champion godfather

Chapter 969 The Heart of the Seven Lion King Appears Again
Although temporarily lagging behind, the Swedish team coach Lagerbeck is still in high spirits.

"Time to strike back, gentlemen!" he said, clapping his hands and raising his voice.

The players all looked up at him.

"We gave them too many chances in the first half and we can't continue like this in the second half. We have the upper hand, why not? Every corner is an opportunity for us to make the most of it. So I ask you to be more aggressive in the second half, You have to be more aggressive in midfield!" He clenched his fists and pounded.

A group of midfielders headed by Karlstrom bowed their heads in shame after hearing what the coach said.They also knew that their performance in the first half was unbearable. They were completely suppressed by the England midfielder, and they didn't make any contribution in defense.The Swedish team was completely suppressed by England in the first half, and the loss of control in the midfield was the main reason.

"We will make adjustments in the second half..." Lagerbeck glanced at the silent captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic. "Zlatan (Ibrahimovic)."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has his sights set on the head coach.

"How did it feel to be up front in the first half?"

"I have too little room for movement, and their people are inseparable." Ibrahimovic replied honestly.

Ragbeck nodded, indicating that he understood. "In the second half, you pull out and don't play as a center. Retreat behind Goytang and be a second striker and midfielder. Use your skills and awareness at your feet to organize the offense, and you can shoot when you have space."

When he is pulled out, he no longer has to face England's two central defenders directly. With more space and time to hold the ball, his skills can also come in handy.

Ibrahimovic was not surprised by this arrangement, he nodded to show that he knew
After the tasks were almost arranged, Lagerbeck decided to boost morale again, and not let the players have negative emotions because of falling behind in the first half.

"Remember the game tape I showed you last night?" he asked.

It was the match between Sweden and England in the World Cup group stage ten years ago. England played beautifully in the first half, and Sweden's performance in the second half was perfect.

"Similar to today's situation, we met the same game again. I am full of confidence in ourselves to win! The second half let us launch a Jedi counterattack! England has not beaten us in 48 years, there is no reason for this proud The score ends today! As long as we score early in the second half, the nightmare of 48 years will haunt the English players and their mentality will change as the clock gets closer to the end. This is in our favour. As long as we are more patient than them, we will win in the end!"

Lagerbeck said to the players confidently.He trusts his own judgment, we know all too well about the English!
※ ※ ※

George Wood did not follow the team into the locker room in today's game. He and other substitute players took advantage of the intermission to warm up on the court.So he could play in the second half.

He didn't know what Tang En said to his teammates during the intermission, but when they walked out again, everything looked normal.

Seeing captain John Terry appear at the entrance of the corridor, Wood finished his warm-up and walked slowly to the bench.As he brushed past Terry, he heard the man who had re-donned the captain's armband in his stead suddenly ask: "Hey George, are you fully warmed up?"

Wood stopped and looked at him strangely.

"My intuition tells me that you have a chance to play today." Terry smiled at him and walked away.

Wood frowned and looked towards the entrance of the corridor, hoping to see Tony Twain.Did he make any adjustments at halftime?

※ ※ ※

The game resumed in the second half with no substitutions on either side.When the Swedish team kicked off, Ibrahimovic was standing in the center circle with Goytan, but after a round of offense, Tang En noticed that Ibrahimovic really retreated and ran to the front midfielder. and the position of the second striker.

If Lagerbeck thought that Dunn would be greatly surprised by this arrangement, and would be at a loss, not knowing what to do.Then he will be disappointed.

Immediately after Ibrahimovic pulled it out, he raised his hand for the ball, and he wanted to take this opportunity to do a big job!Let's vent the depression of inaction in the first half.

Just when he received the ball and was about to take advantage of the trend to look for a chance to shoot, he was blocked by Gerrard.

Ibrahimovic made a sudden stop and turned around to see to protect the ball.However, he also turned his back to the attacking direction again.Ibrahimovic was very surprised, how could Gerrard appear here?This is already very close to go in, and it stands to reason that it is the area that the defenders are responsible for.Even if the person who wants to block him should be Michael Johnson, not the more offensive Gerrard.

He looked up and looked around, and found that Johnson was in another area, staring at Caltrom who was about to move.

