Chapter 353 Kane or Vardy? This is the trouble of happiness
The result of England defeating Northern Ireland and advancing to the quarterfinals did not exceed public expectations.
After all, their opponent is definitely the weakest among the top 16 in terms of overall strength and player level.
If even Northern Ireland cannot defeat them, all of them, including Ling Feng, will go directly to the factory.
Why don't we call it "Three Lions Army"? Just change it to the trumpet "Three Cats Army"!
For the Three Lions, advancing to the quarterfinals is good news.
Originally, although before the start of the European Cup, the domestic media continued to tout the team's good age structure, which caused a youth storm.
However, when it comes to the team's hard strength, this Three Lions team, which has never been able to compete with others, is far inferior to Germany, France and Belgium.
Therefore, the championship was not in England's plans from the beginning.
And Hodgson did not set any goals for his disciples. He just told them to enjoy this international competition and play every game well.
But what no one expected was that the youngest team in this European Cup really set off a wave of youth storm!
The complete victory in the group stage, coupled with the complete victory over Northern Ireland, not only surprised and surprised the public, but also made the Three Lions players a little daydreaming.
Huh?
It seems something is not right? !
Of course, after being reminded by Hodgson and some media, they also realized a fact:
That is, neither the three opponents in the group stage nor Northern Ireland in the knockout round can be called a strong team!
Only in the quarterfinals will they encounter a truly powerful enemy!
In the next few days, as the quarter-finals were decided one after another, the final eight of the European Cup were also announced:
Poland, Portugal, England , Belgium, France, Germany, Wales, Italy!
In this round of competition, basically the stronger teams advance.
However, there were also some unexpected results.
For example, the match between Italy and Spain, and the match between Croatia and Portugal!
This year’s Italy can be called a civilian country.
However, in front of the last European Cup champion "Matador Legion", Italy, which has no superstar but a steel and concrete defense line, withstood the lethargic passing control and scored two goals. The ball sent the Spaniard home!
As the saying goes, things turn around!
This game allowed the Italians to avenge the European Cup final four years ago, and also made these Spanish guys realize that today's football is no longer the era of tikitaka!
The other match between Croatia and Portugal was even more brutal.
The gridiron army led by Modric fought fiercely with Portugal, led by Ronaldo, into overtime at the Félix Paulet Stadium in Lens.
Until the 116th minute, the Portuguese golden boy Reinaldo Sanches, who came off the bench, shined on the biggest stage in Europe!
This eighteen-year-old youngster dribbled the ball in the middle and launched the offensive.
In the end, through the transition between Nani and Ronaldo, Quaresma finally completed the winning header!
Three consecutive draws in the group stage, and then beating the Grizzlies in overtime. Portugal’s journey has been bumpy.
And in the upcoming quarter-finals, every game These are all strong conversations!
Italy VS Germany!
The showdown between World Cup champions!
After defeating Spain, the Italian team, which is known as the most civilian, not only made the media madly slap in the face, but also won the respect that the fans deserved.
In the last round of the knockout round, the German team also swept Slovakia 3-0 with full firepower. It can be seen that there will be a life and death battle between the two giants!
Wales VS France, dark horse VS host!
Can the "Red Dragon" Wales, participating in the European Cup for the first time, under the leadership of superstar Bale, defeat the host "Gaul Rooster" France?
Portugal VS Poland!
This is a head-to-head conversation between the two superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewandowski!
England VS Belgium!
The "Youth Storm" England, the only team that has won three games in the group stage, meets the luxurious lineup of "the world's number one" Belgium, who can have the last laugh? !
Coming to the quarter-finals, every matchup is a strong dialogue!
After reaching the quarterfinals, the Three Lions, which has been making great progress, finally faces the real test of this European Cup!
That is Belgium, the "European Red Devil" currently ranked number one in the world!
. . .
Before the game started, the British media also analyzed and predicted the upcoming battle.
England and Belgium definitely have a lot to see.
Among them, the duel between Ling Feng and Hazard, the two best players in the Premier League, is also one of the highlights of the game.
Compared with Ling Feng, who had a perfect season, won the season's Triple Crown and swept the personal honors Grand Slam, the scoring champion who was languishing in the Premier League this season did not find some form until the end of the season.
