Chapter 547 Debut

Maradona's words aroused the interest of reporters and reactions from some relevant people.

For example, Pele, the soccer king who was still in Munich as a guest on a German TV station, immediately showed disdain after hearing Maradona's words, and said: "Armando is always like this, he likes to compete, well, this time it may be because of a private bet."

"...I don't care if that English boy is better than me. I think he has a chance to score three goals. Armando is doomed to lose. If he bets with that black-haired boy, he will lose even his **."

“That’s how I see it.”

"Every time I see that black-haired kid playing, it reminds me of the days when I was on the court. As for the comparison between Alan and Armando, there is no doubt about it. Your thoughts are the answer."

In the end, the big-mouthed Pele did not point out which of the two had better skills, but it was not difficult to hear from his words that he was biased towards Wang Li. As the king of football in Brazil, he and Maradona had always had conflicts, which was very common in news in South America, but in Europe, it became big news.

After all, this is a quarrel between the only two football kings in the world.

And Pele's words made the Trinidad and Tobago team unhappy again. After all, he said 'I believe he can score three goals'. If that black-haired boy really scored three goals, then do they still have hope of winning?

There is no hope of victory at all.

So, Trinidad and Tobago's outstanding assistant coach Lisbongan stood up again this time. He attacked Pele and supported Maradona: "I believe that the respected Mr. Maradona will get 1 million. It is simply a pipe dream for that black-haired boy to score three goals."

"They are an all-star team, but we are just as strong. York was once Manchester United's number one star." Lisbongan counterattacked.

Lisbon roots aren't all about the limelight.

On the eve of the second round of the group stage, Trinidad and Tobago must be as strong as their opponents in terms of momentum, so that the players can be motivated. If the England team is allowed to talk nonsense in the media, it will put a lot of pressure on the players' mental state.

After all, the England team is already very strong.

The players of the Trinidad and Tobago team must have stable or even outstanding performance in order to win the game.

At this time, The Sun conducted an exclusive interview with Wang Li. The Sun has always been a die-hard fan of England, so Wang Li had a good impression of this newspaper and he did not refuse the interview request.

During the interview, Wang Li appeared very "modest". He did not talk about the next game at the beginning, but talked about what he and his teammates had gained from the World Cup from a comprehensive perspective.

Wang Li said: "We have clearly seen that the strong teams in other groups played very well and they all won their first games in the World Cup. My teammates and I watched several games and we benefited a lot from the strength and spirit shown by these strong teams."

Afterwards, Wang Li talked about the biggest "competitor". He said: "Perhaps many people think that Brazil and Argentina in South America will be the biggest obstacles for the team to win the championship, but I don't think so. Argentina looks very strong, but Italy also plays very well."

"Now, what people talk about most is Totti's return after a long injury. He scored a goal and contributed an assist, which is very good, almost catching up with my game. If we meet Italy, they will cause us a lot of trouble. I think Italy will be a huge threat to England." "As for the next game..."

At the end of the interview, Wang Li finally talked about what the fans are most concerned about: "Trinidad and Tobago is not bad, but they want to cause us too much trouble, and they still need a lot of efforts..."

"I did have an agreement with Maradona that if I didn't score three goals in the next game, I would lose 1 million euros to him, otherwise he would have to admit that his skills were not as good as mine."

Wang Li was very calm about this issue. He also wanted the media and fans to be witnesses. After all, he did not believe in the integrity of the short and fat man.

"One million euros..."

The reporters from The Sun were obviously very concerned about the amount of the bet. Wang Li's performance reminded them that the young black-haired boy in front of them was the highest-paid football player in the field. The media could also make a brief analysis of his income from various relevant data, but no one knew the specific number except the parties involved.

So the reporter asked this question.

For Wang Li, this is not something that cannot be disclosed. After all, his income is all traceable. Even if he does not say it, the media will conduct relevant investigations to make a rough guess.

'70 million euros'

"The world's highest-paid football player is revealed"

Although the relevant assessments of various institutions are similar to this number, when this number came from Wang Li himself, everyone was still amazed.

You know, the salary of a world-class superstar is only a few million euros. Adding a series of other income, it can reach 10 million euros, which is already very outstanding.

It is estimated that David Beckham's annual income is only about 20 million euros, while Wang Li's income is three times that figure.

