Chapter 151 Team Dinner (1)
Wang Li thought he played very well in the first half of the game!
This is indeed the case. Two goals helped the team take the lead. As a striker, isn’t this enough?
But what is puzzling is that during the half-time break, head coach Eriksson announced that Wasser would come on the court!
"In the second half of the game, the tactics remain unchanged. You, Vassell, will cooperate with Rooney and still play as a double striker." Just one simple sentence made Wang Li's heart sink to the bottom. If he had to cooperate with Rooney, who would be the next to go?
After Eriksen announced this, almost everyone in the team was stunned. Even the protagonist Wasser was surprised and stuttered: "Boss? You... are talking about me? I play? But..." He pointed at himself with his right finger and asked in disbelief.
"Don't you want to play?" Eriksen glared and swallowed back the rest of Vassell's words. He turned his head guiltily to look at Wang Li who was frowning slightly beside him.
As Aston Villa's first striker, Vassell has a very thorough understanding of the word "striker". This position has only one purpose, that is, to score goals! No matter how superb the skills are, how much applause the performance on the field receives, or how much trouble it causes to the opponent, those are nothing but clouds. Only goals can prove the value of a striker!
That’s right, it’s a goal!
And this black-haired boy contributed two goals in 45 minutes, and these two goals were mostly due to his own abilities!
Even though he didn't touch the ball for most of the first half, even though he and his teammates didn't have a tacit understanding, even though he rarely participated in defense, even though... but, the two goals have covered up all the disadvantages and obscured everyone's brilliance!
But now, the head coach wants to substitute him. How can this not make Vassell confused?
In the locker room, Wang Li sat in a chair in boredom. He knew that the team could not revolve around him alone, and he was indeed just a newcomer in the team. But even though he performed well, the head coach still wanted to replace him. Is this a necessary stage for newcomers? What a joke.
"Alan, don't worry about it. Maybe this is a good thing!" Seeing Wang Li's expression, Campbell walked over slowly, patted his shoulder and comforted him.
Wang Li raised his head and looked at him in surprise, "Good news?"
"That's right! Maybe the boss will use you in the next game!" Campbell said sincerely. This was not without reason. The experienced Campbell was no worse than the average coach in terms of tactical vision. He observed Wang Li on the bench for 45 minutes in the first half and the result was: this kid is very strong and still has some strength left!
What a shocking thing!
After training together for such a long time, the thing he couldn't figure out the most was this black-haired kid. He was always unexpected, and Eriksen obviously could see that, so replacing him was probably also for a kind of protection, to protect the player's abilities from being acquired by the opponent, so that he would have more cards in the knockout rounds.
"Really?" Wang Liqiang smiled, "Thank you."
…………
As soon as the second half started, the fans in the audience found that the black-haired boy who scored twice in the first half was replaced. This was really surprising. Didn't the England team want to win? Come to think of it, this game was not important to the England team at all.
But the French fans are not happy!
If Croatia wins, France will have no hope of qualifying!
Therefore, they were angry!
The cheers and applause in the east stand of the stadium suddenly changed from the first half to a chorus of curses. Within a minute, several generations of Eriksen's relatives were all expressing their high regards!
However, as a world-class coach, Eriksson doesn't care about all this. The fans' feelings are nothing but clouds, not to mention the fans of other teams. Only the team's results are the key.
In fact, Campbell was only half right. The reason why he replaced Wang Li was not entirely for future games. The advantages of this black-haired boy were obvious, but his disadvantages were even more obvious. He found that this boy had not grown up yet, and at this stage he could only be used as a surprise weapon, not as a main general, because when the opponent knew his shortcomings, as long as they did a targeted defense, it would be difficult for him to perform well.
So what if he plays?
In the final stage of the first half, Croatia only sent out Simunić to defend closely and block his route to the ball, which already made him exhausted. How could he play well in the second half? Besides, even if he played well and won the game, what would it matter? Anyway, the England team was already first in the group, so there was no need at all.
