Chapter 546: Psychological tactics before the finals

In the hotel where the Portuguese team stayed, most of the Portuguese players did not rest on time. Instead, they stayed in front of the TV and watched the game between France and Spain to the end.

It's no wonder that they take this game so seriously. After all, the result of this game will determine who will be their opponent in the final.

From the perspective of Portuguese players, they prefer to meet the French team.

The French team is very strong, but it also has weaknesses, that is, there are many young players in the team and a lack of experience in competitions.

Portugal's hard power may not be as good as its opponent, but its experience in competitions is not bad. If it is used well, it is not impossible to defeat the French team in the final.

But Spain is different. This team has too much experience in competitions.

In addition, there is a Lin Quan in the Spanish team who can block and kill the Buddha. This makes the Portuguese players unwilling to meet Spain from the bottom of their hearts.

But the final result still disappointed them. After all, the French team failed to complete the task of blocking the Spanish team, and unfortunately fell at the feet of the Bullfighting Legion.

In this way, Portugal has the hell script to face the world champion!

"Don't be discouraged, I don't think this Spanish team is anything special!"

"That's right, their lineup is aging greatly. A large number of top stars in the team have retired and suffered injuries. Their combat strength is no longer what it used to be!"

"Although the French team lost, they also exposed the Spanish team's weaknesses for us. As long as we seize this opponent's weakness and fight to death in the next game, we may not be unable to defeat the Spanish team!"

"That's right, there is no undefeated team. No matter how strong the Spanish team is, they cannot dominate football forever. They will be overthrown one day!"

"Haha, then let us be the Spanish gravediggers!"

Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma, Nani and other players who performed well in the previous game saw that the morale of their teammates was low and lifeless, so they stood up to calm everyone's emotions.

What they said was deliberately exaggerated, but it was also partly true.

In terms of dominance, the current Spanish team is obviously not as good as the Spanish team in 2014.

With the departure of a large number of meritorious veterans, the Spanish team's strength has declined visibly.

Although La Liga is still prosperous, the talent explosion like that of the past has not occurred. There are many young players in this Spanish team, but not many can take on important responsibilities.

What Del Bosque relies on is still the same group of veterans from back then.

After these veterans have experienced fighting and exhaustion all the way through the group stage and knockout stage, their condition at this time is definitely not as good as when the competition just started.

Portugal, on the other hand, was waiting for work and had one more day of rest than the Spanish team. Their lineup was also younger and their physical condition recovered faster.

In addition, the Portuguese team won relatively easily in the last game. Taken together, their advantage in terms of physical fitness is relatively obvious.

In the next game, as long as they don't make the same mistakes that the French team did, taking cards too early and resulting in attrition, they can do a lot of things with their physical advantage.

Atletico Madrid's successful experience in La Liga has told the world that if strength is not enough, physical fitness will make up for it.

With a lineup that is far inferior to Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Atletico Madrid has achieved results that are not inferior to those of the Spanish Super League duo.

The secret of Atletico Madrid's success is not that complicated. It can be summed up in two words - can run!

Simeone's tactics are still very practical for mid- and lower-tier teams.

Compared with the Spanish team, Portugal is naturally a relatively civilian team, so it is not surprising to learn from Simeone's tactics.

…

After the team took the bus back to the station, Del Bosque asked the players to take time to rest.

There are less than 3 days left before the start of the finals, leaving them little time to recover.

After sleeping all night, many players still looked tired when they woke up the next morning. During the recovery training in the morning, they walked heavily and could not lift their spirits.

This state makes the Spanish coaching staff, including Del Bosque, worried.

"Coach, the main players have consumed a lot of physical energy and are not in good condition. Should we reduce the amount of training and give them more time to recover?"

Seeing the listless players on the training ground, fitness coach Mignano made suggestions.

"Well, the outdoor training in the afternoon is cancelled. Let the physical therapists massage their muscles and relax!"

Bosque also knows that the team has a large number of veterans and their physical recovery is slow.

Most of these people are main players. If we don't help them recover their physical fitness as soon as possible, Spain may not even be able to arrange their formation on the final stage.

"How is Iniesta recovering from his injury? Can he play in the next game?"

Del Bosque is very concerned about Iniesta's injury. Although Iniesta's performance at Barcelona last season was not good, he is still an indispensable member of the Spanish national team.

Without him, the Spanish team's offensive threat has dropped a lot, and it is more likely to be targeted by opponents.

"I'm afraid it's a bit reluctant. If he is forced to play, I'm afraid it will leave a lot of hidden dangers!"

The team doctor looked a little embarrassed. From the team doctor's perspective, he didn't want the players to fight with injuries without fully recovering.

Because this will only aggravate the injury and seriously affect the player's future career.

However, when it comes to national team games, many players still choose to do so without hesitation even though they know the serious consequences of playing with injuries.

The most typical example is Kaká in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Even though he knew that his old meniscus injury had not healed, Kaká insisted on playing through the injury, which further worsened the injury.

After the World Cup, his form plummeted and he was no longer found at Real Madrid.

Thinking about the Son of God who dominated the San Siro back then, but broke his wings and fell in the golden period of his career. Every time he thinks about this, many fans sigh, and it makes Kaka fans feel sad.

Bosque was silent for a while, and then asked:

"What did Iniesta say?"

From a head coach's perspective, Del Bosque hopes that Iniesta will play because the team needs him.

But after all, this is related to Iniesta's subsequent career, so Bosque ultimately chose to respect the player's own opinions.

"Iniesta said he can play in a closed position!"

The team doctor's words shocked Del Bosque, and several assistant coaches also had surprised expressions on their faces.

