Chapter 64: Score? I choose to push forward

Chapter 64: Score? I choose to push forward

Chapter 64: Score? I choose to push forward
"Nice continuous passing, smooth organization! Iran couldn't keep up with England's game rhythm at all, and their defensive style was outdated.

Driven by the tactical trend in football, teams that only know how to defend have no future, and future cup competitions are destined to be dominated by offensive football! "

"Look at what Lee has done? He transformed the England team, which had a lot of stars but played the old-fashioned defensive counterattack, into a strong attacking team similar to Bayern in 2020!

We finally saw more proactive pressure and forward-passing organizational thinking from the England team.

Rice and Bellingham's frequent attacks on the half-space area are just amazing!
We must also give special praise to Luke Shaw and Maddison, who directly turned Iran's right-wing defense into England's high-speed lane!

Maguire's attacking style of passing the ball from behind is also amazing. If we stick to this tactic, I think scoring goals will be a natural outcome for the England team."

"The 433 tactical system is actually beneficial to the performance of many English stars on the bench. Even if they cannot get enough playing opportunities in the forward position, they can still play their offensive talents as midfield substitutes in the current England team.

Like Grealish and Sancho, they are very suitable to replace Rice and Bellingham as offensive midfielders. As long as they return to defense more actively, with Longstaff or Henderson behind them, the defensive system of England's midfield will not be unbalanced. "

"It was a good move by Lee to call up Longstaff at the last minute! The problem we had said about England's lack of defensive quality in midfield seems to have been solved.

A liberated Rice, a diligent and down-to-earth Longstaff, plus Bellingham who is also active in returning to defense, this midfield trio already has the capital to compete with other strong teams. ”

After Kane scored, commentators from all over the world enthusiastically praised the positive changes in the England team.

To be honest, Southgate is actually a qualified England coach. At least under his leadership, the England team performed quite well in the last European Cup.

But he looked a little too influenced by Deschamps.

It doesn't mean that any strong team can win an international cup by using star players to play a counter-attack tactic.

What is the configuration of the French team's midfield?
To play a counter-attack, first you have to be able to defend, and secondly you have to have a strong ability to deliver the ball during the counterattack.

The French team's midfield can do these two points very well, and the defense line is top-notch, so Deschamps has the confidence to play like this.

But after Phillips' short-lived success, the England team returned to being top-heavy.

Just looking at the roster, it is indeed star-studded.

But all the famous players are concentrated in the front and midfield. What about the defenders in the backcourt, especially the midfield?
Just fuck Rice, do you expect him to do all the dirty work?
If Southgate continues to play with his original style, it will not be a big problem for the England team to break through to the round of 16 and quarterfinals in every international competition.

But they are more than capable of bullying weak opponents. Once they meet a top-notch team, their top-heavy problem will easily be taken advantage of by their opponents.

By then, there will inevitably be a situation where a team is the favorite in the cup competition every year, but unfortunately misses the championship every year.

These situations are roughly foreseeable by English media people who understand football.

But they had no choice before. The English Football Association trusted Southgate too much, and no matter how much they scolded him, they would not change the coach, so they simply accepted it.

Now, there is finally a young coach who keeps up with the tactical development trend in football and has temporarily taken over Southgate's coaching position.

Under the close attention of a large number of English media, Li Chen brought obvious technical and tactical changes as soon as he took over the England team.

The team's game scenes have become smoother and more beautiful. While further strengthening the midfield and backcourt defense, Li Chen has also activated the offensive talents of more young players.

How could this not make the English media, who are eager to see positive changes in the national team, "worship" Li Chen?

When it comes to foreign matches, the ethics of the English media are much higher than usual.

Even though the praise given to players and coaches is often exaggerated and ostentatious.

But they all hope that the national team can regain the heavyweight championship trophy as soon as possible.

There was no malicious criticism or noise that hindered the team's progress, and the public opinion field was harmonious. English fans were enjoying the feast of celebrating the goal at the moment.

However, after the first round of celebrations, England did not make them wait too long.

Just 6 minutes later, England, who had fine-tuned their tactics on the offensive end to attack Iran's wings more frequently, scored another goal with a breakthrough cross under quick transmission!
This time, Bellingham received Saka's return pass and suddenly sent a threatening through ball, penetrating Iran's side defense and accurately finding Ben White who was accelerating forward.

