Chapter 623: Opponent England
With Portugal defeating Croatia 1:0, the top four teams of this World Cup have all been decided, and the semi-finals have also come to a conclusion, with France VS Belgium in the upper half and Portugal VS England in the lower half.
Whether it is Portugal or England, these opponents are very familiar with each other's players, because many Portuguese players play in the Premier League or have played for Premier League teams.
Because of the familiarity, everyone knows that the opponent is a very difficult opponent.
On the evening of July 11, Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
World Cup semi-finals, Portugal vs. England.
A day ago, the French team finally defeated Belgium 1:0 and took the lead in entering the final of this World Cup, waiting for Portugal and England.
After winning the game, Mbappe called Bruno and Kane respectively, showing off to the two, saying that if Bruno or Kane advances to the final, he will not show mercy in the game and will have a good fight with them.
In this game, both coaches sent out their main players.
On the England side, Southgate fielded his usual 352 formation, with Pickford as the goalkeeper, Kyle Walker, Maguire and Stones as the three defenders; the five midfielders from right to left were Trippier, Lingard, Henderson, Ali, Ashley Young, and the two forwards were Harry Kane and Sterling.
On the Portugal side, Santos once again made a major adjustment to the team's lineup, fielding a 4321 Christmas tree formation, with Patricio as the goalkeeper, Cancelo, Pepe, Fonte and Guerrero as the four defenders, Joao Mario, Moutinho and William Carvalho as the three back midfielders, Bruno and Bernardo Silva as the two front midfielders, and Ronaldo as the single arrow forward.
For Santos and Portugal, this is a brand new attempt, after all, they have never played such a formation before.
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Not long after the game started, the Portuguese team suffered a heavy blow: in the 3rd minute, they lost the ball!
At that time, Joao Mario committed a foul, giving England a free kick in an excellent position. Trippier's penalty shot fell and hit the net, Portugal 0:1 England!
"Oh oh oh! What a wonderful start! England took the lead just 3 minutes into the game! Great!" England's commentator Andy Gray shouted, "It looks like they will win this game easily! Portugal, who tried a new formation, obviously couldn't stop England! After the game, Santos will definitely be bombarded by Portuguese fans and the media!"
After losing the ball, the Portuguese players looked very frustrated. Losing the ball too quickly was very demoralizing.
Santos sat in the coaching seat without any expression. When deciding to play against England in a new formation, Santos was mentally prepared to lose the ball.
Although the 4321 Christmas tree formation is balanced in offense and defense, it has a large number of players in the midfield, which can occupy the number advantage in the middle of the midfield, which is conducive to controlling the ball and organizing the offense. This helps to reduce defensive pressure and enhance the team's control in the midfield. But its disadvantage is also very obvious, that is, there may be loopholes on the wing. This time, England's goal was a free kick obtained through the wing attack.
Bruno cursed on the court: "Damn..."
From the 3-minute game, because this is a brand-new formation, the original tacit understanding between the players was disrupted. The free kick England got just now was because of the problem with the pass, and Joao Mario had no choice but to choose to foul.
It is really difficult to win if you play like this!
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"The start is not good for Portugal. Portugal tried a new formation today. I don't know what Santos is thinking. Does he want to catch England by surprise? But for the time being, it seems that the Portuguese were played by their own surprise!"
While the English players were celebrating, Bruno called Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo and Joao Mario, Remoutinho and William Carvalho together.
These are all the offensive players of Portugal on the field. Although Ronaldo is the captain of the team and often does some morale-boosting actions on the field, he is not good at tactics. When encountering such a problem, either the team coach Santos will make adjustments, or Bruno.
Bruno said to Bernardo Silva: "We should simplify some offensive cooperation. If there is a chance, pass the ball quickly."
Bernardo Silva's skills are too good, so it is easy for him to show off his footwork habitually, resulting in the loss of some good passing opportunities. This may be the difference between players with good skills and players with average skills.
Of course, Bruno is an exception. His skills are also very good, but he never sticks the football under his feet to do a few tricks before passing the football. As long as he sees the right time, the football will be passed immediately by him.
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If someone else said this to Bernardo Silva, he would definitely frown and push back. But it worked well for Bruno, and Bernardo Silva nodded without objection.
