Chapter 745: Chapter 744: The Strongest Tulip
The quarter-finalists of this European Championship are:
Portugal, Greece, France, England, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Czech Republic.
Among them are some of Deng Kai’s former teammates.
Sweden’s striker Ibrahimovic scored three goals in the group stage, especially the crucial one against Italy.
The Czech team’s golden generation was already formidable, Nedved was once a contender against Deng Kai for the Golden Ball, and forwards Jan Koller and Baros were both capable warriors.
And now they welcomed the Premier League and UEFA Cup’s best goalkeeper, the Czech wall — Cech!
This was their best chance to compete for the championship.
The German team was directly eliminated by the Czech team with a 2-1 loss, with Cech making thirteen saves, twelve of them successful. His triple save at the eighty-fifth minute plunged the Germans into despair.
Teams with weak forwards have a high chance of defeat against the Czechs!
England’s team was green behind the ears, but they lacked a stabilizing force.
Eighteen-year-old Rooney scored twice in the second match, breaking Ronaldo’s recently set record for the youngest scorer in the European Championship.
This supernova, who had already excelled in the Premier League this season, made a name for himself in the European Championship.
Many media predicted he might become this year’s Golden Boy.
Of course, that’s just a ghost story.
Deng Kai was only two months older than Rooney.
Many media predicted he was very likely to win the Golden Ball again this year.
Rooney: MMP! Can you stop describing me alongside Kai?
Quarter-final draw.
The French team got Greece, a powerhouse against a clearly inferior team; France had almost no chance of losing.
The Czech team drew Denmark, and given Cech’s performance, teams with weak forwards will struggle against the Czechs, and Denmark clearly doesn’t have a top striker.
England drew Sweden.
England obviously had greater chances of winning.
These draws were almost all strong versus weak, making them quite uninteresting.
But the last pairing was truly exciting.
Portugal VS Netherlands!
These were two championship-contending teams.
Meeting so early in the quarter-finals was unexpected.
People couldn’t help but worry for the Portuguese team.
If England’s biggest discovery was Wayne Rooney.
Then for the Dutch team, it was Arjen Robben.
Moreover, Robben’s role in this Netherlands team was even more crucial than Rooney’s for England.
However, there were some issues with the Dutch team.
The notorious infighting in the changing room during major tournaments was an old tradition.
This time, Sneijder was the one with grievances.
In the first round of the group matches, the Dutch coach Advocaat gave the young players ample opportunity to shine.
Van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben and others all started.
And they performed quite well.
But from the second game onwards, except for Robben, the other young Dutch talents were benched.
In the third game, Sneijder and Van der Vaart still didn’t get a chance to play.
Sneijder publicly expressed his dissatisfaction after the match.
He believed that with his ability and form, he definitely deserved a starting spot.
In the end, Advocaat forcefully quelled Sneijder’s uprising, stating that Sneijder would not get a single minute of playtime in the upcoming games.
This somewhat intimidated Van der Vaart and the other rising stars.
It also set the starting lineup for the Netherlands going forward.
In fact, not only the Netherlands team had this issue. Many teams in this European Championship faced similar challenges, and it all depended on how well they were resolved.
In recent years, the football world was in a period of generational change, the most significant one in nearly twenty years.
Most of the well-known players had retired or were about to retire.
Countless exceptional talents have emerged.
The competition between veteran and new players is fierce.
On the Portugal team side, the rise of newcomers is particularly rapid, so much so Deng Kai and Ronaldo are not only established in Portugal but also rising fast in the global football star system.
The same issue is quite evident in other teams like Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.
France and Italy, with more and stronger superstars, have been keeping their younger generation under control, unable to rise.
This trend is also present in the American team of Brazil, where the new generation can only form a secondary team to participate in the Copa America.
When it comes time for the World Cup, it’s estimated that the 2002 lineup will still be in use.
"Heavyweight showdown! Locking onto Portugal VS Netherlands, Manchester United’s forwards clash internally, who should have the unlimited right to shoot?"
"Van Nistelrooy has been dissatisfied with Ronaldo for a long time, believing Ronaldo has hindered his pursuit of the Premier League Golden Boot!"
"Ronaldo once hinted that Van Nistelrooy lacks variety and can’t provide more help to teammates!"
"Portuguese Liga or Eredivisie? This battle might decide who is the fourth-best league in Europe!"
"Ligue 1 and Bundesliga cry in the toilet! The new stars emerge from Eredivisie, and Portuguese Liga also surpasses Ligue 1 in European Competition Points!"
"Midfield battle! Netherlands and Portugal will stack a large number of players in the midfield, he who dominates the midfield dominates the game!"
Soon, the Portugal team announced their starting lineup:
Deng Kai, Ronaldo, Figo
Deco, Viana
Costinha, Maniche
Carvalho, Kilop, Pepe
Baia
=
Compared to before, there haven’t been too many changes, but Rui Costa was replaced by Viana.
The presence of Portugal’s Golden Generation in this team is increasingly weakening.
If Figo hadn’t been the symbol of Portuguese football, he probably would have been replaced by Quaresma as well.
After all, the forward line of this team is so strong that it reminds people of the miraculous super lineup of Sporting Lisbon!
They have chemistry.
On the other side, the Netherlands team also announced their starting lineup:
Van Nistelrooy
Robben, Davies, Cocu, Seedorf, Van der Meyde
Van Bronckhorst, Stam, Deboer, Heitinga
Van der Sar
=
The Netherlands team has one more midfielder than Portugal.
Robben needs no introduction, performing excellently in this tournament.
Van der Meyde is regarded as the standard-bearer for the Netherlands, wearing the number seven jersey.
He is also the attacking core at Inter Milan.
Over the past two years, he has been one of the best wingers.
Some fans even call Ribery the French Van der Meyde.
The devilish wings formed by Van der Meyde and Robben can genuinely soar on both flanks.
Of course, so far in the tournament, Van der Meyde hasn’t displayed an extraordinary performance yet.
His presence is much less significant compared to the young Robben.
Let’s not even mention Cocu, the backbone of Barcelona’s defense, who played a monumental role during Barcelona’s chaotic period.
Over the last two seasons, Barcelona has seen hope for a resurgence in Ronaldinho, and it’s very likely that they will complete a rebuild this summer.
The wild boar Davies and Seedorf are both versatile midfielders, capable of anything.
Having played for Juventus and AC Milan, and having been teammates with Viana, they know the midfield of the Portugal team quite well.
The Netherlands team’s defense is also sturdy, and although the players are older, they are in good form.
Overall, the Netherlands team is dominated by veterans with a few young surprise elements.
The Portugal team, on the other hand, is dominated by newcomers with veterans in supporting roles.
