Author: Ant who watches football ruthlessly

If there are 16 teams, there will be a period for the top two teams in each group to qualify. Winning two games does not guarantee early advancement from the group.

Because there is such a situation, there are three teams that cannot win two games and lose one, and the other unlucky team cannot lose three games.

Then, the three teams need to look at the goal difference to determine the top two in the group.

That kind of situation is rare, but it has never happened in the World Series.

In the 12th World Cup in 1982, Algeria, West Germany, and Austria in Group B all had 2 wins and 1 loss. Algeria was eliminated in third place due to a low goal difference.

A similar situation actually occurred in the Champions League.

If the Champions League group stage is a double round-robin, multiply the score by two. In the 2013-14 Champions League group stage, Arsenal, Naples and Dortmund all had 4 wins, 2 losses and 12 points. In the end, Napoli was eliminated in third place.

But in that European Cup, the third place in the group with the best results could qualify, so the Swedish team can say that it has entered the top 16 in advance!

After all, it’s not uncommon for a 6-point third place finisher to appear in a group, let alone five or more 6-point third place finishers...

"That somewhat surprising victory allowed the Swedish team to get 3 points, allowing them to become the first team to qualify in the group of death."

“In that game, Italy’s performance was indeed a bit disappointing. They defeated the favorites Belgium in the first game, which made everyone look at the Italian team and think they could be better in that cup.

performance."

"But the fact is that the Italian team was not too impressive in front of the Swedish team. On the contrary, the Swedish team showed convincing strength for the second consecutive game."

"In other words, the overall performance of Ru Ming's Swedish team was even better than when they played Ireland in the first game. Their offense and defense were also relaxed and they always controlled the game situation steadily. Considering the strength of the Italian team,

Better than Ireland, such a performance is indeed a bit surprising."

"If it depends on that one game alone, the Swedish team can even let people see their unlimited cocoa. After all, no other team can beat the Italian team in such a mess!"

"Of course, if the Swedish team wants to go further in that European Cup, it will undoubtedly require them to maintain that state for a longer time, which will also test Pan Yi's ability to compete in a tournament system.

Overall control and capability.”

"But now the Swedish team that missed Pan Yi has a very favorable situation. That is, they have qualified early, which also made the Swedish team miss Belgium in the last round, making it a less demanding game. Pan Yi

We can also take the opportunity to rest more main players in order to prepare for the more brutal knockout matches."

"This is very important. Because whether it is the European Cup or the World Cup, the schedule is actually very intensive. Such a chance to rest is really rare!..."

Thanks to the slightly excited commentator, the Swedish players on the court were already celebrating excitedly.

Before the start of the European Cup, almost everyone was not optimistic about Sweden, thinking that they would be eliminated at the bottom of the group. Even after Pan Yi took over, that view did not change much;

This also caused the Swedish national team to hold back a lot of anger in the East.

Now, they have qualified ahead of schedule!

Two consecutive wins, in that group of death!

Therefore, the aggrieved emotions before could finally be vented properly, which made the Swedish international players very excited.

On the other hand, the players of the Italian team competing in the same field all had their heads lowered and looked very depressed.

Originally, they were not thinking about the team that could qualify early!

But since they lost to the Swedish team, they have to fight against Ireland in the last round of the game, which is actually not that sure.

After all, the Italian tradition is that when you are strong, you are not weak, and when you are weak, you are not strong. When I think he is strong, he is weak. When I think he is very weak, he will show his strength to me...

"Congratulations, boss!" De Sciglio saw Pan Yi walking towards him, and his face immediately showed an indescribable stiff smile.

On the one hand, it's because Italy lost, and on the other hand, it's because he didn't even get a chance to play for one minute in the losing Italian team!

That also shows that after Pan Yi left Milan, De Sciglio's career development was not as smooth as he expected.

It cannot be said that it is very bad - after all, he can be selected for the Italian national team, but it is definitely not a big success.

Generally speaking, he is just a qualified player in the five major leagues, nothing more.

"Wish me good luck too!" Pan Yi patted De Sciglio on the shoulder to express comfort.

The master leads you in, and practice depends on yourself.

De Sciglio's future depends on himself.

Very good, he will only be 23 next year and has a good chance to improve...

——

The post-match press conference was packed with people.

Reporters and media from all over the world gathered there. They were all waiting for the head coaches of both sides to appear, hoping that they would be able to comment on that game, especially Pan Yi.

Conte played first, but he lost the game tomorrow and was obviously not in a good mood.

After briefly answering a few reporters' questions, he left the venue in a hurry.

