Chapter 156 How Embarrassing
Under the leadership of Scolari, the Portuguese team still used the 4231 offensive formation today. It seems that they are not afraid of their opponents studying the team's tactics. I don't know whether this is confidence or arrogance. From the opening, they launched a fierce offensive against the England team.
The 442 formation designed by Eriksson was more focused on defense, so from the opening scene, the Portuguese team had been pressing the English team and the ball was rolling back and forth in the English half, making all the English fans nervous, staring at the field, fearing that if they were not careful, the team they supported would be scored a goal.
However, this obviously did not affect Eriksen. Even though the team seemed very passive on the field, the world-class coach still sat calmly on the bench, and he seemed very confident.
Maybe Portugal's attack was too careless, or they hadn't found their form yet. In the 5th minute of the game, Beckham made a beautiful steal and passed the ball directly to Rooney in front of him. Rooney got the ball and quickly moved forward. He and Owen made a wall-to-wall cooperation, and finally Owen kicked the ball into the opponent's net with a single kick, helping England take the lead.
The ball goes in!
It's Michael Owen, our golden boy!
No one expected that such a passive England team would be the first to take the lead. It was really incredible. Even Eriksson and the substitute players off the field were stunned. After they reacted, they hugged each other and celebrated.
But Eriksson, who is always serious, walked to the sidelines and told the team captain David Beckham to make the players follow the tactics formulated before the game. He knew that it was not just a mistake of the opponent, it could only be considered luck. The opponent's attack was surprisingly fierce, one goal was not safe, and a few minutes of slackness might make the rest of the game meaningless.
As expected, as the host country, Portugal was enraged, and the attack was more threatening when they were behind, especially C. Ronaldo and Luis Figo on the left and right flanks. Their superb individual skills, coupled with the short pass cooperation between teammates, made the English fans at the scene sweat every time they passed the ball! Compared with them, Beckham and Scholes, the left and right hands of Manchester United in the cross-century period, seemed much more depressed, and they were more involved in defense.
In this kind of attack, it seemed that England's goal could be penetrated at any time!
At this time, it was the captain David Beckham who played a role. He kept shouting to remind his teammates to be serious and did his job well - three consecutive long passes, which frightened the Portuguese and forced them to retreat a little to strengthen the team's defense. But even so, the English team was still in a passive position. It can only be said that Portugal's offensive ability is too strong, although many people say that they lack a center player who can make the final decision. Speaking of which, Nuno Gomes, who plays for Benfica, is really not good, and I don't know what Scolari likes about him.
In the 27th minute of the game, Portugal's attack finally paid off. Figo dribbled the ball from the right to the end line and passed the ball to the middle of the penalty area. Gomez did not choose to shoot, but kicked the ball to C. Ronaldo who came in from behind!
Cristiano did not miss this opportunity. He deftly dodged Campbell while running, and then kicked the ball directly into the net!
The score became tied at one to one!
This Portuguese rising star once again proved his worth with his legs. On the stage of the European Cup, he always shines!
There was a sudden cheer from the stands of the stadium. They stood up, raised their hands and shouted C. Ronaldo's name loudly, using deafening shouts to express their excitement at the moment.
Looking at Ronaldo who was shouting with his hands raised high in the air, Bridge on the England bench couldn't help but turn to Wang Li and said sourly: "Look, he is so arrogant. If this happened in England, I would definitely kick him off."
Wang Li rolled his eyes and said, "I can understand that you are jealous of him?"
"Jealous? Alan, you really know how to joke. Would I envy that pretty boy? Tell me, how am I not better than him?"
Wang Li turned his head and stared at Bridget for a long time before nodding and saying, "You are better than him at picking up girls. The whole of England knows your name because of this."
"What? Alan, I'm talking about the court!"
"I think you'd better pray to play sooner rather than thinking about this."
"You should have played earlier than me, maybe in the second half." Bridge counted on his fingers and analyzed calmly: "Mr. Eriksson may let you break the deadlock of the game. You know, your goals are always unexpected."
"I hope so..." Wang Li whispered. He didn't know whether he could play or not. He even prayed secretly in his heart that Portugal could score another goal so that he would have a better chance. However, he didn't dare let his teammates know about this idea. This was the final round of the European Cup, not an insignificant warm-up match.
Wang Li's thoughts were obviously not heard by God, and even if he heard them, he would not take them seriously.
After the restart, the two teams started a fierce battle in the midfield. The midfield composed of Costinha, Figo, Deco, C. Ronaldo and other players was no less powerful than the England team. This made the two teams fight very fiercely near the center line. The ball possession was constantly changing, but threatening attacks were difficult to launch. Finally, with a whistle from the referee, the first half of the game ended.
The players on the field all breathed a sigh of relief. In the final stage of the first half, they had consumed too much physical energy. In such a tense game, their energy consumption was also very serious. They had been waiting for this whistle for a long time.
On the way back to the locker room, Wang Li secretly prayed that Eriksson would send him on the field, "Who will replace him? Owen or Rooney?" He knew that Owen was in very good form today and even scored the first goal, so the head coach would not replace him.
But will Rooney be replaced? Maybe.
Although he has a good relationship with Rooney, they are competitors in the same position in the team. Friendship is friendship, and competition is competition. For most English people, they will not confuse the relationship between the two.
In the VIP box on the west stand of the stadium, several members of the England team's wives' group were discussing the first half of the game. Of course, they were not concerned about the players' performance or tactical issues, but were arguing over which player's moves were more handsome. However, today a newcomer joined the wives' group - the Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado. It seemed that Bridget was quick to act, and now, Furtado was working hard to gain the recognition of these wives' group members.
"Oh, by the way, the last time I came to watch Wayne's game, there was a very handsome boy on the England team who performed very well and even scored a goal. Why does it seem like he is not on the court today?" Futado suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.
"Delicate?" Victoria, the big sister, thought for a moment, "Are you talking about Alan?"
"Is his name Alan? The boy with the weird hairstyle?" After the design, Wang Li's head shape was very distinctive, and even this woman who only understood American football remembered it in her mind.
"Maybe it's a tactical arrangement. He has always been on the bench. If I were the head coach, I would definitely let him start because he is so cute. Look over there!" Colleen said and pointed towards the north stand of the stadium and laughed.
I saw a dozen or so beautifully dressed female fans with the England flag painted on their faces standing there listlessly. However, if it weren't for the large banners reading "Alan, Alan, Kiss.You!" in their hands, people who didn't know them would have thought they were loyal England fans!
Unfortunately, Wang Li has not been able to play in the game until now, which makes them feel very embarrassed...
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