Chapter 209: Taking on a Mission in a Time of Crisis

When we mention Vienna, the capital of Austria, we first think of its music. Yes, music has been inseparable from Vienna for centuries and is closely linked to it. It is the holy land that gave birth to musical geniuses such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Johann Strauss.

And now, music is an indispensable part of Vienna almost every day.

When people are strolling, they can hear the elegant waltz at any time. In the summer nights, open-air music concerts are held in the park. The melodious music mixed with the fragrance of flowers and plants floats and echoes in the evening breeze. Many families in Vienna have the tradition of indoor performances, especially when the family is happy, they always play, and the beautiful melodies spread throughout the streets and alleys. What's more interesting is that when holding rallies, celebrations, and even government meetings, a piece of classical music is played before and after the meeting. This has almost become a routine.

But in addition to music, this city is also very famous for other aspects, such as its beauty and richness.

Vienna is a city with a high quality of life and a low crime rate. According to a 2002 survey, Vienna ranks fifth among the richest cities in Europe, after London, Luxembourg City, Brussels and Hamburg. In addition, Vienna is known as the "Goddess of the Danube" with a beautiful environment, charming scenery, and warm winters and cool summers.

After the England team arrived in Vienna, on the way to the hotel on the bus, most of the players turned their heads and looked out the window at the scenery. In fact, Vienna is more beautiful than London. This capital of the Holy Roman Empire seems to be full of artistry everywhere.

After arriving at the hotel, Eriksen also understood and asked the players to pack up everything and move freely. It is definitely a pity to come to Vienna but not be able to appreciate its beauty.

Wang Li, Bridget and Beckham got together. Although they were very low-key, Beckham today was really eye-catching because he had a shaved head. This image made Wang Li laugh out loud when he saw it for the first time. This also made them recognized by local fans in Vienna on the way of sightseeing, and many people came to them to ask for autographs.

As a result, the three people's desire to continue sightseeing was completely ruined, so after getting rid of the fans, they went straight back to the hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow's game.

In fact, Wang Li felt that this approach was simply a waste of time, because Mr. Eriksson did not let him start the next day. As the first game of the qualifiers, the Swede attached great importance to it, so today's starting list was almost all players from this year's European Cup main lineup, and Wang Li sat on the bench as a temporary supplement to the team.

It seems that if Wang Li wants to replace Rooney or Owen to become a main player and increase his weight in Eriksen's mind, he will need to work harder.

Although Vienna is a famous city, many people would be confused if they mention football, especially Austrian football. But in fact, the Austrian team has made it to the knockout round of the World Cup finals seven times. Their best result in history was even winning the third place in the World Cup.

Although this was just a group match in the European zone of the World Cup qualifiers, there were still a lot of people paying attention to this game. On September 4th, at least tens of millions of English fans gathered around the TV to watch the live broadcast of the game.

Sky TV anchor Graham returned to work and was responsible for commentating the game. He first introduced the starting lineups of the two teams: "Let's take a look at the England team. The goalkeeper is No. 1 James, the defenders are No. 15 John Terry, No. 6 Campbell, No. 2 Gary Neville and No. 3 Phil Neville. In the midfield, No. 7 captain David Beckham continues to lead the right, No. 4 Gerrard and No. 11 Lampard form a double waist combination, No. 8 Scholes plays on the left, and the forwards are still No. 9 Rooney and No. 10 Owen. "

"Except for some changes in the backcourt, this main lineup is almost exactly the same as this year's European Cup lineup. Perhaps the Swedes feel that more stability is needed in the first group match. However, I personally think that young player Alan Wang, who has scored 7 goals in four Premier League games recently, should start. An extra efficient and in-form shooter will definitely be of great help to the team in scoring goals." It seems that Graham is still a fan of Chelsea, and perhaps his statement will be supported by a large number of Chelsea fans.

