"Pete Williams!! This is his first World Cup goal! He is in really good condition today! From one penalty area to another penalty area, he is flying all over the field, almost in every corner of the stadium.
figure!"
As the commentator cheered loudly, England midfielder Pete Williams was shown excitedly running towards the corner flag with his arms outstretched.
Next to him are the equally excited England players. "4:2! There is no suspense in the game! England will win this game! They have become the first team in this World Cup to win all three group stage games! It is worthy of the name.
He is the favorite to win this World Cup!"
Looking at the England players on the screen who were smiling happily, Sheeran sighed: "England deliberately finished first in the group, right? Just to meet us!"
Hearing what she said, Hu Lixin smiled: "Look what you said, is it possible that they are deliberately going to take second place in the group and then compete with Italy?"
"Why is Italy more difficult to deal with than us?" Xie Lan muttered, "Only one goalkeeper, Caesar is also injured, who else is on this team? Although they are first in the group, I think we are the one
The strongest qualifying team in the group!"
Hu Lixin shook his head and was speechless, because from a certain perspective, he felt that his wife was right.
Even if we put aside our status as Chinese fans and let media and fans around the world look at it, of the two qualifying teams in Group H, it is obvious that the Chinese team is more worth looking forward to.
After all, this team is younger, more energetic and energetic.
Li Qingqing couldn't help laughing when she heard the conversation between the two people. Then she said to Xie Lan: "Mom, England did choose the Chinese team on purpose, but the reason may have nothing to do with the strength of the opponent. In this England team
, there is an old acquaintance of Hu Lai."
"That Pete Williams?" Xie Lan's mind turned quickly and she reacted immediately.
The son and the other party play football together in Leeds City, and they seem to have a good relationship.
But Li Qingqing shook his head:
"It's not just that. Mom Hulay used to play in the Premier League. Almost everyone in the England national team has played against him. I'm afraid they are all trying to beat Hulay in the World Cup.
Xie Lan frowned: "Is our son so popular?"
Li Qingqing smiled and said nothing.
Hu Lixin explained: "What does it have to do with popularity? My son defeated them, of course they want to win back, it's a normal competitive spirit."
After the Chinese men's football team reached the knockout round of the World Cup in history, fans across China fell into a carnival mood.
But when I woke up one night, many people were like Xie Lan and thought about it:
Although it is gratifying to reach the knockout round of the World Cup, England seems to be a bit too strong as an opponent, right?
The only team in this World Cup that won all the group matches, and the scores were basically big.
Beat South Korea 5:1, beat the United States 2:0, and beat Sweden 4:2.
Won all three games, ranked first in the group, and had the best odds of winning - before the start of the World Cup, the odds of winning were ranked fourth. Now after all the group matches, Spain has been eliminated, and the odds of all teams to win are:
After the adjustment, England rose to first place, ahead of strong teams such as Argentina, France and Brazil.
Compared with four years ago, this England team has a more reasonable age structure.
At the same time, after Harry Bogard retired, the England team's midfield became more fluid.
Pete Williams has become the core of the England national team. The midfield combination of him and Jay Adams has brought their tacit understanding in Leeds City to the national team.
Although the two men may not be as famous as the previous "captain midfielder", from a practical point of view, they are more useful.
After finally qualifying from the group stage, they have to face such a strong team. It is indeed not a good arrangement for the Chinese team.
In addition, Hu Lai, Luo Kai and Zhou Zijing of the Chinese team have all played or are currently playing in the Premier League, so the England team, from players to coaches, has great respect for them.
very familiar.
It is absolutely impossible for the Chinese team to "take the team by surprise". This game is destined to be a head-to-head "tough battle". Some people even think that the Chinese team's trip to this World Cup will stop at the top 16.
In fact, reaching the top 16 is already a great achievement. After all, in this World Cup, only one Asian team, the Chinese team, reached the knockout rounds:
Among the sixteen teams, there are eleven European teams, three American teams, one African team, and one Asian team.
