Chapter 122: Don't be impatient, George

The goal behind Germany in the first half made many English players very upset, and they vented their dissatisfaction in the locker room.

"Their jerseys are so dazzling in the sun, so despicable!"

"Yes, I can't concentrate at all!"

"Stop focusing, I can't even see their movements clearly. Why doesn't UEFA stop such behavior?"

A group of people blamed the German team's snow-white jersey and over-the-top sunshine for their reasons.

When Don Eun came in with Rooney, the voice still did not disappear. It was not until Don Eun closed the door of the locker room that everyone realized that their heads were here, not a time to make noise.

"What did I say before the game?"

After looking around the locker room, Tang En asked with a stern face.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering why the boss was so dissatisfied? Although we were one goal behind, the morale of the team was still very strong. It should not be a problem to score a goal in the second half.

"I said you should keep your head calm, but I didn't see it in the first half." Tang En spread his hands and shook his head. "I know we have a grudge against Germany, and the game against Germany will make your adrenaline surge. But if you let that thing dominate your brain, then we will lose in this game..." Tang En suddenly raised the volume, "I'm not exaggerating! I'm not urging you! I'm telling you very seriously-"

He raised his arm and waved hard as he said: "If you can't focus on how to win the game, but how to seek revenge from the Germans, we will lose! Then we will place the possibility of qualifying to Portugal and Wales!"

"Have you never experienced such a game in your career? On a sunny afternoon, your opponent was wearing white or light-colored jerseys, reflecting the sunlight was a bit dazzling... Didn't the Premier League kick off in the afternoon? Did you all lose in that game?"

As Donn asked loudly, the English players slowly lowered their heads.

"So why did your performance in today's game be so bad? Because your opponent is the German team! You just think, 'The Germans are so cunning!''Did any of you think, 'I want to win the game'? You put all your energy into these details. But you didn't think about the current game! Now I say, 'Take this game as an ordinary game' Can you listen to it?"

Don Eun saw George Wood sitting in front of his cabinet. He didn't seem to be listening, because his eyes were staring at the door of the locker room, and his heart seemed to fly to the court.

"Now take your mind back on this game itself. I don't want to tell you what the consequences will be if we can't go out. I just want to tell you that we have an agreement with George, who is waiting for us in the knockout round and we will go to the knockout round to see him."

Everyone turned their attention to Wood. Wood was indeed not listening to Tang En's words. He didn't respond to this sentence, but just continued to stare at the locker room door and daze.

"Are you men?" asked Tang En. "Men must keep their promises! They must do what they promised! We promised George that they must qualify for him from the group! If they can't do it, we will be all girls!"

"Forget the hatred between England and Germany, remember that this is a game, a game that concerns who can qualify directly! Now, let's make tactical adjustments."

Donn drew on the tactical board: "Tony Klos is their midfielder, but the German team's attack core does implement Weinsteiger. Pay attention to his location. Wherever he goes, it means the German team's offensive focus is."

This is the conclusion obtained by Donn's observation in the first half. Tony Close is only responsible for passing the ball. "Piglet" Schweinsteiger is the most threatening person. His position is also very unfixed, sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right. Sometimes he will switch positions with Tony Close and serve as the midfielder. Although Close has become famous in the Bundesliga in recent years, he has never been the core of both Bayern and the German national team. He is just a cover for Schweinsteiger. If you focus too much defensive attention on that genius boy, you will miss the big fish, which will eventually lead to terrible consequences.

"So our defensive focus should be on Schweinsteiger. Restricting him will limit the German team's offense. Only when the defense is stable can we have a way to attack with confidence. Be more careful when defending the set ball."

Hearing the boss say this, Walcott lowered his head. Obviously, the conceding of the ball was related to him, which was the conceding of the ball.

Donn glanced at Walcott: "Teo.   I don't know what happened to you. The performance in the first half was completely different.    But I don't want to go into it.   I just need you to know, I will give you fifteen minutes in the second half. If you are still like this, I will replace you without hesitation.   You are not a newcomer and don't need my care.   You understand what you should do.   "

Walcott nodded vigorously.

"Now let's talk about the offense. We had a lot of counterattacks in the first half, but our players lack the ability to seize opportunities... Is this true? No, it's your mentality that you will want to pull football into the ball when facing an empty goal. You are not like this in normal times." Don said to Rooney and Mitcher.

The two of them were indeed overly excited in the first half. They seemed to be too strong when every opportunity appeared under their feet.

"Okay. Let's relax, I won't eat you guys." Looking at the players who were scolded by themselves, Tang En laughed again. Don't hit them too much... It's really a technical job to adjust the players' psychology.

