Chapter 560: Revenge (3) Red Card

England will win easily! ! ?

Most people in the stadium now feel this way, because England has a great advantage both in terms of momentum of the two teams and the current score.

C. Ronaldo, who had always been favored before the game, performed well, but when compared with the black-haired boy on the field, the absolute gap between them became apparent. The two are really incomparable.

The performance of other Portuguese players was also acceptable, but it was not easy to catch up with two goals with such performance, at least most people thought so. Moreover, the English team looked very powerful, and they were still seizing opportunities to attack continuously. As long as they could find opportunities, especially the black-haired boy, it would definitely be another goal.

It was extremely difficult for Portugal to equalize the score.

It looks like the England team will win easily. No one had expected such a match before the game. The England team on the field is so strong that it seems to be a completely different team from the team that failed to score in the World Cup qualifiers.

From this aspect, fans have also seen the influence of Wang Li, Thomas and others on the England team, especially Wang Li. With him, the England team's offensive line can almost be described as invincible. At least now it is very difficult for the Portugal team on the field to defend. As long as they make a small mistake, it will be easy for the England team to score a goal.

The situation was developing in this direction.

Seeing this situation, the English fans in the audience were extremely excited. They all thought that this game would be an unprecedentedly difficult battle, because two years ago Portugal eliminated England with penalties. Although the black-haired boy was a substitute player at that time, he also participated in the game for dozens of minutes.

But now England is leading 2:0, and it looks like it will be easy to score another goal. How can they not be happy? Although this game is somewhat one-sided, it is the England team that has gained the advantage.

Such scenes made all English fans feel a sense of pride from the bottom of their hearts.

However, the Portuguese players on the field did not think so. This was a knockout match of the World Cup. If they lost once, they would not have a second chance. The next time they wanted to enter the knockout quarterfinals would be at least four years later. What results they would achieve four years later was another matter. At least many of them would not be able to participate in that World Cup, such as Figo, Pauleta, etc.

Although they were now two goals behind, they did not give up any hope.

However, this seemingly "struggling" spirit seemed very fragile in the face of England's powerful offensive power. In the 41st minute of the first half, England had another good chance.

Wang Li received the pass on the center line, and Figo jogged towards him. Wang Li slightly sped up with the ball. At the moment Owen kicked the ball, he pulled the ball to the right and went straight past Figo. After that, the person he faced was Pauleta.

These two are forwards for Portugal, and in the current situation, they have to come back to defend.

Pauleta was very steady. This was not the first time he and Wang Li had taught each other. When Figo went forward to grab the ball, he had been lying in ambush behind him, ready to defend at any time, because he knew that Figo could not snatch the ball from the black-haired boy on the opposite side. So, he kept staring at Wang Li's feet, trying to find opportunities.

However, Pauleta did not expect Figo's interception to have no effect on the black-haired boy in front of him. Pauleta did not rush to kick, but moved towards Wang Li, trying to intercept Wang Li's dribbling in this way.

This method would have caused Wang Li a lot of trouble in the past, but now? ...

Wang Li didn't bother with him at all. He just suddenly took a step that left no trace on the snow, and directly surpassed Pauleta by three body lengths, leaving the latter to follow behind him and eat dust - this was an absolute speed difference!

"Hurray!" Seeing this scene, all the England fans in the stadium became excited again.

After passing the two defenders, Wang Li kicked the ball to Beckham on the wing. At this time, because Pauleta and Figo both came to steal the ball, there was no one defending Beckham. Wang Li hoped that Beckham could make a good pass to find a good opportunity for the team's offense.

However, after seeing Wang Li quickly enter the penalty area, Beckham did not choose a long pass because Figo was sticking to him again. In this situation, it was very difficult for him to pass a good ball, and his condition in this game was not very good.

So Beckham passed the ball to Gary Neville, who then passed the ball diagonally to Gerrard. After receiving the pass, Gerrard kicked the ball towards the penalty area.

Chance!

Wang Li took the opportunity and jumped up from the spot and wanted to head the ball, but the moment he jumped up, he felt someone pulling his jersey.

This made him turn his body sideways, and before he could react, the football bounced directly on his head and flew out of the penalty area.

"Oh my God! Alan made a mistake!" Graham said in surprise.

He couldn't help but be surprised, because the black-haired boy on the court made so few mistakes, so few that Graham couldn't remember the last time he saw Wang Li make a mistake.

But at this moment, the situation on the field changed. Wang Li half tilted his body and bumped into a Portuguese player behind him and fell on the grass in the penalty area. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the player was C. Ronaldo, who was lying innocently on the grass at this time, and it seemed that he was hit hard by Wang Li.

