Chapter 68: The French team was stunned! [Update]
Chapter 68: The French team was stunned! [Update]
After the 1/8 knockout round, England got a full 6 days of rest, which made Li Chen particularly satisfied.
In this regard, the Netherlands, Argentina, France and England, who finished the 1/8 knockout rounds first, have the advantage.
These teams will have more time to study the tactical styles of their opponents in the quarter-finals.
In these 6 days, Li Chen studied all the tactics of the French team's last 10 games.
Yes, he not only watched France's four games in this World Cup, but also watched France's previous six UEFA Nations League games.
Compared with general friendly warm-up matches, the UEFA Nations League matches are definitely more meaningful for research.
This kind of competition is not as important as the World Cup qualifiers and European qualifiers, but it is much more rigorous than ordinary friendly matches.
But Deschamps, this old fox, is too cunning.
People play in the UEFA Nations League to train their troops, but at least they are aiming for the championship.
But this old fox doesn't take the UEFA Nations League seriously at all. He just uses it to train, rotate players and conduct tactical experiments, and doesn't care about winning or losing at all.
In 6 UEFA Nations League games, the old guy used six completely different starting defensive players.
Three midfielders and four midfielders are switched randomly.
After Benzema was injured, it was not until the last two rounds of the UEFA Nations League that Deschamps confirmed the double striker combination of Mbappe and Giroud.
Seeing his training and playing style like this, most head coaches would just shake their heads, thinking that they can't discern the usual routine.
But Li Chen still grasped one of the key points.
That is Deschamps' use and protective arrangement of Griezmann.
In the 6 UEFA Nations League games, if Deschamps chooses to let Griezmann come on the bench, he will choose to start a technical organizing player in the midfield and backcourt.
This player is basically Guendouzi.
As long as Griezmann starts, Deschamps will start two midfielders with stronger defensive abilities behind him.
If Kante is available, play Kante. After Kante is injured, start Chuuameni and choose a defensive partner for him.
Judging from the four World Cup games, Deschamps' trust in Griezmann has now reached the point of almost blind obedience.
As long as Griezmann starts, he basically hands over the right to organize the attack to Griezmann.
The two midfielders gave priority to cleaning up Griezmann's mess and protecting him from behind.
Only when Griezmann is not playing will Deschamps consider the tactic of multi-core organization in the midfield.
The former is actually very abnormal.
You have to rely on a midfielder to support the offensive rhythm of the entire team, no matter how capable he is, no matter how well he can take advantage and avoid harm, and retreat frequently.
As long as the opponent is willing to study and develop targeted tactics, his ability to withstand pressure will ultimately be inferior to that of a real No. 8 player.
In order to share the huge organizational pressure on him, either an organizing No. 8 with balanced offense and defense should be arranged behind him, or a smart winger should be arranged in front of him.
This is the only way to avoid being restricted and targeted by opponents, which would affect the offensive performance of the entire team.
Li Chen also used this idea to arrange the midfield and frontcourt dual-core lineup of Madison and Bellingham, or Foden and Madison, Sancho and Madison.
Opponents can focus on marking and restricting one of England's playmakers, but they can never shut down both of England's offensive engines at the same time.
But looking at the French team's tactical arrangement, the loopholes are too obvious.
It can only be said that in the three group matches and one knockout match of this World Cup, the teams that the French team encountered were not strong enough overall.
They can suppress their opponents with stronger overall strength, and Mbappe's huge threat prevents their opponents from being distracted and focusing on restricting Griezmann's performance, thereby paralyzing the French team's frontcourt organization.
Li Chen thought that a very interesting match was the group match in which France defeated Denmark 2-1.
In this game, Denmark had no advantage against France in the front and backcourt, but the midfield was able to control the tempo, and the outstanding performances of Hojbjerg and Eriksen withstood the pressure on both offense and defense.
This forced Deschamps to withdraw Griezmann to midfield to keep him away from Denmark's strong area.
In retrospect, Deschamps's move of using Griezmann as a retreat was very clever, as he fully utilized Griezmann's ability in linking organization and defense.
Griezmann's wonderful pass before the game entered injury time helped Mbappe score the winning goal.
But in Li Chen's opinion, if the Danish team had an efficient center, they might have won the game long ago.
Did the French team have to rely on Mbappe's explosive performance and Griezmann's desperate defense to beat Denmark 86-2 in the 1th minute?
When did Denmark become so strong that it could compete with France for a whole game?
Why couldn't Denmark, which is so strong, even make it to the knockout stage?
The reasons behind this are very intriguing.
But Li Chen believes that he has found the second key to limit the performance of the French team...