"The Germans won't eat you either. As long as you relax your mindset, you will find that defeating the German team is an easy thing. They are not very powerful opponents at all! I have the confidence to defeat all the strong teams in the world, and you must have it too. This confidence will help you stay calm when facing the strong teams." Tang En pointed to his head, "This is very important here."

"When attacking, you should pay attention to the success rate. We are the side behind. Our counterattack opportunities will not increase in the second half, but will decrease. Summer is a very cautious head coach. As long as you can win in this game, you can win. One goal is enough, so he will definitely shrink his defense. I ask you to seize every opportunity of attack. I don't want to see blind long shots frequently like those against Wales - the number of shots does not lead to goals."

On the other side, in the German locker room. After praising the team's performance in the first half, Summer also made adjustments: "The attack started in the second half and then slowly contracted the defense. Remember, all I want is a victory, no matter whether it is 1:0. or 2:0."

The players nodded one after another. German players are famous for their strong discipline, and the head coach's words are imperial edicts. They will not violate the head coach's arrangements just because they want to play a beautiful game.

Odysset, the largest gambling company in Germany, once filmed a TV commercial, using exaggerated techniques to illustrate the characteristics of different leagues. For example, after the players in the Italian league were injured, the team doctors came up with staff holding hair dryers to play hairstyles for the injured players; in the Qatar league, a European star player appeared on the side of the court in bonus Lincoln, came out to play a corner kick, then put on sunglasses and got on the car, and left amid the cheers of fans. As for the German local league, they performed this way - the players on both sides lined up in an orderly 442 formation, and under the command of the coach holding the loudspeaker, they advanced or retreated neatly.

It is obvious that German local bookmakers describe their leagues in this way. German discipline is not only reflected in football, but also plays an important role in other work and even wars.

Now Summer tells his players. He needs defense and a safe way to win, so the German players will do it. "They are like emotional robots." Someone must have complained about German football, rigid and stubborn, mechanical and no aesthetic sense. But it is this style that makes them the most feared team on the continent. They can always stimulate huge potential in desperate situations and accomplish impossible miracles.

As Kennett Walstenholm, a famous British sports commentator, exclaimed: "They thought everything was over, but the Germans stood up again!" (some_people_are_on_the_pitch...they_think its_all_over...it_is_now!)

When the halftime break reached the last minute, Don En ended his tactical adjustments. The players stood up and walked out of the locker room one after another and walked towards the court.

George Wood consciously dragged it to the end, and he wanted to talk to Don alone.

Donn also noticed Wood's strangeness, and he stayed to see what was wrong with Wood.

"Are you looking for me? George?" After the players and coaches walked out, Donn turned around and looked at Wood who was still in the locker room, and he asked.

"Let me play in the second half." Wood went straight to the point.

"This is impossible, George." Tang En also simply rejected him.

“The situation is not good now.”

"But it's not so bad that you need to get on the position with injuries. Otherwise, your teammates - those who have fought for forty-five minutes on the court, and those who are healthy on the bench - what would they think?" Tang En pointed to the door of the locker room, and outside was the corridor leading to the hall.

"Don't you trust them, George?" Don asked, staring into Wood's eyes.

"No..." Wood shook his head slowly, "I just... just don't want to be an audience anymore..." he murmured with his head down.

Don Eun smiled. He stretched out his hand to touch Wood's head. "I won't let you be an audience. We will definitely go to the knockout round. See you then, George."

He walked out first.

When the German players reappeared on the court, Don En did not see any smugness in their faces. Instead, they all had stern faces, with solemn expressions as if they were the ones behind one goal.

This is the opponent that Tang En hates most, because they are not proud and underestimated by the enemy and will not be easily angered by themselves. They faithfully implement tactical discipline, as long as the head coach does not make mistakes. Even if they face very unfavorable adversity, they will not give up easily. At the last moment of the game, they will think about equalizing the score.

Tenaciously like a rock. The game will be very difficult when fighting such an opponent. There will be no moment of relaxation, and the nerves must be tense for ninety minutes.

What made him feel a little relieved was that the players of England had returned to normal.

Another good news is that when the second half began, the lighting on the roof of the court had been turned on, and the bright sunshine and dazzling white jerseys disappeared. There was no off-court interference factor now, and the players of the England team no longer had to squint their eyes and deal with the Germans in a restless manner.

It's six o'clock in the afternoon. It's already evening. A cloud of mist flew from the sky, sifting the brilliance of the sunset dimmed. The New Mestalia Stadium was shrouded in a faint golden glow. If the lights were not turned on, nothing would be seen.

The temperature also dropped, and the cool breeze blew into the New Mestalia Stadium, and the stadium, which had been crazily for 45 minutes, gradually cooled down.

But this was just an illusion. When the referee blew the whistle at the beginning of the second half, it turned out that a huge noise suddenly broke out from the stands quietly.

