Chapter 96 Unprecedented! Two free kicks in a single World Cup game!

After Xiao Wen assisted Wilshere, who replaced Rooney in the second half, and scored a goal, the score of 3:0 made Costa Rica stop struggling at all.

Uruguay unexpectedly, but somewhat reasonably, won Italy with a score of 1:0, which means that Costa Rica has historically entered the top 16!

But this is just a small splash compared to the four-time World Cup champion Italy being eliminated. It is not even as sensational as Suarez transforming into a doomsday walker and taking a bite on Chiellini's arm. This thing is really quite

What...

According to the fans at the scene, the situation was roughly like this - the group stage had not yet ended, and Suarez had already begun a day's work. He decided to try his luck and went to the Italian team's backcourt to find a precious ingredient. From

The strong men of the Apennine Peninsula are a gift from God; the shoulder meat of the center back is the best food. After 75 minutes of exercise, the shoulder meat has been fully mobilized, and the meat is tender and juicy. It is marinated with sweat and salt.

Suarez knows that this is the best time to use it. Such rare ingredients, combined with a simple and direct eating method, make this food even more precious.

Anyway, Xiao Wen, Rooney and others were stunned.

However, after all the group matches were played, what was even more shocking was the performance of the defending champion Spain.

In the first game of the group stage, the Netherlands used the most manly and direct way to get up again wherever they fell. In a vivid and devastating way, the Netherlands pushed the aging Spain off the throne!

In the second game that followed, Spain lost to Chile again, and only breathed a sigh of relief in the final round against Australia, but it was too late. This also allowed Spain to defend its title again after France in 2002 and Italy in 2010.

The title of champion came back from the World Cup group stage!

It is said that there are no weak teams in the Premier League, but how can there be any weak teams in this World Cup?

After the group stage, the most frustrated big-name star was Cristiano Ronaldo, who was dragging his injured leg. He scored 1 goal in three games, and the team had one win, one draw and one loss. It had the same 4 points as the United States, but because of the net loss

Sheng Shao was eliminated miserably and went home early.

There is no cold wind in midsummer in Brazil, only scorching heat. Unfortunately, this World Cup has been a series of upsets since the beginning.

This also gave all the teams that advanced to the top 16 a shot of vaccination.

…

On June 29, Xiao Wen sat on the balcony of his hotel room and looked up at the night sky.

A few hours ago, he met with several people brought over by Mendes, chatted secretly for a long time, and finalized an extremely important matter. The repeated struggles during this period even made him feel more tired than playing a game of football.

.

call.

He doesn't know what his final fate will be in this World Cup. At this moment, he just feels that after playing two World Cup games, his reputation has indeed risen to a higher level in an instant.

Many people say that nowadays, the excitement, intensity and strength of the teams in the Champions League have surpassed the World Cup. But the World Cup is the World Cup.

Uruguay and Costa Rica, both teams fell at his feet. Just like in the Champions League, the fighting and killing on the court seemed to have turned into a game.

Until now, he was still a little confused as to what had happened in the past few months, but the feeling of happiness that occupied his whole body and mind made him clearly understand that being at the top was so wonderful!

With half-squinted eyes, the silence was broken by a burst of cell phone ringing. It was Royce's video call.

Royce's love for Xiao Wen can be said to be unforgettable. It's not that he loves watching the Bulgarian Demon King, but that at his most lost moment, Xiao Wen came out of the blue and carried Dortmund and other teammates, including him, to the Champions League.

On the podium, this sentence was said by Gundogan.

At this time, seeing that Xiao Wen had a smile on his face, but his tone was slightly tired, Royce frowned slightly and asked: "Xiao, what's wrong? England is not easy to lead, so I told you to bear with me.

Join us directly! Guaranteed three World Cups and three European Cups!”

The smile on Xiao Wen's face paused for a moment, but then it resurfaced. Royce and Hummels were joking with him. He stood up and looked at the beach outside the balcony: "Why, kick Algeria, no

What will you do in my life?"

"If Algeria can't pass, how can we talk about winning the championship?" At this time, besides Royce Gundogan and Hummels, there was someone standing out in front of the camera. Xiao Wen took a closer look and saw that it was Muller.

The boy is hugging Royce! He is indeed green even in a different place!

Muller smiled widely. In the Champions League, he was the one who envied Xiao Wen, but now in the national team, looking at his teammates and England's old, weak, sick and disabled lineup, he looked at Xiao Wen's eyes.

Zhong was already a little disdainful.

Germany's opponent in the round of 16 is Algeria, which is not very strong.

England's opponent, Greece, is not a traditional strong team in a strict sense. But it really has the European Cup!

