Chapter 152 No One Can Guard Against Tang when He Is Serious
Trippier's free kick was England's ninth goal from a set piece in this World Cup, making them the team with the most goals from a set piece in the history of the World Cup.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch—"
The England fans in the stands were very excited and made a huge roar like a mountain and a tsunami, with each wave getting louder than the other.
However, the depressed Chinese fans quickly returned to normal. They burst out with huge waves of loud cheers during the offensive of the Chinese team, which had a kick-off advantage, cheering for the Chinese team that was lagging behind.
Central 5 commentator He Wei said when the Chinese team organized the attack: "Being behind in the score only means that what we did before was not good enough. As long as we do well enough in the next game and the defense is impregnable, are we afraid that the offense will not make any achievements?"
"That's right! I believe that after experiencing the amazing victory in the 1/8 finals and the thrilling performance in the quarter finals, I think there is no difficulty that can affect this Chinese team to go further! It is undeniable that our overall strength is inferior to England, but Don’t forget that the biggest feature of football matches is that they are full of uncertainty. South Korea can beat the defending champion Germany 2:0, so why can’t we beat England?”
Guest commentator Xu Yang shouted passionately.
Tang Zheng was in a good position and actively participated in the attack, but Tang Zheng, who was worried about England's quick counterattack, did not dare to press too hard. He was afraid that the partnership of Li Kui and He Chao would not be able to solve the defensive pressure caused by the team's transition from offense to defense.
As the captain, Tang Zheng must think carefully.
In this game, head coach Lippi was suspended due to a red card, and tactical adjustments were much slower than in England. Therefore, what Tang Zheng had to do was to ensure that the tactics arranged by head coach Lippi before the game could be executed smoothly.
Being behind by one goal is not terrible, after all, there is still plenty of time.
The Chinese team's offense was very cautious under the deliberate control of Tang Zheng. Central 5 commentator He Wei said solemnly: "Captain Tang Zheng's approach is very reasonable. The game has only started less than ten minutes, and there is still plenty of time to go forward." To equalize the score and launch an attack quickly if the score is behind, it is very likely that the result will not be a goal, but a goal lost!"
"What Hevey said is right. This England team is not as star-studded as the England team from 12 years ago, but it is precisely because of this that they have unified thinking and tacit understanding to reach the semi-finals of this World Cup. Therefore, it is very important that Tang Zheng chooses to wait for the opportunity. Correctly, scoring goals must be based on defense and not conceding the ball, otherwise everything will be in vain.”
Park Jung-tae, commentator of South Korea's SBS Sports TV station, sarcastically said: "The Chinese team, which relied on luck to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, really lacks courage. It is not as brave as our national team. The defending champion Germany team was defeated by us. The Chinese team can advance. The top four are really lucky!"
Ten minutes into the game, the Chinese team only got one shot that hit the goal.
Lu Liang broke through Trippier and club teammate Henderson on the left, then played a one-two with Sun Jingbo in front of the top of the penalty area, and completed a ground-breaking kick before Maguire came out to block it. The football rolled quickly against the turf towards the lower right corner of the goal. England goalkeeper Pickford got down quickly and grabbed the football tightly in his hand.
"Oh oh oh——"
Tang Zheng received Lu Liang's corner kick in the 14th minute and forced Pickford to make a world-class save, so much so that the English fans at the Luzhniki Stadium subconsciously burst out with frightened exclamations.
British Sky commentator Andy Gray said: "England's corner kick defense is too relaxed this time. How could it give Tang such an easy opportunity to compete for the top? If Jordan Pickford hadn't reacted quickly, the Chinese team might have equalized. score!"
"Old man, you can't blame the English players." Martin Taylor laughed: "It can only be said that the Don they faced was too powerful."
Andy Gray shook his head,
If the Chinese team does not have Tang Zheng, the Chinese team will have no way to advance to the semi-finals. In other words, the Chinese team's World Cup semi-finals are almost relying on Tang Zheng's own efforts. It is also true that even if England is stronger overall, it will not be able to easily Eaten the Chinese team to advance to the World Cup finals.
A one-goal lead is the most unsafe score in the world. No one knows when Tang Zheng will break out.
Therefore, Andy Gray said in a deep voice: "A player of Tang's level cannot be frozen. We can only interrupt his offensive rhythm as much as possible, and maintain 100% concentration on the game..."
