Chapter 207: European Qualifiers in the Championship Atmosphere
Before the game started, the media had actually already started hyping up this match. Of course, the most attention was paid to the Italian media. After all, the opponent was not a well-established European powerhouse, but only Lithuania, which was ranked around 120th in the FIFA rankings.
Therefore, the Italian media were not concerned about the outcome of the game, but began to speculate on the course of the game after Donadoni announced the starting lineup.
Because in this game, except for Filippo Inzaghi who scored twice in the previous game, AC Milan's core midfield duo did not start, and they were replaced by the central axis system of Roma and Sevilla.
Of course, the Sevilla twins only started Li Qi, but based on Maresca's condition in the previous game, the media predicted that there is a high probability that Maresca will come on as a substitute in the second half, just like in the previous game.
The media has high hopes for this midfield and frontcourt combination system between Roma and Sevilla, believing that it can speed up Italy's offensive organization and play more exciting cooperation in dangerous areas; after all, Pirlo's position is relatively backward, and Gattuso is not good at technology, while Filippo Inzaghi is an opportunistic forward.
In contrast, Perrotta, Li Qi and Maresca are all comprehensive midfielders who like to play fast passing and cutting in the frontcourt, and De Rossi's physical fitness and defensive toughness are not comparable to Pirlo.
Therefore, the media generally believes that this younger combination should be Italy's main starting lineup in this European European Cup, and will also be a reliable central axis for the next World Cup.
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After the game kicked off, it was true that this younger Italian team was more proactive than the previous game against the Faroe Islands. However, Li Qi also knew that it was mainly due to the coach's arrangement, who started with collective forward pressure, played full-court pressing, and sped up at the start in an effort to break the deadlock as soon as possible.
Just two minutes into the game, Li Qi received a direct pass from De Rossi, pulled the ball and turned around in the crowd, and at the moment before the defender made a tackle, he poked the ball with his toes and made a hidden direct pass.
The ball just passed between the legs of Lithuanian central defender Zivilgosdaucas. Di Natale followed up and made a powerful low shot from 12 meters in front of the goal!
Unfortunately, the shot was too angled and hit the far post and bounced out of the bottom line. Di Natale was very upset that the ball didn't go in, and the Lithuanian team was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. The morale of Italy was also boosted, and even the live commentary was exclaiming:
"Li Qi brought a different element to Italy as soon as he came on the pitch. In the last game, Italy lacked the role played by Totti. Few people could deliver key passes in the attacking midfielder or shadow striker position. But obviously, with this kick in the second minute of the game, Li Qi not only gave Lithuania a warning, but also told the world that he is the first choice to succeed Totti's position."
"Of course, it's still early in the game, so let's continue to observe Italy's performance. I hope it's not like the last game, where they only played well at the beginning of the first and second half, and then took advantage of the situation..."
"Oh! Chance!"
"Yeah, this time it was Quagliarella's turn to shoot from 8 meters in front of the goal, but the ball flew away..."
"It feels like Italy's attacking players tend to be too hasty in their final moments, as was the case in the last game, except for Inzaghi..."
"The instigator of this goal also came from Li Qi. He attracted a double-team in the middle and then decisively passed the ball to Di Natale on the left wing..."
After the opening, Italy fought hard in the frontcourt, especially Litchika in the middle, who almost intercepted the pass from Lithuanian defender Stankovicius. As a result, the Lithuanian team could only kick the ball away frequently and drive it to the side, so there was almost no way to control the ball and counterattack was basically impossible.
After 10 minutes of play, Lithuania had no chance to push the ball across half court, and Italy showed an even more exaggerated dominance than in the previous game.
However, it was impossible for Italy to maintain such a high-intensity full-court pressing throughout the game, so after 10 minutes of fierce attack, they still failed to break through the opponent's gate. Under Li Qi's command, Italy began to retract its formation, slowed down the pace a little, and let the teammates take a breath, so that the next wave of attack could be more fierce.
The game rhythm slowed down for about 10 minutes, and at the 20th minute, Italy started the next wave of offensive. Lithuania must have not rested enough, but the Italian youngsters led by Li Qi couldn't wait and hadn't scored the first goal yet.
Li Qi seemed to be moving and selecting positions carelessly in the midfield at first, but when Lithuanian striker Danilevicius retreated to receive the ball and then passed it back to Klimavichius in the midfield, the ball was obviously passed a little too far and too high...
Li Qi suddenly rushed forward to press, and Klimavichus obviously did not expect Li Qi to rush forward so quickly and fiercely. After barely stopping the ball, he was not prepared at all and could only hastily poke the ball away.
The ball was intercepted by Di Natale in the middle, and Di Natale was obviously a little impatient. Seeing that the Lithuanian goalkeeper Grybauskas was standing forward, he directly made a curved shot from 35 yards away from the goal!
Unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar and went out of the goal. If the ball had gone in, Li Qi wouldn't have said anything, but if it hadn't gone in, Li Qi would have used the Italian signature hand-spreading gesture to signal Di Natale to not worry, because he had made a breakthrough on his side and there was no one guarding him, so he had a better chance!
