Goalkeepers: Scott Carlson, Chris Kirkland, Joe Hart.
Defenders: Glen Johnson, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Stephen Taylor, John Terry, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines, Joe Mattock.
Midfielders: George Wood, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, David Bentley, Theo Walcott, Stewart Downing, Adriano Moke, Chris Cohen.
Strikers: Aaron Mitchell, James Vaughan, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wayne Rooney.
Twain showed Des Walker the 23-man list he had confirmed. Walker saw the name "George Wood" at a glance.
"The reporters saw you go to Wood's house yesterday. Is his recovery going well?" Walker asked.
"No, his recovery is as slow as before."
"Then why are you …" Walker did not understand.
"This squad list has to be reported to the UEFA. Once it's confirmed, there's no way to change it, Des." Twain smiled bitterly. How could he not know what the disadvantages of doing so were?
"Do you still hold out hope for Wood's injury?"
"I hope that I still have hope."
"But …" Walker hesitated. "What if Wood can't recover to the point where he can play as a substitute?"
"What do we do?" Twain already had an idea on this point. "Just take it that we brought four goalkeepers."
In the past, when the national team participated in international competitions, the squad list had 22 players. They could bring two goalkeepers, one main force and one substitute. Later, FIFA changed the rules and allowed each team to bring three goalkeepers to prevent accidents. So, the squad list changed from 22 to 23. Although they brought an extra goalkeeper, the third goalkeeper rarely had the chance to play.
Twain's suggestion of bringing four goalkeepers was clearly a waste of a spot.
Walker was silent for a moment before he asked, "This list … What will Harvey think of it?"
"If George's name isn't on it, then Harvey will settle the score with me." Twain said nonchalantly. "If this published list doesn't have George Wood's name on it, do you know what the fans and the media will think?"
Walker was not a fool. He also thought of it. He could only nod. "I hope Wood can recover soon …"
※ ※ ※
As Tang En said, the English Football Association did not have any objections to George Wood's appearance in the squad list. Even if they did not know if Wood could recover from his injury and return before the start of the UEFA European Championship, if Wood's name was not on it, the domestic fans and media would definitely eat them up.
However, Wood's name on it also made the media and fans' imagination run wild – did it mean that George's recovery from his injury was going smoothly? Otherwise, Tang En would not have written his name on it.
In this way, everyone suddenly felt that England's future in the UEFA European Championship was bright …
"Wood is recovering well from his injury and is expected to play in the match between England and Portugal on June 12th!"
"The experts say that he will be fully recovered by the 17th of June at the latest. It won't be a problem for him to advance to the next round!"
"The core members will return by the beginning of June at the latest. Tony Twain is full of ambition!"
"The invincible midfielder will return in glory!"
All kinds of headlines showed the English people's ecstasy.
Every time Tang En saw a news report like this, he would think about how the media would look if Wood's recovery from his injury was not ideal.
Barclays brought Tang En a piece of good news. Considering England's special situation and George Wood's important role to the England team, the UEFA referred to the precedent set by the FIFA and decided to delay the final registration time for the England squad list to 24 hours before the start of the UEFA European Championship. That way, even if it was confirmed that Wood could not play in the game on the last day before the start of the UEFA European Championship, England would still have a substitute.
But Tang En did not care about such a place. To him, if George Wood really could not play in the game, then it did not matter who he replaced. As he said to Walker, it was as if he had brought four goalkeepers to Spain.
※ ※ ※
The league tournament was over, and the English team did not have anything to do with the Champions League. Except for George Wood, all the England national footballers who were selected in the squad list said goodbye to their club teammates and their families, and came to London's Colney training base to report.
A few days ago, they were still enemies and rivals who fought to the death for the league title, the qualification for the European Championship, or the chance to survive. Now, they had to spend nearly two months together, united for the same goal.
It was an interesting scene to think about.
