Chapter 26 Preparation for War and the Glory of the Samba Kingdom

Back to the game, although the performances of both sides in the final stage of the game were lackluster, we still have to explain the subsequent development of the game.

Let’s see if the Spanish genius Fabregas who plays for Arsenal can turn the tide!

He... retreated to receive the ball! Then he passed it back to the midfield!

He retreated to receive the ball, and then passed it back to the backcourt again...

Although Fabregas was pushed to the front line and appeared on screen continuously in the final period of the game, he did not perform well at all because he could not get the ball into the penalty area and his passing and receiving were mediocre and he could not create any threat.

Compared to Li Qi who frequently appeared on camera during the game... this guy always had a serious poker face when playing on the field, he really deserved a beating...

Fabregas is still too young at the moment - an irresponsible comment from a TV commentator.

The subsequent game was uneventful. Italy also replaced Pelle, who scored twice but was running out of energy, with No. 19 Acquafresca at the last minute.

Acquafresca, who had just come on the pitch, also seemed very excited and active. In the injury time of the game, he received a long pass from Li Qi and almost scored a goal. Unfortunately, Ribas made another heroic save, and then Jose Enrique cleared the ball first...

Spain, on the other hand, has been unable to score.

There is no way, there are too many undercover traitors, and they keep emerging!

What's that famous saying? It's not that the National Army is incompetent... Oh, no, it's that everyone in the world is incompetent.

The front, midfield and backcourt are all Italian undercover agents!

At the end of the game, the Italian U20 team defeated the Spanish U3 team 1-20 and became the last team to advance to the semi-finals.

The best player of the game was also given to Pelle who scored twice!

Li Qi made a stunning midfield steal and lob shot!

Li Qi wanted to keep a low profile... but after the game, the media played the game repeatedly...

Afterwards, some media even kept looking for Li Qi to interview him about his mental journey in scoring this goal...

What kind of experience can there be? I just saw that the opponent's goalkeeper had a great posture, ah, the position was so good, I couldn't help but shoot directly...

After the game, although Spain's head coach Saz was very frustrated, he never mentioned the internal affairs of the locker room such as the mole and undercover, and only commented very obscurely: "The boys tried very hard, but the Italian team played better and had better luck. They were lucky to seize several of our key mistakes... We have to review and correct them when we go back. We must improve in order to compete with higher-level teams..."

In comparison, Italy's head coach Casiraghi was very excited and teased the Spanish team in a subtle way: "The boys worked very hard and played very well. The Spanish team was also good, but we were unlucky and we caught several of their key mistakes... Yes, we have made history and reached the semi-finals... We have no baggage and we will work hard to achieve better results..."

After the game, the top four teams and their matchups are also revealed!

6月28日，17:30，乌得勒支赛区，巴西U20代表队vs意大利U20代表队；

6月28日，20:30，凯尔克拉德赛区，尼日利亚U20代表队vs摩洛哥U20代表队。

……

It was time to change cities again. The next morning, after a simple relaxation training, the whole team gathered to take the train to Utrecht, 140 kilometers away.

This was the venue for the Group B match where the Chinese U20 team was competing; unfortunately, the Chinese team had already been eliminated and returned home. When entering the city of Utrecht, Li Qi had an inexplicable feeling.

Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. It is located on the beautiful Rhine River and is an important port along the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It has unique and charming scenery and a long cultural history.

The city is known for its ancient canals, grand buildings and tree-lined streets; the canal system is one of its hallmarks.

The city center is crisscrossed by many canals, with elegant old buildings and colorful houses along the banks, which are reflected in the canals, creating a beautiful picture-like scenery.

Utrecht is a small town with a small population. Its famous attractions and buildings include the world-renowned Utrecht University and St. Martin's Cathedral.

The Galgenward Stadium, which hosted the semi-final between Brazil and Italy, is also one of Utrecht's landmark buildings. The stadium was opened in 1982 and can accommodate more than people.

Li Qi checked into a hotel not far from Utrecht University with the Italian U20 team. He looked at the posters and roster of the Brazilian team and began to think about the players and characteristics of the Brazilian U20 team. He felt that Casiraghi would ask him about the situation in the evening...

But until the tactical training session started in the afternoon, Li Qi did not recall much valuable information. The most familiar thing was Diego Tardelli, the future Lulong star who was suspended for this game... In the previous game, he scored the equalizer to help the Brazilian team reach the semi-finals, but then he dived and was given two yellow cards, which turned into a red card, and then was suspended.

