Chapter 556: Three Shots, Three Goals

"This was a tactical mistake on my part!"

In the locker room, before the players said anything, McLaren said directly: "I admit that everything is my fault. I saw this in the first half, but I failed to adjust in time."

Hearing what McClaren said, the English players were very confused. When they heard McClaren talk about the problem of the combination of Hargreaves and Gerrard in the midfield, few people could understand it.

These are problems at the coaching level; the players' tactical level is still a little lacking.

The most important thing is that in the Eriksson era, the England team has always started with the double-D combination in the middle, so why are there problems with the combination of Hargreaves and Gerrard now?

They are hard to understand.

But these are not important. As a player, all they need to do is play according to the head coach's arrangements, that's all. Otherwise, what is the purpose of having a head coach?

In short, they understood McLaren's general meaning, that is, most of the responsibility for England's lagging behind in the first half should be attributed to McLaren, and had little to do with the performance of the players.

This made the England players feel relieved because they regained their confidence.

After a speech, McLaren began to adjust the team's formation for the second half. The first was the midfield issue. Wang Li was arranged to Gerrard's position, while Gerrard was arranged to the forward position.

The players understand this adjustment very well. Wang Li has always performed well in midfield, so it is normal for Gerrard to play as a striker.

But this doesn't seem to help England's offense much, after all, the lineup is still the same, and the players have not changed? Is it really like this? At least Wang Li doesn't think so, because the backward position allows him to get the ball easily, instead of relying on the support of his teammates for everything.

This is very important.

Although Wang Li usually does not take a high-profile approach in the team, he knows very well that the concept of him holding the ball is different from that of other players in the team. Because his technical level is higher, the threat he poses to the opponent when he holds the ball is by no means comparable to that of other players.

After a simple adjustment, McLaren began to instruct each person in the team on the tasks they needed to do. He particularly emphasized the defense line, because the opponent's striker Delgado's heading ability was a great threat to the England defense line. In the first half, the opponent's midfielder Mendes' long-range shot also put a lot of pressure on the England team.

While McLaren was arranging the tasks, in the Ecuadorian locker room, head coach Suarez was also arranging the tactics for the second half. However, his work was very simple because there were no problems with Ecuador's tactics.

Suarez still focuses on instilling the idea of ​​victory in the players. To put it bluntly, he wants to boost the morale of the team and attract them with victory.

"Before the game, I never asked you to win because that is a luxury for us. The opponent is a world-class team. We want to beat them and advance to the quarterfinals. No one will believe it. I believe many of you think so too."

Then, Suarez changed the subject and said, "But now we are ahead! Reaching the knockout stage is already a historic breakthrough for us, but if we can advance to the quarterfinals, perhaps your names will be deeply engraved in the pages of history by the Ecuadorian people!"

“It’s wonderful for us and now we have the opportunity to do that too!”

"In the second half, I hope you can try your best. Don't think about what team the other team is or how valuable their players are. They are just an ordinary team like us. We are leading now, and all we need to do is maintain the advantage until the end of the game! That's all!"

Suarez's words were not too sensational, but the honor of advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Cup is a great attraction for every Ecuadorian player, and each of them hopes that the team can break through this level!

Who doesn’t have a dream?

As a football player, the biggest dream is to win the World Cup trophy, which represents the pinnacle of professional players. As a football team of a small country, it is a historic breakthrough for these grassroots players to enter the World Cup finals.

So why not work harder and strive for greater victory?

The 15-minute halftime break is short for the players and coaches of both teams, but it is very long for the fans present. They all hope to see the second half of the game as soon as possible.

For England supporters, they hope to see England boost morale and eliminate Ecuador, a rural team that dares to challenge the majesty of a world-class team, with a gorgeous goal!

As for neutral fans and Ecuadorian supporters, they hope that Ecuador can create a miracle and create an upset, which is what ordinary fans want to see. Of course, there are very few such fans in the whole stadium, just because the influence of England's superstars is too great, and few neutral fans want to see Ecuador win.

Finally, after 15 minutes, the players of both teams returned to the field. When the referee blew the whistle, the game finally began.

In the second half, England's playing style was not much different from the first half. If there was any difference, it was just the exchange of positions between Wang Li and Gerrard. But in fact, under McLaren's tactics, both of them were offensive players, and there was not much difference between them exchanging positions. At least it was difficult for ordinary fans to see this.

Even the commentator said: "The England team doesn't seem to have made any adjustments. It seems that Mr. McLaren is still very confident in his tactics."