Having just joined the national team, everyone would chat a little, and the topic would naturally be the league tournament that had just ended. The Manchester United players half-jokingly complained that the Chelsea players had snatched their league title, and the Chelsea players were still brooding over Liverpool beating them in the FA Cup final. The Arsenal players were trying to get close to Aaron Mitchell, hoping to persuade him to join Arsenal next season.
Even the public relations came to the national team.
But this kind of topic soon ended. As a member of the national team, the season that had ended was a thing of the past, and there was no need to dwell on it. The upcoming UEFA European Championship was the most important.
The Nottingham Forest players were a little upset when they saw that everyone had come except for one person.
They had no idea whether the captain would be able to make it before the UEFA European Championship. The other teammates in the national team were asking them about it, and they only knew a little more than the media.
Perhaps only the boss knew whether the captain could play in the UEFA European Championship. Perhaps there was a lot of hope? Because didn't he just say that the goal of this UEFA European Championship was to win the championship? Without George, it should be very difficult to win the championship, right?
Under Tang En's intentional arrangements, the current George Wood had become the tactical and spiritual core of the England team. When he was there, everyone would feel a sense of security, and when he was not there, they would naturally feel uneasy. Gerrard could do this when he was at Liverpool, but his influence in the national team was not enough.
In the locker room, Wood did not talk much and never said meaningless nonsense. He could always use his actions to show that he was a trustworthy captain. Whether it was defense or offense, he would step forward when there was a problem. If his own players were maliciously violated by the other side, he would definitely find a chance to retaliate, even if he got a card because of it.
If Wood really could not play in the UEFA European Championship, many people in the England team would first have a shadow cast over their hearts, and they would feel that the trip to Spain was fraught with grim possibilities. Fear before the battle had even begun, so Tang En was unwilling to reveal the true situation of Wood's recovery.
That would be a heavy blow to the team's morale.
※ ※ ※
Tang En and Wallace had been concealing the true situation of Wood's injury to the outside world. They did not want Wood to be disturbed too much, and they did not want the team's morale to be affected.
But not everyone had their high awareness, or it could be said that there were some people in this world who wished for the world to be in chaos …
The media was always going against Tang En. Now that there were so many rumors about Wood's recovery, the reporters collected information from various channels, hoping to find the truth, but Tang En and Wallace were always vague about it, which made the media even more suspicious.
The natural attribute of the English reporters seemed to be "spies." They always had a way to dig up inside information. Among them, The Sun was the most outstanding and had the strongest ability to dig up inside information.
It was not known what methods The Sun used, but at the end of May, they published a shocking piece of news:
"George Wood may not be able to play in the UEFA European Championship!"
Recently, as the start of the UEFA European Championship approached, there would occasionally be such pessimistic articles in the media. Most people only saw the rumors as jokes, because those speculations were really unreliable. But the article in The Sun was different.
It listed all kinds of evidence in detail to prove that George Wood's recovery from his injury was not as smooth as people thought.
Previously, the Nottingham Evening Post had published photos of Wood working out in the gym to prove that Wood was recovering well. But the evidence in The Sun's hands showed that Wood could not even run now. The photos in the gym only showed that he was working out his upper body muscles.
And people thought …
※ ※ ※
"What the f * ck is going on?" Tang En cursed at the newspaper that Walker had brought over. The Sun was very influential, and the article had already spread. He only found out about the matter when Pierce Brosnan called to ask.
After cursing, Tang En calmed down and first called Professor Wallace to confirm that the news did not leak out from his mouth. The England team had a regular press conference in the afternoon. One could imagine how the reporters would bombard him at that time.
Professor Wallace's voice was tired. It was obvious that he had just been bombarded by the media.
"I just finished a press conference held by the hospital, Mr. Tang … I know what you want to ask. I didn't leak that stuff out. It's the people around me …"
Tang En was sure when he heard his voice. Professor Wallace did not have a hobby of finding trouble for himself.
"What did you say at the press conference, Professor?" Tang En felt that he needed to communicate with the other party to prevent a slip of the tongue.
"Of course I denied the report in The Sun."
"Ah, that's good, Professor. In fact, that's what I was planning to do. "Tang En had decided to deny it at the press conference in the afternoon.
