Chapter 116: Assists and goals, I want them all! [Four thousand words chapter]
The war between Britain and Italy ended in a draw.
Everyone in England can accept this result.
They care more about what players perform in the game.
Although Rooney still failed to break his nine-game World Cup goal drought, Gerrard also failed to score Italy's goal with a long shot.
However, they were satisfied with the team's spirit after falling behind twice.
Especially Ling Feng’s performance after coming off the bench, they saw the possibility of England’s passing and controlling style!
England fans don’t just know Ronaldo and Marco Reus of Bayern Munich, or the Yun fans who show off every time the World Cup comes.
The strong football atmosphere and long-standing football culture allow them, regardless of gender, old or young, to understand penalty kicks to some extent.
Therefore, whether it is the live audience at the Amazon Arena or the fans in front of the TV, they can naturally see that after Ling Feng came on as a substitute, England's entire offensive rhythm and routine suddenly took on a new look!
In the end, it was precisely because of Ling Feng's fatal pass that they avoided defeat and got the first point of this World Cup.
Ever since, after the first game, the British media and people in the football industry called on the national team coach Hodgson through various channels to let Ling Feng start the next game against Uruguay!
Among them, Lineker, who has a high reputation in English football, directly tweeted and talked to Hodgson:
"Please, Roy, give Ling a chance to start! He doesn't You will be disappointed!”
The Times, which is not afraid of big things, conducted another online poll to solicit public opinions.
Should Ling Feng start the next game?
In less than one day after the voting began, more than 10,000 people participated in voting.
Eighty percent of them think Ling Feng should start in the next game!
The Guardian, the Independent, the Mirror and other media outlets all gave Hodgson advice.
For example, put Ling Feng as the starting right winger, and then change Sterling to the left winger.
In this way, the "new Beckham" Ling Feng can fully arc and pass from the right to create shooting opportunities for teammates in the center; Sterling can also cut inside with his back foot on the left to hit the goal.
Another example is putting Sturridge on the left wing, Rooney at the front, and Ling Feng playing in the attacking midfielder position.
This can also give full play to Ling Feng's advantage of passing the threatening ball and help Rooney score.
It is worth mentioning that most of the tactics involve replacing the original starting left winger Welbeck and letting Ling Feng start.
The Three Lions' midfield and frontcourt are actually a carrot and a pit.
Rooney, the team's top player, cannot be replaced, Sturridge, who has scored goals, cannot be replaced, and Sterling, who is active and is the team's only hot spot, cannot be replaced.
The combination of Gerrard and Henderson in midfield performed well, with full tacit understanding and complementary attributes.
So, I can only feel sorry for Welbeck, one of the four dark kings of Manchester United.
No way, who made his performance in this game against Italy be average, without any outstanding performance.
Every time the Three Lions participate in international competitions, the British media and football circles Everyone will jump up and down to criticize the coach's tactics and personnel.
This is gay.
Hodgson encountered this situation when he accepted the job two years ago and led the team to the European Cup.
He has long been used to this.
Having lived for such a long time and taught for more than thirty years, he has long learned what opinions should be listened to and what opinions should be ignored.
The final decision on the starting eleven will always be his, the head coach.
. . .
On June 18, the first round matches of all groups were completed.
FIFA also announced the best goal candidate list in the first round on its official website.
In the first round, a total of forty-nine goals were scored.
FIFA selected ten wonderful goals and asked fans to vote to select the best goal in the first round.
Pirlo's shocking pass, Marchisio's long-range shot from outside the penalty area, Ling Feng's volley pass after passing the ball, and Vardy's shot and scored these two wonderful goals were all selected for the candidate list.
The most exciting thing about these two goals is not the goal itself, but the handling before the goal!
In the end, through online voting, the latter, which was more difficult, received more than 40% of the votes and became the best goal in the first round of this World Cup!
To this end, the Brazilian Football Association also specially customized a trophy for the best goal of this round, came to Fluminense Club, and awarded the award to Vardy.
