When Aldridge was giving a pre-match interview, the cruel knockout rounds of the World Cup had already begun. ()
The first to appear are the German team and Paraguay.
The German team took the lead in advancing to the top 8 with Neuville's buzzer-beater before the end!
However, this game did not allow the enthusiasm for the World Cup to continue to the climax.
Just as Beckenbauer said when commenting on the game: Apart from the excellent cooperation in scoring goals, the game was not interesting to watch.
Other mainstream media commented on the German team in much the same way: superior physical fitness, rough technique, and no strong team spirit.
Even the German media maintained this view, cheering for the German team to enter the quarterfinals, but were not satisfied with the team's performance.
At night, the Nordic Civil War took place.
The Danish team, which relied on Thomasson to score four goals in the group stage, became passive when Thomasson was unable to show off his power. The Swedish team relied on Larsson and Svensson to win the game 2:0.
The team also successfully advanced to the top 8!
The Swedish team finally qualified from the group of death, and now they have gone one step further and entered the quarter-finals of the World Cup. However, it will be too difficult for them to reach the semi-finals because they will encounter the winner between Brazil and Belgium.
The next morning, the entire England team arrived in the southern part of Kyushu Island and was warmly welcomed by countless England fans, many of whom followed them throughout the journey.
Just after noon, around Oita Stadium, the distinct colors and skin colors of the jerseys between English and Africans became the mainstream in the area.
This stadium with its big eyes is like a god coming to the stadium. The seats have been arranged in advance and they are high in the sky, waiting for a thrilling green war to begin.
Aldridge was the same as usual. He did not emphasize the fighting spirit on the players, everything was orderly and orderly. This calmness has been affecting the entire team of players since the beginning of training, making them calm.
It was a sunny day today. The game kicked off at 2:30 in the afternoon. Aldridge walked into the stadium and listened to the cheers collectively produced by the England fans and Senegalese fans. It was like a heat wave. In this weather, it was even more...
Extremely hot.
Aldridge and Mechu met on the sidelines, and the two shook hands solemnly, with a tacit look in their eyes showing respect.
Being able to meet in the World Cup is a kind of fate, and being able to meet in the round of 16 is a matter of ability.
England's players stood in the tunnel with serious faces. From the bloodbath in Germany at the end of last year to the recent outstanding performance in the group stage, the transformation of England's team's temperament is even more impressive.
They didn't say a word. They didn't give people a relaxed sense of sight, they were more like a group of steel warriors.
Not relaxed, nor overly inflated, giving people dignity and firm persistence.
In the eyes of others, they will see that this is a team with strong cohesion, a team with pursuits, and a team that is difficult to beat!
The Senegalese players looked at the England players beside them. As opponents, obviously they were not as famous as England, but there was also a sense of persistence in the eyes of the Senegalese players.
Mechu said before the game that he would not think about what happened next and would only focus on the top 16 match.
Senegal's players also seemed unambitious in interviews.
The best result of an African team in the World Cup is the top eight. Senegal's players said that it is their first time to compete in the World Cup and if they can reach the top eight, they will be very happy and satisfied.
When the players from both sides took the field, it was obvious that the expressions of the Senegalese players suddenly changed and they were full of fighting spirit.
The 11 players have the same belief, led by Diouf and Kamara, the two top killers in the frontcourt: fight for African football!
In 2002, no one thought that Senegal would finally take up the banner of African football!
Tunisia, South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, 5 African teams participating in the World Cup, 4 failed in the group stage. The last remaining strength in Africa is Senegal!
"The much-anticipated knockout rounds of the World Cup have begun. This afternoon, we can finally witness the England team playing. Senegal is a very strong team. They are participating in the World Cup for the first time and are in the same group as the defending champion France.
The outside world thought it was impossible for them to qualify for the group stage, but they managed to qualify and even defeated the French team, which shocked the world."
"Yes, Senegal is the biggest dark horse in this competition, but in my opinion, the outside world may have underestimated them and did not understand them. If we calm down and analyze this team carefully, they have obvious advantages. They are pragmatic and passionate in their play.
France, with a French coach like Mechu injecting some
Latin elements, however, they still have obvious shortcomings. The 3:3 match against Uruguay in the last game was simply incredible. With a three-goal lead, they almost collapsed. This reflects the dark horse's lack of experience and mental state in competitions.
The instability. Hopefully the England team can take advantage of this."
"What Gary said makes sense, we will expect England to restrain Senegal through stable performance, and now we will introduce the starting lineups of both sides.
England 4321.
Goalkeeper: Seaman.
Defenders: Phil Neville, Ferdinand, Southgate, Ashley Cole.
Midfielder: Beckham, Butt, Lampard.
Attacking midfielder: Scholes, McManaman.
Forward: Owen.
Senegal 532.
Goalkeeper: Selva.
Defenders: Kohli, M-Diop, Cisse, Diatta, Dave.
Midfielder: b-Diop, Syaf, Faye.
Forwards: Kamara, Diouf.
The game will start soon, with Senegal kicking off first."
Aldridge stood on the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes sparkling. Senegal deployed 5 defenders today. Although it will cause difficulties for the England team, after all, the opponent is not a sharp defensive team. It does not matter how the formation is arranged.
