Chapter 320: The sophisticated victory

Qualifying from the group one round ahead of time is of course a good thing for England. The intensive schedule of the World Cup is a test for all teams. Being able to qualify one round ahead means that England can prepare for the knockout round more easily.

Now England not only has the right to qualify in the group in advance, but also basically won the first place in the group. They now have six points and have three goal difference. They can steadily win the first place in the group with just one point in the last round. Even if they lose to Nigeria, as long as Sweden and Argentina do not decide the winner, they can also win the first place in the group...

This situation makes England more easily prepare for the knockout match - the second round ends on June 7, and the knockout match will only start on June 15, which means that England's main players can rest comfortably for a week and welcome their opponents in the knockout match in a better state - a team in Group A.

The debate between the English media and the French media at that time made sense, because the two teams were likely to meet in the knockout stage, but now it seems impossible, because the French team, which only scored one point in two games, is likely to fail in the group stage, which also made English journalists look at the French national team's game with a gloating mentality.

On June 12, the entire England team moved to Osaka to prepare for the last round of the game. Erikson advanced to rotate all the players - and also gave the substitutes a chance to go in the World Cup - goalkeeper Martin, defenders Brown, Keon, Southgate and Bridge, midfielders Bart, Hargreaves and Joe Cole, and the forwards sent Fowler, Wassel and Sheringham - Erikson has enough courage to rotate like this in the World Cup.

This lineup naturally cannot be compared with the main English lineup that has gradually begun to cooperate with the tacit understanding of England, but it is also full of good players. At least Bart, Hargreaves and Vassel Sheringham are all England's main substitutes. Nigeria, compared with the last World Cup, the state of this World Cup is in heaven and underground...

Although three forwards were sent, England was still mainly defense in the last round of group matches. Fowler and Sheringham kept retreating to the midfield. In the end, England tied Nigeria with zero to zero and successfully qualified as the first in the group!

In another game, Argentina equalized the score with Crespo's complementary shot while falling behind, and finally scored four points with Sweden and narrowly qualified with a goal difference. However, only two goals were scored in three group matches, which was undoubtedly a very embarrassing thing for Argentina.

On June 14, all 48 games in all eight groups ended, with numerous strong teams falling out. Two powerful teams that won the World Cup were eliminated in the group stage. Portugal, which had a whirlwind in the European Championship two years ago, was also eliminated in the last round. Cameroon and Nigeria, the third place in the last World Cup, Croatia, and Russia... These teams were eliminated one after another. On the contrary, South Korea, Turkey and Senegal all entered the knockout stage of the World Cup in a historic round, and England's opponent in the first round of the knockout round was Senegal in Group A!

"We must not underestimate this team... They have never lost the ball so far. Needless to say, they can lead Uruguay three to zero in the first half, which also proves their strength. Although this team is an African team, many of their players play in Europe, and the main lineup is all from the French league. We cannot look at them from the perspective of looking at African teams. Of course, they are not without weaknesses, although their physical fitness is excellent and

They also have good foot skills, but they still have the unique lack of discipline in African teams. When facing strong teams, they may be more focused. However, when they have advantages on the court, they will appear careless. They are equalized and even almost overtaken and lost to Uruguay. This is a good example. We slightly retracted this game, making them crazy and making them lose their attacks. Then we use counterattacks to kill them!"

Eriksen said in high spirits at the pre-match preparation meeting, but in private Rivenables raised objections: "Sven, isn't this a little risky? If the African team really plays crazy, it's terrible..."

"No problem." Eriksen said confidently: "Senegal's strong offensive ability is not very strong. Their two main strikers are both smart and their impact is not particularly outstanding. If they are allowed to play, it may be difficult for our defense line to deal with it. However, if they shrink the defense line, unless they are lucky, it will not be too threatening to our defense line. We can gain the upper hand just by air superiority. On the ground attack, as long as you pay attention to blocking the front of the penalty area. If the offense fails to open up the situation, Senegal will definitely attack with all its strength, because in the group stage, they have accumulated enough confidence. At that time, our counterattack is enough for them to drink a pot."

Venables nodded thoughtfully. England's traditional forward combination is one high and one fast, which is the most suitable forward combination for counterattack. Now the combination of Irving and Husky is like this, one high and one fast, plus Scholes, Beckham and Tiger behind them are all excellent players with long passes. And there is a Tiger who can advance at any time. The power of England's counterattack is no worse than any team.

