Sorry, I forgot to post it on time …
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A day had passed since the game, and the Spanish fans might not be willing to accept the fact that the pre-game favorite, Spain, had been knocked out by the England team's worst shooting player with a world-class shot.
This game made George Wood famous in the world of football. Even the most hypocritical fans now knew George Wood's name.
After the game against Spain, George Wood underwent a urine test and there was no problem. He was then named the best player on the spot. FIFA's official website commented on him: "Impeccable defense and game attitude, and the last-minute killing of the favorite, Spain, embodied the full value of a midfield core."
Motson's new nickname for Wood was also widely spread with his hysteria during the goal. Now the England fans changed the way they called George Wood to "Saint George." After the game, the streets and alleys of England, pubs and squares, rang out with a voice — "Saint George bless England!"
The English media said that George Wood's earth-shattering shot was comparable to David Pratt's last-minute hook shot against Belgium in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Twenty years ago, Pratt's goal saved England and helped the team break into the top eight. Twenty years later, George Wood's world-class shot helped the team break into the top four.
Fàbregas looked depressed after the game, but he still praised George Wood's performance in an interview, "… I tried to intercept his ball, but he was too fast. Maybe I should have fouled earlier … This is football, a second of hesitation cost us the game … He played well and deserved to win the game. I wish him good luck. "
Capello rarely praised a player alone, but this "rule" did not apply to George Wood. He was in high spirits in an interview after the game. He took the initiative to mention the great hero of the game, George Wood, to the reporters, "He's a great player and I'm glad to have such a player in the team. Yes, the goal was beautiful, but I paid more attention to his performance in the 119 minutes before the goal — it was perfect. He completely contained Xavi and Fàbregas, and not conceding a goal is the best recognition of his efforts … "
Vicente del Bosque was very calm after losing the World Cup. When he was asked about George Wood's performance, he replied, "Capello's three defensive midfielders were very successful, but without George Wood, the three defensive midfielders are not as good as people think. He is the core of the midfield defense … Yes, I think he is the best defensive midfielder in world football in recent years. But maybe in a few years I'll have to get rid of the 'defensive type' — that goal was beautiful. To be defeated by such a goal, I have nothing to say. "
Tang En, who had unearthed and groomed George Wood, also became the target of the media's pursuit after the match. He was not at all surprised by Wood's success. "Because I knew he would succeed. If Sven-Goran Eriksson was as smart as Capello, England might have gone further in Germany. If McClaren was clear-headed, then England would not have to be a spectator in the summer of 2008. Look, anyone who looks down on Wood has a tragic end. Do you think that Nottingham Forest's two UEFA Champions League titles and one Premier League title in two years was won by luck? With Saint George, what else can't we do? "At this point, Tang En smiled proudly. He liked the new nickname that Motson gave Wood in a flash of inspiration during the live broadcast. It was much better than "monster," "android," and "future soldier."
With so many people praising George Wood, what did he think of it?
"I'm very happy to be able to make it to the semi-finals. I'm just playing normally. "Even though he said" I'm very happy, "there was no obvious smile on his face.
"He's still playing normally. I really want to see what his extraordinary play looks like …" The reporter who interviewed him said in the report.
In short, George Wood had established his position in the world of football in one fell swoop.
Before the start of the World Cup, all the way to the group stage. The English media were still arguing endlessly over whether to start Lampard and Gerrard, or to start George Wood and Gerrard. Some people supported Lampard, while others supported George Wood. England's "Two Virtues" problem was not solved at all because of Capello's arrival. Instead, the "Two Virtues" became "Three Virtues," and there was a tendency for it to become more and more intense.
Now, all the voices of debate had disappeared overnight. Some media outlets even said, "What Capello should consider now is not the problem of starting between George Wood and Lampard, but who is the other player to start alongside George Wood?"
It looked like "Saint George's" World Cup journey had just begun. He still had time to write his own legend. Because of Wood's excellent play, the England fans even began to look forward to reaching the final and picking up the World Cup.
"… Since 1966, we have never been able to get close to that trophy. In every World Cup, we say that this is the strongest England team in history. But in reality? But this World Cup may have a different ending. Capello is a coach who focuses on defense. In the World Cup, defense means championship and victory. Now with "Saint George," we have the right to dream more! "
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But "Saint George's" World Cup journey ended here.