The grouping of the upper and lower halves means that currently, it seems that if Royce and other club teammates want to compete with Xiao Wen, both teams will have to reach the finals.

So even Mueller mostly made jokes to Xiao Wen.

Everyone teased each other for a while before hanging up the phone. Xiao Wen muttered to Esther for a while and then climbed into bed.

It's the knockout round again. Again, a game that determines life and death.

…

Early the next morning.

Hodgson announced the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart.

The four defenders are Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill, Smalling, and Luke Shaw, who performed well on the offensive end in the last game!

Compared to Baines, who was a little quiet and had only one shortcoming in passing a cross, the vitality of this young man, Luke Shaw, made Hodgson surprisingly bold.

Gerrard still plays with Henderson, Sterling is on the left, Rooney is in the middle, and No. 7 Xiao Wen is on the right.

The choice between Sturridge and Welbeck highlights England's two completely different playing styles.

Strictly speaking, Welbeck is better than Sturridge in high-altitude grabbing, but in terms of small skills and the number of goals scored this season, Welbeck is not even a fraction of Sturridge. The new four dark kings of Manchester United

This title is not just for boasting.

After careful consideration, Hodgson still chose Sturridge.

The referee hadn't blown the whistle yet, but the game had actually officially started. Xiao Wen knew that somewhere where he couldn't see, the Greek coaching staff and players were studying England and him bit by bit.

finally……

June 30, Pernambuco Stadium, Recife.

The crowds were huge.

The Greek team entered the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. They scored only 2 goals in the group stage, which was the team with the fewest goals among all the 16 qualifying teams. They were also the only team to qualify with a negative goal difference.

But no one dared to say from the beginning that England would definitely win easily.

In 2004, Greece acted as a dark horse, defeating powerful enemies such as Portugal, France, and the Czech Republic, and climbed to the top of Europe. The scene that shocked the world is still fresh in my memory. That year... In terms of magic, it was even better than the Danish fairy tale in 1992.

Give more.

However, England fans are not as cautious and serious as the England team.

"Greece had the Bayesian arc before it, and now I have Xiao's arc!"

"Xiao Wen only needs five points of strength."

"If we can't get through Greece, the whole England team except Xiao Wen will swim back!"

After exiting the player tunnel, Xiao Wen turned to look at the south stand of the stadium. Professor Xiao, Catherine, Esther and Mendes were there. Xiao Wen didn't like the English ladies group very much, so he simply didn't let Esther Heath go there.

Water.

Looking at the Greek players who looked equally excited, Xiao Wen went through the pre-match process in silence.

Game start.

In the pre-match preparation meeting, Hodgson showed the highlights to the team. The impression given by Greece is that the players have good physical fitness, a tough style of play and strong impact.

But compared with Sweden and Norway in Northern Europe, their technology is not rough and they have good technology.

In the eyes of Impressionist fans, when they won the European Cup in 2004, several headers by Charles Steas gave people a deep misunderstanding, thinking that this team only played high-altitude balls. In fact, in terms of technology, they are not too rough.

.

From the first second of the game, fierce fighting occupied every inch of the court.

The huge cheers from countless fans throughout the stadium covered up the loud scolding of the Greek coach on the sidelines, while Xiao Wen, who was on the right midfielder, moved up and down with the formation.

However, after the tenth minute of the first half, the game became a half-time offensive and defensive exercise, and Greece completely gave up attacking.

However, more and more people are gathering around their penalty area. Looking down from the high-rise stands, densely packed players from both sides occupy all the space near the top of the penalty area and the penalty spot. Football has been slowly but resolutely moving on the right side of England.

It smashed towards the Greek team's goal. However, Sturridge's header in the penalty area was too weak in front of the two tall defenders of Greece.

Fifteenth minute.

Xiao Wen slowly ran from the center of the penalty area to the right wing and received a pass from Glen Johnson. Greek left back Holebas stopped about five meters away from Xiao Wen. His intention was extremely obvious.

Your cross is ridiculously strong, isn't it? In the penalty area, beside Rooney and Sturridge, there are strong Greek men waiting for you.

Xiao Wen was a little helpless. If he forced a sudden attack, there would be three people on his side. It would be very difficult to break through the cards deliberately, and according to Hodgson and Xiao Wen's thinking, this game could be won at the minimum cost. That would be ideal.

the result of.

So Xiao Wen slowly passed the ball to Gerrard in the center again.

Lineker couldn't help but laugh when he saw this iron barrel formation: "It's a bit airtight. The secret of the Greek team's repeated success is actually very simple. In the past 10 years, they have basically adhered to the same tactical ideas, although they often

Not liked by others, but very practical. This pragmatic tactic can be simply summed up in eight words: "Give you the ball and hit you to counterattack."
To be continued...