On December 12, the quarter-elimination round of this World Cup officially kicked off.
Croatia once again staged their fairy tale story. After miraculously dragging the game into overtime, they tenaciously withstood the fierce bombardment of the Brazilian team.
In the subsequent penalty shootout, Livakovic saved the penalty and helped Croatia to score again, sending Brazil home.
The Netherlands and Argentina staged a fierce battle afterwards. Compared with the game, what was more exciting was the conflict between the players of the two teams on the field.
The two teams, which were tied in both regular time and overtime, eventually went to a penalty shootout.
Martin and the Argentine free throw takers eliminated the Netherlands with their outstanding performance.
On the evening of December 12, Morocco and Portugal fought for 10 minutes at the Atumama Stadium to decide the winner.
N'Neris's super header and Ziyech's deflected goal helped Morocco create another miracle and eliminated Portugal 2-1!
Portugal coach Santos chose to continue to start young player Ramos, who performed well in the previous round of knockouts, in the crucial quarter-finals.
But in this game, the magical young player was no longer magical. Apart from repeatedly wasting shooting opportunities, Ramos almost had no offensive shots.
In the second half of the game, Ronaldo, who was called on as a substitute, only assisted Otavio to score a face-saving goal.
Dalot's decision not to pass the ball back at the critical moment made Portugal lose the best chance to equalize the score.
In the end, Ronaldo could only bid farewell to the World Cup with his personal data of 2 goals and 2 assists, and missed the semi-finals.
And the sight of him refusing to shake hands with old coach Santos after the game and walking into the locker room alone seemed to express his unwillingness and dissatisfaction.
He has accepted the result of being rotated in the national team and gradually giving way to young players.
But he couldn't accept Santos' decision not to trust him in such a crucial match.
Perhaps what he could not accept even more was that he could no longer turn the tide in adversity like he did before.
Portugal was eliminated, and Ronaldo almost ended the last World Cup of his personal career.
His World Cup dream was shattered in the winter of 2022, while his old rival Messi was enjoying the fruits of victory.
After the game, no reporter was able to interview the Portuguese superstar, but they were able to interview Li Chen, who is still the head coach of Ronaldo's club.
Li Chen, who only took a glance at the final score between Morocco and Portugal after the game, had no opinion to express.
However, he still took advantage of these reporters to speak to Ronaldo, indicating that he can still follow the club to win more championship honors in the second half of this season.
Returning to the quarter-final against France, Li Chen, who had just led the team to complete five days of closed training, just closed his mouth and smiled slightly.
Preparation progress, tactical content, and players’ mentality?
Sorry, I have no comment on these.
In fact, even the families of the England national team players only arrived today and saw them again in the past five days.
Li Chen's closed training this time can be said to be closed to the extreme.
He, his assistants and all the players had their food, lodging and physical therapy taken care of in a rented training base for nearly five days.
The English Football Association paid a large sum of money for this purpose just to ensure that the team can complete its preparations smoothly.
As for the effectiveness of the training, they were not sure because Li Chen had issued a gag order and would not allow any player to disclose any information about preparations to the outside world.
It seems that Li Chen really treated the match against the French team as the World Cup final.
In contrast, their opponents had a short vacation to spend time with their families during this period.
Deschamps may not want to put too much psychological pressure on the players before this game.
His way of preparing for battle can be said to be completely opposite to Li Chen's.
However, before the game, Deschamps felt a subconscious tightening in his heart when he felt the solemn atmosphere of the entire England team.
He instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know which link had gone wrong.
There is no doubt that England will play offensive football in this World Cup, and this is the most restrained tactical style of the French team's counter-attack.
As for the tactics he chose, Deschamps is confident that he will not go wrong.
When it comes to personnel restrictions, Deschamps also feels that his predictions will not be too wrong.
As long as Li Chen is not stupid, he will definitely start Kyle Walker to target Mbappe.
While defending the right side, Li Chen will have to let the left side participate more in the attack today.
So there was no problem for him to arrange Dembele to start behind England's left defense line.
Deschamps frowned and looked at Li Chen several times, but he could not see any conspiracy or planning intentions from Li Chen's calm face...
Deschamps, who thought he was thinking too much, finally cleared his mind and sat in the coaching seat waiting for the game to begin.
At 10 pm local time, the final quarter-final match of this World Cup, which has attracted much attention from fans, officially kicked off at the Bay Stadium!
England, who kicked off first, quickly deployed their formation and pressed towards the French team. Countless fans were also discussing Li Chen's subtle adjustments to the starting lineup today.
