Chapter 246 European Championship Qualifiers, Fighting France Again, Part

At 2007:9 on the evening of September 8, 20, local time in Italy, the much-anticipated focus match of Group B of the European Cup qualifiers kicked off at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, with the Azzurri Italy playing at home against their World Cup final opponents, the Whites France.

In the first match between the two teams in this qualifying round, Italy lost 2-3 away. Before this match, Scotland beat Lithuania 3-1 at home, surpassing Italy by 2 points, and temporarily rose to the top of the list by surpassing France with the head-to-head record.

意法历史上交锋34场，意大利17胜9平8负占据优势，不过1978年世界杯小组赛1比2告负后，法国开始在双方交锋中占得上风。意大利在圣西罗作赛51场，仅在1911年和1925年输过两场，对手均为匈牙利，其他49场战绩为36胜13平。

Materazzi watched the game in the stands due to injury, but what is interesting is that the words "I love Paris" were printed on the chest of his T-shirt.

Donadoni arranged a 4-1-3-2 formation. Toni was injured in the thigh and was on the sidelines. Inzaghi was the only one to go forward. Piero played as a left winger, overpowering Di Natale. Ricardo Liqi was also slightly injured and started the game from the bench. In the defense, Panucci, who returned to the national team after 3 years, did not start. Oddo still played as a right back. Barzagli and Cannavaro defended the center.

Goalkeeper: No. 1 Buffon;

Defenders: No. 22 Oddo, No. 5 Cannavaro, No. 6 Barzagli, No. 19 Zambrotta;

Single defensive midfielder: No. 10 De Rossi;

Avant-garde: No. 16 Camoranesi, No. 8 Gattuso, No. 21 Pirlo;

Two forwards: No. 18 Filippo Inzaghi, No. 7 Del Piero.

On the French side, coach Domenech was suspended for verbally attacking the Italian youth team and could only remotely control the game from the stands. The French team lined up a standard parallel 4-4-2 starting formation, with captain Vieira returning, Sevilla center back Escudé replacing the injured Gallas, and Diarra overtaking Claire to play right back.

Goalkeeper: No. 1 Landreau;

Defenders: No. 21 Diarra, No. 15 Thuram, No. 17 Escud, No. 3 Abidal;

Midfield: No. 22 Ribery, No. 4 Vieira, No. 6 Makelele, No. 7 Malouda;

Two strikers: No. 39 Anelka, No. 12 Henry.

Because the home jerseys of the two teams were similar in color, the stands became a sea of ​​blue.

Six hours before the game, the funeral of the world-famous tenor Pavarotti was held in his hometown of Modena; the big screen at the stadium also showed Pavarotti's portrait before the game, and the audience expressed their grief with special applause. When the French national anthem was played before the game, Italian fans booed loudly, and the Marseillaise was completely drowned out by the noise...

After the opening, both teams played cautiously, but Italy was more passive in the early stages of the game, with the whole team retreating to the backcourt. Although they had the advantage in numbers in the midfield, they lacked ball control.

As the game progressed, the French team took the lead. In the 9th minute, Henry passed the ball in the middle, Malouda kicked the ball from the edge of the penalty area to Anelka who was outflanking at the back post, but the latter headed the ball directly out of the baseline...

Italy gradually found the rhythm of the game after the 15th minute and began to win some offensive opportunities. However, it was somewhat surprising that Italy's first threatening shot came from the captain Cannavaro in the center back position.

In the 15th minute, Pirlo passed the ball to the left and won a corner kick. Pirlo took a corner kick from the left, Cannavaro stopped the ball at the back point and shot at a small angle, but was blocked by Landro and went out of the baseline.

Afterwards, both sides attacked and defended each other, but the most threatening attack in the first half came from the home team, although the home team was still suppressed by the French team on the field.

In the 36th minute of the game, Pirlo passed the ball behind the defense line on the left side of the midfield. Inzaghi finally succeeded in getting offside and passed the ball to the left side of the penalty area, thus getting rid of Thuram's defense. Then Inzaghi faced the goalkeeper who came out 6 meters in front of the goal and shot with his left foot at a small angle. Unfortunately, the ball bounced on the top of the crossbar and flew out of the bottom line! Italy missed the best chance to break the deadlock...

In general, the first half was not very good for both teams. Indeed, in the focus battle between the two strong teams, both sides played very conservatively to avoid mistakes, but no matter what, playing at home and desperately needing to catch up, Italy seemed a bit too passive...

So after the second half, Donadoni realized that he couldn't keep wasting time like this. Although he didn't make any substitutions, Italy began to emphasize offense more. The two full-backs Zambrotta and Oddo often made forward runs to assist, while the French team took the opportunity to strengthen their counterattacks. Fortunately, World Cup Golden Glove Buffon and World Footballer of the Year Carlo Ancelotti teamed up to provide security for Italy's defense.

