Chapter 114 Super Mario, World Cup debut [6,000-word chapter]
“A powerful long-range shot!”
“The ball is scored!”
"Italy took the lead! The scorer was No. 8 Marchisio!"
"And at least half of the credit for this goal must be recorded on Pirlo's mistake"
Looking at the Italian players celebrating wildly on the field, the English players sitting on the bench all showed disappointment.
Including Ling Feng.
Although he had known that Pirlo would miss it like this.
However, the experience through the television broadcast and the experience of witnessing it live are obviously completely different.
The reason why superstars are superstars is that they can have a flash of inspiration at critical moments and make decisions that instantly change the situation on the court!
Looking at Pirlo with a calm face on the court, as if he had not woken up, Ling Feng couldn't help but sigh:
He is indeed a midfield artist!
This goal was unexpectedly leaked, and the ball was shot at a good speed and angle.
But in the final analysis, England missed someone in the corner kick defense!
Hard a large number of troops in the penalty area, leaving only Sturridge to defend outside the penalty area.
How could he, a forward, guard Pirlo and Marchisio?
When Sturridge was restrained by Pirlo stepping forward to catch the ball, Marchisio got an excellent long-range shot opportunity with no one within a few meters.
In addition, the penalty area was crowded with players from both sides, which blocked Joe Hart's view to a certain extent.
Many times, the birth of a goal is closely related to many details before the goal.
Tactical corner kick, Pirlo's leak, and a leak outside the penalty area
All the details were in Italy's favor, which ultimately led to this goal!
Of course, conceding the ball first is a disappointing thing for England's players and fans.
However, the first half is not over yet, they still have time!
After falling behind, the Three Lions immediately launched a fierce counterattack on the court!
Just two minutes later, after a successful counterattack in the midfield, Henderson passed the ball to Sterling, who was very active in the field.
Sterling, who came to the center, turned around and saw Rooney, who had switched positions with Welbeck and came to the left, and was cutting in at high speed. He passed a beautiful through ball without hesitation!
The latter broke through from the left and then passed a flat ball to the center.
The ball fell to the back point, and Sturridge was in position to outflank him. With a touch of the instep of his right foot, the ball suddenly turned into a swift cannonball and flew into the door.
And Siligu seemed to be affected by a cannonball, his whole body suddenly jumped up, and then fell into the goal.
In just two minutes, the Three Lions equalized the score!
It is worth mentioning that this goal, while bringing the two sides back to the same starting line, also helped Sturridge become England's only nine goalscorer in the World Cup besides Alan Shearer in 48 years. Number!
And this assist is also the first time Rooney has participated in a goal in nine World Cup games!
Seeing the ball hit the net, both the England fans in the stadium and the players on the bench stood up and cheered in celebration.
“Well done! Daniel!”
“Good shot!”
While England's supporters were cheering for joy, an episode occurred on the sidelines:
An England team doctor was so excited about celebrating that he accidentally sprained his ankle.
His screams confused the England coaching staff and players.
What's going on?
We scored a goal, shouldn’t we cheer and applaud? Why are there screams?
It wasn't until they saw him lying on the sidelines with his hands raised and calling for help that the rest of England reacted.
"Moore sprained his ankle, it seems quite serious"
"I should go to the hospital to take a X-ray to see if the ligaments are injured"
Watch myself injured His own team doctor was carried out on a stretcher by the medical staff at the scene. Ling Feng and Vardy looked at each other.
The corners of their mouths could not be restrained from rising slightly, they wanted to laugh but were embarrassed to do so.
This wave perfectly explains what it means to be extremely happy and beget sadness!
As England equalized the score, both sides slowed down a bit.
However, in stoppage time, Italy almost expanded the score again:
The forward "Barcelona God" Balotelli received Verratti's through ball and approached in the penalty area He picked up the ball at the baseline, glanced at Joe Hart who was attacking, and then made a very imaginative lob shot.
The ball went just over Joe Hart's head and flew straight towards the goal.
Fortunately, Jagielka, who was guarding the goal, headed the ball in time to clear the ball. Otherwise, once this goal is scored, there is definitely a chance to be included in the list of candidates for the best goal in this World Cup!
This also made Ling Feng, who was on the bench on the sidelines, sigh in his heart:
He is indeed a world-class God from the neck down!
If Bashen could keep his brain from short-circuiting and do things that are difficult for ordinary people to understand on and off the court, with his explosive physical fitness and football talent, he would have become a top star long ago!
But that’s how life is.
Not everyone will grow according to other people's expectations.
Different growth environments and different people and things encountered will affect a person's outlook on life.
If he didn’t think about life on and off the court, Balotelli would no longer be Balotelli.