The starting 433 formation remains unchanged, but Greenwood becomes the left winger, Harry Kane is still the center forward, and Saka is still the right winger.
In midfield, Bellingham and Maddison partnered as double central midfielders, with Rice falling back.
The starting right back was replaced by Kyle Walker as expected by the fans, and there were no changes to the rest of the defense.
Commentators from various countries are now speculating that Li Chen started Greenwood today in order to strengthen his ability to cut inside on the left.
But soon, the England team made them open their eyes wide with their crazy overall suppression!
The French team did take the initiative to give up control of the midfield, but England pressed forward too quickly and too risky!
Everyone knows that the French team likes to play against this kind of team that presses forward heavily. They have Mbappe and Dembélé on the left and right wings, and they can counterattack with great accuracy!
Li Chen doesn't look like a fool who is unprepared. How could he make such a mistake in such an important game?
Many neutral fans who had previously had a favorable impression of Li Chen were now worried about Li Chen and the England team.
But Li Chen had no intention of changing his mind. Following his signal, the entire England team continued to press forward at all costs to create a continuous offensive!
This crazy siege momentum did make it difficult for the French team to adapt at the beginning.
Because now teams all over the world are afraid of their quick counterattack and no longer dare to besiege them like this.
This also allowed England to quickly gain several opportunities to penetrate and shoot during the rapid transmission of the ball.
But after gradually adapting to England's high pressure, the French team also tried their best to launch a counterattack.
Their first choice is of course to find Griezmann first.
However, the England team, which was well prepared, also sent out an active figure, interrupting Griezmann's ball reception and organization in the first time.
This figure is Bellingham!
Li Chen's decision to use him as a tactical sacrifice to limit Griezmann's performance in this game was indeed beyond Deschamps' expectations.
But no matter how surprised he was, Deschamps, who had already prepared himself mentally for the opponent to restrict his only midfield core, also had a backup plan.
That's Rabiot.
Rabiot performed quite well as a defensive midfielder in this World Cup.
But his previous outstanding performance on the defensive end has somewhat overshadowed his offensive talent.
At this moment, Deschamps signaled Rabiot to take over the organizational responsibility from Griezmann's shoulders.
Rabiot also used a precise long pass to help Mbappe get a chance to compete with Kyle Walker.
Facing his old rival, Mbappe was not afraid at all. He didn't even try after getting the ball. He accelerated and started speeding up with Kyle Walker on the wing!
Walker was very smart this time to stand in position first, and after starting early, he successfully hooked Mbappe, preventing the opponent from bursting out with full acceleration.
But Mbappe, who was in great form today, managed to get away from Walker half a step before the ball went out of the baseline, and finally made a threatening cross pass that almost helped Dembele to score!
The fans who watched Mbappe almost eat Walker alive almost exclaimed in front of the TV.
Mbappe lives up to his nickname of "French supercar".
It was just a long pass counterattack that didn't count as an opportunity, but he almost created an opportunity.
It's really amazing.
But Li Chen, who witnessed Mbappe's performance with his own eyes, was still as steady as a rock. He gestured, asking his disciples to continue suppressing and besieging France!
The entire England team seemed to be unaffected by Mbappe's explosive performance and they quickly organized themselves forward after regaining the ball.
This fast-paced pace once again made the two French midfielders return to defense a little too late. By the time they got into position, Saka's cut-in shot had already been fired!
Lori leaped a little awkwardly, and finally saved Saka's threatening shot from going out of bounds.
England's active preparations for a corner kick in the frontcourt caused chaos in the French team's penalty area.
Under Maguire's cover, Stones got a chance this time, but his header was slightly off the goal frame. He roared to the sky, feeling quite unwilling.
England were getting more and more excited and didn't even bother to retreat to low defense. Most of their formation was pressed into France's half, suppressing the French team's organization and passing.
Kounde got the ball on the side and made a long pass forward for a counterattack.
This time it was Dembele's turn to perform.
Compared to Mbappe, Dembele's footwork is obviously more delicate, and he is also better at using changes in rhythm combined with speed to pass his opponents.
Bellingham was completely passed by him during this defense.
Dembele then cut inside decisively and dribbled past Luke Shaw's interception.
It's just that his final offensive choice was too bad, and his forced shot directly hit the plane.
Mbappe, who had already run to the other side to receive the ball, was very depressed.
The English players on the field felt more at ease at this moment, because they remembered what Li Chen said to them before the game.
"We need to be alert when Mbappe gets the ball near the penalty area. It's best not to give him such opportunities at all. But for Dembele, we can let him shoot more. His offensive choices are problematic. As long as he shoots more, our left defense will become safer..."