After introducing the England team, Graham immediately changed the subject and talked about the Austrian team's lineup, "Goalkeeper No. 1 Manninger, No. 2 Standfest, No. 17 Martin Hayden, No. 13 Markus Katzel, midfielder No. 23 Haas, No. 10 Andreas Ivanschitz..."

The head coach of the Austrian team is the legendary striker Mr. Hans Krankl. It is said that he has won the title of Austrian Footballer of the Year 9 times during his playing career and was famous throughout European football in the 1970s. After coaching the Austrian team, Krankl focused more on the team's tactics. However, perhaps because the Austrian team's forward line is not outstanding, the problem of low goal efficiency has always been a headache for Krankl.

After the start of the game, the Austrian team almost tied with the English team with its tough style of midfield. Hans Krankl arranged a 4321 pyramid formation. Roland Linz, who currently plays for Nice in Ligue 1, was the team's lone striker and was very intimidating. In the first 20 minutes of the game, both of his shots almost resulted in goals.

Andreas Ivanschitz, who currently plays for Rapid Vienna, was very active on the left side. He dribbled through and made crosses time and time again, which made David Beckham, who was not very good at defending on the right side, feel very tough. Fortunately, Gary Neville was also on the right side and often participated in the defense, otherwise the "Bald Beckham" might have been beaten and lost face today.

Looking at England's attack, in this game, Wayne Rooney, as a shadow striker, was roaming around the penalty area looking for opportunities, while Owen's position was a bit erratic, switching back and forth between the left and right sides, making it difficult for the Austrian team to "figure out". However, Mr. Eriksson on the sidelines frowned, perhaps because the golden boy was looking for his form.

In the middle, Lampard and Gerrard, who are always rivals in the league, performed very well. In the first 20 minutes, Lampard frequently intercepted and robbed the ball in the middle, which put a lot of pressure on the Austrian team's offense. During the offense, Lampard's long shot almost scored a goal. Gerrard's performance was also remarkable. He cooperated with Beckham on the right and penetrated the Austrian team's defense several times in a row.

In the 27th minute of the game, Campbell successfully intercepted the ball in the backcourt and made a long pass to the center line. Beckham squeezed an Austrian player with his body, stopped the ball with his chest and then kicked it directly to Gerrard next to him. After Gerrard got the ball, he changed his posture twice in a row, shook off the opponent's player and kicked the ball to Rooney on the left side of the penalty area.

At this time, after Rooney got the ball, he wanted to use his body to knock away the defender and break through with the ball, but he failed. In a hurry, he kicked the ball back to Lampard who was making a run. Facing the incoming ball, the latter shot the ball into the left corner of the goal with a powerful volley.

Lampard's long-range shot helped England take the lead, which made Eriksen on the sidelines breathe a sigh of relief.

After England scored, Austrian coach Hans Krankl did not make any adjustments. Perhaps the legendary star felt that there was nothing wrong with his tactics, but he was just unlucky.

But Krankel immediately regretted it.

Just 5 minutes after the last goal, Scholes dribbled past an opposing defender on the left and passed the ball directly to Terry who came in to assist on the right. The latter then passed the ball directly to Gerrard.

After Gerrard got the ball, he made a small cooperation with Rooney to change the ball possession, and suddenly made a cold shot from the right side of the penalty area, directly hanging the ball into the net. The Austrian goalkeeper Manninger was blocked by the defender and could not react at all.

The game lasted 34 minutes and England scored two goals, which made Wang Li, who was on the bench, a little depressed. Although most fans wanted to see England win easily, as a substitute player, if the situation continued like this, he would hardly have the opportunity to play in the game.

Even if he can play in garbage time, what's the point? Wang Li doesn't need to gain experience in big games or find his form. He's always been in good shape.

During the half-time break, coach Eriksson did not make any tactical adjustments, and the Austrian team replaced the 28-year-old center forward Rodran Coleman, who currently plays for Graz Sport. It seems that they are planning to strengthen the team's offense.

