the locker room with laughter, while in contrast, Jacob Kuhn's face turned black on the sidelines. It seemed that the Swiss players could not escape Kuhn's verbal attack after returning to the locker room.
"I hope Kuhn doesn't have the same temper as Ferguson." Rooney, who was feeling good after scoring the goal, joked with a smile.
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"At the beginning of the second half, we must pay attention to defense. The Swiss will not give up easily." In the locker room, Eriksson was making tactical arrangements for the second half. "Dyer, you will replace Scholes in the second half. Remember to press forward more and cross the ball when you have the chance. Remember to do less small-scale cooperation to reduce mistakes on the field."
It seems that the Swedes are somewhat dissatisfied with Scholes who did not do much in the two games. He played no role at all in the first half. The main attack was launched from Beckham's right, and the left almost became the weak point of the England team.
The situation in the second half developed just as Eriksson expected. Switzerland changed its sluggish trend in the first half and launched a massive counterattack by pulling away from both wings. They wanted to use the opening stage to catch up and make up for the disadvantage. Their attack was also quite threatening. Huger and Celestini on the left and right flanks had strong breakthrough abilities and frequently attacked the flanks of the England team. Beckham and Dyer, who had weaker defensive abilities, were left helpless.
However, even England's back line was not something Switzerland could contend with. Under Campbell's organization, the ball could not enter England's penalty area at all and was always cleared away with a long kick. What followed was England's powerful counterattack. The smooth coordination and outstanding individual ability allowed the ball to be passed directly from the backcourt to the Swiss team's penalty area after a few kicks. England's counterattack was so fast that if Owen had not consumed too much energy and his shot was a little weak, the score would have been rewritten long ago.
In the 70th minute of the game, Swiss defender Haas pulled Owen and was shown a yellow card by the referee Ivanov. Two yellow cards turned into a red card and he was sent off. The Swiss team had to play with 10 players. Just 4 minutes later, Rooney received a wonderful pass from Owen in the penalty area. Rooney broke into the penalty area and made a slight adjustment. He then shot a powerful shot with his right foot from 14 meters in front of the goal. The ball hit the near post and then hit the back of the head of goalkeeper Still who fell to the ground to save the ball and bounced into the goal. Rooney scored twice.
In the 79th minute, England executed a tactical corner kick. Beckham passed the ball directly to Gerrard at the corner flagpole, and Gerrard shot from a small angle to add icing on the cake for the team.
"3:0. In the 79th minute of the second half, Gerrard scored another goal. It seems that the Swiss team is really powerless to turn the tide. It is wishful thinking to want to equalize the score in the next 10 minutes." Graham commented excitedly on Sky TV.
This is indeed the case. Jacob Kuhn started to make substitutions. He replaced three young players, Cabanas, Von Lantang and Giga, at one time. It seems that he intends to let these future pillars of the Swiss team adapt to the atmosphere of the competition in advance.
Seeing his opponent's surrender, Eriksen smiled with satisfaction. He nodded to the expectant Wang Li, and then the fourth official raised the substitution card: No. 10 replaced No. 21, and Wang Li replaced the exhausted Michael Owen.
Although the following game became garbage time, for a newcomer to the England team, this opportunity is hard to come by. Wang Li will not waste any time. In the game, every performance is a bargaining chip for his future competition for the main position. The competition among professional players is very cruel.
As the game continued, the England players, who had not had such a refreshing kill in an international match for a long time, didn't care how pitiful their opponents were. They came to the front court in high spirits, ready to fight again. The Swiss team, which had lost their fighting spirit, had no power to fight back at all. They could only passively endure this **-like baptism, counterattacking from time to time, but they were also powerless, as if they were half-pushed and half-succeeded to the England team.
Opportunities always come to those who are prepared, and the same applies on the court.
In the 85th minute of the game, Beckham, Gerrard and Ashley Cole played an exquisite short pass cooperation. More than ten consecutive passes made the Swiss players at a loss. Finally, Beckham hit the ball with his heel on the right side of the penalty area and passed it back to Wang Li who was unguarded.
Faced with this opportunity, Wang Li excitedly gathered his inner strength, swung his right leg and shot directly into the goal. The ball was hit straight, but the force was too great. Swiss goalkeeper Still reacted and touched the ball with his right hand, but the ball was only slightly tilted and still went straight into the goal and hit the net.
Still stood up and rubbed his wrist, then sat on the ground, looking toward the England bench with a sad look, as if to say, "You still have a player with such a strong long-range shot, let him come on the field earlier and kick me off, so I don't have to stand here and get rubbed so many times in a row."
As the referee blew the whistle, the Swiss players all sat on the grass. This was not only physically exhausting, but also mentally exhausting. For these professional players, the blow of being powerless in the game was the heaviest.
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