Chapter 635 See you in four years, Modric!

The game between Spain and Croatia is the latest to start among the four games in this round.

So the French team is not the only one who is interested in this game.

According to the arrangement of the World Cup match order, the England team, which has advanced to the semi-finals in advance, will be the next opponent of the winner of the game between Spain and Croatia.

Therefore, England coach Southgate was also paying close attention to this game. Seeing that the Croatian team was already three goals behind before the first half was over, Southgate couldn't help but frown.

"It's basically certain that Spain will be our opponent in the next round."

Although he had been prepared for this result, Southgate still felt very heavy when he saw that the Spanish team was really about to advance.

How he wants to see the Spanish team overturn and lose to the Croatian team!

Although the Croatian team performed very well in this World Cup, they even won a 3-0 victory over Argentina.

But in the eyes of the outside world, they are just not as strong as the Spanish team. If they choose one of these two teams as their opponent, I believe most people will choose Croatia.

Although Spain's lineup is aging, the guy in their lineup is really unbelievable, which caused everyone to be under great psychological pressure when facing Spain.

Because no team has 100% confidence that it can guard Lin Quan, and if there is the slightest mistake, it may be punished.

The strength of this England team is actually pretty good, but Southgate doesn't have much confidence in defeating Spain.

To be honest, after watching the first half of the game between Spain and Croatia, he felt that Croatia's defense had done a very good job.

But there is really no solution for these three goals. If they were to play, they would probably lose the ball.

Therefore, after seeing the end of the Croatian team, Southgate immediately ruled out the strategy of relying on defense to deal with the Spanish team.

Although England's defense is stronger than Croatia's, the midfield is obviously not as good as its opponents. It may be difficult to limit Spain by defense.

The England team's midfield and frontcourt are pretty good. They have Kane, Sterling, Rashford, Lingard, Vardy and others in the team.

These people can only use their full strength when attacking. If they shrink on defense, their talents will be wasted.

Therefore, Southgate began to think, should he go all out and have a vigorous fight with Spain?

Even if he fell in the end, he would still fall on the way to attack.

But he was a little worried. Croatia defended tightly and Spain scored three goals in the half.

If the England team really goes all out to fight against the opponent, will it be a tragedy for the Spanish team?

Thinking of this, Southgate was in a dilemma.

It's really neither defensive nor offensive.

…

Just when Southgate was thinking hard about how to deal with the Spanish team, the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half.

Players from both teams left the field and returned to their locker rooms.

In the Spanish team's locker room, Del Bosque stood at the door of the locker room with a red face. Every time he passed a player, he would hug him, pat the player on the back, and say: Well done, young man. !

The old man seemed to be motivating the players in this way, but he ignored that the players had just finished the first half of the game and were covered in sweat. Bosque, the 'towel' that came to the door on his own initiative, was naturally fully appreciated by the fans. Take advantage of it.

After only hugging half the team, he was completely soiled.

So much so that Lin Quan, who finally entered the locker room, rejected the old man's hug with a look of disgust:

"Coach, you didn't play football, why do you smell worse than us?"

Lin Quan pinched his nose, dwarfed his body, and escaped from Bosque's 'iron clamp'.

Bosque didn't care: "If I were younger, I would definitely go up and fight alongside you!"

Shui Ye, who also played as a defender, didn't buy it: "Come on, boss, with your level, playing on the field will only hold us back and cause us to lose!"

Del Bosque's face turned red, and he couldn't bear the rebuke from Ramos.

"Is it as bad as you say? I am a veteran of Real Madrid and your senior!"

Bosque also plays as a defender. He has played for Real Madrid for more than ten years in his career and has played hundreds of games in Real Madrid.

Although he is not outstanding among players of the same era, he is not as bad as Ramos said.

"Really? Then why is your name not among the top 20 appearances in Real Madrid's history?"

Ramos said proudly that he has played for Real Madrid for far less time than Bosque, but his number of appearances has exceeded Bosque.

Who is stronger and who is weaker seems to have been decided.