When he came to the European Cup, with the full support of his national team teammates, he slowly regained his confidence.
In the quarter-final match against Hungary, Hazard, who made 12 passes and contributed one pass and one shot, finally regained his omnipotent fiery state last season.
Of course, Ling Feng and the Three Lions will not think that Hazard is the only one in Belgium.
If Hazard is Belgium’s sharp blade to tear apart its opponents’ defense, then Manchester City’s core “Tintin” De Bruyne is Belgium’s navigator!
Although the performance in the first round was not good, there were even internal rumors of discord between the two.
However, the two quickly broke this rumor with their tacit cooperation on the court!
So far, Hazard and De Bruyne have jointly sent out six assists, which can be called the dual core of the European Red Devils.
I have to say that the offensive players in the frontcourt of this Belgian team are too luxurious.
Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Mertens, Benteke, Carrasco, Batshuayi.
Everyone is a star!
Facing Belgium's luxurious attacking line, should England press forward and fight against it, or should they avoid its edge and pragmatically defend and counterattack?
This is a question.
Of course, this is not just an issue that Hodgson and the coaching team should consider.
In Ling Feng’s view, England will have a better chance of winning if they play head-to-head with their opponents.
Because, strictly speaking, England's lineup is top-heavy!
The frontcourt has top Premier League players such as Ling Feng, Vardy, Kane, Sterling, and Rooney.
But the backcourt is lackluster.
Especially the central defender position!
The Tottenham full-back combination of Rose and Walker is a strong player who can play both up and down.
The central defender combination of Smalling and Cahill also looks good.
In the three games that these two started together, they only conceded two goals. It seems that the Three Lions' defense is doing very well.
However, only insiders can see that the reason why England's defense line concedes so few goals is because the frontcourt offense is so strong!
The frontcourt offense suppresses the opponent, and the backcourt defensive pressure is much less.
And under Ling Feng's command, after the team takes the lead, they will try their best to keep the ball at their feet and not give the ball to their opponents easily.
In addition, along the way, the opponent's strength is not very strong.
Various factors have led to England’s number of goals conceded ranking second only to Germany and Italy.
However, in front of the Belgians who "only play with talent", the central defender partnership of Smalling and Cahill did not make Ling Feng feel at ease at all.
The two are very similar in type, tall, with excellent frontal defensive capabilities and excellent headers. However, the turning and chasing speed is slow, and the one-on-one ability is poor.
Especially against forwards or wingers with excellent individual abilities, there is no doubt that Hazard or Carrasco will definitely be eliminated.
So, when the overall offensive ability is obviously stronger than the defensive ability, the Three Lions holding high the offensive banner is the key to opening the door to victory!
Moreover, there is good news for England:
That is, in the upcoming quarter-finals, Belgium’s two main central defenders Vertonghen and Verma Lun, one is absent due to injury, and the other is suspended due to yellow cards.
The defense suddenly lost two generals!
You know, after losing to Italy in the first game, the Belgians finally found the best combination of the back four!
With the cooperation of Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Vermaelen and Meunier, the running-in was quickly completed.
And in the next three games, all of them have zero seals!
The absence of Vertonghen and Vermaelen will definitely greatly weaken Belgium's defense.
So, Ling Feng believes that as long as the team launches a fierce attack, this temporarily formed defense line will definitely fall apart in an instant!
Hodgson also noticed the shortage of personnel in the opponent's defense.
As the saying goes, take advantage of his illness to take his life!
After a meeting with his assistant coaches, Hodgson decided to replace defense with offense in the game against Belgium!
After deciding on the tactics, it was time to organize the troops
The sun was shining brightly on the Burgundy court outside Chantilly.
The Three Lions are divided into two teams, the main team and the substitute team, and are conducting tactical drills.
The main lineup wears orange vests on top of their training uniforms, while the substitute lineup does not wear vests.
With all the players in place, after inspections of the first four games, the entire main lineup framework has been basically determined.
There are only a few positions that need to be considered and adjusted according to the opponent's tactics and lineup.
Facing the upcoming "European Red Devils", Hodgson also mentioned it.
You know, Belgium is definitely the Three Lions' strongest opponent in this European Cup so far!
Moreover, FA Chairman Dyke also sent someone to find him and conveyed a fatal order:
Belgium must be defeated!