But Venables still raised a question: "This style of play depends on whether the forward can seize the opportunity to counterattack... Michael's form in the group stage seems not very good."

"That's just a little bit of luck, not to mention that he only played two games in the group stage." Erikson frowned and thought: "From the training point of view, his condition is not a problem. As long as there is one goal, other goals will come in a steady stream... We have to believe Michael, he will not be silent for too long."

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On June 15th, Niigata Swan Stadium.

In a match held at 2:30 p.m., the German national team defeated the Paraguay national team 1-0, becoming the first team to advance to the quarterfinals. At 9:30 p.m., England was played against Senegal!

England performed well in the group stage of the World Cup. Although they failed to win in the last round, everyone could see that they were completely conserving their strength. Senegal's performance was enough to shock fans all over the world. They teamed up with Denmark to eliminate two teams that won the World Cup championship. They achieved such results in their first World Cup. Senegal is completely proud of.

However, their lack of experience was undoubtedly exposed in the group stage. Although they tied Uruguay in the last round of the group stage, they still suffered heavy losses. Both the main players of the midfield Dior and Fadica were unable to play, which was a serious blow to Senegal - but they themselves did not see this way. After their outstanding performance in the group stage, they were fully confident that they could defeat any team!

Eriksen seemed much more low-key. In an interview before the game, he modestly stated that Senegal's strength is excellent, and we will focus on stability in this game - further deepening the opponent's arrogance.

The most intuitive result is that Senegal, who lacks troops, launched a fierce attack at the beginning of the game...

Back in the midfield, Kamala made a forcibly breaking through along the wing and made a cross. The ball was jumped high and headed to clear the ball - this game was his 50th appearance for England, and the black defender naturally hoped to perform better in this game.

After several consecutive crosses failed to form a good chance to score, Senegal began to prepare for forcibly breaking through the middle, but they immediately hit a wall - Gerald, who had been resting for more than a week, returned from injury in time and used a fierce tackle to cut off the opponent's pass!

After intercepting the ball, Gerald had not yet gotten up, but lay on the ground and swept the ball directly to Tiger in front. Tiger got the ball, and the two England strikers in the front court began to start, and Senegal's midfielder also began to surround Tiger from all directions!

Don't give Tiger too many ball-handling opportunities - this is how Senegal deals with Tiger. Anyway, their players are physically strong and cannot run to death, and they will not consider playing for too long. One game is one game...

Tiger did not give them a chance to interfere with him. While receiving the ball, he made a pass move and passed the ball directly to Beckham who was receiving the ball from the right. Beckham looked up at the situation in the frontcourt and directly made a long pass!

Husky jumped high in the frontcourt, overwhelming the opponent's defender and ferrying the ball to Irving. Senegal's central defender Dave headed the ball to clear the ball, and the ball flew out of the baseline and corner kick.

Erikson made a gesture quietly off the court, and two central defenders in England ran towards the frontcourt at the same time. Their heights are not something that no team can ignore...

In addition, Gerald and Husky, who also rushed into the penalty area, so many tall players immediately caused chaos in the penalty area. No one noticed that, even Tiger quietly rushed into the penalty area. England only left two full-backs and Scholes, who returned to the defense, prevented the opponent's quick counterattack in the half.

Others didn't notice it, but Beckham, who took the corner kick, noticed it - Beckham was also very concerned about Tiger's performance over the past few years, at least he knew Tiger didn't know how to head the ball...

After the referee blew the whistle that could take the corner kick, two central defenders in England began to move backward at the same time, while Gerald and Husky at the front point moved towards the middle. When they moved, the defender responsible for keeping them was naturally not unmoved. At this moment, Tiger, who was originally in the middle of the penalty area, lowered his body and ran forward...

At this moment, Beckham swung his right foot and sent out a beautiful arc ball!

This is a cross with a huge arc, and it is not heading towards the back point, but heading straight to the front point!

When the ball was passed, Tiger had already rushed forward quickly, then stopped quickly, jumping high against the ball - at this time, there was no Senegal defender beside him defending!

Senegal's goalkeeper Silva was the first to react, but no one could help him at this time, so he could only save, hoping to take advantage of his hand to catch or hit the ball before Tiger headed the ball...

However, he was still a step slower. Just when he was about to hit the ball, Tiger had already rushed in front of him and pushed the ball directly towards the goal!