With this lob that made the Englishmen break into a cold sweat, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the first half
. .
The score of one to one in the first half was an acceptable result for both sides.
Especially for the England team, which was the first to concede the goal, to be able to equalize in a flash after conceding the goal, which is a great morale booster!
You know, going into the halftime break with a score of one to one is completely different from going into the halftime break with a score of zero to one.
The former means that they are evenly matched with Italy and can continue to play according to the original plan;
The latter forces them to make tactical changes in the second half and attack more actively. Only then can the gap of one ball be recovered.
If the offense is pressed, the space for the defense will inevitably be larger.
The increased probability of scoring goals also comes with the risk of conceding the ball again.
Back in the locker room, Hodgson first praised Sterling and other players who were active in the first half. And the team's performance in quickly equalizing the score after conceding the goal.
Then, he also made clear arrangements for missing people when defending corner kicks.
Ask Rooney not to return to the penalty area, but to the top of the penalty area, and work with Sturridge to help defend the opponent's long shot.
Especially stick to Pirlo!
Because Pirlo is in the midfield, Rooney, who is ambushing behind the forward, is the closest to him, so he must be given a certain amount of pressure and cannot be allowed to easily organize and dispatch in the backcourt.
Otherwise, England will still be punished like in the first half!
Hearing this, Rooney nodded while drinking water to express his understanding.
In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again.
Facing the pressing attacks from forwards such as Rooney and Sturridge, Pirlo was like a dancer dancing on the court and was not greatly affected at all.
Without too many movements, just a push and a click, a pass and a run, and the space for passing is opened up.
The effortless foot skills attracted bursts of cheers in the stadium.
If it were so easy to defend, Pirlo would no longer be Pirlo.
With the exchange of passes between Pirlo, Verratti and Marchisio in the midfield, England Players were attracted to the center one after another, and spaces appeared on both sides of the wing!
Only five minutes into the second half, Italy advanced through the right back Damian and passed the ball to the feet of Candreva on the right side of the frontcourt.
The latter made a move to cross, and when the left back Baines jumped, he dunked with his right foot, cut inside, and immediately gained valuable space for the cross.
Looking up at his teammates in the penalty area, Candreva switched to his left foot and passed in without hesitation!
The ball passed through the air and over the heads of the two England players in the penalty area, flying towards the back of the goal.
At this moment, there is only one defensive player beside Super Mario: Cahill!
Balotelli retreated in small steps, then jumped up in front of Cahill and smashed the ball with his head towards the gate guarded by Joe Hart!
Perhaps because it was too close, the Manchester City goalkeeper was unable to prevent the ball from rubbing the inside of the goalpost and flying into the net!
“Goal~~~”
“Two to one!”
“Italy takes the lead again!”
"The one who scored the goal is Super~~~"
With the stadium DJ's deliberately prolonged tail tone, the Italian fans at the scene suddenly shouted in unison:
"Mario!!!"
If you really want to talk about it, Balotelli has never been a productive shooter with stable output.
However, he can always have a flash of inspiration in key games.
For example, in the Manchester derby against Manchester United in the 11-12 season, he scored the first goal, helping the team to slaughter the local rivals 6-1, and also contributed to the famous scene of "Why Always Me?";
For example, in the last round of the Premier League in the 11-12 season, he fell to the ground and tackled the pass, helping Aguero complete the decisive hit that was later regarded as the "9320 Miracle";
Another example is in the 2012 European Cup semi-finals, The explosive shot that sank the German tank.
Calling him "Mr. Big Scene" is not too much!
The cheers of Italian fans once again filled the entire Amazon Arena.
In sharp contrast, there are the English fans who hold their heads in their hands and look disappointed.
Seeing Italy score again, Hodgson finally understood the cruel fact that Italy could not be defeated with this starting lineup!
Changes must be made!
With a wave of Hodgson's hand, Ling Feng, Vardy, Wilshere and other substitute players on the bench came to the sidelines to warm up.
The situation on the field also changed significantly after this goal.
After taking the lead again, Italian head coach Prandelli made a decision - to shrink the formation!
And England launched a fierce offensive!
It is not that England has no chance of threatening Italy's goal.
Among them, Rooney had three shooting opportunities in just ten minutes.
Either missed the goal or was easily resolved by goalkeeper Siligu.
The second goalscorer in the history of the national team, who has played for the Three Lions since 2003, seems to be so close and yet so far away from his first World Cup goal.
The less he scores, the more impatient Rooney becomes on the court.
He asked for the ball directly from his teammates in the midfield, and then drove the ball forward with sparks and lightning. When he reached the outside of the penalty area, he was chased and intercepted by several Italian players and hurriedly shot a kick.