As for whether the French team qualifies or not, does it have anything to do with Eriksen?
Although Wang Li's substitution surprised the Croatian team, without this black-haired boy with abnormal speed, their attack was even more reckless. Croatia reversed the slump in the last stage of the first half and launched wave after wave of attacks on the England team's goal. With 45 minutes left in the game, they had to score at least two goals to win in order to ensure their qualification.
As for the French team's game? Their opponents were the Swedes. Who expected those weaklings to win?
The most reliable opportunity is in your own hands!
Faced with this kind of attack, England's young players were a little panicked. Repeated mistakes led to several shots by the opponent that almost resulted in goals. But perhaps Croatia was too eager to score a goal, and they missed several good opportunities. Coach Baric on the sidelines was so angry that he stomped his feet. It is really not easy for this 70-year-old man!
'However, this old man is in great shape. He doesn't even need a pacemaker and can last the entire game.' On the bench, Wang Li thought to himself that he was just waiting for the game to end. He couldn't play anyway, so winning or losing had nothing to do with him or the team's performance.
Time passed slowly, and although the game on the field seemed to be intense, it was far worse than the first half.
In the 75th minute, Croatia's offensive frenzy finally worked. Taking advantage of a corner kick, Senna kicked the ball to the back post. In the chaos, Lampard, who was defending at the front post, jumped up but failed to touch the ball. Tudor almost didn't jump up to head the ball, and Croatia equalized the score.
Unfortunately, before they could make any further progress, Rooney's mid-range shot in the penalty area brought their mood to the bottom, and the England team took the lead again. At the same time, head coach Baric received a desperate "bad news": France defeated Switzerland 3:1!
In other words, if they want to qualify, they must beat England, but there are less than 10 minutes left in the game and the score is 3:2. Oh, the opponent is leading!
As the game was nearing its end, Croatia's No. 11 Sokota took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity and changed the score to 3:3. Unfortunately, this did not change anything.
…………
In the post-match best player voting, Wang Li won the title with an absolute advantage of 83.5 percent, without a doubt. Even though he only played for 45 minutes, in the hearts of French fans, he has become a savior.
Perhaps, they have long forgotten that it was this kid who scored the winning goal in the match between England and France. Otherwise, the French team would never have been so passive near the end of the group stage!
The group stage of Group B has finally ended. In the locker room, the players are preparing to celebrate. No matter what, getting first place in the group is something worth celebrating.
"Go out for dinner?" Wang Li scratched his head, falling into a happy worry. Today, he and Rita had an appointment to have dinner together. Perhaps if it was before, Wang Li would definitely choose his teammates without hesitation, but this time he made an appointment with Rita first, which made him hesitate.
"Hahaha, Alan, do you have a date? Is the little princess coming?" Playboy Bridger saw Wang Li's expression and immediately thought of something and asked in a tentative manner.
"Oh, no!"
"Really?" Rooney also came over and asked doubtfully.
"Really not!"
"Oh, it's such a pity that the little princess didn't come." Rooney shook his head and said jokingly, "I said I would introduce Colleen to him today. She has told me several times."
"Colleen? You still want to take Colleen with you?" Wang Li asked in surprise.
"Of course, don't you know that David's wife is very strict and insisted on celebrating with us, so everyone decided to bring their girlfriends." Rooney said as a matter of course.
"Everyone? Who do you mean? How come I don't know?"
"Because the little princess didn't come! You don't want to take your beautiful agent with you!" Bridge interrupted.
Wang Li chuckled, "How did you know?"
"Fuck!" Bridget raised his middle finger at Wang Li, "Alan, I thought you would be my companion today, but it turns out I'm the only one who's single! You're not satisfied with having the little princess, you're really too fickle!"
Wang Li and Rooney were both stunned for a moment, and then they both looked at Bridge with contempt. It was rare to find someone so thick-skinned. Everyone in England knew that Bridge was the most philandering player in the team!