The game reached twenty minutes with Andy Gray and Martin Taylor chatting. The England team, which was leading the score, regained possession of the ball under the deliberate control of the Chinese team's rhythm, creating wave after wave of threats to Zeng Cheng. The offense that guards the goal.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"
The English fans at the Luzhniki Stadium were very excited, as if they had seen the second goal of the game.
A two-goal lead is much safer than a one-goal lead. After all, the Chinese team has captain Tang Zheng in charge.
As the undisputed number one player in today's world football, his ability is something that any opponent is afraid of.
Only by making the game as suspenseful as possible can England ensure that it reaches the World Cup final again after fifty-two years.
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In the blink of an eye, the game came to thirty minutes. Although the pace of the game was slow, it did not affect the fanatical atmosphere of the Luzhniki Stadium.
Whether they are Chinese fans, English fans, or neutral fans, they are all licking their bricks and mortar for the fanatical atmosphere of the last semi-final of the World Cup in Russia.
England head coach Southgate's facial expression is much calmer than during the start of the game. Although Lingard, Alli and Sterling are not in their best condition, England is still leading the score and still has the initiative in the game.
In addition, so far in the game, the Chinese team has almost no shots that threaten Pickford's goal.
In view of the successful strategy of the past half hour, Southgate decided to continue to let the team strengthen the ball-taking and organization of Tang Zheng, causing the Chinese team's offense to fail.
The Chinese team's offense has never been able to pose a threat to Pickford's goal. Tang Zheng's restriction was the biggest factor. Therefore, as the captain, Tang Zheng observed the deficiencies of England's defense through constant running and thinking.
Head coach Lippi was in the stands, and the tactics he conveyed obviously couldn't keep up with the ever-changing game, so he could only detect England's deficiencies through his extraordinary ability to read the game, and then deliver a fatal blow.
A common problem with the three-center-back system is the deficiency of the two ribs. However, due to the limited number of people participating in the attack of the Chinese team, even if the loopholes in the two ribs are exposed, they can rely on the numerical advantage to avert the danger.
In this case, one can only rely on adaptability and wait for England to take the initiative to expose defensive problems.
The defensive problems were exposed mainly in the transition from offense to defense, so the Chinese team led by Tang Zheng gave up the initiative in the game and waited for England to make mistakes.
But until the end of the first half, England's defensive weaknesses were not exposed.
"Beep~"
With the long whistle of the referee Cakir, the first half of the last semi-final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia came to an end. England led the Chinese team 1:0 with Trippier's direct free kick in the fifth minute.
Players from both sides of the match walked toward the tunnel one after another. The English players who appeared on the broadcast screen were generally smiling, while the Chinese players were full of uneasiness. However, captains Tang Zheng and Lu Liang were not. Their expressions were relatively relaxed, and they communicated through body and language from time to time. half game.
Central 5 commentator He Wei said with relative regret: "At the end of the first half, the Chinese team trailed England 0:1. In the limited opportunities, they did not pose a threat to Pickford's goal. I hope they can strengthen their offense in the second half. , although there is not much inevitable connection between scoring goals and strengthening the offense, if there is no support from the number of attacks, it will be difficult to equalize the score. There are only the last 45 minutes left and there are 15 minutes of intermission. I hope Lippi’s guidance can be effective. Ways to solve some problems in the Chinese team's offense..."
"The Chinese team played too conservatively in the 45 minutes of the first half, and the number of people participating in the attack was limited. However, considering that Lippi was not on the coaching bench, the tactical adjustment was much slower than that of England. However, the game time is limited. I hope the Chinese team can take advantage of it." Use the fifteen minutes of the halftime break and try to equalize the score at the beginning of the second half, otherwise we will most likely lose the opportunity to create better results for Asian teams in the World Cup!"
Commentator Xu Yang said.
Not long after, assistant coach Li Tie closed the door to the locker room, and the loud shouts like a tsunami suddenly stopped. The players who were adjusting their breathing focused entirely on the acting head coach Madaloni.
In other words, their attention was on the tablet Madaloni was holding.
Just like the final preparations before the start of the game, head coach Lippi, who was unable to appear in the locker room, used modern high-tech means to explain the game tactics and possible changes in the second half to the Chinese players in the locker room.
