Chapter 462: Win Ireland, draw Italy, lose Belgium?

Author: Ant who watches football ruthlessly

Chapter 462: Win Ireland, draw Italy, lose Belgium?

At midnight on June 11, the 2016 European Cup in France finally begins!

Amid the loud cheers of "La Marseillaise" in the audience, the host France team walked to the Stade de France to face the challenge of Romania.

In this game, the French team could not use all its main players. Giroud stepped forward, Payet and Griezmann flew on both wings, Pogba, Kante and Matuidi formed a three-midfielder, Lamy and Koscielny

Guarding the defensive line, Evra and Sagna were on the left and right, and Lori guarded the door.

It can be said that in terms of lineup, France's fault is better than the fault.

But in this game, the French team encountered strong resistance from the Romanian team.

Playing until the 58th minute of the eastern half, Payet made a left-footed pass from the right. Giroud shook his head in front of Tatarusanu and broke the net, 1-0!

This was the first goal of this European Cup, and it was also the 18th goal Giroud scored in his 50th appearance for the French team.

But in the 65th minute, Evra fouled Stanciu with his left foot outside the penalty area. The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick. Stancu calmly took the penalty and shot low into the right east corner to break the net. The score became 1-1!

It was the first penalty kick in this European Cup, and Stancu's goals for the Romanian national team reached 10.

In the 89th minute, Kanter passed the ball, and Payet choked his feet in the penalty area and made a beautiful world wave. The ball flew into the door and left the blind corner like a shell, 2-1!

France completed the winning goal! Naphoupayet scored his 4th goal in his 20th appearance for the French team.

In the 91st minute, Payet was replaced by Sissoko amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of fans. Payet was moved to tears and the entire audience chanted Payet's name.

In the past, France had a good start thanks to Payet's world-beating strike!

At the same time, that difficult game also told everyone that there are no underdogs who can enter the European Cup main game!

Even if a team like Romania doesn't have well-known stars, it can still cause huge trouble to the star-studded French team!

Then there was a match between the other two teams in this group in Lens, Albania and Switzerland.

The dominant Switzerland only defeated Albania 1:0. Central defender Fabian scored a goal in the first 5 minutes, helping the team gain three points.

The following month, Sweden's warm-up match ended in a wrong leg, and Wales in Group B ushered in the first match of the European Cup. They defeated Slovakia 2:1 and achieved their first main match victory in the history of the European Cup!

Bell opened the scoring for Wales, and after being equalized in the east half, Kanu came off the bench to score!

Wales' victory also reduced the pressure on the Swedish national team.

So at first glance, Wales does not seem to be a weak force...

Well, the draw with Wales also shows that the Swedish team has made some progress under the leadership of Pan Yi.

Continuing from the east, England's 1:1 draw with Russia in Group B once again proved that there are no underdogs in the European Cup.

Even if Pan Yi's two disciples, Vardy and Harry Kane, lead the team, the English will not have a good way to defeat the Russian team, and they will be able to make peace in the end.

Compared with that dull game, something happened off the field that attracted the attention of the world media.

Then there was a conflict between fans of the two countries outside the stadium. After a heated exchange of opinions, it turned out that 200 Russian fans defeated 2,000 English fans.

That incident even shocked Russia’s biggest boss, Emperor Vladimir Putin, who said he didn’t understand the matter...

In the few games that Jie Donglai played, there were no upsets.

Croatia defeated Türkiye 1:0.

Germany 2:0 Ukraine.

Spain 1:0 Czech Republic.

Coming back from the east, it’s the turn of Group E, the match between Sweden and Ireland is about to begin!

——

"He knows that Pan Yi is a championship-level coach, and he respects him very much. But, he has also won two Champions League championships, so he is not afraid of him."

At the pre-match press conference, Martin O'Neill, the head coach of the Irish national team, said this.

If you talk about the surname "O'Neal", most people think of the NBA, that is, the Sharks, but in fact, Martin O'Neal has also gained a lot of fame in football, so he is a little older.

, many people just don’t remember it.

From 1971 to 1981, the team Martin O'Neill played for was...Nottingham Forest!

No, he was a key player for the legendary coach Clough, and he won consecutive European Cups with the team in 1978 and 1979, and finally won the English top league championship in 1978.

In 2013, Martin O'Neill became the coach of the Irish national team.

He was deeply influenced by the traditional British style of play in the 1970s and 1980s, so tomorrow's Irish team still maintains a tough style of playing high and high.

"He does not deny that he will use solid defense and sharp counterattacks to defeat the Swedish team. That is no secret."

