Chapter 558: Battle of Revenge (1)
England VS Portugal
As the war began, English fans went crazy
The game was held at the Schalke Stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Gelsenkirchen is located in the Ruhr area, a heavy industrial base in the northwest corner of Germany. It is a small city with a population of only 270,000.
The processing and manufacturing of coal and steel is the main economic pillar of this city, which is also a common feature of cities in the Ruhr area.
In the past, Gelsenkirchen was called the "City of a Thousand Fires" by Europeans because of its numerous blast furnaces, coke ovens and steel mills. Now that this area is covered by solar energy and is in a leading position in the field of solar energy, Gelsenkirchen's name has changed from "City of a Thousand Fires" to "City of a Thousand Suns".
It is worth mentioning that on the first day of the game, Gelsenkirchen was already filled with crazy influx of English fans, with nearly 80,000 English fans pouring into the entire city.
At the same time, due to the influence of holidays and the World Cup, the population of the entire city of Gelsenkirchen is less than 200,000. With so many English fans, Gelsenkirchen has completely become an English territory.
Sky Sports News also mentioned: "Gelsenkirchen has now become a sea of English fans. Walking in the streets of the city, you only hear English and see English people. This place has been "occupied" by English fans."
As Sky TV said, walking in the streets of Gelsenkirchen, you can see England fans almost everywhere, and all the hotels in the city have already been occupied, and more England fans will choose to spend the night on the streets.
This is also a good option in early August when it is warm.
Media from all over the world that flocked to the city also made a series of reports on this situation. Many Portuguese media continued to protest in their articles because they felt that this was unfair to Portugal.
The World Cup should have fair scores, but 80,000 English fans have made Gelsenkirchen England's home ground, 'which is likely to affect Portugal's performance.'
Unfortunately, FIFA has not imposed any restrictions on fans watching the game. These English players want to get close to the game, which certainly does not violate any regulations.
Is it wrong for a team to have a large number of fans?
This is obviously impossible.
As for this situation, the local police are probably the most troubled.
Almost all England fans are crowded in bars of all sizes in the city, and only 30,000 of the 80,000 England fans have tickets, and the remaining 50,000 or so will watch the game on the public big screen outside the stadium.
This may not seem like a big deal, but not all English fans who come to Germany to watch the game are well behaved. The increase in the number of fans will cause various problems. On the night before the game alone, 13 English fans were arrested by the Gelsenkirchen police. Their crimes were also varied:
A fan was arrested for ticket robbery after he robbed a bar while drinking yesterday.
A Portuguese fan, but he only took the other team's ticket.
When he was arrested, the fan shouted: "I'm going into the stadium to cheer for the team, Alan, come on, England will win!"
Another fan was arrested for urinating outside the city hall after drinking heavily and refusing to pay a fine. The rest of the fans were arrested mainly for drunken disorder.
All of this gave the Gelsenkirchen police a headache. They needed to consider many issues. For example, if England won, then these 80,000 fans would definitely start a carnival in Gelsenkirchen, which would seriously affect the normal life of the people of Gelsenkirchen. On the contrary, if England lost, it would be even more chaotic.
Who knows what disappointed England fans will do in this small town?
On this day, the English and Portuguese media went crazy. They kept using various reports to criticize their opponents while praising their own teams, paving the way for public opinion about the teams before the big battle.
Each side wants to give the team the best support before the game.
Portugal's "News" talked about this game. They believe that the current powerful Portuguese team is definitely not something that England can defeat, but they still reminded the Portuguese players to be careful to prevent any accidents.
In the article, they pointed out: "...since we can reverse history and eliminate Spain, it is very likely that England will suddenly change history like us, and we should avoid this situation."
They also mentioned the reasons for Portugal's success: taking opponents seriously and learning from mistakes.
The current Portuguese team has grown, and more importantly, it has learned lessons from its failures. From conceding two goals in one group match to keeping no goals in two games, head coach Scolari has found Portugal's fighting style and his ideal "permutation and combination".
