Toshack thought he had found the tactics to deal with England's "Two German midfielders" and found the key to defeating England. It wasn't completely a psychological battle.
All along, England's core had been the two midfielders – Gerrard and Wood. Capello's England was able to get fourth place in the World Cup in South Africa largely because of the outstanding performances of these two players, especially George Wood's consecutive outbursts.
Therefore, everyone thought that England could rise again because of these two players. England would be no different from a strong team as long as they could contain the play of these two players.
However, Toshack must not have expected that Tang En did not arrange for the "Double Virtues" to appear in this match. Gerrard was told that he would not be starting for the match, and the player who would be starting in his place was Wilshere, who was named the Man of the Match in the last round of the league tournament between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
Gerrard didn't say anything about this decision and chose to accept it. He knew very well that his performance in the previous round of the league tournament was average. He had nothing to say if the manager did not allow him to start. He was not the kind of troublemaker who would kick up a fuss with the manager if he was not in the starting lineup. For so many years in English football, no one had ever heard of Gerrard having a conflict with the manager because of whether or not to play.
Liverpool's media did not argue with Tang En this time. From now on, the pro-Liverpool reporters had to accept the fact that Gerrard was getting older and his position in the national team was gradually being shaken. He would no longer be the flag and symbol of England. This fact could not be changed even if Tony Twain was not in charge.
Twain's change caught Wales off guard.
When Toshack saw from the technical area that the person standing with Wood in the midfield was Wilshere and not Gerrard, he lowered his head and cursed.
Gareth Bale did not care whether Gerrard played or not. Toshack did not arrange for him to mark Gerrard one-on-one. Whether Gerrard played or not did not affect him much.
The live broadcast was playing the national anthems of both sides. They had just finished playing Wales' "My Fathers' Land" and were now playing England's "God Save the Queen".
Taking advantage of this moment, Bale's eyes stared at Tony Twain in the away team's technical area.
After more than two months, he once again saw his master. However, he could only watch from afar and couldn't hug her.
He took a few glances at Twain from afar, then retracted his gaze. He knew what was most important at this time.
His teammate at the club, George Wood, was in the queue next to him. If there were no accidents, he would definitely be arranged by the boss to mark Aaron Ramsey in this game. Wales would have to rely on himself and Ramsey. He was a full back with limited role and threat. Ramsey was the midfielder, the initiator of the offense, and sometimes played the role of the offensive terminator.
He understood the boss's tactical thinking. For such a character, he could not leave him alone, especially in a situation where as long as he kept an eye on him, Wales' attack would only be left with their own side.
Ramsey was still not the absolute main force at Arsenal. Due to the presence of Wilshere, he was more often a substitute in the same position. Even so, he was undoubtedly a core player in Wales.
Toshack's strategy in this game was not to pin his hopes on Ramsey. He knew that George Wood would be assigned to mark Ramsey, so Ramsey's activity in the front field was only to attract the attention of the England defense. Bale was moved to the left midfielder position by Toshack in this game, and the main attack would be launched from his side.
After the start of the game, Ramsey was quickly marked by Wood.
His team had lost to Arsenal in the league tournament. He would not fall at the feet of the Arsenal players again in the national team game.
Soon, Twain saw that Wales' attack was clearly biased towards their left side. He knew very well what Bale's premise meant. Because he occasionally did this when he was at the Forest team.
The Cardiff Millennium Stadium was no stranger to the players on both sides of the game. Twain's first championship trophy was won here. So, although it was an away game, he had a good impression of the stadium. He thought that the Millennium Stadium could bring him good luck.
In fact, he did have good luck.
At the beginning, Wales took advantage of the home advantage to create some killing opportunities while England had not adapted. For example, in the 14th minute, Wood tripped Ramsey, and Wales was awarded a direct free kick 27 meters away from the goal, slightly to the right of the front of the penalty area.
The foul made Twain very nervous. He left his seat and walked to the sidelines, staring at the field without blinking.
Bale came up to take the free kick. There was a uniform cheer in the stands of the Cardiff Millennium Stadium, cheering for Bale.
The England team did not dare to be careless. They lined up a six-man human wall.
If it was a mobile attack, the England team might appear a little arrogant and underestimate the opponent. But when it became a dead ball and Wales was awarded a direct free kick in the front field, none of them dared to be careless. Because they all knew how good this Wales number 2 was at free kicks.
Bale's free kick successfully bypassed the human wall and the goalkeeper Joe Hart's fingertips. But the arc was too wide, and the football brushed against the goalpost and flew out of the end line.
When the football brushed against the side of the net, Twain even thought the football went in, which really gave him a shock.
