Ten minutes after Hulay scored twice, the first half ended.
The Chinese team did not score any more goals. After taking a two-goal lead, they implemented their defensive counterattack tactics to the end.
After falling behind by two goals, Nigeria continued to strengthen its offensive. However, in the face of the Chinese team's defensive counterattack, their players' morale was unstable and they were unable to make a comeback.
So until the end of the first half, let alone equalizing the score, they didn't even score a goal.
They entered the halftime break with a two-goal deficit...
Back in the locker room, the Nigerian players were silent.
They also know very well that if they want to qualify from the group, they have to chase three goals in a row, and this is an almost impossible task. Just thinking about it makes people desperate.
The team's head coach, Ebubelia Oladebo, was actually a little disappointed with the current score, but in front of the depressed players, as a head coach, he could not act as if he had lost his fighting spirit.
He clapped his hands vigorously, drew everyone's attention to himself, and then said: "Don't think about chasing three balls in a row. Whether it's three balls or two balls, you have to start with the first ball.
Start. So our first priority in the second half is... to score a goal first!"
He raised his index finger.
"When organizing an offense, don't make it too complicated. Don't pass the ball back and forth in the opponent's frontcourt. When the ball is at our feet, pass the ball to the three forwards and let them create opportunities with their own personal abilities.
If there is no good scoring opportunity, then create a set kick, a free kick, a corner kick, a penalty kick... whatever. The problem with the Chinese team is poor defense. In terms of personal ability, their defenders
They are not as good as our forwards. Just use our speed and physical fitness to attack their defense!"
※※※
Jorge Dillon decided to make personnel changes to the central defender.
He sensed that Nigeria would definitely counterattack wildly in the second half, and Liu Yan's slow speed was a loophole in the Chinese team's back line.
Since Liu Yan is slower, it is natural that Mao Junzheng cannot get on - he is even slower than Liu Yan.
So he set his sights on young central defender Qin Qi.
Twenty-year-old Qin Qi may be lacking in experience, but his speed is absolutely guaranteed because he is young after all.
"Xiaoqi." He shouted in accented Chinese.
Over the years in China, although he still hasn't learned Chinese, Dillon can barely call players by their Chinese names.
"You come on in the second half."
Qin Qi seemed confused about such a simple sentence, as if he didn't understand it.
It was only when Mao Jun next to him touched him with his elbow that he came back to his senses: "Okay, okay..."
"When you come on to replace Liu Yan, you must pay special attention to the opponent's speed to force a breakthrough."
Qin Qi continued to nod: "Okay, no problem, coach..."
Then Dillon announced to Liu Yan his decision to dismiss him and explained why Liu Yan was dismissed.
Liu Yan didn't have any objections. His side was really tight in the first half. Although he didn't concede the ball, there were still dangers.
He can understand if the head coach wants to replace him.
In terms of speed, he is really not good at it.
What he is good at is heading for the top and frontal interception.
Nigeria obviously wanted to use speedy forwards to bully itself, so Liu Yan had nothing to say after being replaced.
In a tournament system like the World Cup, where many games are played in a short period of time, there is basically no strict distinction between "main players" and "substitutes."
It is entirely up to the head coach to make substitutions and adjustments based on tactical requirements and the situation on the field.
At this time, it is very foolish to worry about whether the main position is not guaranteed when he was replaced after only playing half a game.
If you show dissatisfaction with this substitution, then you might not even think about starting the game again...
※※※
"You did a good job, boys! In the whole first half, they had 75% of the ball possession rate, but they couldn't score our goal!"
In the Italian team's dressing room, head coach Caviglia is encouraging his players.
In this game against Spain, his tactic was to hold on in the first half to wear down the Spanish players' physical fitness and morale.
In the second half, he replaced Caesar and attacked Spain again.
Italy, which currently has four points, can actually qualify with a draw.
But if you can't threaten the Spanish goal and let the opponent attack unscrupulously, you might really lose the ball.
So he's going to replace him with Caesar.
Even if Caesar can't score, as long as he plays, the Spanish team will have to devote more energy to guard against him. After all, the goal against the Chinese team in the last game made everyone dare not underestimate this 38-year-old veteran.
, he has the ability to seal his throat with one sword.
As long as he can restrain the Spanish team's energy and prevent them from besieging Italy unscrupulously, then Caesar will have completed his tactical mission.
A draw and one point can also allow Italy to qualify from this group of death - Italy is not qualified to pick and choose now. Thinking about whether to finish first or second in the group, it would be good to qualify.
"Caesar, it's time for you to come on stage!"
Caviglia turned to Caesar and said.
Selius Caesar nodded: "Okay."
