Midfielder Ruler

Chapter 19: A tie will lead to qualifying

As the referee Aguilar sounded the end of the game, the first match of the second round of Group C between the Chinese team and the Greek team came to an end, with the two sides fighting 0:0.

If they had not watched the live broadcast of the game, many fans would definitely think that this result was a very good result for the Chinese team.

But I wouldn’t think so after watching the game, because at the end of the first half of the Greek team, Katsuranis was sent off after two yellows and one red. At the beginning of the second half, another player suffered non-combat injuries and had to make personnel adjustments. One less adjustment for head coach Santos.

The Chinese team controlled the ball for as much as 70% of the game and took a lot of shots, completing a total of 21 shots. What is regrettable is that only six shots hit the goal frame, which means that the shot conversion rate is extremely low. .

The Chinese team, led by Tang Zheng, had a strong offensive, but the frontcourt players' ability to seize opportunities needed to be improved. In addition, the Greek team's goalkeeper Kanetsis performed extremely well. He made a high save and kept the goal. It can be said that Greece The biggest contributor to the final draw with the Chinese team.

The on-site director's close-up shot immediately showed Tang Zheng, No. 10 of the Chinese team, and it was not difficult to see two emotions from his facial expressions.

Regret and helplessness.

The expressions of other Chinese players were also not good-looking. They once thought that playing one more player would win the game and qualify in Group C one round ahead of schedule.

But there is no weak team in Europe, and even if the Greek team has one less player, there is no panic.

Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese team, summed up the reason, because all the 23 players of the Chinese team had no World Cup experience, and they played too hastily when they had two consecutive victories and advanced to the top 16 in advance.

Even players like the old captains Zheng Zhi and Tang Zheng who have experienced countless big scenes have not avoided it, let alone other players?

In the final analysis, they still lack World Cup experience.

Thinking of this, maybe... we will encounter huge problems in the final round against Colombia in the next round.

Although the last time Colombia entered the World Cup, it dates back to the 1998 World Cup in France, which is even longer than the last time the Chinese team entered the World Cup, but no one will underestimate Colombia.

In the first round of Group C of this World Cup, Colombia defeated Greece, one of the best defensive teams in the European qualifiers, with three goals, which is enough to show their strength.

In addition, Colombia has many powerful offensive players, such as James Rodriguez, Cuadrado, Guarin, Bacca, Adrian Ramos, Jackson Martinez and other powerful players, who are all the main players at the quasi-rich level. Not to be underestimated.

However, it is not without good news for the Chinese team. At least the Chinese team, which has not lost, can guarantee to advance from the group as long as it does not lose in the next round.

Lippi had so many things on his mind that Santos, the head coach of the Greek team, came over and didn't even react. Fortunately, Madaloni understood Lippi and quickly pushed behind him to prevent Lippi from getting into trouble after the draw.

The Chinese fans at the Sand Dunes Stadium performed well. Although the Chinese team did not win the game, the draw was within an acceptable range. The Greek team, which lost in the first round, only scored one point for the draw in this round, while the Chinese team scored four points. In the second round of the group, the Chinese team defeated Colombia and ranked first in the group without starting another game.

Compared with the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the results are already much better.

Many times, people need to be content!

Of course, Chinese fans’ expectations for the Chinese team are at least to qualify from the group.

After all, they won the first round of the group and drew with Greece in the second round. As long as they don't lose in the third round, promotion is inevitable!

※※※

The draw with the Greek team was a bit disappointing for many Chinese players. They thought that the Greek team, which had one less player to play, should be left to their own devices, but the result was not what they expected.

Tang Zheng is a world-class superstar and is used to seeing big storms. However, it is his first time to represent the national team in the World Cup. He is a little nervous. With the Greek team playing with one less player, he is a little eager to achieve success.

There is a saying in China that ‘Haste makes waste’, and it also applies to football matches.

0:0, a big reason is due to Tang Zheng’s ‘anxiety’.

After the game, Tang Zheng realized his mistake, so he took the initiative to walk over when he saw his regretful teammates, saying that the draw in this game was because he was too anxious in organizing the offense, which indirectly affected the performance of his teammates.

In the mixed zone, Tang Zheng, who was being interviewed, also took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of the team's draw with Greece and protect his teammates.