The ball was volleyed hard by him and flew directly into the stands.
Under the influence of Rooney's impatient mentality, England's offense became a one-man battle, with no team coordination at all. Gerrard, who should calm down Rooney the most, seemed to have forgotten Hodgson's arrangement and no longer stayed in the midfield. Instead, he frequently penetrated outside the penalty area and tried to threaten the Italian goal with long shots.
Although the number of shots continues to increase.
However, under the chain defense of the Italians, all the English shots were invalid, and no shot hit the goal range at all!
Seeing that, after discussing with the assistants on the side, Hodgson called Vardy and Ling Feng over:
"Jamie! Ling! Change clothes and get ready to play!"
Hearing this, Ling Feng and Vardy looked at each other.
In each other's eyes, we can see the desire for victory!
Quickly returned to the bench, took off their vests, and wearing pure white Three Lions jerseys, the two people came to the sidelines, preparing for their World Cup debut.
"Ling, after you go up, play in the midfield position and let Wayne go to the front. Control the ball first, and then pass more balls from behind in the ribs"
" Jamie, after you go up, make more breakthroughs on the left and pass in time”
The assistant coach took the tactical formation chart and gave instructions to the two of them, then turned around
Ling Feng and Vardy, who were standing on the sidelines, hugged each other.
“Jamie, it’s our turn!”
“Remember to pass the ball to me later!”
“No problem! You can move, but you can’t pass the ball. It’s mine!”
. . .
After standing on the sidelines for a while, a dead ball finally appeared on the court.
In the 65th minute, England took the lead in making substitution adjustments:
No. 21 Vardy replaced No. 11 Welbeck!
No. 15 Ling Feng, replaces No. 9 Sturridge!
"England made a substitution first"
"No. 21 Jamie Vardy replaced No. 11 Welbeck. This was a counter-substitution. Vardy, as the golden boot of the English Championship this season, He has a very good sense of touch and shooting skills in front of the goal."
"Huh? What was Hodgson thinking? He actually replaced Sturridge, the goalscorer who performed well in this game, and replaced him with a man who was only 19 years old. Year-old midfielder Ling Feng? "
"Although this young player performed amazingly in the first few warm-up games, he contributed four assists in three games. However, this is the World Cup stage. The opponent is not Honduras and others, but Italy, the last World Cup champion!”
“This is also the World Cup debut for these two players. I hope they can bring us some changes and surprises.”
In addition to the local commentators in England, commentators from many countries were surprised by Hodgson's substitution.
When the Italian fans at the scene saw England replace Sturridge, who had scored a goal, with a little-known young black-haired youth, they couldn't help but burst into loud cheers!
A few people know Ling Feng.
But most people don’t know who this handsome young player wearing No. 15 is.
They only know that Hodgson replaced Sturridge, the main forward who won the Premier League Silver Boot this season, with an unknown person!
To them, this operation is very confusing.
While the two sides were fighting fiercely on the field, they replaced their main forward?
This is undoubtedly surrender with a white flag!
However, they would not have imagined how strong Ling Feng, who Hodgson had placed high hopes on, would be in such an adversity of being behind in the score
Just because fans don’t know Ling Feng does not mean that Italy coach Prandelli doesn't know him.
As an opponent in the same group of this World Cup, the Italian coaching staff and media have been paying attention to England's every move from the moment England announced the World Cup squad.
During the preparations for the game, the Italian coaching staff conducted detailed analysis and research on the two new England internationals, Ling Feng and Vardy.
By watching a large number of Lingfeng’s game videos and highlights, Prandelli came to a conclusion:
This young player from the British Championship hegemony Leicester City is definitely the leader of the entire England team. The most creative player in the game.
No one!
He originally thought that Ling Feng would make his debut.
To this end, he also specially prepared a series of tactical arrangements for Ling Feng.
Unexpectedly, when England announced the starting lineup, Ling Feng was not allowed to start.
While this surprised him, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
However, Hodgson still sent Ling Feng on the field.
Ever since, taking advantage of the opponent's substitution, Prandelli couldn't help but call Marchisio on the left to the sidelines and give him some instructions:
"Tell Daniele (Dero) West), and Marco (Verratti), put more pressure on the No. 15 who just came on, and don’t let him pass the ball easily!”
Hearing this, as a Juventus midfielder! Marchisio, the main player, couldn't help but be stunned.
Although he didn't quite understand why the head coach was so afraid of this nineteen-year-old young player.
However, his professionalism prevents him from doubting the head coach's instructions.
He nodded seriously and said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry, coach!"
Not one of the Italian players took it seriously when it came to Ling Feng's appearance.