Although the England team performed very well in the first half, it can be seen from the history of football in the past 10 years that the England team's performance has always been immature. When they are behind or ahead by a large score, the players' game state seems to have disappeared.

The same was true in this game. After the start of the second half, the players on the field seemed to be out of shape. They were completely suppressed by the massive attack of the Austrian team right at the start. These big-name stars who performed well in the top leagues seemed to be sleepwalking. Frequent mistakes prevented the England team from breaking through the opponent's half in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

In the 61st minute of the game, Austria's attack, after a series of back-and-forth passes, the ball had reached the baseline. The opponent's No. 23 Haas made a cross from the wing, but Campbell blocked it with his body and the ball went out of the baseline. Austria got a corner kick on the left.

Haas quickly sent a corner kick to his teammates, and then Austria's No. 13 Markus Katzel passed the ball to the small penalty area, and substitute Rodlan Coleman headed the ball into the net.

"One more goal"

"come on"

After Rodlan Coleman scored the goal, the entire Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna was in an uproar. The performance of the Austrian team in the second half of the game made these local fans excited, and this goal gave them hope of equalizing the score.

England coach Eriksson on the sidelines frowned and looked at the bench. Under this situation, if no change was made, the opponent would most likely equalize the score. Having coached the England team for so long, he already knew the team's situation very well.

"Wayne, go warm up"

Bridget was stunned, turned to look at Wang Li, pointed at himself in surprise and said, "Me? Sir?"

"You don't want to play?" Eriksen frowned.

"Oh ok, I'll be there right away"

Obviously, Bridge was surprised that the head coach let him play, and so was Wang Li. However, after thinking about it, it was understandable. This was the first game of the qualifiers. With the team in the lead, it was understandable that Eriksen wanted to play it safe and strengthen the team's defense.

However, after Bridge replaced Phil Neville, the game situation did not change much. The Austrian team's attack was still very smooth. Although the England players gradually regained their form and successfully organized several threatening attacks, Austria still had a great advantage in the whole scene.

This made the English fans who followed the team in the audience very depressed. Before the game, they didn't expect the game to be played like this. Looking at the players on the field of the England team, almost every one of them is worth more than 10 million pounds, which is more valuable than a team made of gold.

But looking at the game scene again, this point was not reflected at all. Fortunately, the team is still in the lead, otherwise perhaps these fans would turn their depression into saliva.

But it didn't take long for the fans to spit. In the 74th minute of the game, the Austrian team passed the ball to the penalty area line after several passes. The opponent's No. 13 Markus Katzel was about to shoot, but Terry, in his anxiety, tripped the former to the ground. The referee took out a yellow card for Terry and awarded a free kick to the Austrian team.

Markus Katzel lifted the ball into the small penalty area, and Rapid Vienna's forward Andreas Ivankitz kicked the ball into the net in the chaos.

“Shh…”

The England team with an all-star lineup played so passively in the second half and was even tied by the opponent. This made the England fans in the audience unable to tolerate it any longer. When the Austrian players celebrated the goal, they all booed. Maybe they were booing their opponents, but more people thought they were booing the England team.

At this time, Eriksson was also extremely anxious. If he lost to Austria in the first qualifying match, the pressure of public opinion would make him passive, and the English Football Association would certainly doubt his ability. Now he was playing very passively on the field, and it was very likely that Austria would take advantage of the victory and score another goal in the next game.

Should we strengthen our defense to keep a point, or strengthen our offense to win the game? This question made Eriksson hesitate.

At this time, Eriksson turned around and saw the black-haired boy on the bench. This young player had performed very well in the recent Premier League games. It was said that he was now at the top of the scorer list with an absolute advantage. He also performed very well in this year's European Cup. After careful consideration, while the game was not restarted, Eriksson gritted his teeth and waved to the bench.

The fourth official of the game showed the substitution card, No. 8 Paul Scholes was replaced by No. 21 Allen.