In fact, Tang Zheng doesn't have to do this. The Chinese team's one win and one draw in the first two rounds of the group stage are already better than the expectations of the domestic media and fans.

It's good that the group can appear, but it's acceptable if it doesn't fail to qualify.

At the regular press conference after the game, head coach Lippi talked about the regret of the Chinese team's draw with the Greek team, and also praised the team's performance. It was incredible to be able to suppress the former European champions for almost the entire game.

Some foreign media talked about the Chinese team's last game of the group stage against the seeded team Colombia. Lippi was very experienced and calm, saying that the strategy of the final round depends on the results of the game between Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire.

If Colombia defeats Cote d'Ivoire in the next game, Colombia's points will reach six points and qualify for the group ahead of schedule. China, which has four points from two games, is second in the group, Greece is third with one point, and Cote d'Ivoire is last with zero points.

In other words, if the third round of the group stage is carried out according to the above situation, Colombia, which qualified early, will definitely have reservations, and it is very possible to qualify with a draw.

as expected!

Later in a Group C focus match at the National Stadium in Brasilia, Colombia defeated Ivory Coast 2:1, which was already on the edge of the cliff, with goals from James Rodriguez and Quintero, qualifying from the group ahead of schedule.

Colombia winning will be very beneficial to the Chinese team.

Because Colombia, which has qualified early, is likely to give opportunities to players who have not played in the final round. It may be difficult for the Chinese team to defeat Colombia with all its main players, but a draw is still very possible.

However, Colombian star James Rodriguez who was interviewed after the game left Chinese fans speechless. He said: "The last round? I am looking forward to the confrontation with Tang. I have been looking forward to this game for a long time, and it is also Rome. It’s a game that Dahl is looking forward to, so winning the game is the result that the whole team hopes to see.”

What's interesting is that after Colombia defeated Ivory Coast, Tang Zheng's official Twitter was blocked by Falcao and James Rodriguez one after another, and the content was very helpless.

Falcao Tangzheng said: "Do you want to qualify in the group? Please beg me and I will help you!"

James Rodriguez seemed more cautious in his speech: "I have been looking forward to this game for a long time. I hope I won't be too sad to beat the Chinese team then."

Although Falcao missed the World Cup due to injury, his influence on the national team is very great, so Falcao’s joke on the official Twitter is not a joke!

James Rodríguez has had many encounters with Tang Zheng's team since the beginning of the A-League and then moved to Porto, but both ended up losing. Now that they meet again on the World Cup stage, his desire to win is very strong. !

To use what Falcao and Sanchez once said, you can't win at the club level, but you must win at the national team level.

Now that Sanchez has done it in the warm-up match before the World Cup, Falcao is unable to participate in the World Cup due to injury, James Rodriguez is thinking of taking advantage of this rare opportunity to avenge the club's loss.

However, head coach Pekerman hopes that James Rodriguez will have a good rest. As the core of the midfielder, he should focus more on preparations for the 1/8 finals instead of the irrelevant third round of the group.

However, James Rodriguez wanted to play fiercely, and he just convinced the head coach Pekerman to let him start.

Of course, this is unknown to the outside world.

The two group matches of the second round of Group C ended with Colombia qualifying early and the Chinese team with four points, which means a draw in the last round can qualify.

However, qualifying with a draw is a bit embarrassing for the Chinese team.

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The Chinese team flew from Natal to Cuiaba, a city in central and western Brazil, on the day after the group stage ended. They will face Colombia, the strongest opponent in the group, at the Pantanal Stadium.

Tang Zheng, who arrived in Cuiabá, is preparing to challenge Colombia in the final round of the group. He is also paying attention to the second round of Group D, where his favorite England national team faces the Uruguay national team.

England lost to Italy 1:2 in the first round, and Uruguay also unexpectedly lost to Costa Rica, a big upset. Therefore, no matter whether they face England or Uruguay in the second round, there is no room for failure.

At the beginning of the game, both sides played very cautiously, going back and forth, attacking and defending each other.

The score did not change until the 38th minute of the game.

Uruguay scored a goal beyond the score through a header from Suarez through the connection between Cavani and Suarez.