Did Gerrard come to mark himself specifically, or was it just a coincidence?
Ibrahimovic decided to experiment again.He passed the ball, left Gerrard and ran to a new position and raised his hand again.

After the football was passed, Ibrahimovic once again saw Gerrard appearing in front of him.

Once by accident, twice...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn't even feint and passed the ball again.Run away and continue to raise your hand for the ball.

The football came for the third time and Gerrard followed.

The third time is no accident!
It seemed that the other party was staring at him.

Ibrahimovic no longer passed the ball this time, but chose to use his foot skills to shake Gerrard away and break through.But Gerald clung to him so hard that he had no chance of getting rid of himself.After a stalemate for a while, Ibrahimovic found that England's defense was impeccable, and Gerrard had obviously sacrificed his attack to defend himself, so he had no choice but to divert the ball.

Lagerbeck was shocked watching off the court.England's adjustment is too timely, right?It stands to reason that the opponent shouldn't have made a defense against Ibrahimovic so quickly. After Tang En reacted, he would come up with a countermeasure and finally issue an order. It would take 10 minutes anyway, and his own team could do it. Use this period of England's defensive chaos to create scoring opportunities.

But the situation is completely different now. Could it be that Tang En guessed his adjustment in advance?how can that be!

On the other side, Tang En still kept a vague smile on his face.Lagerbeck certainly wouldn't know that England has long regarded studying opponents as a daily homework, and Sweden's little tricks can't hide it from itself.From the beginning of the qualifiers and the warm-up match, once the team fails to start the situation, Lagerbeck will make such adjustments.The old Ibrahimovic's position on the field is also moving back a little bit.His excellent foot skills and long-term accumulation of experience and awareness make him a duck in water in the midfield.

During the intermission, Twain made targeted arrangements for this habit in Sweden.He asked Gerrard to defend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and as for the offense, he relied on two wings to launch.Anyway, England has a goal in hand and is not very worried about scoring goals.As long as the defense is solid, even a one-goal lead is not an unacceptable result in Twain's view.

At the same time, Ibrahimovic passed the ball three times, raised his hand for the ball three times, and his teammates passed him the ball three times, which proved the correctness of the intelligence.In the second half, Ibrahimovic really changed and became the core of the Swedish team.

It looked like Lagerbeck was hoping for a second-half showdown.It's a pity that Tang En failed to fulfill his wish.

The judgment is correct, the countermeasures are correct, and the rest is to watch the show.

※ ※ ※

The Swedish team didn't expect England to respond so quickly, and they didn't know what to do for a while.

How could the England team, which Tang En had specifically instructed, let go of such an opportunity?Fight back immediately.Since he guessed that the Swedish team would strengthen the control of the midfield, Tang En naturally wouldn't let the football stay in the midfield, so he made three passes and two downs, and the football reached the front of the Swedish team's penalty area!
Gerrard did not rush forward, dragged behind to guard against Zlatan Ibrahimovic.England only had two strikers and two full-backs in the frontcourt.Although Gerrard didn't go up, the speed of the four frontcourt players was still very fast.When the Swede reacted, Mitchell had already received a pass from Mok at the top of the penalty area.

Generally speaking, Mitchell's shooting power is his weakness. He seldom takes a shot outside the penalty area.

The Swede knows the England team very well, and Grabeck has an in-depth understanding of every player in England, which is the main reason why he thinks his team can beat England.Before the game, he told the Swedish players about the characteristics of every English player. The defensive players must be familiar with every characteristic of the opponent's offensive players.

Now when Swedish defenders see Mitchell taking the ball, his playing characteristics will emerge in their minds-not being able to shoot from long distances must be one of them.

Central defender Peter_Larsson (Peter_Larsson), who is facing Mitchell, also knows the opponent's technical characteristics. If he goes up to him, he will only let the opponent use his foot skills to pass.So the best way is to retreat a little and keep a safe distance to prevent him from breaking through.But what he didn't expect was that Mitchell swung his right foot after looking up at the situation in front of him!