※※※
"Keep calm and be patient. In the second half we have to continue to take advantage of our possession of the ball and make every detail the best. Only in this way can we beat Italy. This is the most critical half of the game, but the more so.
, the more you have to stay calm..."
Spanish national team coach Kily Borja is stressing the importance of mentality to his players.
His voice was not loud, his tone was not intense, and he had no exaggerated body movements.
He hopes to use his approach to keep the players calm.
In his opinion, the more at such a time, the more calm is needed.
If the Spanish team plays too hastily in the second half, Italy may seize the opportunity to counterattack.
"Stay patient and calm. We only need one goal to break the deadlock. Italy will not be able to continue to set up the bus. Once they attack, we will have more opportunities!"
He only encouraged the players but did not make any personnel adjustments.
The main reason is that the current range of adjustments is really limited.
Of course he knows to strengthen the offense, but how to strengthen the offense?
There are only a few forwards, and he knows what level they are.
It's a fool's errand to expect immediate results if a forward is replaced.
Borja still trusts his own football philosophy and creates opportunities by controlling the ball.
And who said that goals can only be scored by forwards?
As long as you control the ball well and have enough opportunities, midfielders and even defenders can score.
※※※
"The second half of the game is about to begin, and the Chinese team is the first to make substitution adjustments. Dillon replaced Liu Yan with young central defender Qin Qi! This is a somewhat bold adjustment. Qin Qi is very young, only 20 years old...
…”
"Dillon probably saw that Liu Yan was having a hard time dealing with Nigeria's striker Opoku in the first half, so he decided to switch to the relatively fast Qin Qi. However, Qin Qi lacked experience..."
Both He Feng and Yan Kang were a little worried about Dillon's substitution.
They could understand why Dillon made such adjustments, but they felt it was unnecessary.
There were indeed many dangers in the first half on Liu Yan's side, but after all, they did not concede a goal.
Now taking the initiative to make substitution adjustments at the beginning of the second half is tantamount to breaking this delicate balance.
The Chinese team's defense must need to adapt again.
In their view, Dillon's substitution adjustment only increased unknown risks.
Before the second half of the game started, Wang Yuan found her son standing on the sidelines in the stands. She was excited at first, and then frowned.
Having come to watch three Chinese team games, she certainly hopes that her son will get a chance to play in the World Cup.
But she didn’t want her son to perform poorly after playing. It was already very controversial for her son to be selected for the twenty-three players. Everyone would use a magnifying glass to watch his son play. If he made a slight mistake, other people would be surprised.
It's not a big deal, but if it were her son, he would probably be exposed online for several days.
Logically speaking, the safest way is of course not to play.
But since she participated in the World Cup, why would Wang Yuan want her son to just be a spectator on the bench?
As a mother, I feel so anxious and conflicted.
※※※
When Caesar was seen standing on the sidelines, preparing to come on as a substitute, there were huge boos at the Crown Stadium.
Spanish fans naturally have no favorable impression of Caesar. After all, Caesar and Spain's "Prince" Cerrados were once competitors.
At the same time, they also smelled danger from Caesar's appearance.
"Celius Caesar! He is going to come on as a substitute! Before the game, Italian coach Caviglia announced that Caesar would not be able to play against Spain due to injury. Looking at it now, it is obviously a smoke bomb...
…Italy’s strategy is still the same as when it defeated the Chinese team in the last game, which is to wait until part of the opponent’s physical strength is consumed, and then let Caesar come up and charge. After all, with Caesar’s current physical strength, it is difficult to fight the whole game. Instead of giving up
He wasted his energy in a hand-to-hand fight with a physically strong opponent in the starting lineup. He might as well have saved his precious energy and came on as a substitute in the second half..."
In front of the Spanish team's coaching bench, assistant coach Alexis Moyano took his eyes away from Caesar and said to the head coach Kili Borja next to him: "The Italians are really cunning. Replace Caesar at this time.
Did you come up here to take me by surprise?"
Borja remained calm:
"It doesn't matter, this is exactly what we expected. Replacing Caesar means that Italy has taken the lead in playing their cards. When they want to attack, it is our opportunity."
Amid boos, the Italian team completed the substitutions.
Because it is a substitution during halftime, there is no need to wait for the substituted player to come to the sidelines to hand over to Caesar. As long as the referee nods, he can run directly onto the field.
Caesar replaced the previous starting forward Wario Carrero. After playing, he will partner with Daniel Dikunzo as a double forward.
As he ran onto the court, Caesar lowered his head and carefully felt the feeling of his right knee.
He also used a little more force and sprinted a few steps.
So far, no abnormalities have been found.
He could breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.
Hopefully the knee on this leg can last forty-five minutes.