This was indeed a big shock to other football players, the media and the fans. Similarly, they understood the situation when they thought of Wang Li's strength, as well as his strong personal charm and influence.

These reports did not cause dissatisfaction among fans. Although the gap between Wang Li's income and that of ordinary working class people is immeasurable, Wang Li's frank admission made fans feel that Wang Li is very friendly. At least he is not like some stars who have high incomes but ignore the fans.

This may be the personal charm.

Of course, fans are more concerned about the bet between Maradona and Wang Li.

Three goals and a hat trick, is it really possible in the World Cup, even against a fish-bone team, and a well-prepared fish-bone team?

Everyone is looking forward to the game.

It was precisely because of this bet that the Group B match, which was not taken seriously before the game, became the focus of the second round and won more attention from fans.

Everyone wanted to see if this black-haired boy who had never failed could continue his success.

Soon, the day of the game arrived. Nuremberg's Frankfurt Stadium was full an hour before the start of the game. Many media reporters also flocked to the stadium to interview fans and stars.

In the interviews with the fans, when asked 'why did they come to watch this game', most of the fans gave the same answer, claiming that they came to 'watch Allen's football performance'.

Obviously, these fans came for Wang Li.

This interview once again allowed the media around the world to see Wang Li's personal charm. When he said he was going to perform a hat trick, so many fans flocked to the Frankfurt Stadium. There were even many fans without tickets outside the stadium just to get close to Wang Li.

These news made the players of Trinidad and Tobago very envious. Perhaps their assistant coach was competent. Lisbon was in high spirits and started a war of words with the England team before the game. However, a simple interview with the black-haired boy No. 21 on the other side made Lisbon's words forgotten by everyone.

The fans who came to watch the game were more to see the performance of the black-haired boy. How is this different from an away game?

Among the spectators, although there were only 3,000 England fans, a number not much different from the 1,000 in Trinidad and Tobago, most of the other tens of thousands of neutral fans came to support England.

This situation looks extremely unfavorable for the Trinidad and Tobago team.

Trinidad and Tobago.

From a realistic perspective, many of these teams play in the British league, but most of them are low-level leagues. Therefore, their match with the English team is more like a challenge from the English League One or even the English League Two to the Premier League. After tenaciously drawing with the Nordic powerhouse Sweden in the first game, they have won everyone's respect.

"Most of our players play in lower leagues and clubs, many of whom you may not have heard of..."

Before the game, Sancho, a defender who plays for Greenham (English League One team), said in an interview with reporters: "We can only watch them (England players) on TV, but now we can compete on the same field. For us, it can be said that it is a dream come true. This is a good opportunity for us to challenge ourselves."

"We are looking forward to drawing with or even defeating England. This is our biggest dream. It doesn't matter even if we lose the group stage."

"England has always been a team I wanted to play against."

Yorke, a former Manchester United star who played for Trinidad and Tobago for four years, said: "It will definitely leave us with great memories to be able to compete with these famous stars who we are familiar with and even played against in clubs on the World Cup stage."

Judging from the attitudes of these two players, although the assistant coaches of the Trinidad and Tobago team looked arrogant, their players were able to recognize the facts. Even though they were pursuing victory, they did not deliberately belittle the England team.

This attitude won the favor of the England players.

Therefore, at the press conference before the game, McLaren only focused on introducing England's preparations and confidence in winning, and did not provoke the opponent again. Wang Li, who appeared at the press conference with the head coach, only talked briskly about some interesting things with his teammates and his marriage after the World Cup.

The last item really aroused the reporter's interest.

Although the wedding of Wang Li and Princess Angela has been confirmed to be held around September, few people know the exact date, and more people think it is a rumor.

However, this time, facing a group of interested media, Wang Li confirmed this matter: "...It should be at that time, but I don't know the specific day."

At this point, Wang Li waved his hands helplessly: "They are preparing now, and for me, the most important thing at the moment is to help the England team win the World Cup. Only this trophy will be the best wedding gift."

Such arguments make the English media very happy. After all, it is now the World Cup, and playing for the England team wholeheartedly is what the media and fans want to see most.

After the press conference, the players of both teams focused their attention and began the intense final preparations before the game.

For Trinidad and Tobago, this game is a challenging event. Opponents like England were once just something they looked up to, but now the two teams are standing on the same field.

Not only head coach Bennett, but every player of the Trinidad and Tobago team was eager to play and to create a miracle. Facing the England team, they were even more motivated than when they played against Sweden.