"Cristiano has a body that can protect the ball. We should cooperate with him. Once he gets the ball, everyone should actively step forward to support him." Bruno told everyone his plan. No one objected.
"Cristiano, you also need to pay attention to our position."
Cristiano nodded.
Although he has the experience to face various situations, today's game is different. This is the World Cup semi-finals. It is related to whether he can enter the finals. Ronaldo can't help but feel a little nervous.
For the 33-year-old, today's World Cup semi-final is likely to be the last World Cup semi-final of his career.
After all, in the World Cup in Qatar four years later, he is already almost 38, and it is still unknown whether he will be able to play by then.
"If the opportunity is better, you can hit the goal yourself instead of passing the ball. You are a center forward!"
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The English players have finished celebrating, and the impromptu meeting of the Portuguese offensive players has also ended.
Bruno returned to his position, and then he turned around and gestured to the two full-backs behind him, who actively intervened when the team attacked.
We are already behind anyway, and there is no point in holding on any longer. This is not a Champions League game, with a home and away game. The World Cup is a single-elimination tournament, and losing this game means losing the entire game.
"We have no choice, let's attack!" Bruno clapped his hands and shouted to the people behind him.
After the game restarted, the Portuguese team obviously stepped up its attack. England did not back down and started fighting with the Portuguese team. The scene was very beautiful for a while.
First, Ali passed three people and broke into the penalty area, but was stopped by the defender at the last moment. Then Bernardo Silva fired a shot from outside the penalty area, forcing England goalkeeper Pickford to make a wonderful save.
Then Henderson fouled Bruno and received a yellow card. As a result, Ronaldo went up with the football and took a powerful long-range shot.
His shot did not go through the wall, but hit Ali directly in the wall. Ali fell to the ground on the spot after being beaten, and the team doctor went to the scene and struggled for a while before he recovered.
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Near the end of the first half, Bruno suddenly pulled to the wing. After a series of wonderful passes, he pushed the ball diagonally into the penalty area. Ronaldo broke out from between the defenders, received the ball, and faced the goalkeeper directly!
"This is Portugal's best chance in the first half! Cristiano's single shot! His shot - missed! What a pity..."
Ronaldo seemed a little less confident when facing the attacking goalkeeper Pickford, and his shot missed. The football was thrown out of the goal, which is a pity. He himself put his head in his hands and was very depressed.
Not long after this shot, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
Portugal was temporarily one goal behind England in the first half.
Santos did not criticize anyone at halftime. On the contrary, he was satisfied with the team's performance in the first half.
"We were only one goal behind and we had a chance in the second half. As long as you have enough patience."
Regarding Ronaldo's missed opportunity at the end of the first half, Santos didn't say much, but just told Ronaldo that he should have more confidence when facing such opportunities in the future.
The team's performance in the first half was indeed good. Although they were trying a new formation, they were able to quickly adjust their mentality after losing the ball and tied with England. Santos has nothing to adjust, just let the players continue to perform like this.
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After the start of the second half, the England team wanted to take the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, score another goal, and completely destroy the Portuguese team's fighting spirit.
Portuguese players certainly know this. If they concede another goal, the game won't be played.
In such a major game as the World Cup semi-finals, the two teams were of equal strength. The two-goal difference was enough to destroy the Portuguese team, so they could not concede a goal under any circumstances.
The Portuguese team then defended the penalty area, and even Ronaldo consciously retreated into the penalty area to help defend.
Fifteen minutes passed without England scoring, and the Portuguese team began to plan a counterattack.
In the 67th minute, the Portuguese team attacked. Bruno handed the ball to Bernardo Silva in front. Bernardo Silva did not continue to dribble. He saw the right moment and passed the ball to Ronaldo, who was running in front.
Ronaldo takes the ball with his back. England defender Maguire pushed against him to prevent him from turning around. But he couldn't easily steal the ball from Ronaldo's feet.
This is the special role of Ronaldo in the Portuguese team. It can be said that in the entire Portuguese team, Ronaldo is the only one who can play the fulcrum role in the frontcourt.
After Ronaldo protected the ball, he waited for his teammates to come up and pick him up.