When the last Chinese player who went out to warm up returned to the locker room, head coach Jorge Dillon closed the door to the locker room. The noise outside was reduced, but it could still be heard.
Even though there were many walls, the frenetic and noisy atmosphere in the Crown Stadium could not be stopped.
"Did you hear that song during the warm-up?" Dillon asked through translator Yu Jintao. "It's that song that you are very familiar with."
Yu Jintao directly announced the answer for him: "It is "Singing the Motherland"."
Everyone nodded to show they heard.
During the warm-up, the stands were almost full of fans from both sides, so the atmosphere was very lively, no less than in the official match.
Fans from both sides have already begun to create an atmosphere in advance.
Fans from both teams were singing.
The fans of the home team sang louder, but the songs of the Chinese fans could still occasionally break out from the "surrounding" of the opponent.
Especially the song "Singing the Motherland", whose melody is catchy and so familiar to everyone, is almost engraved in everyone's genes.
"This song is a victory song. It is usually sung after we win the game. Why was it sung during the warm-up before the game this time? I wonder if it is because even our fans
Don’t think you can win this game?”
The players of the Chinese team were a little surprised. They didn't expect that Dillon would understand the behavior of the Chinese fans from this perspective... They were simply moved when they heard this song, and they really didn't think in the direction the head coach said.
.
However, before the game, the media around the world did not expect the Chinese team to win, which is also true.
After all, their opponent is the defending champion + the host + the Spanish national team ranked second in FIFA.
This BUFF is almost full...
Portugal, also the host country, lost to Norway in the opening game, which also reminded Spain. In addition, Hulay plays for Madrid Pirates, and the Spanish internationals are either teammates with Hulay, or they compete with Hulay during the game.
Hu Lai has fought against him and is very familiar with Hu Lai's abilities.
Therefore, there is almost no possibility of underestimating the enemy, and preparations must be sufficient.
In terms of paper strength, the Chinese team lags behind in every aspect except on the front line.
Mentally, the opponent does not underestimate the enemy but also takes it seriously.
The time and place are not favorable, and the people and people are not on the Chinese team's side - Spain's home stadium, the Crown Stadium, which can accommodate 85,000 people, has more than 50,000 Spanish fans. It is said that Chinese fans only bought close to 20,000
Tickets. 20,000 vs. 50,000. Spanish fans are more than twice as many as Chinese fans.
Thinking about it this way, the Chinese team may be able to score goals with Hu Lai's superb opportunity catching ability, but the gap in overall strength, especially the deficiencies in defense, should still cause the Chinese team to concede more goals...
While the offensive lineup is Asia's top, or even world-class, the Chinese team's defense may only be a little higher than the Asian average.
"But I know, and you also know. Our goal in this game is to defeat them! To the outside world, the Chinese team's draw with Spain is a victory, but to us, a draw is a failure!" Dillon waved his arms vigorously,
Yu Jintao followed him in doing the same movements and said loudly in the same tone.
"After the start of this World Cup, except for the first game, most of the games were uneventful. The teams that deserved to win all won... They were as bland as pure water, with no taste at all. Let's give them some excitement.
Yes, give the whole world a surprise!”
After boosting morale, Dillon began to emphasize again some points that need attention in tactics:
"Ramirez has been determined to miss this game due to his unrecovered injury. But judging from the previous warm-up matches, Borja has obviously made special arrangements for this situation. They have magnified their ability to control the ball.
They have the advantage of controlling the ball instead of defending - after all, the ball is at their feet, so naturally they don't have to worry about defense. At the same time, controlling the ball can also better consume the opponent's physical strength, because the physical strength required to grab the ball is higher than
Pass catching is much bigger.”
Dillon had already drawn the opponent's players' positions on the tactical board.
Then he clicked on the Spanish national team’s No. 6 player:
"Rosas is the core of their midfield and the 'eye of the formation'. Without Ramirez, Rosas' protection has plummeted, so we have to focus on attacking him on the field. You have to play
Be tougher! Get up there immediately, use your body to collide with him, and interfere with him! Don't be afraid of fouls or cards. You must cut off the connection between him and other Spanish players, especially him and Campuzano
Yes, the two of them are midfield partners in Catalonia United. They have worked together for many years and have a very tacit understanding. Don’t watch him pass the football and then defend it. You must judge the blocking position in advance..."
"In addition, if we lose the ball, we must quickly organize a counterattack on the spot and regain the ball as soon as possible. Once Spain is allowed to control the ball for a long time, the game will fall into their rhythm, and we can only be led away.
The defensive formation will be disrupted."
"After regaining the ball, the offensive advance should be as simple as possible, moving forward through the two wings and then toward the center. Do not back-and-forth in the midfield or backcourt to increase the risk of being intercepted by the opponent."
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"If we lose the ball, we have to quickly return to defense. The Chinese team's two wingers are very threatening. They will definitely launch a quick attack through speed and directly hit behind our defense. They have very efficient shooters, so they don't
We need to compare the ball possession rate with us in the midfield and backcourt. If we cannot return to defense in time, resulting in a large number of gaps in the defense, we may lose the ball."
After explaining the tactical requirements, the head coach of the Spanish national team, Kili Borja, began to give his final instructions.
"I don't think the Chinese team will believe that we will underestimate them. They know that we value them, and we also know that they know this. So there is no 'surprise' or 'unexpected' in this game. It is a pure competition of strength.
. But I am different from the outside media. I don’t think we will beat the Chinese team in a pure competition of strength. Although the Chinese team is ranked far lower than us, each of you must put the Chinese team on the same level as us in your heart.