The Senegal defender who was guarding the near post wanted to jump up and block the ball, but unfortunately he was still a step slower. The ball flew directly over his head and hit the net behind him heavily!

England opened its first record in just four minutes! The English fans at the scene immediately burst into loud cheers!

After landing, Tiger staggered a little. After turning to confirm that the ball had flew into the goal, he immediately rushed towards Beckham, then jumped onto Beckham and waved his fist in the stands!

"One to zero! Tiger's third goal in this World Cup! He didn't score in two games after the group stage, but he didn't play in one of them at all! This goal rate is enough to make most forwards ashamed. After England's forward line fell into a goal drought, Tiger used his performance to become the team's booster!"

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England scored a goal through a corner kick at the beginning, but Senegal did not lose his fighting spirit - they were even dissatisfied because they felt that England was just a sneak attack...

This idea made them launch a fierce attack in the next game!

After taking the lead, England launched the defense slightly conservatively. Beckham and Scholes both returned to the back-end to participate in the defense. Three midfielders guarded the front of the penalty area tightly, and two central defenders were invincible in the penalty area, bringing Senegal's crosses one by one...

In the absence of opening the situation, Senegal began to frequently complete the attack through long shots on the periphery, but it was obvious that their footwork was not very smooth today, and Senegal did not seem to have any good heavy gunners. The continuous long shots were either high or biased, and it was difficult to pose too much threat to the goal guarded by Himan.

The three England players in the frontcourt were waiting for the opportunity like poisonous snakes, waiting for the opponent's breath to leak.

This is the difference in experience. No matter how dark Senegal is, the team is composed of a group of second-rate players from Ligue 1 to first-rate players. However, England players have several top players. They are not unable to fight against Senegal, but they are unwilling to waste too much effort - or they are irrelevant attacks. If they really have a chance, they will kill one shot!

What they are waiting for now is just the moment when Senegal's sharpness declines.

However, Senegal's group of black and hard physical strength is really not enough. They maintained the back and forth attack for nearly twenty minutes before the rhythm slowly slowed down.

At this time, England's offensive began to rebound violently like a long-suppressed spring!

Kerr passed the ball directly to Tiger from the left. Tiger dribbled the ball forward and passed the ball to Beckham on the right when the opponent's player surrounded him. Beckham dribbled the ball and pushed it within 30 meters before he encountered an interception. Seeing that Irving and Husky in the penalty area were already in place, he immediately swung his right foot and passed the ball into the penalty area.

Husky jumped up and wanted to head to attack, but the opponent's defender pushed the ball out. The ball flew to the left. Scholes, who followed up, stretched his foot and stopped the ball. A Senegal defender came up. Scholes did not break through, but bounced his right foot and passed the ball directly to Tiger in the middle.

Tiger swung his right foot forward, and the opponent's midfielder Faye bulged his body to meet him, trying to block Tiger's shot with his body. However, Tiger relaxed his strength after touching the ball, and shook his ankle beautifully, and passed it!

The ball crossed the top of Senegal's defense line and fell down. At the same time, Irving, who was inserted forward, removed the ball with his foot in the penalty area, then quickly turned around, and then pushed the shot with his left foot against the goalkeeper who was attacking!

Silva fell a little slower, the ball flew past his armpit and rolled into the goal!

2 to zero, England expanded its lead!

The cheers in the stands became even more enthusiastic, not only because England expanded its leading advantage, but also because of their new hope in the forward line, Golden Boy Michael Irving, finally scored his first goal in this World Cup!

This is also Irving's third goal in the World Cup. He scored two goals in the last World Cup, and this World Cup finally broke the goal drought!

After scoring this goal, Irving's depression was finally vented!

He ran two steps below the stands, but stopped again, then turned around and rushed towards Tiger, jumped onto Tiger, and then waved his fist hard!

Eriksen, who was slapped on the court, said to Venables excitedly: "How is it? I said he is in good condition! With this goal, we don't need to worry about scoring the goal next!"

Venables smiled and said nothing.

"How about it, Michael, I said there will be more opportunities." Tiger said to Irving proudly: "Don't worry, next, I will send you more good balls as long as you can grasp them!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely grasp it better next time I have the chance!" Owen waved his fist and said confidently.

Beckham laughed beside him. As long as Irving returns in form, England will not lack goals! Tiger can also focus more on the organization. A team is running well and has so many outstanding players. Perhaps winning the World Cup championship is not a dream!
Chapter completed!