Chapter 432 The desperate horse-mule combination

Chapter 432 The desperate horse-mule combination

The Luzhniki Stadium welcomes the penultimate hosting match of the World Cup for the Fighting Nations.

Portugal vs England.

The last World Cup semi-final.

There are still more than two hours before the start of the game, and the square outside the stadium with the largest capacity in the fighting country is already overcrowded.

As the tournament reaches the semi-finals, the level of enthusiasm is much greater than in the past.

In addition to the large number of fans queuing up to enter the stadium, there are also many fans holding high slogans asking for votes. They hope to see if they can meet any fans who have an emergency at the last moment before the game starts, even if the premium is many times higher.

It's just that the number of game tickets is limited, and everything that needs to be transferred has been transferred, so what else can happen temporarily?
However, in order to satisfy the tens of thousands of fans who did not have tickets to watch the game, the organizers built two huge LCD TVs in the outer square of the Luzhniki Stadium.

At 6:50 in the evening, Portugal's crimson bus arrived at the main road outside the stadium.

The overwhelming roar spread from the outside to the stadium.

Everyone knows that the competition team has arrived!

Martin had already taken off his expensive headphones to fully experience the fanatical atmosphere created by the fans.

Wave after wave of huge shouts, lasting for a long time.

About ten minutes later, England's white bus also arrived at the Luzhniki Stadium.

It's just that the cheers and cheers from the fans were obviously not as powerful as the momentum created when Portugal arrived.

It can easily be seen that Portugal is more popular than England.

Differential treatment is also reflected in the players from both sides entering the court to warm up.

Martin has few friends in England, except teammate Welbeck and Vardy.

After a few simple exchanges, the Portuguese players started an important warm-up before the game.

About an hour before the start of the game, both sides submitted their starting lists.

Portugal naturally fielded the strongest lineup, and the formation still used 4231.

Goalkeeper: Patricio

Defenders: Guerrero, Pepe, Font, Cedric

Midfielder: William Carvalho, Moutinho

Midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo, Martin, Seat B

Forward: Guedes
England is one of the few national teams in this World Cup to adopt a three-centre-back system. The formation is a variant of 352, 3142.

Goalkeeper: Pickford
Three central defenders: Kyle Walker, Stones, Maguire
Midfielder: Henderson
Four forwards: Ashley Young, Lingard, Alli, Trippier

Forwards: Harry Kane, Sterling
……

As the starting lineups for both teams emerge, fans waiting for the World Cup semifinals know...it's very close to the start of the game.

For this game, the outside world is fully optimistic about Portugal.

In addition to having Martin in charge, it also has something to do with the results of Portugal and England in the World Cup.

The two teams have met three times at the World Cup level, with Portugal winning two and losing one.

最早要追溯到1966年世界杯半决赛，东道主英格兰2：1击败尤西比奥率领的葡萄牙，随后是1986年世界杯的小组赛，时隔20年重返世界杯的葡萄牙1：0复仇成功。

最近一次的世界杯交锋是2006年德国世界杯，1/4决赛在120分钟战成平局，葡萄牙3：1淘汰英格兰。

In addition, since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Portugal has won the direct matches between the two teams in the continental competitions World Cup and European Cup.

Moreover, England has been eliminated in all the last three semi-finals.

1968 European Cup, 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Cup.

Naturally, the British media will not use data that is beneficial to Portugal. They will use their total results from historical confrontations.

In this case, England has the absolute upper hand...

After all, the real symbol of Portugal's rise is still the golden generation led by Figo and Rui Costa.

In Eusebio's day, it was obviously not comparable to England.

However, data can often only be used as a reference. What really affects the game is the player's performance and the coach's on-the-spot command.

The warm-up time, which lasted about forty minutes, was over, and players from both sides went to the tunnel one after another to make final preparations for the upcoming World Cup semi-finals.

The Luzhniki Stadium, which can accommodate 81000 fans, is already packed.

England fans and Portuguese players each occupied the north and south stands, and what separated them were mainly neutral fans.

Of course, there are also some Portuguese and English fans in these neutral fan zones.

Tickets for the die-hard fan zone are limited and demand exceeds supply.

In order to increase the probability of buying a ticket, purchasing tickets in a neutral fan zone is the best solution.

The frenzied atmosphere dropped significantly as both sides returned to their respective locker rooms.

Fans of both teams need to recuperate and prepare for the next ninety or even one hundred and twenty minutes.