Finally, Lippi named Tang Zheng and said in a deep voice: "Tang, you should be more bold in participating in the offense in the second half. Defense can only solve the problem of defense and will never be able to score goals. You are the captain and your responsibility is important, but what we need now is It’s a goal, and you…are our hope.”
Lippi's words were very direct. The other Chinese players didn't feel any discomfort when they heard it, but they felt it made sense.
From the group stage to now, the Chinese team has only scored nine goals in total. Tang Zheng directly contributed six goals and two assists. The remaining goals also came from Tang Zheng's planning, which means that all the Chinese team's goals The goals scored are directly related to Tang Zheng.
It can be seen that Tang Zheng needs to be more involved in scoring goals for the Chinese team. This is why Southgate's England team focused on limiting the contact between Tang Zheng and other Chinese players in the first half, even if they were far away from the midfield.
In the first half, except for Tang Zheng, he rarely participated in the offense, which was directly related to Southgate's targeted deployment before the game.
No matter when and where, as long as the English players who are active near Tang Zheng should focus on him, they should not give Tang Zheng a chance to pass the ball forward, and at the same time try to bring resistance to Tang Zheng's passing and receiving or disrupt the rhythm as much as possible.
Tang Zheng nodded lightly and naturally clenched his fists to encourage himself.
Falling behind means there is no way out!
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The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly, and players from both sides returned to the Luzhniki Stadium one after another.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch—"
Huge chants grew louder and louder at the Luzhniki Stadium where empty seats could clearly be seen.
Chinese fans, English fans, and neutral fans all spared no effort to cheer for the players on the court.
In addition to neutral fans who hope that the second half of the game will be more aggressive, Chinese fans and English fans hope that the national team they support can score goals, equalize the score, and expand the score.
Before the start of the second half of the game, the on-site director specially gave a close-up shot of Tang Zheng and Harry Kane.
The meaning of this picture is very obvious. The performance of Tang Zheng and Harry Kane in the first half was very average, not as dazzling as the previous five games. Otherwise, the current score would not be England's 1:0 lead.
Therefore, the on-site director hopes that Tang Zheng and Harry Kane will show their best performance in the second half of the game and help the team score goals.
After all, whoever scores a goal in this game also means who can win the Golden Boot of this World Cup.
The Chinese team, which had a kick-off advantage, quickly organized a threatening attack, and finally Tang Zheng completed a powerful long-range shot in the middle.
"Beautiful cum! Wonderful thrust!!"
Tang Zheng received Lu Liang's pass and passed it, and finished a long shot before Henderson could cover up. Pickford was very focused and slightly lifted the football up with one palm, which was exactly what happened. With such a push, the football was higher than the crossbar, and CCTV 5 commentator He Wei shouted.
"It's a pity!" Commentator Xu Yang said: "But the second half has just begun. I believe that Tang Zheng's condition will get better and better, and then lead the Chinese team to equalize the score and defeat the more powerful England, creating the best Asian team in the World Cup. score!"
The Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV all cheered for Tang Zheng's wonderful performance, as if they had already seen Tang Zheng lead the Chinese team to defeat England.
The second half had just begun, and Tang Zheng showed excellent competitive form. Before Lu Liang took a corner kick, England head coach Southgate came to the sidelines and shouted to captain Harry Kane: "Tell them! Don't give Tang anything." Opportunity! Remember, don’t give any chance!”
Harry Kane nodded lightly, and while running towards the penalty area, he also passed on to his teammates the latest tactical thinking of coach Southgate.
But despite this, Tang Zheng still managed to grab the spot amid the markings of Harry Kane and Maguire.
It's just that the crosshair was not adjusted properly and it rubbed against the outer edge of the right goal post.
Tang Zheng's two consecutive shots were very threatening, making the Chinese fans at the Luzhniki Stadium more and more excited, creating waves of loud cheers.
Tang Zheng felt a little regretful that he didn't help the team score a goal, but he was more encouraging himself and must seize the next opportunity!
Two minutes later, Tang Zheng used his excellent foot skills to pass Trippier, Alli and Lingard, and completed a very high-quality long shot before Henderson could defend. England goalkeeper Pickford even gave up. He resisted, but the football hit the outside of the right goal post and went out of the baseline.
"Ouch~" German Sky commentator Marcel Leif shouted: "Don told everyone that no one can guard against him when he is serious!"