Now it seems that Li Chen's understanding of Dembele is indeed thorough.
Guard against Mbappe's shots and Dembele's passes, and as long as you insist on playing fast, Giroud's fulcrum role will be almost eliminated.
Now that the French team has used up their three offensive tactics, what other tactics can they use?
Perhaps Deschamps can make up for this deficiency through subsequent substitutions, but before the substitution, he has no chance of taking the initiative in the attack.
The continuous counterattacks did not work, which made the French fans who were calm in the previous few minutes feel uneasy.
What worries them even more is the England team's crazy high pressure, which shows they are not afraid of being penetrated by the defense!
England's reckless attack looked much more threatening than France's sporadic counterattacks.
Especially Greenwood and Saka.
As soon as Luke Shaw and Maddison pulled the ball to the side, they got the opportunity to cut inside and they did not hesitate to drill into the French team's defense.
As long as they get the ball, their determined long-range shots can always threaten the goal guarded by Lori!
Only the 15th minute of the first half had already given England three opportunities to attack from corner kicks.
Every time Maguire rushed forward to compete for the header, the French fans would feel a pang in their hearts.
It's really scary!
Fortunately, Varane and Upamecano held on today. If there had been any mistakes, Maguire might have helped England get out of the situation.
Deschamps was secretly getting anxious watching from the sidelines.
To be fair, there were some problems with his tactical arrangements before the game, but this is not the reason why the French team performed so passively on the field!
It seems like the whole team is still asleep. For a top team like France, how can it be possible for them to be beaten up in the first half?
Deschamps roared with some dissatisfaction, signaling some of the French players on the field to clear their heads quickly and redouble their efforts in defending and pressing England.
At this moment, Pamekalo kept signaling to his teammates in the midfield to cheer up.
What's the matter with always letting the opponent's two wingers attack their own defense head-on? This is nonsense!
However, it is difficult for the French team's frontcourt players, who have played in the defensive counterattack system for too long and enjoyed too much praise from the outside world, to change their tactical thinking in a short period of time.
Based on previous game experience, they should be able to beat teams like England that take risks and press forward.
But now, their game experience doesn't work anymore.
All those defensive pressure-resisting and counterattack methods did not play the role they should have.
They were a little confused, but at the same time there was a glimmer of hope in their hearts.
They hoped that the England team would run out of energy and slow down their attacking tempo, so that the French team could take over the game.
But just as they expected, the England team played more and more courageously, more boldly and calmly!
In the 19th minute of the first half, Saka suddenly accelerated and cut inside on the right, leaving Rabiot behind.
Seeing this, Theo Hernandez had to make an interception.
Saka then passed the ball back to the wing.
Madison, who had completed observation in advance, received the ball, adjusted one step, and decisively sent a wide arc pass!
Varane knew at first glance that the ball was bound to be for Kane, so he held Kane's body tightly to prevent the opponent from easily jumping up and completing the header.
However, Kane, who had previously caught a glimpse of Greenwood's forward figure, did not intend to head the ball this time.
He tried his best to withstand Varane's defensive interference, then jumped up and completed a smart header.
Greenwood, who arrived at the back point in time, did not dare to stop the ball, fearing that Kounde would catch up and clear it, so he chose a very bold volley!
Greenwood did not use enough power in this volley, he chose to hit the ball with a bounce, but it was this choice that caught Lori off guard when he tried to save it!
The football first bounced on the grass in front of Lori, then bounced up, passed Lori's entire saving body, and finally fell into the goal behind Lori!
The speed of the ball was not fast, but the shot choice was smart enough and the shot was decisive enough!
Lori failed to catch the ball, and the French defenders who had no awareness of standing on the goal line at this moment also failed to clear the ball.
The England team, which attacked fiercely for nearly 20 minutes at the start of the game at great risk, reaped the sweetest fruits!
Greenwood slapped the team logo on his chest and roared all the way towards the corner flag area!
The other England players behind him are equally excited and passionate!
The England bench was already filled with jubilation, and at this moment, Li Chen was probably the only one who was still clapping calmly.
As for Carrick?
He had already let himself go, threw away the tactical board and rushed to the sidelines to punch.
At this moment, commentators from all over the world were impressed by the boldness of Li Chen's tactics and England's tenacious determination to besiege the French team!
They paid the price, but France missed several great opportunities to get behind the England defence today.
At this moment, looking at the passionate celebration of the England players on the field, the French starting players were left with nothing but anxiety.
They were a little confused by England's fierce attack.
They urgently need tactical adjustments!
(End of this chapter)