On the other hand, the Ecuadorian team is filled with a spirit of striving. They have become more motivated, and every player dares to fight and grab the ball. They look much more aggressive than the England team.

England may have regained its fighting spirit, but compared with Ecuador, its momentum seems a little weaker.

All of this was seen by the fans in the stands, but in reality, the game was still dominated by England's offense. After all, England was much stronger than Ecuador, and in the tactics of the two teams, England was mainly offensive, while Ecuador was defensive and counterattacking. This was the important reason for this result.

In offense, Wang Li did not have any special ideas, he just played normally according to the team's offensive routine.

Yes, he didn't need to think about anything else.

Even when the team was trailing in the first half, he only looked a little helpless. In fact, although he cared about the outcome of the game, he never thought that the small South American team could win.

The important thing is that he has always felt that he could win by showing his strength since the beginning of the game, and he doesn't need to fight for anything. Such an opponent is not worth fighting for.

So, when he walked back to the locker room at halftime, his expression was so relaxed and natural.

Now, the team is behind, but Wang Li is not in a hurry. Although from the momentum of the two teams, Ecuador seems to be in the upper hand, and each of their players is fighting with all their strength, but Wang Li understands the reason.

Don't the England players want to win?

Do they not have the desire to win? Or do they not care about winning or losing?

Of course not, mainly because the England team is a traditional team. All the teammates are world-class stars. They have participated in many major competitions and are experienced. They perform more steadily and have a more stable mentality in major competitions.

On the other hand, Ecuador is the exact opposite. Most of their players are from small clubs in small South American leagues and seldom participate in any heavyweight competitions. That is why they are so 'full of passion and excitement' in the World Cup, and they showed such 'hard work' after they took the lead over England.

But in reality, does this really make sense?

In a football match, victory is not something that can be achieved simply by having a gun. Strength comes first, and mentality comes second.

As long as you keep a calm mind and perform steadily, you can perform better. Too much excitement will turn into excitement, which is reckless.

The Ecuadorian players may not understand this truth, they are still in "excitement", every player is playing hard like crazy, they tried their best to defend England's attack, and when they got the chance, they immediately launched a quick counterattack to threaten England's goal.

Five minutes later, Wang Li, who had been very calm and rarely showed any highlights, finally got his chance.

After an Ecuadorian player's shot was caught by Thomas with both hands and kicked near the midfield, he was the first to receive the ball while being surrounded by two Ecuadorian players. Afterwards, he used his reaction speed and light footwork to easily get rid of the two players.

Although it was Ecuador's attack just now, they did not rush too far forward. Only four players on the wing and in the middle crossed the center line. The rest of the players still maintained tight defense in the backcourt.

While dribbling the ball, Wang Li scanned the entire Ecuadorian backcourt with his eyes and passed the ball to Joe Cole on the wing.

In this game, Joe Cole's performance was only average, probably because his performance in the group stage was too brilliant. Ecuador's blockade of the left side was very tight, which made it difficult for Joe Cole to dribble on the left and find opportunities for the team.

When there were no opportunities, he took the initiative to reduce the number of times he dribbled the ball, and instead began to seek offensive methods with the team to break through the defense through cooperation.

This is the right approach, and that is why Wang Li chose to pass the ball to him because he felt that Joe Cole was trustworthy.

Sure enough, after receiving the pass this time, Joe Cole still did not choose to rush forward recklessly from the wing. After encountering the opponent's player who came forward to intercept him, he passed the ball diagonally to Hargreaves with a heel. The latter did not stop the ball, but pushed it diagonally back to Wang Li who had already passed two players.

Outside the penalty area!

All European clubs that have played against Wang Li know that this position about 30 meters away from the goal is within the shooting range of this black-haired boy. When he was in Chelsea, since many games relied on Wang Li's performance, he often shot from this position.

When he arrived at Real Madrid, Wang Li seldom shot from this area, because such long-distance shots were not very threatening. Even for him, he had to rely on a bit of luck to score.

But this time, he still shot!

Just because others feel there is no threat, there is a greater hope of scoring a goal!

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Wang Li's mind. After seeing two players coming forward to block him, he made a change of direction and broke through. With a swing of his right calf, he directly kicked the right side of the football with the outside of his foot.

Under the surprised gaze of all the fans, the football flew towards the goal like a cannonball. By the time the opponent's goalkeeper Bellaford reacted, it was too late. The football went straight into the net from the upper right corner of the goal.