At the beginning of his press conference, Martin O'Neill said: "Although Pan Yi has magic, there is an old saying in the Dragon Kingdom, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. With the ability of the current personnel of the Swedish team, is it impossible to play like this?

He plays smooth football like Chelsea! So, he has enough confidence to beat the Swedish team!"

When it was Pan Yi's turn, it was obvious that the reporters asked questions on a wider range of topics.

After all, Pan Yi's popularity can be said to be the highest in the world, so his news value will naturally be higher, and more people will pay attention to him.

"How do I view the recent period when the outside world has been buzzing about my leadership of the team? Will I worry about the team being affected by the outside world? For example, the morale of the players, the swimmers, and the effectiveness of preparations?"

A reporter from the British Times asked the first question, which is also an issue that most fans on the Internet are concerned about.

Pan Yi smiled faintly and looked at the camera: "He thinks those comments are normal. Anyone and any organization have the right to express their own opinions. He can just say that everyone, including him and the coaching staff, is wrong.

The preparation effect is very satisfactory. They believe that they can be in good condition for the European Cup, and he is very confident about this!"

"The Times" reporter Ma Zai asked the second question, "Speaking of the European Cup, whether Ireland suffered a wrong leg in the first game. I am very confident that their coach Martin O'Neill's wrong leg defeated them, so I am very confident."

What do you think? No, no, no, no, no, I have already decided how to fight."

This is also a question that many fans are concerned about.

Because everyone can see that, whether it is the Swedish team or not, the first game is almost a life-or-death battle.

If we lose that game and miss the next two strong teams, it will be very dangerous.

Martin O'Neill has been coaching the Irish national team for three years. Although the tactical play is relatively simple, there is an advantage in that it is easy for the players to understand and implement it.

In addition, the Irish players have always been accustomed to playing that way, so there is no need to doubt their tactical familiarity and execution ability.

On the other hand, Pan Yichen only temporarily took over the team a week or two ago, and then adjusted his lineup and playing style. At present, it seems that he has not built a stable offensive and defensive system, so that is not the case.

People are wrong and the Swedish team's biggest worry is.

Ireland is good at rushing and fast breaks. If the Swedish team's defense is not solved well, it is very likely that they will encounter a bad start in the first game.

The two group matches from the east are very dangerous, because Belgium and Italy are much stronger than Ireland!

"What he thinks about the wrong leg has nothing to do with him. But is it a good thing to have confidence? If you don't have confidence before the game, you won't be able to perform well during the game."

Pan Yi replied easily:

"He will decide the initial lineup before the game. For now, they are adjusting and practicing. It is inconvenient for him to reveal the specific playing method."

"Is Ireland's strength very good? Whether it's O'Shea or Robbie Keane, they are all famous players. Can they be players who can play an important role on the court?"

"But he has also done detailed research on them. When the time comes, there will be corresponding measures to compensate them and bring out their own characteristics."

"Many people say that he is not familiar with leading the national team, and he does not deny that. But he also knows that the European Cup is different from the club competition, and he and his coaching staff have also re-adapted and adapted accordingly.

Adjust it, I believe there won’t be any big problems!”

At this time, a reporter from Swedish Monthly asked:

"Previously, their national team was drawn into the group of death and met favorites like Belgium and Italy. Everyone thought it would be a bit difficult to qualify."

"But there are also optimistic fans who believe that we can fight hard to defeat Ireland, then draw with Italy, and initially allow a small loss to Belgium. With four points, we can qualify second in the group, or third in the group with better results."

"What do you think about such a plan? In other words, do you have the confidence to lead the team out of such a death group?"

Hearing those words, Pan Yi almost laughed out loud.

Isn't that the same qualifying routine as the Dragon Country national team in the 2002 World Cup?

I didn’t expect that people all over the world are equally ruthless.

Pan Yi held back his laughter and answered the question seriously:

"Since the group they are in is called the group of death, it is naturally very difficult to qualify, which requires them to make the greatest efforts. But such calculations are meaningless. Football has never relied on calculations.

You can win.”

"He has also been telling his players that they must strive to perform at their best level in the three group matches, instead of saying that they will lose by default when they see a strong team like Belgium. There is no starting point in his dictionary.

cowardly!"

"Of course, the three teams in their group are all teams with different styles. He also specially formulated three different tactical plans for them, and made targeted arrangements for them."

"As for what it will be like, we will know when we get there to see it."

The reporter from "Swedish Monthly" asked a new question: "Many people are asking. I have always advocated offensive football. I have always advocated offense as my football creed. So now, the Swedish team is obviously strong.

Not as good as Chelsea, the defense also has a lot of problems, will I be able to continue to stick to my football beliefs in the game?"
To be continued...