When Pan Yi appeared, the atmosphere at the scene reached a climax.

Obviously, this is not only because of Pan Yi's reputation as the world's number one coach, but also because of the two games he led the Swedish team.

Especially if Italy can be suppressed like that tomorrow and make Conte's team play so uncomfortable, this fully reflects the fighting power of the Swedish team.

It can be said that after that game, anyone who criticizes Pan Yi and his Swedish team is really lying.

After all, can it be the first team to qualify for this European Cup!

"Mr. Pan Yi, how do I view that victory?" A reporter was the first to raise his leg and ask.

"It was a very difficult game. Italy was very strong and posed a lot of threats to them, but if they won the game before, it was very important that the victory belonged to everyone and the whole team."

Pan Yi's answer was very formal, which also gave Conte enough face.

Another reporter stood up: "Mr. Pan Yi, which player in the Swedish team do I think will perform best tomorrow?"

Pan Yi said with a smile: "Everyone performed very well. Ibrahimovic and Isaac who scored goals for them are of course very good, but he especially wants to praise Victor Lindelof tomorrow. He completely defended the number one player on the wrong side.

Pelle, he thinks he has the potential to play in a big club."

The reporters all nodded.

Ever since Pan Yi joined the team, Lindelof seems to have become a different person.

In addition to being a good defender, he also shouldered the heavy responsibility of Sweden's ball distribution in the backcourt, making the Swedish team's originally chaotic ball distribution system more orderly.

That makes people admire Pan Yi's accuracy in employing people.

After all, under his predecessor, Lindelof was just a reckless man who often got ahead of himself.

At this time Pan Yi continued: "Of course he does not want to emphasize one thing. Playing in a big competition like the European Cup depends on the joint efforts of the 23 players in the team, rather than relying on one or a few players.

It can be done.”

At this time, another reporter raised his leg: "After two consecutive victories, the Swedish team has actually qualified from the group. Will I make some lineup adjustments when playing Belgium?"

"Of course!" Pan Yi nodded, "He must consider the game from the overall situation. If there is an opportunity to let his players rest, why not? Of course, the ranking of the group will also affect the wrong leg in the knockout round, and he will also

and consider it.”

"But because the third place in the group can also qualify, it is difficult to predict whether we will be in the top 16 now?" the reporter asked, "The situation of qualifying will be much more chaotic than before."

Pan Yi smiled and said: "Then, let them try to occupy a good position in the group, and then let them think about how to avoid them."

——

Soon, the match between Belgium and Ireland also started.

Compared with the starters present, Fellaini, Nainggolan and Seaman were replaced by Wilmots and replaced by Dembele, Carrasco and Meunier respectively.

But in the first half of the game, the offense of both sides was lackluster, and the two teams drew 0-0.

After the start of the eastern half, Belgium's offensive was overwhelming.

In the 48th minute, the Irish attack failed, and Belgium launched a quick counterattack. De Bruyne passed the ball to Lukaku, and the little monster shot hard with his left foot from the penalty area line. Belgium led Ireland 1-0.

, that was Lukaku’s first goal in the European Cup.

In the 61st minute of the game, Belgium made continuous cooperation. Meunier sent a cross from the wing. Witsel quickly moved forward and scored a header in the penalty area, helping Belgium lead 2-0.

In the 70th minute, Belgium scored again. Hazard calmly knocked outside the penalty area and Lukaku scored in front of the goal. Belgium led Ireland 3-0. Lukaku scored twice.

Previously, Belgium defeated Ireland 3-0.

That victory allowed Belgium to jump to second place in the group, while Ireland lost both games and lost five goals, leaving little hope of qualifying.

The situation of the Swedish team has been clear for a long time. If they want to remain undefeated in the final round, they can qualify as the first in the group.

As for Italy and Belgium, who have three points in each other's legs, it is actually the same. If they don't lose, they have a high chance of qualifying. The only difference is the ranking in the group and the number of legs in the knockout round.

Given that the first place team in Group E has a high probability of meeting the second place team in Group D, and Group D is composed of Croatia, Spain, Turkey, and the Czech Republic;

The second place team in Group E will meet the first place team in Group F, and the four teams in Group F are Hungary, Iceland, Portugal and Austria;

Analyzing from that situation, perhaps finishing second in the group is not such a bad choice.

Of course, the third place in the group cannot be avoided, because they will meet the first place in Group A. At present, the host France team has a great chance of standing in that position. They just defeated Albania 2:0.

, also won both games.

None of these are theoretical arrangements.
To be continued...