The players in the Portuguese locker room behaved very calmly and did not feel nervous because it was the World Cup semi-finals. On the contrary, they were quite relaxed and even danced funny under the leadership of 'Luo Sansui'.

Head coach Santos did not stop this behavior. He knew that the players were not looking down on their opponents, but were relaxing in this way.

Looking back at the England dressing room, the players all had solemn expressions, obviously feeling the huge pressure from Portugal.

In fact, if they simply face Portugal, they will not have much psychological burden. The problem is that Martin has integrated very well into Portugal and is in great shape. He has 10 goals and 4 assists, and is directly involved in nearly % of Portugal's goals.

It is certainly a huge shortcoming for an individual to account for a high proportion of the team's overall goals, but no team has ever been able to completely stop Martin's performance throughout the game.

To put it bluntly, a popular saying in world football is: a football match is a sport that ultimately ends with the victory of Martin's team.

Harry Kane scored six goals in this World Cup, ranking second on the scorer list, but five of them came in the group stage against Tunisia and Panama. They have little gold content and are commonly known as lousy goals.

On the other hand, Martin's goals are very average, averaging two goals per game.

He made great contributions in the group stage and knockout rounds.

Head coach Southgate knows what to say to give his players some confidence.

"Cough cough~"

"Guys, advancing to the semi-finals is indeed a very big breakthrough for us, and it has even fulfilled everyone's expectations for us. But we have advanced to the semi-finals, and the next step is the final. We can definitely give it a try. Martin is indeed very strong. Don’t forget… we are also very strong and we are fully capable of fighting!”

He moistened his throat, coughed slightly, and said loudly when everyone was paying attention: "You are the best in the Premier League, the main force of the giants, and you are united. I firmly believe that victory belongs to England! It may even be like 52 years ago. That way, standing on top of the world!”

Captain Harry Kane plays for Tottenham and is a mortal enemy of Martin's team Arsenal. He really wants to win the first championship of his career, so defeating Portugal led by Martin in the semi-finals is particularly important.

As for meeting the French team in the final, we can only work hard and resign ourselves to fate.

"Victory will belong to England!"

Harry Kane blurted out, fully cooperating with head coach Southgate.

With the captain taking the lead, the other players also put in the effort. "Victory will belong to England!"

They lost too much to Martin in the past, and now it is the World Cup that is about national honor. They must work hard and avenge their shame.

……

Ten minutes before the start of the game, the game preparation bell rang from the speakers in the dressing rooms of the home and away teams.

Players from the two teams participating in the semifinals went to the tunnel from their respective locker rooms one after another. The starting players stayed in the tunnel, and the substitute players went straight into the court and sat in their own seats.

The players from the two teams didn't have much interaction, and they didn't say hello to each other much.

The Portuguese players in the Premier League are Martin, Cedric, Adrian Silva, Joao Mario and Seat B.

Among them, the only English player who plays for Arsenal with Martin is Welbeck. Southampton, where Cedric plays, has no English players selected for the national team roster.

Adrian Silva plays for Leicester City and chatted with Vardy and Maguire with their arms around their shoulders.

Seat B also paid tribute to Happy Boy, Stones, Delph and Kyle Walker who played for Manchester City.

When Ronaldo was playing for Manchester United, current Manchester United players Ashley Young, Smalling, and Phil Jones had not yet joined. Rashford and Lingard from the Manchester United youth training team had a few words of encouragement as seniors. .

About two or three minutes later, the referee on duty, Cakir, heard a reminder from the main console, telling players from both sides to enter the field.

So, the English players and Portuguese players who followed the referee team led their respective caddies and entered the stadium along the bright corridor.

The reporters who were surrounded by police cordons on both sides of the players' passageway quickly pressed their shutters to record the wonderful moments.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Martin, Harry Kane, Sterling and other stars have received the most attention, and among them, Martin has attracted the most attention.

※※※※※

"Beep~"

"Dragon Country TV, Dragon Country TV, the game that is being broadcast for you now is the live broadcast of Portugal and England in the second semi-final of the 2018st World Cup in 21. The people wearing white jerseys and white shorts are England. They are broadcasting from The right side of the screen attacks to the left..."

The referee Cakir blew the whistle, and the central 5 commentator He Wei blurted out the iconic opening remarks in the commentary box.

England, who had the right to kick off the ball, did not rush to attack, but patiently organized the attack in strict accordance with the tactics Southgate formulated before the game.

Harry Kane has not yet been coached by Mourinho, and his technical characteristics of retreating to organize attacks have not yet been developed. He is at the forefront of the forward line and plays a role in attracting firepower. The real attackers are Sterling and Ashley Young and Trippier.