They met the Italian team led by "Silver Fox" Lippi in the semi-finals.
This was a contest between the two Italian managers, and it was also a direct dialogue between the conservative and the more conservative. In the end, Italy's reinforced concrete chain defense defeated England. In the face of Italy's shrinking defense, England lacked the means and ideas to break the deadlock. It exposed their weakness of the lack of a playmaker in the midfield. Gerrard and Lampard were more like scoring midfielders and were slightly inferior in the passing organization.
On the Italian side, Pirlo sorted out the team's midfield in an orderly manner. Through defensive counterattacks, he threatened England's goal so that England did not dare to press forward.
In the end, the game was dragged into a penalty shootout.
In fact, the England team was already exhausted when they entered overtime — playing against Spain for 120 minutes had consumed too much energy, and now they had to play against Italy for another 120 minutes … Thinking about this, the England players' minds had already begun to collapse.
Only George Wood and Gerrard were exceptions. The two of them were still running tirelessly, hoping to break the deadlock for the team. Wood even planned to repeat the same trick and plug in from the back to score. In fact, in the final moments of the game, the England fans and media did hope so …
But their opponent this time was not Spain, who had almost no defense in the midfield, but Italy, the originator of defensive football.
George Wood was heavily marked, and the Italian players would rather foul early than give Wood a chance to plug in from the back. There were a few times when Wood hurriedly raised his leg to shoot and missed his aim. Although the England fans kept shouting, "St. George for England" during the game, "St. George" did not appear again this time. He could not bless England.
The game was dragged into a penalty shootout, and the England people had completely lost confidence — it was not the first time they fell in front of a penalty. Almost everyone would have an inexplicable psychological shadow when they played a penalty shootout.
George Wood was not included in Capello's list of penalty shooters. Although his psychological quality was very good, his shooting skills were really not reassuring.
There was no suspense in the result. The world's best goalkeeper, Buffon, saved a penalty and "scared" another penalty away. Italy scored four out of four penalties, and the game was over without even having a fifth player on the England team.
Twain was not sad about the result. On the one hand, he was not a real Englishman and would not feel sad or happy about the fate of this team. On the other hand, when the game was dragged into overtime, he had already seen England's fate in his heart — their stamina could not keep up. England could only say that they were lucky not to be eliminated by Italy in overtime. But their good luck was used up in two overtime games and they could no longer turn the tide in the penalty shootout.
George Wood stood side by side with his teammates in the center circle and watched his teammates walk up one by one to take the penalty kicks from the back. He was either happy or depressed. And he could only watch his World Cup come to an end.
He did not get a minute of playing in the World Cup in Germany. Even if England was eliminated by Portugal, he did not have any special feelings other than feeling Beckham's sadness. Four years later, South Africa was different. He became a main player from the knockout stage and he really felt that he was a member of the team. England was able to make it to the top four, and he deserved more rewards than just stopping at the top four …
He felt sad.
But he did not cry. He did not remember ever crying in his life. He just stood in the same place with the joystick straight. He did not even bow his head to vent his disappointment. Because his back was leaning against a person, he could not move.
Lampard, who came on as a substitute in overtime, was the fifth player to play, but the game was over before it was his turn. He lay behind Wood and finally cried. It was not that he was not strong enough, but because he knew that this might be his last World Cup — he was 32 years old in 2010, and he would be 36 years old in four years. It was almost impossible for him to play in the World Cup for his country again.
No matter how strong a man was, he could not withstand such a blow.
When Beckham was brought off in the game against Portugal and sat on the sidelines crying, there were people who criticized him for not forgetting to put on a show no matter what. Those people were just standing there and talking. Those who had never experienced this kind of thing would never understand how great the sorrow in their hearts was.
When the fourth Italian player, Grosso, kicked the football into the goal guarded by Joe Hart, the Italian players next to him swarmed up, and half of the people in the stands cheered.
Wood looked at the ecstatic expressions of his opponents and clenched his fists. He now regretted that he could not contribute a little more to the team in offense. If his shooting was better and he had seized one of the three chances in overtime, he probably would not be able to see the Italians' expressions now.
He hated to see his opponents laugh. He liked to see his opponents cry the most.