Although they all watched Ling Feng’s personal game videos and highlights in the tactical meeting, they were also deeply affected by the passing of this young English talent who has recently exploded in popularity.
However, they did not think that Ling Feng's appearance would change the situation on the court.
You know, even Rooney, the top star of the Premier League giants Manchester United, and a world-class midfielder like Gerrard, can't break their goal.
Not to mention a 19-year-old kid from the English Championship? !
As for Vardy, they didn't care even more.
They only regarded this thin forward with a mohawk haircut as a point-grabbing forward with some speed.
That’s all
It is worth mentioning that Sturridge seemed a little dissatisfied with being replaced.
When he came off the field, he just clapped hands with Ling Feng and walked straight back to the bench.
Ling Feng didn’t care about this either.
He can understand Sturridge's little emotions very well.
When the score fell behind, he was replaced.
In a sense, the head coach just doesn't think his performance is good enough to stay on the field.
This is a disservice to Sturridge, who thinks he is in good shape and has scored goals.
Of course, Sturridge did not dare to return to the bench and show off his face, and could only hold back any emotions he had.
The national team can be different from the club.
In the club, he is the striker second only to Suarez. When he was replaced, he expressed dissatisfaction and the head coach would comfort him.
But in the national team, if he dares to give the head coach a little face, he can directly say goodbye to his national team career!
Amidst the warm applause for Sturridge, Ling Feng quickly ran into the stadium, came to the front of the midfield, and then shouted to Rooney:
< br>"Wayne, the coach said to let you go up, I'm behind you!"
Hearing this, Rooney just nodded and went to the front of the entire formation.
Then, Ling Feng approached Gerald and said to him:
"Steven, the coach said let us control the ball, cooperate more, and play every attack well."
The latter also nodded and said nothing.
After the boundary kick was taken, Italy continued to control the ball.
As soon as Marchisio passed the ball to De Rossi, who came to respond, Ling Feng, who was not far away, rushed over like a tiger out of its cage.
Ninety-five’s [outbreak] allowed Ling Feng to kill in front of him in the blink of an eye.
De Rossi didn't expect Ling Feng to be so fast and was startled. He didn't dare to stop the ball and just drove forward!
The aimless long pass was passed directly to England's centre-back Cahill.
Cahill passed the ball to Gerrard in front, and the latter heard a familiar shout in his ears:
"Steven!"
Looking around, he saw Ling Feng reaching for the ball. The captain of the Three Lions passed the ball directly without any hesitation.
After stopping the ball and taking the first touch of the game, Ling Feng immediately turned around.
Then he made a diagonal pass and passed the ball to Vardy on the left.
After passing the ball, he did not forget to approach the left wing and meet Vardy at any time.
As the game progressed, Prandelli on the sidelines gradually frowned.
The Italian fans in the stadium were also surprised to find out how could the England No. 15 boy who just came on the field be so good at running? !
As Ling Feng continued to organize and dispatch in the midfield, the entire England's offensive rhythm suddenly slowed down.
However, there are more passes and receptions between players and they become smoother.
Moreover, even if Verratti and De Rossi pressed forward as soon as he got the ball, Ling Feng did not show the slightest panic or loss.
With a simple one-two or a pull-back, he easily got rid of the opponent's press.
With such a sophisticated playing style, he doesn’t look like a newcomer making his debut on the World Cup stage, but more like a veteran with rich experience in competitions!
Reasonable passing, broad vision, and excellent movement
Looking at Ling Feng's handsome figure on the court, the Italian players were suddenly shocked, isn't this Pirlo? !
Moreover, compared to Pirlo, whose running ability has seriously declined, Lingfeng's speed and coverage area are almost all over the entire midfield!
The changes that Ling Feng’s appearance has brought to England are visible to the naked eye.
In the ten minutes since he came on the field, England's number of shots did not increase significantly.
However, the ball possession rate increased from 45% to 65%!
Slowly, England suppressed Italy on the scene.
On the other hand, Italy can only pass long passes from the backcourt, giving forward Balotelli the chance to single out the English defense from time to time.
In the 80th minute, as Balotelli resisted Jagielka and Cahill with his back, his long shot was saved by Joe Hart and was suppressed for more than ten minutes. Italy, for the first time in a long time, got a corner kick opportunity in the frontcourt.
Set-pieces are a powerful way for Italy to threaten the goal.
Therefore, whether it was the Juventus central defender partnership of Chiellini and Barzagli, or the 1.9-meter tall central defender Paletta, they all entered the England penalty area.
At this moment, Ling Feng's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw that only Damian was left as a full-back in the Italian backcourt and there was a huge space behind him.
This corner kick may be an opportunity!
(End of this chapter)