In the World Cup held in Europe, European teams have half of the home field advantage, and they tend to perform better.
The Chinese team can occupy a place in the top 16 as a representative of Asian teams. This achievement is enough to make the whole of Asia feel happy and gratified.
Some Chinese media have begun to cool down the Chinese fans. When they reported that the Chinese team reached the top 16, they used "mission accomplished", "put down the burden", "enjoy football, enjoy the game, enjoy the World Cup". Similar words
Such a tone.
And many Chinese fans agree.
Of course, some people think that with the performance of the Chinese team, they should reach the semi-finals no matter what. Otherwise, it will be an unforgivable failure.
However, such people are still in the minority. Most Chinese fans are relatively sensible and do not want to put too much pressure on their national team.
Qualifying in the group is really the "biggest common denominator" for all Chinese fans.
As long as the Chinese team can advance to the knockout rounds, then everything is easy to say.
And even if they get through England, the Chinese team will still have a bumpy road in the second half - their opponents in the quarter-finals will be the winners of the Netherlands and Belgium. No matter which of these two teams they are,
None of them are easy to deal with.
One is ranked seventh by FIFA and one is ranked eighth.
In addition, there are Argentina and Italy standing in the way - let’s not talk about Argentina. Italy’s defensive counterattack tactics are particularly suitable for tournament-based competitions such as the World Cup. In the knockout stage, teams with good defense are more likely to go further.
Under such a situation, we really cannot place too many demands on the performance of the Chinese team.
Everyone feels that as long as the Chinese team can show its style and level in the next games, even if it loses, many people will be able to accept it.
***
"Although the domestic media and fans are very tolerant of us, I don't think we can really think that way ourselves."
Taking advantage of the opportunity to eat, captain Wang Guangwei stood up and said to all his teammates.
"We cannot have the idea that reaching the knockout rounds means we have accomplished the task, and we must not relax. Once we relax, it will be difficult to bring it up again. Four years ago, we were complacent in the last round to draw with Brazil.
, but that’s wrong. We can’t repeat the same mistakes we made four years ago. We can’t think that everything is fine just because we made it to the knockout rounds.
When Wang Guangwei mentioned the World Cup four years ago, many Chinese players who had participated in that World Cup showed serious expressions.
They particularly sympathized with what Wang Guangwei said.
I really went from being complacent about drawing with Brazil to regretting not being able to work harder to qualify for the group in the future - they could have made history four years in advance instead of waiting until now.
And those players who had not participated in the last World Cup also listened very seriously.
Because they have heard more than once that the "old players" gave him
They told stories about the last World Cup. Almost everyone mentioned the World Cup four years ago with the word "regret".
Therefore, they can also understand the emotions mentioned by the Wang team. Reflection on the last World Cup seems to have become a consensus within the Chinese national team.
Not being able to go all out to beat Brazil at the last moment, but being content with a draw should not sound like a bad thing to anyone.
However, the Chinese team players all regarded this result as their own shame.
This is really incredible
but
No one raised any doubts.
Master Fan Fushun, who heard Wang Guangwei's words behind the operating table, whispered to the apprentices around him:
"See, this is why we were able to qualify as a group this time. High standards and strict requirements. You must do the same in the future to achieve success!"
While the disciples were all thoughtful, Wang Guangwei continued:
"The outside world says that England is very strong. They are the favorites to win the championship. They have won all three games. So what? Our ability to get out of the group of death is not based on luck! Don't care what others say, and don't care about our opponents.
Who is it? We will play every game in the knockout round as a final. I think as long as we try our best, the final result will definitely not be bad!
"I think we should unify our thoughts before the game against England. That's why I say this to everyone. I hope that we all think in one place and work hard in one place. Only in this way can we truly create history——
Reaching the knockout rounds is definitely not making history, we can do better!"