Shoot better! Attack better! I don't want to be a defensive midfielder who only knows how to defend! I don't want to let others control the direction of the game! I want to … control my fate in my own hands!
I want to be the real "Saint George"!
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Motson did not say a word for a long time, making people think he was dead. Alan Shearer shook his head helplessly. Twain sighed. The first two men were really sad that England stopped in the top four, while Twain only felt pity for George Wood.
"Although … the top four has completed the goal before the World Cup. But after watching the last game to eliminate Spain, I believe all the English people are looking forward to more, but … "Motson finally regained a little life." This is football. It is not subject to our will. The England boys are good … George Wood, twenty-four, Aaron Lennon, eighteen, Jack Wilshere, nineteen, Jack Rodwell, twenty-two, Micah Richards, twenty-one, Walcott, twenty-three, Joe Hart, twenty-four, Wayne Rooney, twenty-five, Ashley Young, twenty-six, Bentley, twenty-six, Stewart Downing … Look at these young people, I think we can continue to look forward to four years later. "
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In the third and fourth place finals, held the day before the final, George Wood continued to play in the starting lineup, and his partner was changed to Lampard.
In the third and fourth place finals, England's opponent was Brazil, their opponent in the group stage.
Losing the semi-final did not affect Wood in any way, or it could be said that he became more motivated …
Capello handed Kaka over to him, and he faithfully carried out the manager's tactical requirements on the field. He did not let Kaka easily take the ball, did not give him space to start a breakthrough, did not let him easily pass the football out, even if it was a yellow card for a foul … completely froze the core of the Brazilian team.
The duel between George Wood and Kaka was very exciting and became a beautiful scene in the game. Neither side gained an advantage, and both sides won and lost.
In the end, England lost 1: 2 to Brazil because their overall strength was not as good as Brazil, and two consecutive 120 minutes of games exhausted all their physical strength, and finally finished fourth in the World Cup.
The final was between Italy and Argentina, after ninety minutes of fierce fighting. The Argentine team relied on two flashes of Messi and Agüero to defeat Italy 2: 0. It was the third time in history that they picked up the World Cup. After this battle, Messi was named a god, and the vast number of media and fans called him the new king of football. For a time, the name "Messi" was shouted all over the world.
"2010 is the year of Messi! At the club, he wore the number 10 jersey and led Barcelona to the league title and the UEFA Champions League title! In the national team, wearing the number 10 jersey, he finally became the king of the world! We were fortunate to witness the birth of the new king of football in South Africa! "
Amidst the praises, only one person sang a different tune.
Tony Twain wrote in his column after the final, out of the mentality of going against the whole world and his disgust at the phenomenon of everyone blindly following and singing praises, "I admit that Messi has won three championships, but it's too early to call him the 'new king of football.' Argentina can win the World Cup because they did not meet England. Barcelona can win the UEFA Champions League because Nottingham Forest is not there! "
Some people ridiculed Twain for "saying the grapes are sour".
Twain hit back, saying that his team would return to the European stage next season, and he would let everyone know who was right and who was wrong.
"I don't mind at all that the UEFA has drawn my team against Barcelona. I can't even wait for it. Come on, use the 'unspoken rules' on me! "
Later, because of the remarks that could lead the public to think that the UEFA had secretly manipulated the game, he was fined 20,000 euros by the UEFA and given a stern warning …
The grudge between him and Barcelona was growing.
He lost money and reputation, and he also deepened the feud with his opponent. In the eyes of outsiders, Tony Twain's idiotic actions were simply unreasonable.
But Twain thought he was just telling the truth …
If George Wood played against Messi, Messi only needed to pray that he would not be kicked off the field within 90 minutes and do nothing else. As long as Twain was still the manager of the Forest team, he would definitely do so. Where did Italy lose? It was because they were too "civilized" in their marking of Messi. Unfortunately, as he grew older, Gattuso's form declined too quickly. If Gattuso was in his prime, it would be hard to say what the outcome of the final would be … In the game, Gattuso clearly could not keep up with Messi's pace. He was always easily left behind by Messi's speed and could not foul in time even if he wanted to.
The new king of football? Messi was far from being able to dominate everything. He still had a long way to go if he wanted to be king.
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