Lingard has excellent physical fitness and strong tactical discipline. His task on the court is to keep an eye on Martin.

Especially Trippier on the right is in very good condition and plays a very key role.

In addition, he also has a very good free kick.

England's overall performance is indeed good, and the players are also among the best in the Premier League. However, these players are more afraid of physical contact, so there is no good way to face the close defense of Portuguese players on the offensive end.

The referee Cakir from Turkey is relatively strict on physical contact. Unless the action is particularly obvious, he usually signals the game to continue.

England's first wave of attacks did not cause any damage, and Portugal organized the attack in the backcourt.

Lingard has noticed Martin for a long time, but he played more as an offensive midfielder at Manchester United, and he mainly focused on entanglement on the defensive end.

The task Southgate assigned to Lingard before the game was to pester Martin like a cowhide plaster and not give him an easy chance to get the ball.

Martin has long been accustomed to being closely guarded. Portugal's first attack was mainly one-shot, leaving the opportunity to organize the attack to Moutinho, B seat and Ronaldo who retreated to participate in the attack.

With Guedes at the forefront of the striker, Ronaldo has a lot of room for movement.

For a while, England's defense was a little tight.

Fortunately, the three-center-back system is very mature. With Maguire in the center focusing on Guedes, Kyle Walker and Stones are very free. They use their own understanding of the game to find gaps on the defensive end and compress Portugal's offense. space.

However, Portugal quickly created an opportunity to threaten Pickford's goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who retreated to organize the attack, touched the ball twice in succession. He brought out defensive player Kyle Walker and quickly handed the ball to Martin, who had escaped Lingard's marking. The latter was about 35 meters away from the goal in the middle. Stopped the ball and sent a diagonal pass to the front left.

The amount of advance is just right, and the left back Guerrero, who is advancing at high speed, does not need to slow down. He makes many stops while running at high speed.

England's left winger Trippier is strong offensively and weak defensively, and his speed is a shortcoming.

Although the position is relatively deep, there is no good way to face Guerrero, who started early, especially the cross after the stop without any extra handling of the ball.

The football shot up from the ground and flew towards the penalty area with a strong inward arc.

Guedes moved like a ghost, and there was a feint in advance to accelerate, so that the 'aircraft carrier' Maguire, who weighed up to 100 kilograms, was shaken and could not react in time. He could only watch helplessly as the opponent leaned over the edge of the small penalty area on the left. jump.

Fortunately, the angle of the header was not particularly large. Goalkeeper Pickford guarded the near corner. He pushed the ball outward with one palm. The football changed its trajectory and slightly rubbed the outer edge of the left goal post, and the bottom line appeared.

"wowowoowoooooooo——"

The England fans in the audience let out a wave of frightened exclamations.

If Pickford reacts half a beat slower, Guedes' diving dive is likely to rub the inside edge of the near-end goal post and fly into the goal.

"What a pity!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei finished regretfully, and then changed the direction: "Guedes's header was beautiful, and Pickford's save was wonderful! But what follows is Portugal's corner kick attack, which is easier to score. It's against England's defense. Said he still had a headache."

At the same time, England head coach Southgate stood in the technical area with a frown.

The Portuguese team has two world-class headers.

Martin, Ronaldo!
Plus Pepe, Wundt and Guedes.

He felt that corner kick defense would be more troublesome this time.

With uneasy tension, I watched Moutinho take a corner kick attacking the left wing.

Martin was closely guarded, and his corner kick attack was to attract firepower. The corner kick was passed to Ronaldo, who was being guarded but was not as strong as Martin.

He threw away Stones under the cover of Martin, jumped up high over Alli and Henderson, and headed the ball towards the upper left corner of the goal.

Unfortunately, the ball was slightly curved, and the ball finally touched the outside of the left goal post and went out of the baseline.

The audience once again rang with the exclamations of England fans.

Obviously, they know what consequences conceding the ball early will have on the team.

Fortunately, fortunately...

Deschamps, the French coach sitting in the audience, frowned.

Judging from Portugal's offense at the beginning of the first half, the entire offensive system is very mature.

Martin is certainly the most important link in Portugal, but Ronaldo also plays a very important role.

At this point, if Portugal eliminates England and reaches the final, the game will definitely be very troublesome.

It is already very difficult to watch Martin to death. If we focus on marking Ronaldo again, it will have a great impact on the overall defensive system.

After all, Portugal has other great players.

"This damn horse-mule combination is really a headache..."

(End of this chapter)