Even after a night had passed, some of the England supporters still could not believe the reality — their team had beaten Portugal 4: 2.
The game was like a dream, and it left a deep impression.
Portugal was a traditionally strong team in Europe, and it was reasonable to say that it was on par with England's strength. Therefore, it was not a big deal for England to win against Portugal, but it was not normal for England to win easily with a score of 4: 2 …
Although England did not have the upper hand from the beginning to the end, the score spoke for itself. 4: 2 was very exhilarating.
The English media's analysis of this was simple and surprisingly consistent — it was not that Portugal was too weak, but that we were too strong! England was a strong team in the world, and it was normal for them to beat Portugal 4: 2, a strong European team. The England fans were used to believing whatever the media said. Since the media said England was strong, then England was really strong.
For a moment, the country was full of all kinds of optimism, as if it was no longer a problem to advance from the group stage, and even the European championship would be a piece of cake.
Later, not only did the country have this kind of thinking, but even some people in the England team thought so.
Previously, they thought that without George Wood, the game would be very difficult. They did not expect to easily win against a strong team like Portugal with a score of 4: 2, which made them very proud.
The atmosphere at training the next day was very relaxed. Everyone was still talking about yesterday's game, which made people excited when they recalled it.
Tang En did not care about these things. His mind was full of how to deal with Germany. Yes, he directly skipped Wales … In his mind, even without George Wood, Wales could not set off any big waves. Tang En was very clear about their level. In addition, the team had just won against Portugal, and morale was high. The game in five days should not be a problem.
The training only lasted for half a day, and Tang En announced a holiday. Today was half a day, and tomorrow was the whole day off. There was enough time anyway. The English Premier League was the league with the most intensive schedule, and the England players were more tired than players in other leagues. Tang En seized every opportunity to give the team a holiday to prevent them from being too tired.
The players were very happy that they could go shopping and relax.
But there was one person who did not exercise with them.
George Wood continued his recovery training in the hotel's swimming pool. Although the coaching staff told him not to work so hard, no one could dissuade the determined Wood.
Twain did not bother about Wood. He decided to give himself half a day off to look for Shania. The UEFA European Championship was a job for him, but it was a vacation for Shania.
After a simple disguise, the two of them strolled the streets of Barcelona. The England fans did not recognize that the man wearing sunglasses and accompanied by a beautiful woman was Tony Twain, and the Wales fans did not care about him at all.
England's next game was also here, at Camp Nou. After the game against Wales, they would move to Valencia to prepare for the big game against Germany.
"It's only now that I'm in the mood to go shopping." Twain sighed as he looked at the crowd around him.
"Does it get more stressful later on?" Shania held Twain's arm and leaned on his shoulder.
"Of course."
"Shouldn't you come out to relax when you're under a lot of pressure?" Shania smiled mischievously.
Tang En stretched out the hand that was not held by Shania and scratched her nose.
"I'll relax when I think about you in bed." Twain's words had a double meaning. Shania had obviously already guessed what he was talking about. On the sunny streets of Barcelona, she was quite generous, turning her head and kissing Tang En.
※ ※ ※
After saying goodbye to Shania, Twain slowly walked back to the hotel he was staying at.
Some of the players had already returned early and were sitting in the cafe resting. Seeing that the boss was back, they all got up to greet him. Twain glanced at them and asked, "Where's George?"
Everyone knew that the boss cared about George more than the manager cared about his players. So, they were not surprised. They looked at each other and then shrugged at the boss. "I didn't see him. Maybe in the room, maybe in the pool, maybe in the gym. Boss. "
"Well … You guys continue to play." Twain waved and left the cafe to walk to the gym.
He thought that Wood might be very busy in the gym.
Sure enough, as soon as he walked to the door, he heard the sound of equipment colliding inside. The hotel's gym had been booked by the England team. At this time, the only person who could still practice inside was George Wood.
Twain stood at the door and saw the strong figure with his back facing the exit. The sweat on his bare back glistened brightly under the lights.
"Take a break, George." Twain raised his voice and shouted.
Wood looked back at Twain standing at the door. He obediently came down from the equipment.
"How do you feel?" Twain walked up and handed him a dry towel.
"Very good." Wood took the towel and wiped his face.
"Looks like you're recovering well. I'm relieved." Tang En looked at the big toe of his right foot. There was nothing strange there with the naked eye.
In fact, Twain looked for him this time because he had something to tell him. Ever since England won against Portugal, he had been thinking about this problem.
Logically, a lineup that could win continuously should not be changed at will, unless there were special circumstances such as injuries. If he was lucky and this lineup without George Wood kept winning until the knockout stage, and there were no injuries bothering him, then when Wood recovered, would there still be a place for him in the team?
Twain liked Wood. Otherwise, he would not have insisted on bringing Wood to Spain when his foot injury had not recovered. But he was not a person who put personal feelings above everything else. He was actually a utilitarian manager. Since this lineup could bring him victory, then what reason did Wood have to interfere? Regardless of the result or the unity of the locker room, he could not forcibly break up the lineup that could win just to make room for Wood's comeback.
This was not right. If he did so, the prestige he had built within the team would be in danger of collapsing.
But if he did not let Wood play, what was the point of bringing him to Spain? Wood was certainly not willing to sit on the bench. It would be fine if they won the UEFA European Championship, but what if they lost midway? Wood would hate him for the rest of his life, right?
So, he wanted to have a good talk with Wood.
"Is there something you need from me?" Wood took the initiative to ask when he saw Twain in a daze.