The stands of the Millennium Stadium also burst into loud cheers. But when they saw Bale raise his arms but not to celebrate the goal, but to hold his head dejectedly, they realized that the football did not fly into the goal. They collectively wasted an expression …
"Damn it! A great opportunity! "Toshack was disappointed that the ball did not go in. He knew the gap between the two teams. If he could take the lead against England at home, then the subsequent games would be easier to play.
Next door, Twain said to his assistant manager, Des Walker, "There's a saying in China, 'Those who survive a great disaster are bound to have good fortune later on.' We're blessed. "
※ ※ ※
The England team, which had recovered, then launched a siege on the Wales goal.
Wilshere did not have to think about returning to defend at all. He could put all his energy into organizing the attack. In this way, England's offensive efficiency improved a lot.
Any attacking midfielder would want their partner to be George Wood. Because they had no worries at all, and under no pressure, they could naturally play at their highest level.
"Wilshere's beautiful straight pass … went through the two Welsh defenders … Too bad Mitchell hit too high!"
"This time he personally dribbled the ball forward. Beautiful! Past poor James Collins! Shot! Hennessey's wonderful save saved Wales' goal! "
Toshack did make very detailed arrangements for England's attack, although Wilshere's appearance was beyond his expectations. But he still did not relax his marking of several key players. England's attack was all bark and no bite.
If this went on, Wales' confidence would rise, and it would be troublesome. After all, this was their home ground. More than 60,000 Welsh fans in the stadium were cheering for their team, and the momentum was frightening.
Twain stood up again from the technical area. He walked to the sidelines and whistled inside. After attracting Wood's attention, he made a gesture to go forward.
Today's Wood no longer needed Twain to pull him to his side to make detailed arrangements. He was very clear about what to do in the attack.
He nodded.
So, Twain walked back again and sat down.
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In the 40th minute, England got a chance for a corner kick. The two center backs, John Terry and Stephen Taylor, rushed to the front of the Welsh goal, ready to fight for the header.
Bale noticed that Wood was at the back, where the center circle was. He was a little relieved.
He still remembered that one of the Forest team's many corner kick tactics in the past was to arrange for Wood to wait outside the penalty area, and then the corner kick would go straight to the top of the penalty arc. Then Wood would receive the ball and volley the shot, taking advantage of the chaos to score.
Although he saw that Wood was far away from the goal, Bale did not completely let his guard down. He did not join his teammates in the penalty area to contain England's center backs. Instead, he stayed outside the penalty arc, just in case.
Downing, who was in charge of the corner kick, raised his right hand and put up three fingers. This was their tactical signal. Different hand signals had different arrangements. Everyone in the England team must know what tactics these hand signals corresponded to.
After seeing him raise his hand, the Wales goal became even more chaotic. The players from both sides huddled together and tugged at each other in the corner where the referee could not see.
But Downing did not send the ball into the penalty area. He directly passed the ball to the small Wilshere in the corner of the penalty area diagonally in front of him.
"Push out!" The Welsh goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey, roared and pushed the people in front of him out. He was worried that Wilshere would pass the ball, so he wanted to create an offside.
The players rushed out in a hubbub. But Wilshere did not pass the ball in. Instead, he turned around and kicked the ball diagonally to the back …
Bale cast his gaze to the center circle again. He found that Wood was no longer there!
"George Wood!!"
The commentator roared.
Wood, who had disappeared, appeared in front of Wales' forward pressing defensive line. About thirty meters away from the goal, he received the ball from Wilshere and dribbled forward.
Bale only saw Wood then. He did not have time to remind his teammates and went up alone to meet him.
It was a rare opportunity to collide head-on with his own captain on an official field!
This was not the time to talk about club friendship. Bale ran towards Wood's legs and shoveled fiercely.
Wood certainly saw Bale's actions — he did it so obviously and rushed head-on. It would be blind not to see it.
Wood did not use a feint to shake Bale. Instead, he directly swung his leg for a long shot before Bale could kick him or kick the ball!
Although this was not a shot that was shot out in preparation, such a shot in a football game was several times more effective than those shots that were done with a proper posture and then swung their legs.
Because it was a human's instinctive reaction. In a fierce game, the body's instincts were more trustworthy than the complex and sophisticated structure of the brain.
With a muffled "bang", the football flew over Bale's head and caused a gust of wind, scattering grass on his face. He looked back as the football flew straight towards the Wales goal.
Wood, who had completed the shot, landed a little awkwardly. He dodged in the air. If he did not do that, his knee would have directly hit Bale's face, and the consequences … would have been unimaginable.
The football that was shot out by him was like a cannonball and hit the bullseye in front of it.
Tenth ring!
Hennessey's speed to save was still too slow in the face of this long shot. There were so many people in the penalty area, but no one touched the ball. The football flew straight into the goal!
"George Wood's signature long shot!! England took the lead towards the end of the first half! "
Wood lay next to Bale after he fell.