The lagging England team had no choice. The result of two consecutive losses in the group was destined to be eliminated early, so they stepped up their offensive. However, Uruguay's defense did well and the score was not changed until the end of the first half.

In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again. England strengthened its offensive through substitutions and adjustments. Unfortunately, the thunder was loud but the rain was small.

Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV watching the live broadcast, was very anxious. He felt like he was watching the Chinese team's live game.

In the 74th minute of the game, Glen Johnson suddenly changed his strategy on the right and broke through Alvaro Perez into the penalty area, and then quickly pushed the ball to the back of the goal. Rooney followed up from the back and took advantage of the Uruguayan defensive player's leak. Man Situation knocked the ball into the goal and tied the score.

This goal is Rooney's first World Cup goal in his ten-year international career.

Rooney, who scored the goal, seemed very excited and celebrated the goal crazily, but he knew that the equalizer was not enough to turn the situation around and he had to score another goal!

England's offensive surge made Uruguay's defense somewhat shaky, but Gerrard made a fatal mistake at the critical moment. Muslera took the goal kick with a big kick. Gerrard made a mistake in the header and then passed the header to Suarez, who was in an offside position.

Since the header was completed by Gerrard, the offside Suarez did not constitute offside. Suarez broke into the right rib of the penalty area and shot into the upper corner of the goal. Goalkeeper Joe Hart was beyond his reach, and Uruguay led 2:1.

There is not much time left in the game, and England, which is lagging behind, has no way out. It must ensure at least a draw in the remaining game time, otherwise elimination is inevitable.

However, the score did not change until the end of the game.

Therefore, England, which had lost two consecutive games in the group, was basically eliminated. As a die-hard England fan, Tang Zheng was helpless.

In the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, England received a red card due to Rooney's lack of composure, which led to the England national team losing to Portugal in a penalty shootout. In the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, a good game was lost due to a shocking case, and the team lost by a large margin. To the German team.

Judging from the current situation, as long as another match in the same group is drawn later or Costa Rica wins, England will be eliminated.

Unless, Italy beats Costa Rica!

However, even if the winner is determined in the end, it will be very difficult for England, which has lost both games, to come back to life in the final round.

In Tang Zheng's opinion, England has already been eliminated early!

In another group match of Group D held later, England's death was announced. Italy, which had an absolute advantage, lost to Costa Rica 0:1, causing the biggest upset of this World Cup!

Everyone thought that the qualifying spots in Group D of the Death Group would be between Uruguay, England and Italy.

But... after two rounds, Costa Rica defeated Uruguay and Italy, and then... qualified for the group ahead of schedule!

Costa Rica, which has a three-goal difference, is likely to be ranked first in the group as long as they lose by a small margin in the final round!

The French team, the seed team in Group E, relied on its outstanding overall strength to win two consecutive victories in the group and qualified early for the group.

Argentina in Group F should have won the game without any suspense, but the Iranian team, representing Asia, performed very tenaciously. If it weren't for Messi's outstanding personal ability at the last moment of the game, Argentina would have won two consecutive games in the group. Very difficult.

Tang Zheng is more concerned about the second round of Group G. The Portuguese team, which lost 0:4 to the German team in the first round, urgently needs a victory, otherwise it will be difficult to qualify from the group.

Tang Zheng is also concerned about the German team's group stage match. After all, Dortmund's former teammate is also a German international.

What is surprising is that the two games that should have been decided ended in a draw, and the goals in both games were quite consistent, both 2:2!

After two rounds in the group, the German team and the United States both had one win and one draw with four points, ranking the top two in the group respectively.

It’s not that Portugal and Ghana have no chance to qualify, but it’s just a bit difficult, especially for Portugal, because they lost a net of four goals in the first round unless they beat Ghana in the last minute, and the top battle between Germany and the United States is divided. Even if you lose, you still have to beat the opponent.

Group H has clear strengths and weaknesses. The European Red Devils Belgium stand out, ranking first in the group with two consecutive wins and qualifying early.

Of course, while Tang Zheng was paying attention to the progress of the World Cup group stage, he did not relax his preparations for the final round of the group.

A draw is a curse for the Chinese team.

But Côte d'Ivoire, which was eliminated early, defeated Greece in the last round. The Chinese team can advance even if they lose...

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