During the interview, he said to the camera very seriously:
"I want to thank my teammate Ling Feng. Without his perfect pass, I would not have won this award!"
In this regard, Ling Feng did not forget to repost Vardy's award-winning message on his personal social media. Photo, with the text:
"Man, so proud of you!"
Winning the best goal of this round is just a small episode.
After coming on as a substitute and helping the team draw with Italy, Ling Feng clearly felt that the attitude of the team's forwards towards him was much friendlier.
Especially Rooney, every time I see him, he will show his honest smile.
In his opinion, Ling Feng, who can pass threatening balls, may be the key to breaking his World Cup goal drought.
What's more, in the eyes of all forwards, a super assister like Ling Feng is definitely the best teammate!
For Ling Feng, passing the ball to assist his teammates is his current main way of playing, and it is also the foundation for him to gain a foothold in the club and national team.
There are many forwards who know how to eat pie.
However, there are very few midfielders who can make cakes with their own hands and stuff them into the forward's mouth.
Of course, adults don’t make choices.
Assists and goals, he wants them all!
It’s just that his scoring ability is still very average for the time being.
In order to improve his scoring ability, in addition to daily training, he must assist his teammates and win more victories and championships in order to accomplish more achievements and gain more free attribute points!
After four days of rest in Rio de Janeiro, the Three Lions took a bus to Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, under the protection of local military police.
At the Sao Paulo Stadium, they are about to face another strong opponent in the group - "Sky Blues" Uruguay!
In the historical battles between the two sides, England was also at a disadvantage.
England had faced Uruguay twice in previous World Cups and failed to win either time.
The last time England defeated Uruguay in a warm-up match was in 2006.
It can be said that neither party knows much about each other.
Only by having a real fight on the court can you know who will have the last laugh.
It is worth mentioning that Liverpool striker Su Yalei missed the first round due to injury. Sri Lanka, this hot-line comeback, formed a strike partner with Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani.
Both have performed very well in their respective leagues this season.
Suarez is almost unsolvable in the Premier League this season.
Not only did he win personal awards such as the Premier League Golden Boot and PFA Player of the Year with 31 goals, he also helped Liverpool win the league runner-up. As the top transfer bidder last summer, Cavani was still in good form after moving from Naples to Paris Saint-Germain for a high price of 65 million euros.
Even as Ibrahimovic's deputy, he spends most of his time playing as a winger.
But he also scored twenty-five goals in various competitions.
The two strikers have scored more than 50 goals combined. They can be said to be Uruguay's two most powerful weapons in attacking the city!
In addition, Uruguay also has stars in its defense.
Atletico defender Godin, Juventus defender Caceres and young center back Jimenez are all defensive heroes.
Coupled with Muslera's excellent reaction speed, the defense is pretty good.
However, Uruguay's lineup is still a little worse than other popular traditional teams.
Otherwise, we would not have suffered an upset loss to Costa Rica in the first round.
Moreover, Uruguay's midfield configuration is relatively inferior.
When facing Costa Rica, a team that focuses on defensive counterattacks, it exposed its shortcomings of being brave and lacking in creativity.
Therefore, Uruguay's style of play is also very simple and crude.
It is directly a long pass from the backcourt to Suarez and Cavani in front, allowing them to use their personal abilities to blast the opponent's defense and create a threat!
An hour before the game, England also announced the starting lineup for this game.
To the disappointment of both the English media and fans, England's starting lineup was exactly the same as the previous game!
Not a single position change!
Hodgson did not listen to the public opinion at all and put Ling Feng, who performed well as a substitute in the last game, into the starting lineup, but continued to keep him on standby.
Ling Feng was not surprised by the fact that he was on standby again.
First of all, with his qualifications, it is impossible for him to immediately squeeze out any player in the midfield and frontcourt after performing well as a substitute.
Welbeck, who was called for replacement by the media, is also a senior player in the team who has played more than 20 times for the national team.