The two men looked at each other.
"That move of yours was too dangerous." Wood said to Bale. Then he got up from the ground and waved his fist to celebrate his goal.
Bale lay on his back on the ground, watching countless pairs of feet appear and disappear in his sight, and the cheers of the England players rang in his ears.
He exhaled, clenched his hands into fists, and grabbed a bunch of turf, "Damn, too weak …"
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Seeing Wood's goal, Twain got up from his seat for the third time. He raised his arms high and hugged Des Walker next to him to celebrate. No matter what kind of game it was, being able to score first and take the lead over the opponent was something worth celebrating.
After the halftime interval, the two sides changed sides and fought again.
Wales still relied on Bale's offense. So, Twain adjusted his countermeasure. He did not strengthen the defense on the right side, but stepped up the offense. The huge defensive pressure forced Bale to reduce the number of times he attacked. More often than not, he helped the defenders at the back, looking more like a full back than a side midfielder.
Toshack was a little dissatisfied with this. But what could he do? England attacked with all their might, and the players naturally had to stabilize the defense first.
Unfortunately, they could not stabilize it …
The game then entered England's orbit.
Ramsey was entangled by Wood, and at the same time, Wood still had the energy to go up and participate in the attack. A long shot was enough to make the Welsh players jittery, not to mention his excellent long passes. Wilshere and him, the combination of long and short, made the Welsh team tired to cope.
The England team scored another goal in the second half. The goal was scored by Walcott. At that time, England counterattacked. He dribbled the ball and ran more than fifty meters. No one in Wales could catch up with him. A group of people watched helplessly as he sped away, bypassed the goalkeeper, and scored the football into the empty goal.
Twain let the opponent vividly understand the gap between them and England — Walcott's fifty meters of mad running.
The game ended with a score of 2: 0. England easily defeated Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Two wins in two games and six points with Denmark. But they had more goal difference, and England was now first in the group.
Gareth Bale played the whole game. After the game, he did not exchange jerseys with his opponent. Instead, he walked straight to the visiting team's technical area.
Twain was celebrating the victory with his assistant manager at that time. Suddenly, he heard someone call him from behind.
"Boss."
He turned around and found it was Bale. The little monkey, soaked in sweat, looked like he had just been fished out of the water. His hairstyle, which he always cared about the most, was now stuck close to his scalp.
"Gareth. How are you? "Twain laughed.
"Not good at all. Your team beat us." Bale curled his lips. At the same time, he opened his arms. "Can I have a hug with you?"
"Of course." Twain also opened his arms to greet him.
"All right!" When he let go, Bale smiled at Twain. "Now I don't have to envy them anymore. Boss, why didn't Bentley come? "
Twain wondered why he would ask about the opponent's player, but he still replied, "His form is average. We have too many players in the midfield, so we didn't choose him."
Bale laughed happily when he heard the boss say so. "I have a reason to laugh at him when I go back!"
With that, he said to Twain, "Goodbye, boss. I have to go back over there … "He pointed to the field, looking a little lonely.
Twain patted his head. "Do well, Gareth. Try to lead Wales into the European Championship. "
"We're in a group, boss …"
"The second-best team in the group can participate in the play-offs." Twain winked at Bale. "I hope to see you in Spain in two years, wearing the Wales red jersey."
He held out his hand.
Bale high-fived him. "We'll be there!" As he turned to run away, he shouted at Twain, "We'll definitely be there!" He clenched his fist and waved it.
Walker asked next to him, "Do you believe Wales can qualify? There's still Denmark and Serbia in the same group. If Freddy hasn't retired, maybe he can … "
"It's always a good thing to have hope." Twain went straight to the middle. He had to shake hands with the Wales manager.
※ ※ ※
Ramsey was looking for Wood to change his jersey. "All right, George. You've stared at me for ninety minutes, and I've lost all my temper. Come on, let's exchange jerseys! What are you hesitating for? Still thinking about the last round of the league tournament? That has nothing to do with me … "
Only then did Wood take off the wet jersey and hand it to Ramsey.
"Wow!" Ramsey exclaimed after taking the jersey. "It's so heavy, it's all water! Aren't you tired? "
Wood ignored him and directly snatched his jersey from Ramsey's other hand and put it on his shoulder.
"We'll see you in the league tournament. Next time at our home ground, we won't lose to you. "With that, he turned and walked away.
Ramsey looked at his back and muttered, "This petty man who holds a grudge!"
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"Tony Twain led the England team to win his second UEFA European Championship qualifier. Currently, England has scored six goals in the qualifiers without conceding a goal and is ranked first in the group. It looks like it won't be a problem for them to qualify. The English media must be starting to claim that this England team is the strongest in history, right? "The Welsh television commentator said sourly.
"Good luck to them."
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