"But, Mr. Tang. Are you really sure that you can get Wood back on the football field before the twelfth? "This was something that even Professor Wallace himself was not sure about.
"I'm not sure, Professor."
"Then you …"
"Some things have to be done for people to see. Right now, hiding the truth is better than telling the truth. "
Professor Wallace just felt as if he had boarded a pirate ship and could not get off even if he wanted to. He could only accompany Tang En to the end and hope that they could finally walk out of this together …
※ ※ ※
The media was particularly excited and looking forward to the press conference in the afternoon. Aaron Mitchell, who came with Tang En, became a complete decoration. There were no reporters who wanted to ask him questions at all. Everyone's target was Tang En.
Tang En's face was calm. He would deal with the situation as it came.
"Mr. Tang En, may I ask, The Sun said that George Wood is almost unable to make it to the UEFA European Championship? Is this true?"
"It's complete nonsense."
"How is George Wood's injury recovery? Can you reveal a little?"
"It's going well. He's already started strength training." Tang En had said this countless times. This time, he brought it up to brush off the reporters who asked questions.
The reporters were obviously dissatisfied with Tang En's perfunctory attitude.
"But we have no other evidence to prove that George Wood's right foot is recovering other than this photo …"
"George doesn't want his private life to be disturbed. Even this photo was taken after repeated communication. What are you unhappy about, Mr. Reporter?" Tang En did not show any weakness.
Making up a lie was not difficult for Tang En at all. He could do it to the point where he opened his mouth and did not even blush or pant, making it impossible for people to see through him.
"So, can George Wood really make it to the UEFA European Championship?"
Tang En also knew that in order to make this group of reporters truly believe that he was not lying, some words that were too full would be as bad as not going far enough. Because when you want to lie, every word you say must be said with certainty, as if you were reciting your lines. If you want people to believe your words, then it's best to deliberately add some flaws when you say it. Things that are true and false are the easiest to confuse people.
"I can't guarantee that he can, but Professor Wallace and I, as well as George himself, are all working hard towards this goal. Until the last day, none of us will easily give up. "
His words were spoken with sincerity, and many people believed Tang En's words. If Tang En insisted that Wood would definitely recover before June 12th, these people would probably suspect that Tang En was lying.
The media besieged Tang En for a long time, but they could not pry open his mouth. Instead, they were convinced by Tang En, which was really beyond The Sun's expectations.
The reporter from The Sun had no choice but to personally intervene. "We have conclusive evidence to prove that Wood can't make it to the UEFA European Championship. So, Mr. Tang, may I ask if you have any backup …"
Tang En directly interrupted the other person's question. "What conclusive evidence? Even the attending doctor thinks he can make it. Where does your evidence come from, sir? "
The other person was just about to answer when Tang En interrupted him again. "The people around the doctor? The cleaner or the nurse? How can you determine that what they say is the truth, and what I tell you is a lie? Who is the person closest to George Wood? "
"Uh …"
The reporter was rendered speechless by Tang En's series of rhetorical questions. He did not know what to say.
"I don't want to talk nonsense with you here, Mr. Reporter. I'm also not willing to bet with you. "
Hearing the word "bet," someone laughed. It had already become an allusion: Don't bet with Tony Twain, unless you think life is too dull.
"I can only tell you that we all hope that George can make it to the UEFA European Championship, and we're all working hard for it. If you really have nothing better to do, I suggest you pay attention to the refugee flow in Africa, instead of pointing fingers at other people's work under the banner of the truth in the news. "Tang En unceremoniously put a big hat on the reporter from The Sun, then got up and walked away.
The group of reporters looked at each other.
They all thought Tang En was angry. In fact, when he walked out of the press conference venue, a smile appeared on Tang En's face.
The Sun had intended to use this against him, but he had just used a few tricks to dismiss them.
However, this incident also gave him a wake-up call — not everyone believed his words.
If by that day, Wood's injury really had not recovered to the point where he could play as a substitute, what would he do?
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