Di Natale also raised his hand to apologize, indicating that he would observe more before the next ball and no longer blindly rush.
Afterwards, Li Qi received a straight pass from De Rossi in the backcourt, and once again demonstrated his stable ball-stopping skills and clear overall thinking among the dense defensive crowd in the middle. He kicked the ball directly, and before the defensive players could double-team and block it, he passed the ball to Quagliarella who was waiting behind him.
After receiving the ball, the latter turned around, avoiding the interception of the opponent's full-back Paulauskas, and then played a simple wall-kick with Di Natale who was approaching and determined not to work alone, and broke through the defense line in one go!
Unfortunately, Quagliarella touched the ball a little too hard at the edge of the penalty area, and the ball went a little far away from his body. Skorla, who came to defend, shoveled the ball out of the bottom line from the side.
Then Di Natale took a tactical corner kick, Zambrotta made a cross from the left, and Perrotta, who was lurking at the back post, headed the ball 8 yards in front of the goal, but the ball was slightly higher than the crossbar again...
The live commentator was already shouting in despair. It seemed as if the Italian team was cursed in the two games. They collectively didn't bring their shooting boots and just circled the opponent's goal, but they couldn't score!
However, just when people thought that Italy's offensive would fail again, Italy finally seized the opportunity and broke the deadlock.
As the first 30 minutes of the game were about to end, Italy slowed down the pace of the game again, and Lithuania finally thought it could take a breath.
Li Qi suddenly retreated to the midfield and poked the ball away from Lithuania's No. 10 Kalonas from behind. The latter was about to carry the ball through the half court, but Li Qi came around from the side and poked the ball lightly to De Rossi in front of him.
De Rossi also understood what he meant, and he directly bounced the ball and passed it to Li Qi who had turned around and was ready to counterattack, thus avoiding the counterattack of Carlonas.
Li Qi had just turned halfway when he discovered the fatal gap in the Lithuanian defense line; so Li Qi did not stop the ball, and followed the direction of De Rossi's pass, directly increasing his strength and sending a precise scalpel towards the ribs of the Lithuanian defense line, which immediately broke through the Lithuanian defense line that had just breathed a sigh of relief.
The ball went straight to the corner of the penalty area where no one was guarding it, and Quagliarella was rushing towards the corner of the penalty area at high speed.
Quagliarella stopped the ball in the penalty area, used his body to hold back the chasing Lithuanian midfielder Molinas, adjusted a step, and from 15 yards in front of the goal, slightly to the left, kicked a curved ball with his left foot, and the ball went straight into the upper far corner of the goal!
Lithuania's goalkeeper Grybauskas could only watch as the powerful and angled shot from inside the penalty area went straight into the net, with no way to stop it!
Italy finally took advantage of Lithuania's momentary slackness in the midfield and backcourt in the 30th minute and broke the deadlock! Italy led 1-0!
Lithuania, which was lagging behind, was also anxious. After all, they were at home and all the players were professional. They still had to save face. If they were behind, they had to hurry up and grab a wave. Of course, according to Italy's traditional tactics, they had to take the lead. However, Li Qi was stuck in the middle of the waist, which made the Lithuanian midfielder very uncomfortable.
Lithuania's head coach Lubinskas was also decisive. Without waiting for the end of the first half, he immediately replaced Molinas with forward Mikoliunas in the 38th minute of the game and switched to a double forward lineup.
Lithuania no longer sought to pass through the midfield step by step. After all, the Italian midfield was too strong. It was better to be simple and direct and play long passes and quick attacks. Maybe they could create some opportunities in the chaos.
But not long after Lithuania made the substitution, Italy changed the score again.
In the 42nd minute of the game, Lithuania got the first great chance of the game. Mikoliunas, who had just come on, made a straight pass, and Kalonas cut diagonally into the penalty area. He fell to the ground and shot despite Cannavaro's tackle 11 meters in front of the goal, and the ball went straight to the far corner of the goal.
However, Italian goalkeeper Buffon showed his masterful style, making his first save of the game and beautifully pressing the ball in front of the goal. However, before Lithuania could regret missing the golden opportunity, Buffon quickly grabbed the ball with one hand and stood up, throwing the ball with force to launch a counterattack!
Li Qi stretched out his long legs near the center circle and deftly stopped Buffon's thrown ball. Then he pulled the ball and turned to pass Zidane, and dodged the Lithuanian midfielder Semberas who came to defend hurriedly.
Then Li Qi launched himself from the spot and charged towards the Lithuanian defense line that had no protection from the midfielder.
Li Qi was running at full speed, and Lithuania's full-back Stankovicius couldn't stop him at all. He just changed direction and passed him without even giving him a chance to foul. In a breath, Li Qi had already reached the corner of Lithuania's penalty area, facing the two central defenders who had nowhere to retreat.
Just when everyone thought that Li Qi would take advantage of the momentum to make a violent shot or accelerate past the opponent to get into the penalty area, Li Qi unexpectedly slowed down and dunked the ball behind him.