"Okay, okay, stop teasing the coach, let the coach tell us the tactics!"

Seeing Del Bosque, he was about to get red. Iniesta, who had quickly washed himself and walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, helped to rescue him.

"Ahem, okay, since you ask so, I will briefly explain the tactics for the second half!"

Del Bosque whispered softly, and since the players performed so well in the first half, forgive them!

The tactics in the second half are actually very simple, allowing the players to control the rhythm of the game and reduce physical exertion.

"I will make substitutions one after another according to the physical condition of the players on the court starting from 60 minutes. If anyone feels that they can't last the second half, you can say hello to me in advance and don't force yourself. We are only a few minutes away from our next semi-final. In the 4 days, everyone should maintain their physical condition and not consume too much. "

As soon as Bosque said this, some people immediately started to boo:

"Boss, are you opening the champagne at halftime?"

"That is to say, the game is not over yet, how can we be sure that it is us who will advance to the semi-finals?"

"Hey, I feel like something is wrong. Back then, AC Milan led by three at halftime, and then they opened champagne in the locker room and were overturned by their opponents. Coach, you are cursing us!"

Bosque became angry and kicked the buttocks of the players who were cheering hard one by one:

"Did I say we are sure to win? I want you to pay attention to the reasonable allocation of physical energy and win the game in the most economical way!"

"Oh oh oh, the coach is scared!"

"That's obviously not what you said just now!"

The players didn't buy it at all and continued to boo, and the locker room was full of jubilation.

…

Compared to the optimistic and positive Spanish players, I don’t know what the Croatian head coach said to his players in the locker room.

Anyway, when the Croatian players left the locker room, all of them had very solemn expressions, and there was a feeling of low pressure all over their bodies.

At the beginning of the second half, the Croatian team took the initiative to attack, and they attacked quickly.

There is not much time left for them. The task of scoring 3 goals in the half is too heavy. They can't wait for the players who have been dragged to Spain to decline in physical fitness. They must start attacking now to speed up the physical consumption of their opponents.

Croatia's offense looked fierce, but in fact it failed to pose much of a threat.

Although Mandzukic is very active, he has not fallen behind in many confrontations with Pique and Ramos.

But what is embarrassing is that it is difficult for his teammates to pass the ball smoothly to his feet.

With Spain well prepared, it would be too difficult to break through their defenses through positional warfare.

Seeing that a strong attack on the center was not working, the Croatian team immediately changed their strategy and began to play high balls from the wings to let Mandzukic in the penalty area fight for the top.

Mandzukic's header is very strong and he is a veritable aerial master.

The Spanish team's two central defenders are not very tall. Ramos is only 1.84 meters tall. It is difficult to compete with Mandzukic, who is 1.9 meters tall.

Although Pique is very tall, Mandzukic's physical confrontation ability is too strong, and it is difficult for him to take advantage of the opponent in a one-on-one duel.

If the quality of his teammates' crosses was better, Mandzukic's header could create a huge threat.

In the second half, the Croatian team did threaten with headers and scored in the 55th minute of the game.

Although this goal was not scored by Mandzukic himself, it was an assist he sent.

He passed the ball to his teammates, who pushed and scored without being defended.

The score became 3:1, and the Croatian team was still two goals behind.

This goal greatly boosted the morale of the Croatian team and allowed them to see the possibility of equalizing the score.

But after del Bosque sensed the danger, he immediately made substitution adjustments.

He replaced Iniesta, who was almost exhausted, and replaced him with Koke, further strengthening the interception in the middle and the protection of the wings.

This substitution has achieved obvious results. Thanks to Cork's excellent running ability and coverage area, the Spanish team's defensive quality has improved a lot.

The Croatian team's offense began to misfire and they were unable to score a second goal.

The head coach of the Croatian team could not sit still and began to make substitutions.

However, the effect of the substitution was not ideal. The situation on the field was stagnant. The Croatian team's offense was lively, but the thunder was loud and the rain was small, and the threat to the Spanish goal was getting lower and lower.