Next, the newspaper also predicted Portugal's starting lineup: Carvalho and Andrade are in the central axis of the defense. These two defensive generals will make the whole Portuguese team feel safe; Costinha and Manicci are the winning weapons of the Porto club. The two of them play very well together, and their tacit understanding will be very helpful to Portugal's midfield. Petit's physical strength is more abundant, and the combination of three superstars Figo, Deco and C. Ronaldo is becoming more and more perfect. This triangle combination will penetrate the English defense like three sharp arrows, which is also the key to Portugal's victory.
At the end of the article, the newspaper commented: "This lineup is already a gathering of elite players, but we still have some strength left, that is Costa and Simao. The strength of these two players is beyond doubt, and the striker Gomez is even better. Four years ago, all the performances of the Portuguese team belonged to Gomez, and now he is just as brilliant."
The English media were of course indignant at the self-boasting report by The News, with The Sun being the first to bear the brunt. They conducted a comprehensive analysis of the comparison between England and Portugal, and finally concluded that England had an overall advantage on either front.
first
Speaking of the most outstanding forward line, the combination of Wang Li, Owen and Beckham, its power is unquestionable. Wang Li alone is more efficient than the entire Portuguese forward line.
The combination of Gerrard, Beckham and Joe Cole in midfield can be said to be the best combination in the world. If Wang Li retreats, the center line of Portugal and England will not be on the same level at all.
The English media did not focus on this point. They just emphasized that the strength of Terry, Gary Neville and others is stronger than that of Carvalho, Andrade and other players.
In fact, after Ferdinand was injured and left the team, England's back line was an obvious weak point, and even head coach McClaren admitted this in public.
However, in the reports of the English media, their weaknesses will definitely not be mentioned. The English media symbolically ignores this point. In fact, it is well known that England's midfield and forward line are stronger than Portugal. At least in terms of the team's individual abilities, the England team is stronger.
The "self-congratulatory" reports by The News and The Sun also kicked off a media war between the two sides, and soon all other media followed suit.
"Our goalkeeper is very strong and is great at saving penalties. You will lose to us on penalties." --- Portugal's Luca newspaper
"Our goalkeeper is Chelsea's main force, the world's top talented goalkeeper. Your Rivado is far inferior." --- The Guardian
"The combination of Figo and C. Ronaldo is unstoppable. If Gomez plays, the England team will be beaten into a sieve." ---Portugal's "News and Sports"
"Alan Wang's heavy artillery is unstoppable. He will kick you all off the field and England will advance easily." --- Manchester Athletic
"We have a first-class squad and Scolari's coaching ability is even better." --- Portugal's "News Morning"
"We have top-notch players and our squad is worth £600m." - The Times
"We..." - Portugal's Expresso
"We..." --- London Post
After several rounds of confrontation, the media on both sides consciously shut their mouths. They knew that this method could not determine the winner, so both sides began to prepare for the team's real game, and constantly analyzed the team's advantages and the opponent's advantages, and made suggestions for the team's victory.
As a result, Wang Li and C. Ronaldo became the protagonists of the media debate on both sides.
"Manchester Athletic" interviewed Frank Lampard in the afternoon who came to Gelsenkirchen with an injury to cheer for his teammates. Lampard seemed to be in good spirits. He raised his own problems and said that he was sorry to miss the World Cup. His injury would not be able to recover for at least two months.
When talking about the game, Lampard called on his teammates to seize the opportunity to advance to the semi-finals: "We have Allen, Special, Beckham, Owen and Rooney. We have strong confidence and I believe the team will win.
To achieve the final victory."
After talking about his views on his teammates and his confidence in the team, Lampard said that if England loses to Portugal again this time, the team will have no excuses.
"... In four years, the World Cup will be held in South Africa, where the temperature is higher and England may enter a death group, so this opportunity is the best."