That's a good thing, Bennett said.

The game was about to officially begin soon. The Trinidad and Tobago team lined up in a 4231 formation. The starting players were: Gray, Sandbridge, Lawrence, West Australia Bould, Whitley, Jones, Birchall, York, Edwards and forward S. John.

Just as the media said, except for Manchester United's former "Black Wind Duo" York, the other players are all players in the lower leagues of England. The performance of such a team that is cobbled together is really worrying.

On the other hand, although Rooney was not included in the England squad due to pressure and Lampard was unable to play due to injury, the lineup is still a gorgeous all-star lineup.

Forwards: Harrelson, Owen

Midfielders: Joe Cole, Gerrard, Wang Li, Beckham

Defenders: Ashley Cole, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher

Goalkeeper: Thomas

This lineup has not changed much from the last game. Rooney was replaced by young player Harrison, and Gerrard replaced the injured Lampard. The biggest change is in the backcourt. Carragher replaced Gary Neville as the starting right back.

As soon as the England lineup came out, they were greeted with cheers from almost all the fans in the stadium. More fans cheered for Wang Li. After the pre-match ceremony, Wang Li stood beside Harrison and said something to him.

This was Harrison's first appearance for England.

Even Sky TV commentator Graham mentioned this: "This little guy is really lucky. He is a starter in his first appearance for England, and he is also a starter in the World Cup."

Harrison's becoming a starting player still caused great surprise to the media. Before the game, most media felt that McLaren's statement of letting Harrison adapt to the atmosphere of the game was just a smokescreen. Moreover, even if Harrison played, it would be after the victory was confirmed in the second half.

At least that's what McLaren said.

But now, the young player has squeezed out Crouch, who was supposed to start, and served as the double striker for the England team with the "old golden boy" Owen.

Such treatment also proves the importance of Harrison in McLaren's heart.

Before the show started, Wang Li had been chatting with Harrison. The reason was not that Wang Li was talking more, but that he found Harrison very nervous.

nervous

Wang Li was a little nervous when he participated in the competition for the first time, but he was more excited, and he also understood why Harrison was nervous.

Although this stadium is not big, at least not as big as top stadiums like Old Trafford, the excitement of the game is enough to make many big-name stars nervous.

Harrison is also a big star now.

Due to his outstanding number of goals in the past two seasons, his value in the transfer market has been driven up to around 20 million euros. After the World Cup, this value will definitely increase further.

But despite this, it was only Harrison's first time playing for the England team, and he was a starter and it was a World Cup group match, so of course he would be nervous.

Can I do it?

Can I be better than Crouch?

“You can do it”

Wang Li seemed to see through Harrison's heart and said to him: "You can do it, Harry. Have you forgotten our agreement? Now that the three of us have fulfilled this agreement, what are you still nervous about? The important thing is that we are together on this field, and we will beat that team. All you have to do is keep your mentality stable and strive to score goals."

Thomas, who was standing in front of the goal, was also watching the two. Although the distance was far, Thomas could understand what they were saying.

Sadly, Pete didn’t make the England squad…

Thinking about the agreement between the four, perhaps this was a pity, but Thomas knew that Pete must be in front of the TV at this time, watching the live broadcast of the game.

Thinking of this, Thomas was filled with fighting spirit.

bring it on

We will win

"come on"

The England players stood in a circle and shouted together to boost morale.

Soon, the players from both teams took their positions on the field, and the referee from Switzerland blew the whistle to start the game.

At this time, Harrison kicked the ball to Owen, and then moved forward. This was his first time to participate in the World Cup. He also knew that Pete must be watching them on TV. At least he couldn't embarrass himself in front of that kid.

nervous?

To hell with that thing.

Harrison kept reminding himself in his heart, and then he received a through ball from the backcourt. It was such a precise ground pass that Harrison didn't even need to look to know it was from Wang Li.

"Thanks"

Harrison said this in his mind, then he took the pass steadily, dribbled past a Trinidad and Tobago defender, and then kicked the ball to Michael Owen who was following him.

Owen received the ball and shot directly from a distance

The opponent's goalkeeper saved the ball, but a shadow suddenly appeared in front of the ball. He was wearing England's white jersey.

"Boom!"

With a dull thud, the football flew into the goal of the Trinidad and Tobago team.