Obviously, there are only two choices before Hodgson:
Either defeat Belgium and reach the semi-finals!
Or go home and get out of class!
Of course he chose the former!
To this end, he specially asked the substitute lineup to simulate Belgium's tactical formation, and then used tactical drills to find the weaknesses of the opponent's tactics and formation.
"Rahim (Sterling)! Head up!"
"Jordan (Henderson), hit the ball faster!"
"Eric (Dell), less long passes! Leave the ball to Ling!"
Looking at the smooth cooperation of the disciples on the field, Hodgson, standing on the sidelines, was flooded with thoughts.
In his mind, the starting eleven for the next game against Belgium has been finalized.
Except two locations.
That is the position of the right winger and center!
First up is the right winger.
In the first two rounds of the group stage and the quarter-finals, England's captain Rooney was the right winger.
But this is a helpless move.
When he was playing as a right winger, he was not a threat.
Until he started to change positions with Ling Feng, he suddenly caught his opponent off guard!
According to the change of position, Ling Feng's playing style will also change accordingly.
As a free agent in the frontcourt, Ling Feng has sufficient physical fitness and ability to play in all positions in the frontcourt.
However, his best position is as a midfielder.
In the attacking midfielder position, he is like a combination of a playmaker and a shadow forward.
In addition to using passes to link up attacks and frontal long shots to threaten the goal, they will occasionally directly attack the goal
The variety of offensive methods makes it difficult for opponents to defend against.
Ling Feng, who came to the right, was like a pure winger.
On the wing, he can give full play to his speed advantage, but his offensive method is relatively simple, which is to pass the ball and then complete the pass!
So, the opponent only needs to defend its acceleration and crosses.
It is worth mentioning that this No. 7 of the Three Lions is the best player in this European Cup so far!
A total of twenty-seven times, 24 were successful, and the success rate is close to the terrifying 90%!
Of course, his passing is different from that of Hazard and Messi who rely on their skills and rhythm changes.
His excellence is just one word:
Quick!
With just one pot of soup, he was able to get rid of several defensive players!
The opponent either stretched out his hand and pulled him down with force, or he could only eat his exhaust
It was after Ling Feng changed positions and came to the right that the Three Lions truly realized that they could fly together on both sides.
Seeing Sterling on the left, Ling Feng on the right, Rooney dispatching the ball in the middle, Vardy or Kane finishing full-time, the entire Three Lions' frontcourt offensive system has become clear!
Therefore, some coaches also suggested that why not just let Rooney play as an attacking midfielder and let Ling Feng play as a right winger?
This suggestion also made Hodgson look at Rooney wearing an orange vest on the field, and couldn't help but feel a ripple in his heart.
"It doesn't seem impossible?"
First of all, as the team leader and captain, Rooney must start.
However, it turns out that Rooney does not have the speed to play as a winger, and he cannot pass anyone.
Coming to the center, Rooney can also avoid his obvious shortcomings of declining physical function and connect through his own football intelligence and awareness
After all, he is the best genius, football intelligence and awareness that England has ever had. There is no problem at all.
What's more, he also has Ling Feng, the number one midfielder in the Premier League, beside him!
Anyway, Ling Feng has absolute freedom in the frontcourt and can change positions at any time based on his reading of the game process.
Whether the positions of the two of them are changed or not, it actually doesn’t mean much.
After confirming that Rooney will continue to play on the right, the next thing to consider is the starting candidate for the center!
In the first two games of the group match, Vardy served as the team's starting center.
This grassroots forward who has been killing everyone in the Premier League this season performed very well and also scored goals.
Especially his impact and speed, he has a perfect tacit understanding with Ling Feng, and when combined with the club's bond, he is very sharp!
Often once Ling Feng gets the ball, Vardy knows how to move to catch the ball, or involve the defense to create opportunities for Ling Feng to pass or shoot.
Kane, who got the chance to start in the third round of the group stage and the quarter-finals, showed more comprehensive center skills.
Such as backing up, heading the ball, making the ball
Moreover, as teammates who reached the top of the European Youth Championship with Ling Feng, Kane and Ling Feng have a good tacit understanding.
Both of them have their own strengths and distinctive characteristics.
So. Vardy or Kane?
With two super forwards in hand, who will start?
For Hodgson, this is a happy trouble
(End of this chapter)