"We are only two games away from the World Cup final and we can definitely win both games. This England team has the confidence and ability to beat all opponents. We should play our style, which is fast-paced attacking football."
When talking about the Portuguese team, Lampard felt that the most threatening player was Portugal's left winger Cristiano Ronaldo. He said: "Ronaldo can play with both feet. The biggest trouble for defenders facing a winger like him is that maybe you can defend him for 89 minutes, but he can still create a dream moment in the 90th minute. However, England's defenders have the ability and determination to defend Ronaldo, and this will be a test for our defense."
At this time, Portugal's C. Ronaldo missed the team's training.
Therefore, many media outlets were concerned about whether his thigh injury had improved and whether he would appear in the quarter-final against England.
Ronaldinho was injured and substituted in the first half of the Portugal-Netherlands match. It is said that after a few days of rest, his injury has improved and he was expected to play in the England-Portugal match on Saturday.
At this time, Portuguese spokesman Miro announced, "In the past few days, Ronaldinho has been training alone, but if his injury is not fully recovered by then, we will not take the risk of letting him play."
In addition, Miro also emphasized: "If Ronaldo is not 100% recovered, Scolari will never send him to start the game. Everything should be based on the player's physical condition." However, most British media said, "This must be a smokescreen by Scolari before the game. Perhaps he deliberately did not let Ronaldo appear on the training ground."
These news obviously did not affect Lampard's judgment. He smiled and said, "The Portuguese team likes to be mysterious." He also said that Ronaldo will definitely play in the game: "In the Premier League, he and I have always been opponents. That kid likes to 'pretend' all day long. I have to say that his acting skills are very superb. This may have also affected the Portuguese team..."
Lampard didn't need to explain at all. All media, including the Portuguese media, knew what Lampard was referring to. Ronaldinho's diving is world-famous. Now many referees enforcing the Premier League have turned a blind eye to Ronaldinho's falls because they have been deceived too many times.
Their sympathy has been deeply wounded.
However, Lampard did not say much about this, he just emphasized Ronaldo's strength: "...It is very difficult to play against Ronaldo. He is an all-around striker with excellent quality, speed and technique. You have to keep a close eye on him when he starts, otherwise what will happen?
Anything could happen.”
"Ronaldo is that kind of player: throughout the game, you can keep an eye on him for the first 89 minutes, but in the 90th minute, he suddenly gets rid of your defense and creates a terrible killing opportunity. Only when you walk off the court and don't let him score, you can really relax, otherwise you may be hit by a fatal blow at any time. You must not think that you can defend him well. An outstanding player like him has the ability to turn any moment into a wonderful moment. His courage and belief are convincing, but we also have the same firm will."
"Ronaldo will be a huge test for England's defence. We will face a great team in the quarter-finals. After this game, people will know how England perform. Portugal is the biggest test we have faced so far."
Lampard's sudden praise of C. Ronaldo even made the Portuguese media feel embarrassed, so they immediately turned to worry about the Portuguese team. Why?
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is certainly a highlight, but compared to England’s Alan Wong, what is Cristiano Ronaldo?
“We must be vigilant”
The Portuguese Express's World Cup special edition this afternoon had this sentence as its title, and the front page article reminded Scolari and all Portuguese players to be careful of England's No. 21 Alan Wong.
"This black-haired kid is no less capable than Cristiano Ronaldo. When he performs well, Portugal's goal is always in danger. We must pay attention to him and keep an eye on him at all times, so as to ensure that Portugal's goal is not lost."
"Scolari should focus on defending Alan Wang. If he doesn't, it will be very difficult for Portugal to win. Alan is more threatening than C. Ronaldo. We should see the gap between the two."
When it comes to Wang Li, no matter which Portuguese media, they all stopped touting their own superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, because compared with Wang Li, Cristiano Ronaldo really has nothing to show for it.
Compare goals?
There is no comparison.
Compare contribution to the team?
There is still no comparison.