…

The start of the final is getting closer and closer, and the outside world's hype for this final showdown has become more and more intense.

Spain VS Portugal, Ronaldo VS Lin Quan.

Such a straightforward title is enough to attract fans' attention.

As neighboring countries on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and Spain have nothing to commend themselves for economically. They are even nicknamed the Five Pigs of Europe by Europeans.

But in terms of football, everyone has to admit that these two countries are very strong in football.

Spain, in particular, is world-famous for their delicate footwork and exquisite coordination.

The midfielder from Spain has become synonymous with top midfielders.

In the past few years, if the major teams did not have a star from Spain in the midfield position, they would be embarrassed to go out and meet people.

The emergence of a large group of top players has made the Spanish national team grow by leaps and bounds and dominate football!

If we count from the World Cup in South Africa, the Spanish national team has dominated football for six years.

This is probably the most dominant team in the world since the Brazilian team in the last century, right?

Before the game, major TV stations conducted random interviews and surveys on the streets of Paris.

Among the fans interviewed, except for Portuguese fans, most neutral fans are more optimistic that Spain can win the championship.

Spain's record in the past few years has been brilliant, and as a result, it has accumulated a large number of fans around the world.

And because Spain has already won the European Cup in 2008 and 2012, if they can defend the title again this time, it will be an unprecedented three consecutive championships.

So many fans came from all over the world to witness this historic scene with their own eyes.

Compared with the Spanish team, which has attracted much attention, Portugal's spotlight is obviously much dimmer.

Even if someone is paying attention, most of the shots are aimed at Portugal's number one star Cristiano Ronaldo.

This kind of differential treatment makes the Portuguese players very unhappy, and they want to prove themselves with practical actions on the court!

After Portugal's head coach Fernando noticed the players' emotions, he not only did not comfort them, but also praised the Spanish team severely during the interview.

"This game will be difficult for us. They are the world champions, the best team in the world, and they have top players like Lin Quan. We will focus on defense and do our best to keep the goal."

When the reporter heard what Fernando said, he asked doubtfully:

"Do you mean to say that Portugal will send buses in the next game?"

Fernando nodded: "Yes, when encountering a top team like Spain, I think setting up a bus is the best way to deal with it, because even if we can't score a goal, as long as we can drag the game into a penalty shootout, both sides will win." Opportunities are equal!"

The Portuguese coach's interview sent fans around the world into an uproar.

"Why does it feel like the Portuguese team has already surrendered before the game even started?"

"Haha, no, you actually want to rely on a penalty shootout to decide the outcome!"

"This old man really dares to think that after 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of overtime, 120 minutes, can the Spanish team still not be able to break their goal?"

"With the Spanish team's offensive firepower in the past few games, it will be very difficult for Portugal to win by relying on defense!"

Fans are not optimistic about this tactic of the Portuguese. If they faced the previous Spanish team, this strategy might really work.

Although the previous Spanish team had the most luxurious midfield configuration in the world, its forward configuration was relatively bleak and they were notoriously weak forward players.

But since Lin Quan joined the Spanish team, the Spanish team's offensive system has been fully activated, and its offensive firepower ranks first in the world. There has never been a clean sheet before.

At the World Cup in Brazil, many teams thought about using defensive counterattacks or even bus tactics to deal with Spain, but in the end, without exception, they all failed, and generally conceded a lot of goals.

Portugal doesn't use top strikers like Ronaldo, but insists on passive defense. It's a dream to imagine winning in this way!

The opponent's head coach's statement before the game not only affected the fans, but also the players on both sides.

The Portuguese players are naturally aggrieved by this. They will not believe that they are really so miserable in front of the Spanish team and will be forced to the extent of setting up a bus.

Therefore, all the players are working hard and intend to give the Spaniards some color in the game.

When the Spanish players saw the opponent's coach's attitude being so low, they couldn't help but feel a little complacent, as if victory was within easy reach.

Lin Quan and some veteran players on the team were keenly aware of the pride and complacency among his teammates, so while reporting the situation to the coaching staff, he reminded his teammates not to fall into the opponent's trap.

"This is just a psychological tactic created by the Portuguese. The purpose is to make you take it lightly. If you really feel that the opponent is vulnerable, then we will suffer a big loss in the next game!"

Lin Quan, Casillas and others told their teammates with serious expressions that Portugal's path to promotion does seem to be a bit stumbling.

But if you carefully study their performance in the past few games, you can see that the team's state and morale are on the rise. They are becoming more courageous as they fight. Their state at this time is no longer the same as the state in the group stage.

If you still look at the Portuguese team as a weak team, then you will be in trouble!

"Lin and Igor said very well, don't fall into the enemy's trap. Since the Portuguese used such psychological tactics before the game, it shows that they have ideas for this game!"

An old fox like Bosque will naturally not be deceived by Fernando's tricks.

On the surface, the other side talks nicely, saying that they need to rely on defense to delay time and rely on penalty kicks to win.

But Bosque felt that this was probably a smoke bomb. The opponent was likely to use such words to confuse the Spanish team, and then invest heavily in a massive attack at the beginning of the game to catch the Spanish team off guard.

If the Spanish team was really negligent before the game and underestimated Portugal, they might actually get into the opponent's way.

If the opponent scores a goal and then retreats to set up the bus, it will be difficult to comeback in this game.

After listening to the analysis of the captain and head coach, the players no longer dared to have any thoughts of underestimating the enemy.

"Tomorrow's game will be very difficult. The Portuguese team has more physical fitness than us. They will definitely use their physical advantage to deal with us. Everyone must work hard. This is the last game, and it is also the last game for many of you. This is your last national team game, and I don’t want you to leave with regrets.”