The singing of English fans sounded again, and German fans were not to be outdone. The stands became a place for fans of both sides to sing to each other. That is, only English fans are there, the stadium has such an atmosphere. Whether it is Spanish fans, Italian fans, or French or Dutch fans, they rarely sing for 90 minutes like English fans when watching the game.

The German team felt the changes in England. Less than three minutes into the second half, England made a cross from the wing and created a murderous intent.

Mitcher's header flew out under the interference of Mertesacker, which shocked the German fans in a cold sweat.

This attack was not created by a counterattack. It was an opportunity created by England through patiently turning his feet in position war.

"That kid is very weak and can't stand the collision. You can use some more force next time you defend!" Mertsack said to Westerman beside him, telling him the secret to defend Mitcher.

Westman nodded, indicating that he knew.

Ten minutes passed, England and Germany were entangled in the midfield, and no one could find a cheaper one. The English midfielder's defense against Schweinsteiger was quite successful. No matter where the "Piglet" switched, they would find themselves following an English player. The English player may be Michael Johnson, Chris Cohen, Walcott, or two full-backs. England does not use man-to-man defense, and deals with players with large range of activities. Man-to-man defense will disrupt their defense.

After Schweinsteig lost the space for free movement, his contribution to the German team's offense plummeted. England also had more offensive opportunities. However, the Germans' defense line was organized very steadily, even when the German team attacked. Their defense line was still firmly defended the rear. Head coach Samer, like him as a professional player, focused on defense. In this way, England lost the opportunity to counterattack. He could only fight the German team honestly. The Germans contracted their defense line and held the middle. Several giants over 1.85 meters tall in the penalty area made the originally huge penalty area seem crowded. It was simply a delusion to pass the ball to the forwards. If they forced a long shot, the biggest possibility was to waste an attack opportunity that they had finally obtained.

Mitcher stood in the penalty area and kept raising his hand to ask for the ball, just like a center in the opponent's basket. But his teammates cannot guarantee that they will accurately deliver the football to his head every time.

Cohen's cross was excellent, but in the second half of the first half, England used him as the main attack direction, but was defended by the German team so badly that he had no temper. Walcott was fast and good at breaking through, but the cross was lacking in speed.

At this time, Don N missed the injured Bentley very much. His speed and dribble were not as good as Walcott, but his cross was comparable to Beckham. With him on the right, Mitcher's role could reach his limit.

What a pity...

Although there is also an Adriano Mok, his characteristics are neither speed breakthrough nor crossing, but dribbling...

Walcott obviously knew the problems he was facing. No matter how fast he was, he was useless in the face of the German team's defensive line. Without sprinting space, his technical characteristics could not be exerted. Mock is the kind of person who can use his skills to get rid of defense on the spot, he is not.

The boss only gave him fifteen minutes of time, and now he is still three minutes away from that deadline. He has no doubt that if his performance still has not improved, he will be replaced by the boss ruthlessly.

Walcott was unwilling to be substituted in such an important game, which was labeled as "failed to perform".

After receiving the football again, the German defensive players habitually prepared to defend Walcott's breakthrough. The left back Jensen retreated and compressed the space behind him. Although the space in front was left for Walcott, he was not worried. Walcott's cross quality was very low, and his four-foot pass was not accurately sent to Mitcher's head once.

Walcott originally planned to break through the bottom and then walk into the penalty area. This would create chaos, and then take the opportunity to pass the ball and pass a low ball to see who can touch the ball into the goal. But after seeing Jensen's reaction, he changed his mind temporarily and chose to directly cross it!

The football drew an arc and flew towards the penalty area.

The quality of the cross this time was quite good, and the football went straight to where Mitcher was.

"Push him away!" Mertsack was defending Rooney, and he shouted loudly to Westerman.

Mitcher stared at the football running. Just as he was about to jump up and head the ball, he felt a force coming from below, knocking him to the ground and losing all the center of gravity.

He stretched out his arm in the air with some exaggeration and screamed, and Mitcher fell into the penalty area!

No one encountered Walcott's cross. He flew out of the bottom line directly.

It looks like another bad cross and a failed attack?

No!

The referee's whistle sounded. He ran to the penalty area and pointed at the penalty spot!

"This is a penalty!" John Motson cheered with his arms raised.

Lying on the ground, Mitcher raised his arms and fisted to the sky. And Starman, who was lying beside him, stared at the referee who was running with an incredible expression - how could this be a penalty kick? I used some force, but at that time, it was reasonable to collide!

The referee questioned Westerman in his heart. He stood at the penalty spot and unswervingly awarded England a penalty! Looking at his serious expression, he believed that Westerman's defense must have been a foul.

Walcott, who was in charge of the cross, raised his hands on the sideline and cheered for his cross.
To be continued...