, the key is technical and tactical characteristics.
After the opening, Diouf, an African who has been in Ligue 1 for the past two seasons, used his skillful ball control to frequently create threats on the left side of the frontcourt.
Aldrich lost his temper at the beginning and yelled at Beckham: "Did you forget what I said to you yesterday?"
Beckham didn't dare to talk back. He didn't even dare to look at the sullen Aldrich. He gritted his teeth and immediately defended Diouf harder.
He was only broken through once by Diouf, but it caused Aldrich's thunderous rage.
No matter what Beckham thinks, Aldridge cannot allow the team to make low-level mistakes.
Senegal's offense does not have many unexpected offensive points, and Diouf is a very important point. His dribbling breakthrough, ability to get rid of the ball, and partially tear apart the opponent's defense are important offensive methods for Senegal.
If you really want to say how awesome Senegal is, it must be false. They qualified from the group. They only unexpectedly defeated the French team in the first game. The French team failed and had their own problems. Zidane was not present and underestimated the opponent.
etc.
Then against Denmark and Uruguay, Senegal still scored, but they failed to win!
They have passion. But passion and strength are not equal.
Beckham's problem is very common and is also the most common problem for players.
The England team relies on defensive counterattacks as the core of its tactics. No matter what, you must defend the opponent first. If you cannot defend them, counterattacks will be impossible.
In the area on the left, little Beganeville is a club teammate and they worked together most of the time last season because Phil's brother was a guest center defender.
Who is Diouf? Which onion?
He has no reputation at all, and he plays for a top team in Ligue 1.
But if Beckham showed the attitude and actions to defeat Argentina's defensive Gonzalez and Little Flea, how could Diouf easily break through?
This is a natural psychological reaction caused by the difference in weight. It is like an adult boxing, but the opponent is a child, and naturally he will not be interested.
In terms of personal ability, Diouf is really incomparable to Flea or Gonzalez, the first-line star who once made huge waves in European football in Valencia.
If faced with players like Overmars, Ronaldinho, and Figo, and Beckham was broken through, Aldridge would not criticize him harshly at all, but Diouf, no!
It's like Diouf slapped England in the face!
And this is obviously what Aldrich focused on during the pre-game preparation meeting.
Regardless of whether the players were out of form at the start or not, Aldridge couldn't tolerate it.
Beckham regained his composure and did not hesitate to press Diouf the next time, increasing his aggressiveness. Diouf flexibly spiked the ball to the outside to get rid of the breakthrough, but he just passed Beckham.
Phil Neville immediately stepped forward and successfully stole the ball. England switched from defense to offense!
This is the proper defensive effect. Beckham must not be beaten cleanly. Even if the opponent breaks through, it must interfere with and hinder the next movement, or it may involve physical contact confrontation or small movements.
The English team's lightning-fast counterattack was staged again. Senegal's three midfielders could not stop them from attacking forward with their heavy troops evenly distributed during the counterattack.
However, if the opponent sets up 5 defenders and passes the midfield line, it is almost impossible to penetrate the back line.
With a cross section of 60 meters, 5 people are defending. Even if someone is behind, including the sideline, it is a layer of defense. This is equal to 7 points. Each person is responsible for less than 10 meters. One point left and right, which is 5 or 6 meters.
In addition, as the opponent attacks, the center of gravity of the defense line will be appropriately tilted, which not only compresses the breakthrough line, but also shortens the distance between each other's complement.
However, the England team's attack on the front line looks exactly the same as that against Argentina. McManaman pulls away!
However, when McManaman pulls wide, he mainly controls the ball and attracts the opponent's defensive strength. He will not make the next breakthrough, which is meaningless.
If he breaks through to the bottom line, he will definitely not be able to cut into the inside line. Crossing is not the established tactic of the England team.
However, in the third minute, England still played a very threatening attack.
McManaman controlled the ball on the right wing, waited patiently for two players from the opponent to surround him, and then passed the ball back to the center.
Scholes knocked too hard, and Lampard rushed up and hit the door with a heavy kick.
Long shot!
Senegal goalkeeper Selva made a wonderful save to keep the ball out of the baseline!
The English fans in the stands let out a huge sigh and then burst into applause, cheering for Lampard's long-range shot that hit the goal range.
"Haha, there are three ways to break through dense defense, breakthrough, long shot, and set kick. If the England team wants to use breakthrough, I am afraid that except Owen and McManaman, no other players can count on it, and Owen and McManaman
McManaman's ability to make continuous breakthroughs in a small area is also very limited, but
We have a lot of good long-range shooters, and with Senegal heavily deployed on the last line, they can't block our long-range shots. Today Hall's tactical thinking is clear at a glance, just shoot long-range shots, and at the same time, he should be able to make a fuss about set pieces.
It would be a shame not to use Beckham's set-piece footwork."
Andy Gray only watched this offense and made a sharp comment.
When he saw that McManaman was not in a hurry to make the next move after getting the ball on the wing, but was attracting the opponent's defensive forces, he guessed Aldridge's tactical arrangement for today. (To be continued...)