Bellaford made a diving move to the right, and like a circus monkey, he jumped from the middle to the right goal post, but unfortunately he didn't touch anything.

"goooooooooal!!! The ball goes in!"

"Alan helped England reverse the score!!"

As the commentator roared, all the England supporters in the stadium finally burst into a huge cheer, because they saw the performance of the black-haired boy again and saw the hope of England's victory.

2:2, the two teams tied and stood on the same starting line again.

After Wang Li scored another goal to equalize the score for England, the morale of the Ecuadorian players was more or less affected, but they did not give up hope.

The score is now only 2:2. Regardless of whether Ecuador will score a goal, as long as they can keep this score until the end of the game, they still have hope of eliminating England in a penalty shootout.

Obviously, the draw score would not make Ecuador give up.

So, after the game resumed, the Ecuadorian players cheered up, found the motivation for the game, and continued to work hard to contribute their abilities to the team's victory.

This makes the game very exciting.

Ecuador also found a good opportunity. In the 67th minute of the game, striker Delgado finally found a chance. Taking advantage of a corner kick, he headed the bottom of the football and made the most threatening shot for Ecuador in the second half.

Unfortunately, Thomas showed his power!

This goalkeeper, who was only 22 years old, finally showed his ability to replace Paul Robinson and become the main goalkeeper. He reacted in an instant and punched the ball out of the penalty area with both fists!

This performance won unanimous applause from the audience. Even the Ecuadorian fans had to admit that the young English goalkeeper was too strong. This kind of ball was almost a sure goal, but Thomas still saved it.

Amazing reaction speed!

Shocking strength!

At this moment, many coaches and football professionals saw the highlight of this ball. They had to re-evaluate the value of Thomas. With such performance in the World Cup, Thomas's value will definitely increase greatly after the game.

Maybe he could consider going to Inter Milan with Mourinho.

Of course, these are not important. What is important is that England got a good counterattack opportunity, which was the first of the game.

In Ecuador's attack just now, their players pressed very forward, which made the back line look a little empty. Gerrard and others participated in the defense just now, but Wang Li did not. In normal games, he almost never returned to his own half.

And now that the wait has paid off, the England supporters in the stadium felt that they were about to see another one-man goal performance.

But unexpectedly, Wang Li did not do so.

After getting the ball just behind the halfway line, he pushed it to David Beckham on the right.

Speaking of which, in this game, Beckham may not be in good shape. His performance was not very good and he could only be described as a qualified right midfielder.

But Wang Li still trusts him. The two have worked together in Real Madrid for more than a year, and he knows Beckham very well.

Sure enough, when Wang Li took a light step and shook off the two Ecuadorian players who were following him, the football seemed to naturally fall directly under his feet! !

Such a wonderful pass drew cheers from the whole audience!

"Beautiful! Beckham completed a wonderful pass!" said the commentator on the scene.

In fact, both Beckham and Wang Li knew in their hearts that, at least in the England team, Beckham only had such a tacit cooperation with Wang Li. The pass just now was not because Beckham's footwork was so good, but because he and Wang Li had cooperated so many times, they had already developed a tacit understanding, and Beckham was very clear about Wang Li's running position and speed.

If it were someone else, it would be difficult for Beckham to kick so accurately.

What's more important is that Wang Li received the pass! At this time, he was already on the left side of the penalty area, only about 15 meters away from the goal, and there was only one Ecuadorian fan in front of him.

"The ball goes in!" Many people who know Wang Li said silently in their hearts at the same time.

The goal was certain, the only difference was how it was scored. However, Wang Li's choice was beyond their expectations, he shot directly!

This was a little unbelievable for Wang Li, because in this situation, he could use his dribbling skills to easily dribble past the goalkeeper and score a goal.

But Wang Li still made this choice.

In fact, this is the easiest way for Wang Li, because he is 100% confident that the ball can go in! !

There is no doubt that the ball went straight into the blind corner of the goal. For Wang Li, the 15-meter distance was the same as standing on the goal line to shoot. How could the opponent's goalkeeper Bellaford react in time! ?

England finally took the lead!!

Three long shots and three goals. At this moment Wang Li finally smiled. He performed a hat trick again.

He stood in Ecuador's penalty area, silently watching the fans in the stadium, watching all his teammates running towards him excitedly, and raised his fists towards the sky.

At this moment, everyone in the audience was cheering for him.

This may be the last scene of Ecuador struggling in the mud

(To be continued)