Sterling, the most junior player, was the most active player in the last game.
Rooney and Sturridge are even less likely to be substitutes.
Secondly, if Hodgson follows public opinion and arranges him to start.
If he didn't perform well, it would be reasonable.
Once he performs well and helps the team defeat Uruguay, then the credit does not belong to Hodgson, but to those who proposed him to start!
In this way, those in the media and football circles will be even more aggressive in teaching Hodgson how to do things!
Of course, this is all Ling Feng’s own guess.
In his opinion, putting him on the bench was still for tactical considerations.
Before Ling Feng was selected for the national team, Hodgson's tactics and personnel had already gone through two years of hard work.
As a relatively conservative old-school coach, and in an international competition such as the World Cup, Hodgson must be seeking stability.
Of course, he also values Ling Feng's value in this Three Lions team.
Therefore, the day before the game, after the starting lineup was announced internally, Hodgson once again called Ling Feng to the office to comfort him.
At first, Hodgson affirmed and praised Ling Feng's performance as a substitute in the last game.
Then, he confessed to Ling Feng that he hoped that Ling Feng would come on as a substitute when he needed to make changes in the second half.
In this way, he played the role of a "substitute surprise player" and caught Uruguay by surprise.
Although in my heart I sneered at Hodgson's reason for caressing him.
However, Ling Feng can understand Hodgson's approach.
In the final analysis, he is just a British Championship player who has just been selected for the national team.
If he were a world-class star like Rooney or Gerrard, Hodgson would not dare to put himself on the bench!
The most important thing is that Hodgson finally made a verbal commitment to him. If he performs well against Uruguay, he can start the next game against Costa Rica!
Anyway, for Ling Feng, this World Cup is just a big stage to show himself to the world.
He has no pressure or burden, he just needs to do his best and perform well.
As for how far the Three Lions can go, it depends on the fortune of this team.
Anyway, with England's inconsistent lineup, even with a little butterfly like myself, it is impossible to win the championship.
It is worth mentioning that after Ling Feng did not enter the starting lineup, Vardy came to Ling Feng's hotel room to comfort him.
"Ling, don't be discouraged, you just need to be prepared, and the opportunity will come naturally. I believe that with your strength, everyone will be amazed!"
Val Di even brought up his personal experience when he was in the fifth level league, and used the experience of others to persuade Ling Feng not to lose confidence because of being a temporary substitute.
Ling Feng was moved by Vardy's very warm operation.
It’s no secret that he fed his second brother crazily cakes!
Beep! ! !
A sharp whistle brought Ling Feng, whose thoughts were drifting away, back to reality.
The cheers of tens of thousands of fans in the stadium suddenly flooded into my ears.
Looking at the white and sky blue figures on the court, he realized.
The second round of Brazil's Group D match, England VS Uruguay, has begun!
After the opening, England took the initiative on the field and continued to attack Uruguay.
Just six minutes later, England got a free kick outside the Uruguay penalty area.
Rooney took the penalty. Although the ball went around the wall, it missed the goal slightly.
In the 18th minute of the game, England got another set kick on the left side of the frontcourt near the baseline.
Gerrard passed the ball, and Rooney jumped high from the crowd in the penalty area and hit the ball.
However, the ball hit the crossbar of the Uruguay goal without any bias and bounced away.
Uruguay escaped, but Rooney's first World Cup goal has still not arrived.
After being unable to attack for a long time, I was finally punished!
In the 39th minute of the game, Uruguay made a quick counterattack. Cavani dribbled the ball from the left side of the frontcourt. Faced with several blocks, he still passed an overhead kick into the penalty area.
Suarez, who succeeded in countering offside, passed between Jagielka and Baines, and used a header to penetrate Joe Hart's fingers!
England once again got off to a bad start and were scored first by their opponents.
The score of one to zero remained until the whistle sounded at the end of the first half
(End of this chapter)