In addition, Mandzukic suffered a lot of physical exertion in the long and intense physical confrontation. Although he gritted his teeth and persisted, his physical fitness was no longer enough to support him in completing such a heavy task.

Seeing that the opponent's offensive was suppressed, Bosque chose to replace Carvajal and replace him with Nacho.

Although this substitution was a matchup substitution, Nacho's appearance injected new vitality into the Spanish team.

Nacho, who is full of physical energy, was very active after coming on the field. He stalked the defensive end and blocked the opponent's attacks from the wing time and time again.

On the offensive end, he spared no effort to intervene frequently and effectively supported the team's offense.

With the help of Nacho, Lin Quan's wing was a little overwhelmed. Not only was the Croatian team unable to attack, but they were forced back to defend in their own half.

Seeing this, Del Bosque boldly replaced David Silva and replaced him with Asensio.

This substitution caused exclamations on the scene. Spain, which was leading the score, actually wanted to attack?

According to their predictions, Spain should play more conservatively at this time and replace offensive players with defensive players.

But Bosque did not take the unusual path. With a big lead, he did not choose a conservative substitution, but very aggressively replaced a winger.

Spain, which further strengthened its offensive capabilities, was very successful offensively at the end of the game.

The Croatian team was very frustrated. They wanted to attack, but the defensive pressure in their backcourt was too great and they had to come back to defend.

The opponent has a new winger who is full of energy and extremely fast. As long as he gets the ball, he can make their exhausted teammates unable to take care of themselves on the wing.

As a result, their counterattack was completely nipped in the bud.

Finally, at the end of the game, Spain defeated Croatia 3:1 and advanced to the semi-finals.

After the game, the Croatian players collapsed to the ground one by one, as if all their strength had been drained from their bodies.

They were really tired in this game. They were completely suppressed by their opponents in the first half, and their counterattack in the second half was difficult to achieve.

Being harassed by the opponent is also a dilemma. The players are not only physically exhausted, but also mentally exhausted.

Although reaching the quarterfinals is a mission accomplished for them, the players are still very unwilling.

Obviously they are so close to the top four, but after all they still can't get over this hurdle!

After the game, Modric took the initiative to find Lin Quan and wanted to exchange jerseys with his opponent.

Modric didn't feel wronged at all when he lost to Lin Quan in this game.

The opponent's performance was indeed better than theirs, so they fully deserved this victory.

"Congratulations on your victory and I hope you can go further in the next competition."

"Thank you. Your tenacity is impressive. I hope to see you again at the next World Cup!"

Modric laughed: "At my age, I may not be able to participate in the next World Cup, but if I do go, I hope I won't meet you again, whether it is the group stage or the knockout rounds!"

Modric is 33 years old this year and will be 37 in the next World Cup.

At the age of 37, most players have already retired. Modric himself is not sure whether he will still play football and whether he can join the national team.

"For a player like you who gets better and better as he gets older, 37 years old is nothing. I think there is no problem for you to play until you are 40 years old, so I'll see you at the next World Cup!"

After exchanging jerseys, Lin Quan hugged Modric and then left with the other player's jersey.

Modric looked at his retreating back, still thinking about what he just said.

The older you get, the more evil you become?

Why do I feel like he is scolding me?

Am I an old monster?

However, Lin Quan's words still made him a little concerned. Although he is 33 years old this year and is considered an elderly player among professional players, Modric is actually in very good condition.

He feels that he should be fine if he plays for another two or three years.

It's just that it's still very difficult to maintain the current state for four years until the next World Cup.

But considering that the Croatian team is not a traditional strong team, the reason why the Croatian team has achieved good results this time is entirely because it has caught up with this group of outstanding players.

If he retires and other members of the team leave one after another, the Croatian team may fall apart immediately, and the Croatian team will be brought back to its original shape.

Therefore, he, the soul of the team, cannot leave the national team easily.

If he is still playing football four years later, it is really possible for him to put on the Croatian team's shirt again and fight for his country! (End of chapter)