He looked as if he was the direct victim.

Obviously, this fooled the referee, who ran over and warned Wang Li with a shout: "Boy, during the game, you'd better be more cautious!"

This made Wang Li angry, and he retorted: "But it was his foul, he just pulled my jersey."

The Swedish referee turned his head and looked at C. Ronaldo, but the latter still had an innocent look on his face, making it impossible for the referee to judge the facts. He could only warn Wang Li again based on his judgment and then walked away.

This scene made the English fans at the scene a little angry. They didn't know who was right or wrong, but one of the two people involved in the dispute was Wang Li, so they would of course support Wang Li, and there was immediately booing at the referee on the field.

Perhaps the booing further deepened the referee's impression of Wang Li and the England team.

The game soon entered halftime.

With a two-goal lead, the England players had no pressure at all. Judging from the current situation, it would be too difficult for Portugal to catch up in the second half, and they were very likely to score in the second half.

Not to mention the current situation, the black-haired boy in the team is worthy of everyone's trust.

Thinking about the shot of this black-haired boy, everyone in the team had to give him a thumbs up. This powerful and accurate shot filled everyone in England with confidence.

What if Portugal could score a goal with a massive attack in the second half?

If they can score one, we can score two! This way, the other team will never win! This is what all the English players thought, except for Wang Li, because he was still upset about the warning given by the referee in the first half.

Since transferring to Real Madrid, Wang Li has seldom been bullied on the court. Firstly, he never does anything beyond the rules, and it is not easy for other players to foul him. Moreover, sometimes the referee will give "special care" to Real Madrid. As one of the world's top players, he does not have to worry about any unfair treatment on the court.

But in the first half C. Ronaldo did commit a foul, but the referee didn't see it, and that nasty Portuguese guy acted very well and he was even warned, which was really unfair.

"For the sake of victory, endure it!"

Wang Li could only think like this. In last year's UEFA Champions League final, he was banned for half a year for a fight because he couldn't tolerate the opponent's fouls. Now the England team is still in the quarterfinals. If he can't tolerate this, then without his team, the subsequent games will be really difficult.

Putting this aside, the atmosphere in the England locker room was indeed very good, but when head coach McClaren walked into the locker room, the players did not see any smile on his face, but only saw calmness and seriousness. After arriving at the locker room, McClaren began to arrange tactics for the second half.

"We have a two-goal advantage now. The opponent will definitely counterattack at the start of the second half, so we need to focus on defense at the start. The specific attack will be after 10 minutes, when we will seek a counterattack. Harrison, I will arrange for you to replace Owen in the second half. When you come on, focus on looking for opportunities in the penalty area."

"Alan, you need to increase the number of long shots"

After hearing McLaren's offensive tactical arrangement, all the English players were worried about Portugal. There was no doubt about the power of Wang Li's long-range shot. As long as he kicked the ball, it would definitely pose a threat to the opponent's goal.

At this time, Harrison's role in the penalty area became prominent. As a shooter who is good at follow-up shots, Harrison is very active in the penalty area. Although he is not physically strong and his skills are not outstanding, when it comes to real point-blank shots, even Wang Li has to admit defeat!

Such a combination poses too much of a threat to Portugal's penalty area.

However, this combination is not unfamiliar to Wang Li and Harrison. In their first season at Wolverhampton, they have been looking for shooting opportunities in this way.

"At the beginning of the game, our formation needs to retreat a little." At this time, McLaren frowned, pointed seriously at the tactical board, and began to arrange defense-related tasks. In this regard, he was very worried about the team, because the team's defense was really poor, and perhaps the only one who could show any ability was goalkeeper Thomas.

"We need to tighten the blockade in this area. In the first half, 83% of Portugal's counterattacks were launched from the left. David, you need to pay more attention to the defense on the right and mark the opponent's C. Ronaldo. His breakthrough is very threatening to our defense. Also pay attention to Pauleta. This player played well in the first half. If they break through the offense, they may use offside to get a chance to score."

"Also, Owen (Hargreaves), you need to reduce dribbling on the wing. Cole is enough on the left side. You need to pay more attention."

McLaren talked a lot about tactics, and it can be seen that he attaches great importance to England's defense. Such an arrangement will allow England to do better in defense, at least preventing Portugal from scoring easily. In this way, they can easily win.

Although the two goals give the team a big advantage, it is still possible for the opponent to overturn the game. McLaren does not want to see this happen. What he needs at least is to lead the team into the semi-finals.