Ben White made a quick cross after a quick observation, and Maguire, who came in from behind to participate in the attack, headed it into the Iranian team's goal!

To be honest, this time we can't really blame the three Iranian central defenders for not marking closely enough.

First of all, they need to distract themselves to mark Kane and Rice who are also running straight into the penalty area.

Secondly, who the hell could have thought that Maguire would get into their penalty area to attack so early!
Iranian goalkeeper Beiranvand, who was still playing in the Portuguese Super League last season, spread his hands helplessly at this moment, indicating that his defensive teammates needed to pay more attention.

But the result was that five minutes later, Kane, who had put all his energy into the penalty area today, received Luke Shaw's advance pass and kicked the ball into the Iranian team's goal!
Just in the 20th minute of the first half, England had already taken a three-goal lead. This was no longer just a dream start, but a perfect start at a fantasy level!

Kane, who scored twice, smiled brightly.

Due to Levy's thoughts, he only expressed his gratitude to Mourinho and Li Chen in a few interviews after they left Tottenham.

Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur ended in a mess.

But he and Son Heung-min actually achieved career-high double-double data under the tactical transformation of Mourinho and Li Chen.

For this reason, he has privately thanked Mourinho and Li Chen for further developing his organizational skills.

It is also a pity that Tottenham did not seize the opportunity to strengthen their defense, otherwise they might really have a chance to compete for the Premier League title in the 20-21 season.

I don’t know if it was because Levy’s behavior of firing Mourinho before the League Cup final was too bad of a character.

Almost two years have passed, and Tottenham still hasn't won any championships...

Kane is not that radical and is always soft-hearted, so even though he longs for a championship, he stayed at Tottenham until he was almost 30 years old.

He no longer expected to win a championship at club level - before he left Tottenham.

However, after Li Chen took over the England national team, Kane once again saw the possibility of winning the first championship in his personal career at the national team level.

As it turns out, playing under a head coach who knows his or her abilities very well is indeed a pleasant and happy thing for the players.

At least at this moment, Kane is full of expectations for England's performance in this World Cup and has full trust in Li Chen.

His desire to score goals is higher than in any previous international competition!
He wants to get his first hat trick in this World Cup, wants to become the top scorer in this World Cup, and even more wants to win the World Cup championship he has always dreamed of!

The motivated Kane, after finishing his celebration once again, actively and rarely signaled his teammates to continue attacking the Iranian team.

However, at this moment, the Iranian team, which had been deprived of any hope of scoring points by England, decided to give it a go and fight without any psychological pressure.

After they expanded their defense line, they paid more attention to fighting and strangling the England team in the midfield area.

For the England team at this moment, there is obviously no need to continue to attack the Iranian team at the risk of player injuries.

Li Chen also made tactical adjustments, signaling the team to slow down the offense.

Since the Iranian team has chosen to attack, let them boldly deploy their formation.

Kane had to temporarily suppress his passion to perform a hat trick as soon as possible.

Li Chen did not assign him a tactical task of returning to defense, but he also needed to retreat moderately and cooperate with his teammates to block Iran's backcourt passing route.

Having regained some possession of the ball, Iran also tried to launch a more proactive attack on England.

However, their offensive tactics are more about advancing along the flanks, trying to deliver crosses to center forward Taremi.

This style of play is not so effective against the England team who are very solid and cautious.

The reason is very simple. Maguire, who does not need to take risks to steal the ball, is a natural frontal defensive overlord in the penalty area.

Taremi is no match for Maguire in both ground fighting and aerial duels.
What's even worse is that his previously reliable partner on the front line, Azmoun, is now unable to start due to unspeakable resistance.

Queiroz brought Azmoun to the World Cup under tremendous pressure and could only send him on the bench at the right time.

This makes it even more uncomfortable and awkward for Taremi, who has to continue fighting alone at this stage.

The rest of Iran's frontcourt offensive players were forced to try long shots from the outside or make individual breakthroughs.

But their long-range shooting ability obviously cannot test Pickford's concentration.

Too many dribbling breakthroughs did not have much effect in the England team's low-post defense.

The game seemed to be entering a stalemate with no goals scored.

But at the critical moment, Saka stood up and used his superb personal ability to get the ball in the midfield and backcourt and dribbled past two Iranian pressing players, helping England create another excellent counterattack opportunity!
England tore through Iran's no longer tight midfield defense by using single shots.