There is another Rafinha who I seem to have some impression of. He was born on September 1985, 9 in Londrina, Brazil. He is 7 cm tall and plays as a right back.

Currently playing for Cruzeiro, a top club in the Brazilian national league, but after this World Youth Championship, he seems to have joined Schalke 04, and then played for Bayern Munich for a long time...

And Diego Sosa, who is suspected to be Diego. The full name of the former Diego is Diego Ribas da Cunha. He was born on February 1985, 2 in Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Now he is one of the twin stars of Santos together with the future factory state Hengtai star Robinho. In the future, the two will be Crouching Dragon and Phoenix...

But now, Diego is already playing in the Confederations Cup for the Brazilian national team and it is impossible for him to participate in the World Youth Championship.

Now, this player with a similar name, Diego Sosa, was born on June 85, 6. He is 17 meters tall and also plays as a midfielder for Fluminense.

In addition, there is a striker named Thiago Silva... He should not be the famous central defender's sister-in-law in later generations. This one is called Quirino, which should be a similar name - Brazilian names are too long and complicated.

Li Qi didn't have much impression of the others...

There is no way. Brazil is so full of talented people that it is too easy to put together a 21-man team. Maybe the best players are not even in the team.

In the evening, as expected, Casiraghi asked Li Qi again to ask whether Barcelona's team report included the situation of this Brazilian youth team.

Li Qi could only answer truthfully. Apart from the suspended Tardelli and right-back Rafinha, he didn't know much.

This is also very real. It is impossible for Li Qi to know all the main players of the youth team, right? This is not just a matter of Barcelona's internal report being peeped, oh no, it is peeping...

Now Casiraghi can only study the video of the Brazilian team honestly. Fortunately, the Italian team's lineup is still complete, and Nocerino, who was suspended for a yellow card in the last game, can also return.

However, the main left center back Canini had a slight strain in his calf muscle during training, which may be due to excessive fatigue, and he needs to rest for a few days.

In addition, players such as Pelle, Rossi, Bentivolio, Sigagliani and Korda all have a yellow card. They need to pay attention in the next game, otherwise they will be suspended in the final.

In addition, the whole team has obviously entered a period of fatigue, both physically and mentally. The coaching staff clearly feels that the state of the team is declining. After all, they have played 15 games in 5 days since the group stage. With the intensity of one game every 3 days on average, even an iron man will get tired.

Therefore, the training in the past few days is mainly simple recovery and relaxation training and tactical training, and tomorrow's training session will be compressed into the morning, and the whole team will have a day off in the afternoon.

Although Italy had a good rotation strategy before, because Brazil finished the quarter-finals one day earlier, Italy had one day less rest than Brazil...

However, Brazil's quarter-final match went into extra time, while Italy successfully resolved the battle within 1 minutes.

……

In the evening, Li Qi returned to his room and replied to the professor's email, saying that he would most likely not be able to report back to school until the second week of July, but the good news was that he should be able to take the final exam smoothly; he did not mention the elimination of the Spanish team at all.

In addition, Li Qi also replied to the text messages from his relatives and friends. This group of people had been asking Li Qi to prepare the tickets for the finals in advance since last night, so as to avoid not being able to buy them...

Li Qi couldn't help but complain: "How can I not buy tickets? It's just the World Youth Championship, not the World Cup... Besides, isn't it disrespectful to the Brazilian team to buy tickets so early?"

"It's okay. If you lose, you will become a spectator? It seems to be true. I can't refute it..."

"Then let's count the number of people first? Mom, Dad, Sarafina, and friends ABCDEFG... Never mind, let's call Pineta and ask her for help! Agent services include these, right?"

……

After replying to the email, I also browsed the news. I was attracted by the pop-up advertisement on Yahu. I wanted to click in to read the gossips about beautiful celebrities, but I also browsed the media's comments on yesterday's quarter-finals...

What impressed Li Qi the most and made him laugh and cry was the Spanish media. As expected of Don Quixote’s homeland, they had the spirit of Ah Q. The Spanish media first made a profound and easy-to-understand commentary on last night’s quarter-finals…

But putting aside the many insider and undercover stories, the conclusion is: as the core player of the Italian U20 team, Li Qi plays for the Barcelona team in Spain;

So regardless of victory or defeat, it is a victory for Spanish football, at least a victory for Spanish football style and technology...

When it comes to moral integrity...he is still the uncrowned king!

