Chapter 207 Destiny?

The match against Fiorentina was the fourth time this season that Udinese defeated its opponent 3:2 in Serie A.

However, this is not the most frequent score in Udinese games this season. The 2:1 score ranks first, with as many as 9 games.

Coupled with 4 1:0 games, Udinese has defeated its opponents by a goal difference this season for a whopping 17 games.

Udinese's wins in Serie A are only 24 games!

In fact, among the remaining 7 wins, only one of Udinese's wins was a three-goal victory, and in the remaining 6 games, Udinese only won by 2 goals.

So many small wins and narrow wins show that, on the one hand, there is not much difference in strength between Udinese and its opponents, and the game is very anxious. On the other hand, it also shows Udinese's tenacity in facing difficult situations. They always win. Be able to become the ultimate winner.

Of course, many times when such a situation occurs, there is also a factor of luck.

This situation also makes Juventus fans very unwilling to see Udinese lead Serie A with 10 points, because judging from the game scene, Juventus undoubtedly has the advantage.

In many games, Juventus suppresses its opponents.

This also makes it easier for Juventus to win big-scoring games against its opponents. They have already won 4 games by 3 goals, including classics such as a 7:0 bloodbath at Parma and a 4:0 massacre of Verona. war.

More big-score wins also put Juventus far ahead in goal difference. After 28 league rounds, Juventus's goal difference is as high as 38 goals, while Udinese only has 29 goals.

The goal difference is 9 more than Udinese, but the points are 10 points less than Udinese. How can this make Juventus fans not feel depressed?

………………

No matter how depressed and unwilling Juventus fans are, at this point in the season, even Juventus fans know very well that Juventus is in doom and gloom in Serie A this season. Udinese’s victory in Serie A is just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time.

After defeating Fiorentina, football entered the international match day, and Serie A will usher in a two-week suspension period.

After the game, Bruno also returned to Portugal with Cancelo to prepare for the upcoming European Cup qualifiers.

With his recent outstanding performance at Udinese, Cancelo finally received a call-up to the Portuguese national team.

During this international match day, the Portuguese national team has two matches, namely the fourth round of the European Cup qualifiers, where they will face Serbia at home.

Then there was the warm-up match against the underdog Cape Verde.

In the match against Serbia, Bruno started without any surprise, but Cancelo was temporarily on the bench.

Bruno still knows a lot of people in Serbia. For example, Chelsea's defense core Matic and Jovanovic, as well as last season's Udinese teammate Dusan Basta.

In addition, people like Nastasic who once played for Manchester City and now transferred to Schalke 04, as well as Manchester City defender Kolarov, Southampton forward Tadic, Ljajic who played for Roma and others, Bruno is also Very familiar.

It can be said that this Serbian team is still very strong.

However, in the game, Serbia's performance was very poor. In addition to the game that was ruled 0:3 due to fans causing trouble, they also only had 1 draw and 1 loss in the other two games, which were a 1:1 draw with Armenia and a 1:3 loss to Denmark at home. .

This also puts them at the bottom of the Group I standings.

………………

Due to the outstanding performance of the Portuguese national team in the European Cup qualifiers, they also defeated two strong enemies, France and Argentina, in the warm-up match. Therefore, the fans were very satisfied with the team's performance, and the tickets for this game were sold out early. , Lisbon’s Stadium of Light, which accommodates 64,000 people, was also completely full.

Amid the cheers of more than 60,000 home fans, the Portuguese national team launched a fierce attack on Serbia's goal from the beginning of the game, with the attitude of swallowing up the opponent in one bite.

The aggressive Portugal scored in the 10th minute of the game.

At that time, Portugal launched a quick counterattack. Eliseu's breakthrough on the left was destroyed by Basta, and Portugal got the first corner kick of the game.

Bruno took a tactical corner kick and then received a pass from his teammate with his left foot. The unmarked Carvalho scored with his head 8 meters in front of the goal. He scored for the Portuguese national team again after eight years.

But Carvalho was replaced due to injury shortly afterwards, which was definitely not good news for Portugal. Because Pepe was absent due to injury before the game, and now Carvalho is injured again, Portugal has lost their main center back partner.

………………

Serbia also realized Portugal's weakness in the defense and began to strengthen its attack in order to equalize the score.

However, the goal Serbia was looking forward to has not yet arrived, and their city was once again lost.

In the 31st minute, the Portuguese midfielder intercepted the ball and launched a quick counterattack. Ronaldo broke through from the left and passed the ball in front of the goal. Bruno followed up in the middle and scored from close range.

