Chapter 753: Chapter 752: The English Must Overcome Fear
"England Announces Semi-final Lineup, Wayne Rooney Finally Makes the Starting Eleven, Tough Clash with Deng Kai and Ronaldo!"
"Wayne Rooney, the Youngest Scorer at the European Championship: Reaching the Semis Is Only Right, England Has Always Been a Contender for Top Competition Titles!"
"Beckham Talks Again About Figo: We Got on Great at Real Madrid, There Was No Rivalry Between Us!"
"Figo on Being Replaced by Beckham at the Club: David Is a Very Nice Person, We Get Along Well. As for Positions, We Can Both Play Multiple Roles. There’s No Such Thing as One Replacing the Other!"
"Owen on Club Teammate Kilop: He’s a Very Good Centre Back, I Hope His Injury Isn’t Serious."
"Kilop: Owen and Fowler Are Strong Strikers. I Don’t Know If I Can Play. I’m Waiting for the Final Medical Report. I Hope We All Show Our Best!"
"Lampard: I Admit That Manchester City Has Been Disappointing This Year, but Club and National Teams Are Different. Deng Kai’s Strength Stems from the Premier League, but It Will Not Surpass the Premier League!"
"Gary Neville: I Understand Ronaldo’s Playing Style, So I Have My Own Insights on How to Defend Against Him. I Believe We Can Win in the End!"
"Ashley Cole: At Arsenal, Deng Kai Left Us Puzzled. We Didn’t Know What to Do to Beat Manchester City. I Hope to Find Answers in This Match. I Want to Tell My Teammates and Professor Wenger That Deng Kai Is Not Invincible!"
"Scholes: You Wouldn’t Believe That the Kid Who Firmly Believed Manchester United Could Become Treble Winners Has Now Completely Conquered England and Is About to Dominate Europe. It’s a Dream But Also a Nightmare. Anyway, I Hope This Dream Wakes Up Soon."
Englishman’s Feelings About This Match Are Indeed Profound.
The UEFA Cup Is After All a Second-Tier European Competition Below the Champions League.
So Other European Players Can’t Really Feel the Powerlessness That the English Have Felt This Season.
Undefeated in the League and Winners of the Title.
Claiming Four Trophies This Season Including the Community Shield.
This Is Really...
You Can Say That Englishman’s Attitude Toward Deng Kai Is One of Both Fear and Awe!
This Match Is Their Last Lifeline.
If They Can’t Stop Deng Kai’s Unbeaten Streak in This Match,
Next Season, Never Mind What Happens to the Clubs and Players,
But English Fans Will Surely All Lean Towards Manchester City.
Even the Hardcore Fans of Other Teams, While Not Likely to Change Sides at the Last Moment, Will Definitely Feel "Inferior."
So This England Side Is Fighting for the Dignity of All Englishmen Next Season!
June 30th, Porto, Dragão Stadium.
The Last Time Deng Kai Was Here, He Could Only Sit in the Stands, Watching Powerlessly as His Team Lost to Greece.
This Time, He Finally Wears the Captain’s Armband for the Portugal Team and Appears on the Field.
"There Are No Big Changes to Today’s England Lineup."
"Up Front We Have Owen Partnered With Wayne Rooney, With Heskey Out Due to Injury Issues, Making Robbie Fowler Likely to Come On in the Second Half as a Substitute."
"The Midfield From Left to Right Is Joe Cole, Scholes, Lampard, Beckham."
"The ’Two Ds’ Issue in the Midfield Seems to Be Troubling England a Bit. It Looks Like Gerard Has Voluntarily Stepped Back. If Needed, He’ll Likely Also Come On as a Substitute."
"The Defense From Left to Right Is Ashley Cole, Terry, Campbell, Gary Neville. The Goalkeeper Is Robinson."
Clearly, England’s Playing Style Remains the Same.
They Don’t Need Complicated Tactics.
Just By Bringing These Star Players Together, They Have the Power to Compete for the Championship."
By Contrast, Portugal Seems to Have Less Confidence in the Match.
Because They Have Made Significant Changes to Their Lineup This Time.
Up Front Deng Kai, Ronaldo, Figo.
The Midfield Deco, Costinha, Viana.
The goalkeeper is Bai Ya.
There’s no change there.
But the defenders from left to right are Veloso, Feng Te, Kilop, and Carvalho.
Nearly every one of these names is unexpected.
Portugal has switched from three central defenders to four at the back.
Veloso is mainly a defensive midfielder, he played central defense early on, but then didn’t grow tall enough.
Besides, he now finds himself as a fullback.
Feng Te’s position should have belonged to Pepe, but with Pepe suspended, Portugal had no one else and had to field Feng Te.
Kilop was previously hit in the face with a football, and his injury was not light.
This time, he had to return to action with a mask on, which would undoubtedly affect his performance.
Carvalho, who had been playing as a central defender, now appeared in the right-back position.
Although he could play there, it was still not his primary comfort zone.
It was quite a risky move.
Such an arrangement.
Portugal must have had special considerations in mind.
Before the match began, reporters asked Maxa, who was close to Trigella, about this issue.
Maxa smiled meaningfully.
Maxa: I’m just a candidate for FIFA Coach of the Year and the Premier League’s Best Coach of the Season, what do I know about tactics?
But Deng Kai did say once.
Having Veloso play as left-back is mainly to counter Beckham’s wing crosses.
Because Veloso has better mobility than Carvalho.
We don’t expect to completely shut down Beckham, just restricting him will do.
And Carvalho’s one-on-one defensive capabilities are stronger, making him the best choice on the right to limit both Coles.
Whoever comes up gets dealt with.
If both come up at the same time, then we take on whoever we can.
In essence, just camp out behind the right flank, essentially a side-placed central defender.
The reason for using Feng Te was mainly his aerial defense.
Both of Portugal’s central defenders are 1.91 meters tall, tasked with defending against England’s wing crosses, long balls, corner kicks, and free kicks.
We aim to completely lock down the aerial space.
In light of this, Scholes at 1.70 meters, Owen at 1.73 meters, Joe Cole at 1.75 meters, Rooney at 1.78 meters, and Lampard at 1.83 meters all expressed how ruthless you are!
It must be said, the loss of the 1.90-meter Heskey was actually very bad for England.
Because their biggest reliance on Beckham’s threat was thus significantly reduced.
Don’t look at Heskey’s modest goal-scoring ability.
But his tactical threat and ability to distract are top-notch.
Soon, both teams officially entered the field, and the match was about to begin.
The camera successively focused on the players of both teams, as commentators tried to introduce them.
Things like Rooney scoring twice in the second round of the group matches, becoming the youngest goal scorer in Euro history,
and Deng Kai, two months older than Rooney, being the youngest player to achieve both goals and assists in the tournament were mentioned.