……

On the other hand, Casiraghi and the coaching staff stayed up late to work overtime for the first time in this tournament, carefully studying the video and everything about this Brazilian youth team...

Brazil is the defending champion of this World Youth Championship (Argentina was the champion of the previous one); in the first 14 World Youth Championships, Brazil and Argentina were the teams with the most championships, winning 4 times each.

In the qualifying tournament for this World Youth Championship, the South American Youth Championship, the Brazilian team also performed quite well, only losing to the Colombian team that gave Italy a hard time in the group stage, and finished second.

But judging from the quarter-finals of the two teams, Italy is in slightly better shape than Brazil, which may also be due to the previous rotation strategy. However, as the game progresses, the physical advantage will be gradually narrowed.

The Italian team has the talented midfielder Liqui, who currently plays for Barcelona. Although his performance is not as eye-catching as Messi of Argentina, he is undoubtedly the soul of the team. He has been praised by FIFA as the cornerstone of Italy's team building for the next ten years. The team has a solid defense, sharp counterattacks and strict tactical discipline.

In contrast, the Brazilian team's defense is stronger than its offense, especially the No. 5 Roberto, who plays as a defensive midfielder, is quite similar to Dunga in the past and has strong defensive ability. In the offense, the two full-backs No. 2 Rafinha and No. 6 Fabio Santos are the main instigators of the attack.

However, Brazilian players sometimes seem to be too playful on the field, often wasting good opportunities, which may be their fatal flaw.

Moreover, youth teams generally perform unstably, which makes the prospects of this semi-final even more unpredictable.

Therefore, after a deep exchange of views with the coaching staff, Casiraghi felt that the tactics for this semi-final should still be mainly defensive counterattacks, and use Li Qi's explosive breakthrough ability and set-piece ability to solve problems.

The training sessions tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will still focus on practicing set-piece tactics, including practicing penalty kicks...

As for the starting lineup of the Italian team, Casiraghi has basically prepared it. In this semi-final, they will use the 4-3-3 formation they used against Argentina. However, this time Li Qi will play as a front midfielder, playing the role he played against Spain, which is a bit like the role of Brazilian star Kaka who has played like a god in recent seasons...

Goalkeeper: No. 12 Viviano;

The back line from left to right: No. 5 Criscito, No. 4 Andreoli, No. 3 Coda, No. 6 Motta;

Double defensive midfielders: Gattuso (No. 8) and Nocerino (No. 7) responsible for sweeping, and Pirlo (No. ) and Montolivo (No. ) responsible for forward delivery;

Attacking midfielder: Freeman No. 10 Li Qi;

Winger in attack and wide midfielder in defense: No. 17 Bentivorio on the left is responsible for going down the flank, and No. 11 Rossi on the right is responsible for cutting inside;

Center: No. 9 Pelle;

Except that the defense line was replaced by No. 4 Andreoli due to Canini's injury, the starting lineup against Argentina was basically copied. Well, Li Qi and Montolivo also changed positions.

The set-piece tactics also use high-point cover and back-passing to maximize the Italian team's height advantage.

……

Before going to bed, Li Qi said goodnight to Sarafina and Julian as usual...

Then he started flirting with the mature Miss Chiara! He sent some ambiguous MMS and flirting... ahem, he was just giving instructions and reporting work seriously.

While waiting for Chiara to reply after taking a shower, Li Qi browsed the preview of another semi-final...

The other semi-final is a test between African teams, with the African Eagles Nigeria facing the Atlas Lions Morocco.

Although Nigeria won the African Youth Championship this year and Morocco only ranked fourth, the two teams are still on par with each other in strength.

The two teams also met in the African Youth Championship, when the two sides tied 2-2. Nigeria won 5-3 through penalty kicks.

In this World Youth Championship, one team will have a life-and-death battle, with one team taking advantage of the momentum of eliminating the host Netherlands team, while the other team will take advantage of the momentum of reaching the top four of the World Youth Championship for the first time in history.

It is worth noting that Nigeria's central midfielder No. 20 Mikel and Morocco's forward No. 10 Elzar are both favored by FIFA and are listed among the 15 promising new stars of this World Youth Championship.

……

"Why hasn't Chiara finished washing yet? Never mind, I'm so sleepy, I won't wait any longer, I'll just review the long-legged photos from before and go to sleep..."

"I have to take some time to review my homework tomorrow. The professor gave me some advice, so I should be able to finish it in the next few days..."

……

(It is inhumane to do homework while competing!)

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