He's going to shoot! ?
Larson was terrified, and if he wanted to step forward to block it, it was too late!
The Swedish goalkeeper Isaacson did not expect Mitchell to take a long shot directly at the top of the free throw arc!
The ball kicked by Mitchell is not strong and fast, but it draws a very obvious arc and hits the far post that Isaacson can't catch...

"Mitchell shoots suddenly!"

The football hit the inside of the goal post and then bounced into the net. Although Isaacson made a very stretched save in the air, he was beyond his reach. He could only watch the football hit the post...

The England fans in the stands erupted into such cheers that it almost seemed like an earthquake had struck the Peace Juan Stadium.At this moment, even the TV cameras were trembling, and the English people were chanting "Long live".

"What_a_great_GOOOOOOOOOAL!! Unbelievable goal! Mitchell swings his legs and shoots from the spot, the ball draws a beautiful arc, bypassing Isaacson's defense and flying into the goal! England No. 60 minutes in the second half 2:0 ahead of Sweden!!"

"Leading by two goals! There is no better situation than this! The Swede is still preparing for a counterattack, but we knocked him out! Aha!" Mortensen almost danced with joy.The reason why he is happy is not only the two-goal lead, but from the point of view of the scene, England is completely dominant.

However, after a short period of excitement, everyone couldn't restrain such a thought in their minds:
Over the past 48 years, England and Sweden have also encountered such a situation, but in the end it is still the English who are unlucky.Will this time be no exception?Somewhere, it seems as if a pair of big hands are playing with the fate of England at will, wanting to win against Sweden? No.90 minutes I can let Sweden equalize the score!

This time, can Tony Twain's team defeat the hands of fate?

※ ※ ※

After Dunn and the people around him celebrated Mitchell's goal, they turned their heads and glanced at the bench. He found that George Wood had also just finished celebrating.So he walked over.

"George."

Wood looked back at him.

"Go to warm up, 5 minutes." After saying this, Tang En turned and walked away.

Wood heard this sentence clearly, he didn't hesitate at all, and he didn't stand still and cheer three times, he directly grabbed the training vest thrown on the seat, put it on, and ran to warm up.

Five minutes later, Wood returned to Tang En, waiting for Tang En's latest instructions.

"Sweden conceded two goals." Tang En said to Wood, "They will definitely attack with all their strength in the next 10 minutes and strive for goals. I need you to go up and stabilize the midfield defense for me now."

Wood nodded.

"When you go up, replace Gerrard. Guard Zlatan Ibrahimovic."

"Okay." Wood continued to nod.

After assigning the task, Tang En took a look at Wood's right toe.

Wood noticed Tang En's action, and he jumped on tiptoe: "I'm fine."

Having been spotted, Tang En grinned a little embarrassedly.

"Come on, George."

All fears dissipated when the England fans and commentators saw George Wood standing next to the fourth official, apparently waiting to come on.

England's patron saint, St George, is at it again, so there's nothing to worry about.

Gerrard saw the order for substitutions on the field. After he and his teammates clapped hands, he dawdled off the field.He didn't have any objection to Tang En's arrangement, he just used this substitution to delay a little more time.

Sure enough, the Swedes were very dissatisfied with Gerrard's dilly-dallying attitude, and raised their hands to protest to the referee.But it's only 10 minutes now, and there is still half an hour left for the Swedes, and the referee can only turn a blind eye.

Gerrard, who walked to the sidelines, still stood there with his hands raised, applauding the England fans in the stands, and then he hugged and handed over to Wood.

When Wood stepped onto the pitch, the England fans, who were already cheering, let out an even louder cheer.

Amid the deafening cheers, John Mortensen's passionate voice sounded: "Let us welcome England's captain—George Wood!!"

"Saint George bless England—!!"

As if it had been arranged in advance, the fans in the stands shouted in unison as soon as he finished speaking.

Wood heard the shouts, and he raised his hands to answer the cheers.As a result, the sound was louder.

Amidst the cheers resounding through the sky, Lagerbeck's face was very ugly.Of course he knew why Dunn replaced George Wood at this time.Just like he replaced Wood in the last 10 minutes of the game against Germany, and finally kept the 2:1 victory.

It seemed that with half an hour left in the game, Tony Twain was planning to keep the advantage of these two goals.

(End of this chapter)