Subsequently, the game entered a deadlock, and Portugal, which was leading by two goals, began to recycle its formation and wait for work. Serbia was afraid of Portugal's quick counterattack and did not dare to press forward again.

When the first half ended, the score was still 2:0.

After the start of the second half, Serbia, which was lagging behind, took the initiative to strengthen its offensive power. Portugal continued to hold on, waiting for opportunities to counterattack Serbia.

Serbia's strength is still good. After a strong attack, they regained a victory in the 61st minute. Kolarov took a corner kick from the left, and Petrovic headed the penalty kick. Matic hooked his left foot into the far corner from a small angle 5 meters away from the goal, scoring his first goal for the Serbian national team. .

This goal stimulated Serbia's offensive enthusiasm. They continued to take the offensive, hoping to take advantage of the momentum to score another goal and equalize the score.

However, just 2 minutes later, Portugal once again used a quick counterattack to expand the lead to 2 goals. Ronaldo blocked the gap on the right, Bruno passed the ball with a curve, and Coentrao shot into the net with his left foot 3 meters away from the back post.

Subsequently, both sides continued to mobilize their troops, Djuricic replaced Markovic; Quaresma replaced Coentrao; Tosic replaced Tadic; William replaced Danny.

However, until the end of the game, the score still stayed at 3:1. Portugal has also won 4 consecutive games and leads the Group I standings with 12 points.

The second-ranked team is still Albania. This Balkan team, which was initially considered to be weak in Group I, performed surprisingly well. It achieved 3 wins and 1 loss in the first four rounds. After losing to Portugal 1:3 in the first round, it defeated Denmark consecutively. , Serbia and Armenia, beating Denmark with 6 points with 9 points after half-way.

………………

Two days later, Portugal moved to Estoril and played a friendly match with Cape Verde, who was invited.

This game is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Portuguese Football Association. Cape Verde was chosen because of its close relationship with Portugal. Cape Verde is known as "Portugal in Africa".

Although the Cape Verde football team is not well-known, it is ranked 38th in the world. It has certain strength and has the ability to create some threats to Portugal.

Portugal just played a European Cup qualifier two days ago and will play this game only one day later. In addition, this game is of little significance to the main Portuguese players. They are definitely not willing to play such a warm-up match again. If they are forced to participate, the clubs where Ronaldo, Bruno and others belong will also protest.

Portugal head coach Santos is considerate. In addition to the 24-man roster for the European Cup qualifiers, he has drafted an 11-man roster. These 11 people are basically young players playing in the Portuguese Super League. In addition, he has also recruited 3 Portuguese players. U21 players, the roster for this game will be these 14 people plus some of the 24-man roster for the European Cup qualifiers.

In fact, this was the case. During the game, Santos rotated all 11 players. On the one hand, it is to let the main players rest, and on the other hand, it also means to inspect young players for the Portuguese national team.

However, the result of the game surprised everyone: Portugal fell behind 0:2 at halftime!

When Portugal stepped up its attack in the second half, it suffered another heavy blow. Pinto brought down a Cape Verdean player at the edge of his penalty area and was sent off by the referee with a red card.

In the end, the Portuguese second team led by young people lost the game 0:2 at home.

………………

Although he suffered a defeat in the Portuguese national team, it had nothing to do with Bruno, because he sat on the bench like Ronaldo and other main players throughout the game.

At the end of the international break, Bruno, who had recuperated his energy, returned to Udine.

In the 29th round of Serie A on the afternoon of April 4, Udinese challenged Genoa as a guest.

In the first half of the game, Genoa defeated Udinese 4:3 at the Friuli Stadium, so Udinese came into this game with revenge in mind.

Of course, Udinese is more concerned about defeating their opponents in order to maintain their advantage in the standings and secure the Serie A championship as soon as possible.

Genoa has performed very well this season. They have achieved 10 wins, 10 draws and 8 losses in the previous 28 rounds. They are currently ranked 7th in Serie A with 40 points and are hopeful of entering the European competition.

In the away game, Udinese's game did not go well. Affected by the FIFA virus, most Udinese players were very tired.

Genoa, playing at home, took the lead in the 19th minute. Tino Costa passed the ball and De Maio scored.

Udinese did not equalize until the 68th minute when substitute Tero received a cross from Salah in front of the goal.

When the game progressed to the 92nd minute, Udinese's second goal arrived. Salah broke through from the right and passed in. Taylor headed the ball in the penalty area. Bruno took the lead before his opponent cleared the ball. The ball hit the goal.

Udinese defeated its opponent 2:1 in Serie A for the tenth time this season!