The French team had a series of chances to score in the 52nd minute! Henry passed the ball to Anelka at the front of the left penalty area, and Anelka used his speed to break through Oddo's defense, broke into the left side of the small penalty area, and shot with his right foot 4 meters away from the goal, but unfortunately the Italian goalkeeper Buffon caught the ball steadily.

Then in the 54th minute, the French team launched an attack from the right wing. Diarra got rid of Zambrotta and sent a straight pass. Ribery volleyed the ball and easily passed Barzagli and successfully broke into the penalty area. Seeing this, Buffon quickly abandoned the goal and left most of the goal empty.

At this time, Henry, who followed up in time, was already lying in ambush in the empty middle. With just a simple inverted triangle cooperation, he could easily score and tie Platini's record of 41 goals for the national team.

Ribery also observed Henry's position, and after luring Buffon away from the goal, he rationally knocked the ball back to the middle, waiting for Henry's final shot. In a flash, the blue-clad figure wearing the captain's armband stepped forward and intercepted Ribery's inverted triangle pass, leaving Henry and Ribery looking at each other awkwardly.

In an extremely critical situation, Cannavaro was the only one left in the Italian penalty area to provide defensive support. Having experienced more than a decade of big scenes, Cannavaro was very calm. He did not make a tackle or commit a foul. Instead, he accurately judged the passing line between Ribery and Henry in advance, and with his exquisite positioning and timely interception, it seemed that Ribery took the initiative to send the ball to his feet. This was a world-class defensive art performance!

Donadoni saw that his starting lineup had not yet posed a threat in attack, but the defense had already saved the ball twice in front of the goal, so he made the first personnel adjustment: in the 61st minute of the game, Perrotta replaced Camoranesi.

Then in the 67th minute of the game, Li Qi replaced Inzaghi, who was invisible throughout the game except for a lob shot that hit the crossbar.

However, when Li Qi learned that he was replacing Inzaghi and had to play as the lone center forward, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

Inzaghi's poor performance is not his own problem, but the midfield is not strong enough, especially Ronaldo, who should be arranged by the coach as a shadow striker, but he is always pulled to the left and always wants to work alone...

Li Qi deeply felt that he should replace Luo, not Friedel, after all, the former's performance was not good, while the latter's diligent running could at least attract the attention of the French team, and his sense of smell in front of the goal might also solve the problem at the last moment.

In addition, Li Qi also wanted to complain about Donadoni's substitution of Perrotta. He directly replaced the team's only winger, Camorra. It's not appropriate to let Sleepy Pi play hot pot all the time! Sleepy Pi should be allowed to go back to the middle to play barbecue, oh no, he should play as a defensive midfielder.

Even if De Rossi is not replaced, he should be asked to move up to the midfield and sweep the field with Gattuso, and then he and Camoranesi or Perrotta should be on the two wings to supply ammunition to Inzaghi.

It was definitely not like he was standing in the middle and watching his former teammate Escude, who was grinning, fighting with the other three black and hard guys! With his weak arms and legs, he was broken in a few moves, wasn't he?

After the substitutions, the two teams fell into a tug-of-war again.

In addition, at this time, the hidden dangers of the French team in this game were exposed. Since the head coach, the astrologer, was not on the bench, the assistant coach did not dare to take the initiative to make adjustments. If they lost the game, they would be blamed...

As soon as Li Qi came on the field, he was trapped by Thuram, Escudé and Vieira! There was no other way, he was the only one in the middle, De Luo went to the wing, and the others didn't go that deep. But Li Qi didn't dare to leave too far, after all, he was the only one in the middle. If he went to the side or retreated, there would be no offensive or defensive players in front of the opponent's goal, which would make the white-clothed defenders extremely lonely...

But Li Qi had to find a way to save himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to touch the ball. De Luo didn't want to feed him the ball at all, either he cut inside to shoot or he passed the ball to the far end of the stands. Anyway, he was surrounded by white clothes and was definitely not the target of his ball. De Rossi and Pirlo, who had a good relationship with him, seemed a little far away from him, and he was not an opportunist like the fried chicken brother, and he was not good at inserting without the ball!

So the first thing Li Qi thought of was to change positions. While he was protecting the ball with his back to the goal, he carefully observed and thought about it. Li Qi passed the ball to Perrotta on the right side... Although Perrotta is a rare all-around midfielder in the Italian team, his skills are not delicate and his body is not tall. He is a defensive midfielder in the front position. It is not impossible to replace him, but it cannot change the situation.

Li Qi approached Perrotta to receive the ball, but found that the former passed the ball to the other side to Del Piero. There was no way Li Qi came over, and at least brought two defensive players with him...