Bellingham, who received the ball in the middle, once again used a precise and threatening through ball to find Luke Shaw who was making a forward run on the left!

Last season, at the suggestion of Li Chen, Luke Shaw began to lose weight scientifically. Now weighing only a little over 70 kilograms, his bursts and accelerations are more relaxed and his body is more agile.

After successfully breaking the offside trap, he took the ball and directly shook off the Iranian full-back who was chasing him.

Then, as if he had a God's perspective, he sent a long arc pass directly to the ground!

This pass went directly over the two Iranian defenders and then turned back to Kane who was following up at the back of the penalty area!

Belwand, who was halfway through the attack, was extremely embarrassed at the moment. His explosive ability was not enough for him to destroy the ball before Kane received it, but it was obviously too late to run back at this time.

Under his desperate gaze, Kane calmly completed a lob shot and sent the ball into the goal behind him!

Kane, who finally completed his hat-trick dream, was so excited that he ran towards the baseline and wanted to take off his jersey to celebrate.

In the end, Madison, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, hugged him tightly, and Kane couldn't pull his shirt off for a long time.

Fans from all over the world couldn't help laughing when watching this scene, but Kane, who had calmed down on the court, still expressed his gratitude to Madison.

The World Cup is not a league game. There are only seven games from the group stage to the final.

In such a short schedule, whether you are a defender or a forward, you should try not to get a card if possible.

Otherwise, if he is suspended due to accumulated yellow cards in the crucial knockout matches, it will be a huge regret and loss for both the team and the players.

Kane calmed down and hugged Madison's head and gave her a big kiss.

Seeing that the Iranian players on the field seemed to have lost their spirit, Li Chen called on the English players on the bench to warm up on the sidelines in advance.

The scene has become a sea of ​​celebration for English fans, and at this time in England, countless English fans are also celebrating for their team's four-goal lead at halftime!
During the half-time break, Li Chen directly replaced Kane, who performed a hat trick, and Madison, who performed outstandingly today, and let them rest early.

Wilson and Sancho came on as substitutes.

Ten minutes into the second half, Li Chen replaced Bellingham and Saka with Grealish and Greenwood.

As a result, Greenwood, who had just been on the pitch for less than two minutes, received a cross from Sancho in front of the penalty area and shot directly into the Iranian team's goal!

After Greenwood scored, Li Chen used his last substitution and replaced Rice with Foden.

The England team, which continued to play in a 433 formation, almost made a complete change in the midfield and frontcourt, with only Longstaff starting the game.

However, even when facing Iran, which could no longer launch any counterattacks, Li Chen still strictly required the young players who came on as substitutes to return to defense.

This also resulted in Iran's counterattack in the final moments of the game being ineffective.

On the contrary, England, which had been seizing counterattack opportunities, scored the team's sixth goal of the game in injury time!
Grealish received Ben White's long diagonal counterattack pass and drove straight into the goal.

While accelerating past the last remaining Iranian defender, Grealish chose to pass the ball sideways unselfishly.

Wilson followed up and scored in one fell swoop, successfully changing the score to 6-0, and bringing the massacre to an end.

This feast of goals was a feast for the eyes of football fans all over the world.

It was also the first time that the England national team completely overshadowed other strong teams in the competition, and its probability of winning the World Cup surpassed France and ranked first.

All the voices questioning Li Chen's abandonment of Phillips, Mount and Sterling before the game disappeared after this big victory.

Instead, there was disgusting praise for Li Chen's vision in selecting players and ability to adjust tactics.

And it's not just the English media that are praising him. Sports media from all over the world are praising Li Chen to the sky.

Under the continued influence of this wave of public opinion, it would be easy for the entire England team to become impetuous.

The previous England team could easily have been affected in this way.

But now, under Li Chen's relatively "high pressure" and strict management, the morale of the young English players is boosted and they are seriously doing post-match physiotherapy and training preparations.

It seems that he is not affected by this wave of public opinion.

Because Li Chen did lead them to see the hope of winning this World Cup.

With this temptation in front of us, the temporary hard preparations and boring pace of life can be endured.

Besides, several famous core players of the England team have made it clear that they support Li Chen.

In addition, many of the main players are Li Chen’s former or current subordinates, so the locker room is firmly controlled by Li Chen.

In this situation, players who want to defect and cause trouble will be dealt with internally as soon as they show up.