Viewed from a horizontal perspective, only in this way can we defeat them. Note, I said 'possibly'."
When saying this, Borja's expression and tone were very serious.
"In football, the outcome can never be determined before the game starts. Regardless of the pre-match odds and how expert analysis thinks about us, we cannot be considered to win before the final whistle blows and before the final score is announced.
So before that, we must not relax, we must always stay focused and go all out! This is our first game in this World Cup and we must win!”
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When the players from both sides walked out of the locker room one after another and came to the tunnel to wait to play, Julay did not just stand in his own team, but walked to the Spanish team and greeted them warmly.
It's as if he is the owner of this stadium.
"Ha, Joaquin, long time no see! Are you taking the captain's place today?" Hu Lai put his arm around Joaquin Vela's shoulders. If it weren't for the fact that the color of his jersey was different from the opponent's, he would have blended in perfectly.
Then he turned to Rosas, the core midfielder of the Spanish team, and said with a cupped hand: "Brother, please be more noble for a while, but be gentler!"
Then he turned around and pointed at Ion and said: "When I return to the club, you must treat me to dinner! To comfort my injured heart..."
Ion had a question mark: "Why me..."
Before he could finish his words, he was tugged by the clothes of the center back Nuno Sequeros next to him. When Ion came back to his senses, he immediately shut up.
In the end, Spanish goalkeeper Rodrigues Baccar, who was wearing the captain's armband, came forward to drive Hulay back to the opposite side: "Okay, Hulay. We are all familiar with it. There is no need to play these tricks and focus on the game."
By itself."
Hu Lai's expression changed as soon as he returned to his team. His expression, which had been resentful just now, instantly returned to normal.
"Are you going to sword dance again?" Zhang Qinghuan, who plays football in Sarria, understands Spanish, so he completely understood what Hu Lai meant.
"Is the sword dance ridiculous? I'm not Xiang Zhuang." Hu Lai rolled his eyes at him. "But Lao Di is right, they really don't underestimate the enemy. It's definitely not showing that they don't underestimate the enemy, but they really value us.
"
"Then this game will be difficult to play..." Liu Yan, the starting center back next to him, frowned and said.
"Actually, there is no difference. It would have been difficult to play against the defending champion." Wang Guangwei comforted his central defender partner.
Liu Yan was very impressed that Zhang Qinghuan was still chatting and laughing with Hu Lai just before the game started: "Brother Huan, you are so stable."
Although he is no longer a newcomer to the Chinese team, he still felt uncontrollably nervous before the game started.
Hu Lai was not happy when he heard this. He glared at Liu Yan: "Why don't you praise me?"
Liu Yan quickly defended: "No, Hu Lai, you still need to praise me? You are extremely talented..."
Chen Xingyi came up and said, "I understand, you said Hu Lai was born cheap."
The surrounding Chinese team players burst into laughter.
Liu Yan also laughed, and the original tension in his heart disappeared little by little.
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"What are they talking about? Is it that funny?"
"The laughter is a bit exaggerated. Is it to cover up the nervousness?"
"You can't say that. With Hu here, the atmosphere in the team is good."
"Yes, he is a master of atmosphere adjustment..."
Although the Spanish players couldn't understand what the Chinese players were talking about, they could understand the laughter and the expressions.
It is obvious that the Chinese team players have a good mentality, otherwise they would not be laughing so heartily before their first World Cup game.
"So expecting the Chinese team to be nervous and thus perform abnormally is just a delusion of the ignorant media and overly optimistic fans."
A voice sounded behind the Spanish internationals, and everyone turned around to find captain Juan Ramirez wearing a sports coat.
"In this game, everyone should show their best competitive state and compete head-on with the Chinese team! They are more than just arrogant!"
After Ramirez said this, he walked straight to the Chinese team, and then he put his arms around Hu Lai's neck.
The Chinese team’s laughter stopped abruptly.
Hulay turned around in surprise, only to find that it was Juan Ramirez, his captain at the club.
"I think before I go to the stands to watch the game, I should come and say hello to you, Hu." Ramirez said very calmly and with a smile on his face.
Then, without waiting for Hu Lai to reply to him, he let go of Hu Lai, walked towards Zhang Qinghuan, and greeted him.
Zhang Qinghuan plays for Saria, and the two of them are direct opponents in club games, so they are very familiar with each other.
After greeting the two most familiar people, Ramirez shook hands with each Chinese team player one by one, smiled and said hello.
No matter how many people he knew or were familiar with, he didn't miss any of the eleven players in the Chinese team's starting lineup.
After doing all this, he did not go back to his team, but went straight to the exit of the players' tunnel.
During the whole process, Hu Lai didn't have time to respond to his greeting just now.
"Ramirez is telling you that he is the master of this place." Zhang Qinghuan said clearly.
"I know." Hu Lai looked at Ramirez's back and nodded.
He looked back at his teammates and found that the expressions on some people's faces had become serious again, and the relaxed and happy atmosphere just now was gone.
"You are still smarter when you are old..." Wang Guangwei said with emotion, "This is the real captain."
He felt that he just wore the captain's armband and was still far from becoming a "real captain".
Then he saw Hu Lai looking at him.
"Team King."
"What?" Wang Guangwei frowned. After seeing Ramirez's demeanor just now, he felt that the name Hu Lai sounded a little harsh.
"When the coin guesses later, you want the right to kick off the ball."
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PS, the World Cup plot is about to begin. We will still have the same plot as the last World Cup. The game will be updated three times a day and other times once a day.