Swap positions with Ronaldo? Forget it, the boss won't even consider it, he just likes to stay in what he calls Piero's comfort zone. If things go wrong, the two of them will stare at each other on the left wing. If I don't arrange Donadoni after the game, won't I be angry?

Then Li Qi watched as De Luo bravely cut inside again, but was intercepted by Makelele. He then pretended to be fouled and sat on the ground with his hands raised to call a foul... Strictly speaking, it was indeed a foul, but the referee probably wouldn't have called it that way, otherwise the game would have been too fragmented.

So Li Qi's sight went beyond the midfield. After all, replacing Gattuso and Pirlo at the center position must be a plan that only a crazy person could come up with to destroy the whole family, right? Destroy your own family...

After selecting the target, Li Qi began to plan how to do it naturally without being discovered by his teammates and without being blamed by the head coach...

Soon, the opportunity came. In the 75th minute of the game, Zambrotta lost the ball in the backcourt and fell to the ground injured. Fortunately, the team managed to keep the goal and only gave a corner kick to the Gaul team. Zambrotta's injury was not serious and he could continue the game.

As the highest point on the field, Li Qi must return to the penalty area to defend against Thuram. However, after the corner kick was cleared by Barzagli, Li Qi did not return to his position, but ran to the defensive midfielder position to defend. De Rossi, who was chasing the ball all the way out, also naturally came to the front of the team. However, after a round of grabbing, De Rossi, who did not even touch the ball, wanted to return to his position, but found that his position... was gone? !

Then De Rossi saw Li Qi, who occupied his defensive midfielder position, fighting with him crazily. Okay, okay, shit, shit, just temporarily switch positions with this damned guy for a while. Anyway, it is the principle of nearby defense after a corner kick, and the head coach should not be mad. Just switch back at the next dead ball.

So Li Qi could naturally start the game from the defensive midfielder position. The first thing he had to do was to get the ball back and not let it go out of bounds, otherwise there would be no excuse for the temporary position change.

Thanks to the opponent's help, French striker Henry didn't wait for Li Qi to kick the ball after receiving it. Just like those men who ejaculated early, he made a soft and weak low shot outside the penalty area and sent the ball back to Buffon.

Li Qi quickly waved for the ball. If he didn't give a reason, he would go back to the center position and stare blankly. After receiving the quick toss from Buffon, Li Qi felt relieved. With the ball at his feet, he could at least play for two or three minutes according to his own ideas: first, find Pirlo to cooperate, and then quietly change positions with him, so that he can push me from behind, oh no, feed me the ball!

Li Qi who was looking for Pirlo would not pass the ball to him directly, after all, his intention was too obvious and he could not get past the two French waist players in the middle. Li Qi first passed the ball to Zambrotta on the wing, and then ran to receive the ball, which was equivalent to hitting a wall; then he turned around and let the ball go, avoiding Ribery who was trying to steal the ball, and then fed the ball to Pirlo who was pulling to the left to ask for the ball.

Li Qi continued to move forward to the position in front of Pirlo. In the case of a lack of defensive midfielder, either Gattuso would come back or Pirlo with the ball would retreat.

However, at this time, it would definitely not be Pirlo who was holding the ball and organizing the game and would retreat. Instead, Gattuso would go over to defend first. However, Pirlo would definitely not choose to move forward: after all, Li Qi had already run in front of him, and as a substitute striker, he would just move forward. He only had to deal with him from behind, oh no, he just had to pass the ball to him.

Li Qi didn't think he could defeat the French team in one go, nor did he want to play in a comfortable position. He definitely wanted to control the ball for a while longer. So Li Qi moved in the front midfielder area not far in front of Pirlo, not far in front of De Rossi who turned his back, not far in front of Perrotta who turned sideways to cut inside, and not far in front of Del Piero who pulled to the side to receive the ball.

Li Qi, who was stuck in the attacking midfielder position, cut off the routes of De Luo and Perrotta to cut inside, and the two could only cooperate with Li Qi to make several short passes in succession.

Although Li Qi didn't do anything, he just kept running and passing the ball in the attacking midfielder position. However, this position is the most dangerous for touching the ball. The French team didn't react to the sudden change of the Italian lineup. Makelele and Vieira didn't have any good way to deal with Li Qi who was running around like a monkey, and they didn't dare to commit blind fouls in dangerous positions.

With just a few passes and cuts, Li Qi almost ran into a wall with Pirlo, Del Piero, De Rossi and Perrotta one by one, and obvious loopholes appeared in the French team's defense!

Because Li Qi was always testing the edge of danger, Thuram couldn't stand it after watching for a long time, and he couldn't help wanting to join in and kill Li Qi!

So Li Qi's chance came, oh no, Italy's chance came!

However, Li Qi decided to give this rare opportunity to his good friend De Rossi, who had silently paid for him and was now standing stupidly on the edge of the penalty area...

……