So, this game can only be won and not lost.

However, most of the English players still looked happy. They did not think that Portugal had a chance to overtake the score in the second half. Most importantly, they had confidence in the team.

England will definitely be the winner of this revenge battle! However, although McLaren is very confident, as the head coach he still reminds: "You must always remember that the game is not over yet. I don't want to see any player get carried away."

"I hope you can keep your mind steady and save your excitement for the end of the game instead of now. When the referee blows the whistle to end the game, that's when we should celebrate."

"We haven't won the championship yet, and there are still 45 minutes left in the game. I know you are all very excited now, but the game is not over yet, and anything can happen in 45 minutes. They can't accept defeat easily, and we have to keep working hard. The team should celebrate after 45 minutes, and I don't want to see a defeated team by then!"

McLaren rarely said these words in front of the team, which was because he took the game too seriously. After all, this was his first time leading the England team, and it was such a strong England team. He was under great pressure. If the team could not achieve the expected results, I am afraid that all the responsibility would be his.

He didn't want to see that kind of situation, so he could only stay calm at all times.

Meanwhile, in the Portuguese dressing room, Scolari did not criticize the team, but comforted them by saying: "The opponent is very strong, I said this before the game, and the team's situation is not good now. What you need to do is to relax and play, and don't always keep the score in mind!"

"This is a World Cup match. We must pursue victory even if there is a glimmer of hope. We were able to win two years ago, and we can still win now! We must remember this!"

"In the second half, I ask you to attack from the start until you overtake and tie the score. Don't pay too much attention to the defense. We first need to tie the score to be on the same starting line as England." Scolari did not scold the players who performed poorly, nor did he put the responsibility on any player, because he felt that the current situation in Portugal needed more to boost the team's morale. Only by taking the game seriously can they have a chance to laugh to the end in this big battle.

Just as McLaren thought, Portugal launched a massive attack at the beginning of the second half.

Such offensive intensity forced many England forwards to come back and participate in defense, even Owen and Rooney. Wang Li was the only one at the front of the team throughout the game. He seemed to be leisurely, but in fact he was ready to find an opportunity to deal a fatal blow to the Portuguese team at any time.

In the minds of the England players, as long as they can defend in the first 10 minutes, when they launch the attack, the team will inevitably gain the advantage again, and winning by a large score is not impossible.

However, England was not blessed by God.

Just like McLaren's worries, England's defense was too bad. Although there were 10 people in the backcourt including the goalkeeper, their defense was at least worse than Portugal's. Facing Portugal's gorgeous South American footwork, smooth cooperation, and continuous short pass penetration style of play, England's backcourt encountered an unprecedented crisis.

This kind of game lasted only 7 minutes before Portugal scored a goal. The goal was scored by Portugal's superstar C. Ronaldo.

This attack was initiated by midfielder Simao. He used his footwork to pass two people on the right and made a diagonal pass to the front of the penalty area. Then Postiga, who came on as a substitute, kicked the ball with his instep to C. Ronaldo on the left side of the field. The latter made a long shot. Thomas was blocked by the defender and had no time to react, and the ball went straight into the blind corner of the goal.

The score became 2:1, and Portugal scored a goal.

This situation seemed to be unfavorable to the England team, and after a while in the second half, this somewhat unfavorable situation was reversed by England's attack.

However, the situation gradually took a turn for the worse as the players from both teams became more and more aggressive.

Anxious about the score, as time passed, the Portuguese players consciously increased their movements, but the England team, which mainly relies on physical strength, would never be inferior to their opponents in this regard.

As a result, in the 70th minute of the game, a dispute broke out on the field between Rooney, C. Ronaldo and two other Portuguese players.

Near the midfield, Rooney got the ball in a fight with C. Ronaldo and Carvalho, but at this time C. Ronaldo gently pushed him, causing his lower body to lose balance.

As a result, Carvalho, who fell to the ground, was stepped on the groin by Rooney's left foot. Even the fans at the scene felt a chill. Carvalho even covered his crotch with his hands with a painful expression. The referee was stunned when he saw this scene. He blew the whistle but did not show the card directly.

At this time, Wang Li saw that something was wrong and walked over. He had just seen the whole process clearly. Although Ronaldinho's actions were very secretive, they could not be hidden from his eyes. He wanted to go over and explain to the referee.

But it's too late!

Ronaldinho and Petit protested to the referee. Rooney pushed Ronaldinho away in anger. At this time, the referee who was close at hand called Rooney aside and showed him a red card!

(To be continued)