No one wants to be used as a negative example when the whole team is working hard, so even if there is dissatisfaction, it is all suppressed in the heart. It's just a month at most, and we can bear it.

The ideological awareness of the English players has been greatly improved, which makes Li Chen's preparation plan go smoothly.

Four days later, England made slight changes to the starting lineup and continued to use a 433 formation to meet the challenge from the United States.

Compared with the optimistic view expressed by various British media before the game that "Even if the game ends in a draw, England will have the advantage of qualifying", Li Chen's requirements are obviously more stringent.

He doesn't accept a draw, and he can't even accept conceding more than one goal. What he wants is a complete victory!
Such requirements put a lot of psychological pressure on the players of the England team.

But from another perspective, it also allows them to eliminate in advance the possibility of misfortune due to underestimating the enemy.

当地时间11月25号晚22：00，这场卡塔尔世界杯B组第2轮的小组赛较量在海湾球场正式拉开序幕。

The 60,000 fans at the scene also burst into thunderous cheers as the referee blew the whistle!

Compared with the Iranian team that England faced in the first round of the group stage, the American team that England faced in the second round was indeed at least half a level stronger than Iran.

Because most of the starting players of the US team play in the four major leagues, and many of them are starters for Premier League teams.

So first of all, in terms of offensive and defensive rhythm, they do not have any problem falling behind England.

Secondly, the US team's tactics must be more in line with the trend of the times.

They are not willing to give up control of the midfield easily.

Moreover, they prefer to invest in counterattacks on the offensive end, and the ball-holding players on the two wings, Pulisic and McKennie, also have good personal abilities.

So judging from the performance at the start of the game, the US team was far better than the Iranian team. They fought back and forth with England, and the US team was only slightly behind in ball possession.

However, the American team, which has only achieved this level, cannot be considered a strong opponent.

If the England team is compared to Newcastle, which is currently coached by Li Chen, then the strength of the US team is equivalent to West Ham United or Bournemouth, which are in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League.

After a slightly cautious England team went through a period of mutual testing at the beginning of the game, they used their stronger overall ability to push the US team's line back to their half.

Li Chen nodded while standing on the sidelines and made a tactical gesture, indicating that Sancho could retreat more and organize the ball.

Maddison, who started at central midfielder today, focused on the right half, forming a double organizational core with Sancho to promote England's frontcourt rotation attack.

There are stable ball-carrying points on both sides, which frees Bellingham up to participate more in off-ball forward runs.

The huge threat posed by him and Kane opened up offensive space for Sakara on the other side.

In the 28th minute of the first half, the England team, which had played very patiently, sped up their offense again.

Trippier, who started the group match in place of Ben White, dribbled the ball to the side and pretended to make a direct cross.

Kane and Bellingham's active forward runs forced the US team's defenders to shrink their formation to protect the penalty area.

At this time, Trippier chose to pass the ball to Saka who was in position in the rib area.

After receiving the ball, Saka decisively cut inside and adjusted his steps, and then completed the shot with almost no one guarding him!

The football drew a deadly and beautiful arc in the air and went straight into the upper left corner of the American team's goal!

Apart from being a little slow, American goalkeeper Turner is a good goalkeeper with balanced abilities.

But his ability was somewhat insufficient when facing Saka's world-class shot.

Saka, who scored his first goal in this World Cup, was very excited. He jumped directly onto Kane's back with a grin.

The rest of the England players also excitedly surrounded Saka to congratulate him at this moment.

Li Chen punched hard on the sidelines, then turned around and high-fived Carrick and other assistant coaches to celebrate.

The offensive and defensive style of playing against the American team is very close to that of the Premier League teams, which is to advance steadily and not be too impatient.

If you get impatient and press too riskily, it will be easy for the opponent to have a chance to counterattack quickly.

And it is very simple to defeat such a team. Just score the first goal as early as possible and force them to attack more riskily.

Because they are not teams like Spain and Brazil, with sophisticated individual skills and rich and varied offensive tactics.

The US team was not very good at playing offence, with few changes and was easier to control.

After calming down, Li Chen stood on the sidelines again and made a tactical gesture to the court to continue the offensive!
Countless viewers saw through Li Chen's action clearly, and they also knew that Li Chen had no intention of counting the points.

He must lead the team to defeat this group first.

(End of this chapter)