Then, just as the two Lithuanians were somewhat confused and subconsciously approached Li Qi, preparing to closely guard him to prevent him from turning around and drive him out of the threat area, Li Qi lightly tapped his heel, and the black and white elf named Crossing Europe passed through Zivil Górdoškas' crotch again!
The ball rolled through Europe at a slow speed into the middle of the penalty area. However, the two Lithuanian central defenders were too late to turn around. They didn't even know where the ball went. They just felt a flash before their eyes, and the ball disappeared from under Li Qi's feet...
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Far away in London, Emma Watson has been completely obsessed with football since being pulled into Sarafina's small circle. However, as a well-known British movie star, her fan is not the England team, or the Scotland team, or the Wales team, but the Italy team.
To be more precise, Emma is a fan of Italian football star Riccardo Ricci, who has just become her close texting friend. She has been watching the European Cup qualifiers, which have not been considered as the focus of the competition, with Sarafina in the luxury apartment they rent, and they are having a great time.
Especially when Li Qi had a close-up or highlight shot, Emma screamed like a crazy girl, completely drowning out the voice of the live commentary...
"Lithuania's chance! Mikoliunas passes the ball straight!"
"Kalonas! Shovel shot!"
"Beautiful! Buffon's impeccable save! He held the ball on the goal line."
"(⊙o⊙) Oh! What a treat! A quick throw-in to counterattack..."
"Beautiful! Li Qi pulled the ball and turned to dribble past the opponent in one go! He accelerated! The Lithuanian defenders couldn't stop him!"
"Too fast! We're in the restricted area..."
"Oh! Li Qi suddenly stopped and dunked the ball. Why is that..."
"Goose sister wake up! Heel! Crotch!"
"Quagliarela! One-on-one!"
"Ditch oooooh! Ditch oooooh! Ditch!"
"Quagliarera received the ball with his heel from Li Qi, and from 12 yards in front of the goal, facing the goalkeeper who was rushing out, he shot a powerful right-foot shot into the top corner of the goal and broke the net!"
"Italy is leading 2-0! Before the end of the first half, Italy launched a high-quality counterattack!"
"This goal came from Buffon's miraculous save, where he threw the ball directly to Li Qi who was waiting for an opportunity to counterattack in the middle. Li Qi's performance afterwards was no less than Buffon's. First, he pulled the ball and turned past the opponent, and then rushed forward, which made people's adrenaline rush!"
"Just when everyone thought that Li Qi would go all the way, Li Qi suddenly stopped in front of the penalty area. Then Li Qi's imaginative heel-kick assist fooled the entire Lithuanian defense!"
"However, Quagliarella did not waste Li Qi's wonderful performance and did not miss the ball. He directly shot the ball into the net with great force."
"Quagliarela scored twice, and Li Qi also assisted twice..."
After Quagliarella scored, Emma, wearing a khaki school skirt, jumped and danced in front of the TV without caring about her image, but she was shouting Ricardo Richie's name, which was completely inconsistent with her wise and calm lady style on the big screen!
Sarafina, who was watching this scene, was obviously jealous: Humph! This little girl must be having an affair with Ricardo! Don't let me catch her...
@
Italy then smoothly entered the halftime break with a score of 2-0. Although the score was not much better than the previous game, the progress in the game was still obvious. The control and pressure in the frontcourt were stronger, and the quick passing and cutting in the offensive organization were more delicate. After all, the opponent Lithuania was not an amateur team like the Faroe Islands.
However, it was a little disappointing that Pippo, who was the man of the match and scored twice in the previous game, seemed to be out of shape in this game. It might be because the organization of the midfield and the style of AC Milan were not consistent. Inzaghi could not find his rhythm in the first half of the game.
Although Li Qi also tried to cooperate with Inzaghi in front of the small penalty area, it was obvious that the latter preferred a straight pass to counter offside.
However, I don't know whether the tacit understanding between Li Qi and Inzaghi is not good enough, or Inzaghi's condition in this game is really not good. It's not that Li Qi doesn't want to pass the offside straight ball, but the two of them always don't match their pace.
Therefore, Li Qi sent many good balls to Quagliarella and Di Natale, but he didn't find a chance to pass the ball to big brother Inzaghi. Either the latter ran too early and was obviously offside, or the two's passing and cutting intentions were too obvious and were targeted by Lithuania's defense.
However, the two of them did not have to worry about it. During the halftime break, Donadoni replaced Inzaghi, who was obviously out of place in the first half, with Pirlo, changing to a double defensive midfielder and also pushing Li Qi to the front line.
What Donadoni was thinking was that Li Qi was obviously in good shape today and his feet were also smooth, so he let Pirlo pass the ball to him and Quagliarella from behind and try to see if he could score a few more goals.
As for Inzaghi, who was unable to wait for Pirlo to pass the ball to him, Donadoni deliberately avoided his resentful look. After all, the overall tactics of this game were still focused on testing the Roma + Serbia system, but replacing Pirlo also depended on the compatibility of these players.
Oh yeah, there is also Maresca. Well, let’s play for about ten minutes in the second half and then use him to replace Di Natale. The latter also didn’t bring his shooting boots today…