Even if we compare other things, such as fame, salary, etc., the two are completely incomparable. If C. Ronaldo's performance in Manchester United has shocked the whole of Europe, Wang Li has shocked the whole world. No team dares to ignore Wang Li when playing against England, as that almost means losing.
In the match against Ecuador, Wang Li's three seemingly ordinary long-range shots allowed everyone to once again witness his extremely efficient shooting ability. Having such a player in the England team is definitely a huge crisis for Portugal.
So, after talking about Wang Li, all the Portuguese media fell silent. They were holding back their energy and wanted to wait until the team defeated England on the field before coming out to prove Portugal's strength with facts.
Two years ago, in the European Cup match that Wang Li played in, Portugal won, and now
They feel their side still has a good chance of winning
After all, Shengli already has a criminal record.
At this time, what are Wang Li and C. Ronaldo, the focus figures, doing?
C.Ronaldo has gone into hiding...
Just as the Portuguese spokesperson revealed, C. Ronaldo seems to be really injured and receiving treatment, and is training alone. At least he did not participate in the recent Portuguese team's games, and even if he appeared on the court, no reporter could interview him.
It seems that Scolari "protects" C. Ronaldo very closely.
Wang Li has been training normally with the team. After arriving in Gelsenkirchen, Wang Li has been training hard. During his rest time, he also looks for opportunities to do simple training to keep himself in peak condition at any time.
As the saying goes, it is better to sharpen your sword before a battle.
Wang Li believes in his own strength, but he still needs to train more to better complete his revenge. The failure two years ago is the only stain in his career. He feels that he must forcefully erase this stain in order to make his career perfect.
From this point of view, Wang Li can be considered a perfectionist.
This game is crucial for Wang Li. He must make the team win. This is not only for England's advancement in the World Cup, but also for his own revenge and to make himself more likely to touch the world's top football glory - the Hercules Cup.
In this situation, time quickly came to six o'clock the next evening. Both teams had already arrived at the stadium and entered the intense final preparations.
The game starts at eight o'clock in the evening.
At this time, the fans who had come to Gelsenkirchen had already started to enter the stadium, but it seemed that most of them were English fans. They all wore England's home jerseys, held England's team flags in their hands, and many of them had the England flag logo painted on their faces.
It doesn't matter if one or two fans do this, but when most of the English fans entering the stadium do this, it becomes a beautiful sight among the fans.
As a result, reporters from all over the world flocked to the England fans and interviewed them closely about their feelings.
They immediately felt the English fans' extreme desire for victory.
The England team has suffered too much pain in the knockout rounds, and each pain is like salt in the wounds of England fans. Now the accumulated pain of the England team is about to make the fans explode. They all urgently need a real revenge to wipe out everything in the past and let the England team usher in the light again.
The strength of the England team is undoubtedly strong, and no media outlet denies this, so all the English fans came to Germany with the hope of victory. All they need is victory.
When the fans in the audience entered the stadium, 60% of the stands around the stadium were English fans, and only Portuguese fans were
There are about 10,000 people, which is a huge gap compared to England's 30,000 people.
After entering the stadium, although the players of the two teams had not yet entered the stadium, the fans had already begun to sing together the England team song for this World Cup. They hoped to use this method to cheer for the team and arouse the England players' fighting spirit to win.
Ten minutes later, at the signal from the referee, the two teams finally walked out of the player tunnel.
Then, the cheers of the fans in the stadium reached their first peak, and every fan was cheering for the team they supported. When Wang Li followed the team and walked out of the player tunnel step by step, he saw the crazy English fans around the stadium, and his heart became a little excited.
In Germany, a land that does not belong to them, there are so many English fans coming to the stadium. This also shows the English fans' desire for victory.
When the opponent became Portugal, it was no longer just Wang Li's revenge, it had completely escalated into the revenge of the entire English football team.
Then, let me be the messenger of revenge.
Wang Li thought excitedly, and he suddenly felt that before he married the little princess of England, it would be a very good idea to give the English fans a hearty revenge battle as a gift.
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