"Well …" Twain scratched his head. "George, do you remember what I told you back then? Right next to the hotel's swimming pool. I said, even if you wait until the knockout stage, I can't guarantee whether you can play in the game. You know what that means, right? "
Wood nodded and did not make things difficult for Twain. "I know. Now that the team has won, we can't easily change the main lineup. "
Twain breathed a sigh of relief that Wood was so sensible.
Twain did not tell him any nonsense such as "you're the captain, you have to lead by example." He knew that by saying so, Wood had accepted this reality.
But Wood suddenly added, "I'll work hard to get a chance to play."
Twain smiled. "Don't work too hard. Be careful not to hurt your foot again. Come on, let's get some rest and relax. "He pulled Wood along.
Wood shook his head. "I still have a set of sit-ups …"
Twain shrugged. "Anyway, if you get hurt again, you really won't have a chance."
"I know." Wood was already busy.
Twain waved his hands and turned to walk out.
This kid is in such good health. How did he get hurt?
God is unhappy that I've been tyrannical for eleven years and wants to find some trouble for me?
You evil God!
※ ※ ※
While the England players were still relaxing in the streets and alleys of Barcelona and on the sunny beaches, the Wales team was training hard behind closed doors. The intensity of training twice a day made it seem like they were not preparing for a group stage game, but the UEFA European Championship finals.
Gareth Bale became the focus of the team because the training these days had been centered around his specialty — set-piece drills.
Toshack designed no less than ten set-piece tactics for Wales, all of which needed to be completed by Bale. Now all of Europe knew that Bale was a master of free kicks. As long as he stood in front of the ball, the opposing goalkeeper would be nervous.
Wales lost to Germany in the first group stage game without any suspense, 0: 3. They were shaved bald and lost without any power to fight back. Although such a result was expected by the Welsh fans, the Welsh players did not want to accept such a result. It was not easy for them to reach the finals of the UEFA European Championship after forty years. How could they just walk away from the group stage? The Welsh players, who had no chance of participating in this kind of world competition before, were ambitious. They wanted to prove their strength.
Toshack predicted that England would underestimate their opponent after their big win over Portugal. Tony Twain's mind was probably full of the game against Germany, which was something he could take advantage of.
After the team's training, Bale stayed back to do additional training on direct free kicks.
According to the original agreement, he came to Spain. But he did not intend to stop there. Even when facing his own mentor, he also made defeating him his goal.
Toshack appeared outside the stadium and called, "Gareth."
Bale looked back at his coach and breathed heavily.
"It's time to go back."
This was not the club where he could go home by himself after the additional training. They borrowed RCD Espanyol's home stadium, Lluis Companys. After the training ended here, the whole team needed to take the bus back to the hotel where they were staying. Bale's additional training time could not be too long, otherwise it would affect the team's schedule.
Bale kicked the last football placed under his feet toward the goal. The football bypassed the human wall, but eventually hit the crossbar and bounced out.
The equipment on the field was cleaned up by someone, and Bale left the field with his head down.
The 26-year-old Bale looked much more mature than before.
Toshack thought as he looked at his back.
※ ※ ※
The English media had begun to hype up the battle between England and Germany. The newspapers that every Englishman bought would prominently remind everyone how many days, hours, and minutes were left before the battle between England and Germany.
Everyone on the bus, on the subway, in the office, in their own kitchens, in the bar, on the streets and alleys … In any place where other people gathered, they talked about "Germany."
The feud between the English and the Germans was so old that it gave people the illusion that the feud between them had started since the birth of modern football.
At the same time, Wales, as the weakest team in the group, was not enough to arouse the interest of the arrogant Englishmen.
"We beat Portugal 4: 2, do we still need to worry about Wales? A neighbor struggling under our eyes, the weak can't bear to kill them. "
If there was a statistic, it was estimated that 100% of the English fans would think so.
Not only did the English fans and media ignore Wales, even the English players thought that the Welsh game was insignificant.
In an interview, Michael Johnson said that he had no doubt that the team could beat Wales, and that they should really be careful of Germany.
Mitchell did mention Wales, but that was also because his good friend, Gareth Bale, was in the team.
"Bale is a very good player, I think we have to be careful of his free kicks …" All he said was that Bale was very good, and as for the other Welsh players, he probably did not know who they were.
On the contrary, the Welsh players showed great respect and attention to England. They did not seem to be angered by the English's attitude toward the situation. When talking about England, they all said that England was very strong, very strong.
It looked like they were really afraid of the powerful England, and dared not have any other ideas.
The Welsh media also said that they were already very satisfied to be able to participate in the UEFA European Championship finals, which was already the biggest breakthrough for Welsh football in 40 years. They were really unlucky to be assigned to the group of death, and there was nothing they could do about it if they could not advance out of the group stage …
Losing to Germany in the first game was already a good indication of Wales' strength. Unrealistic delusions would not bring any help to the team. They just had to play three games in the group stage. At the very least, when they left the UEFA European Championship, they could not look like they did not score a goal.
"Our goal in the game against the England team is to score goals." Toshack said humbly. "We want to leave a little proof that we have been here before."
Then why did Tony Twain not see this?
"Wales is a very strong opponent, we will deal with it seriously …" He looked a little absent-minded as he said this.
"You say one thing but mean another!" The Welsh reporters evaluated Twain's performance in their hearts. "I'm afraid his mind is filled with 'Germany' now?"
They complained in their hearts that England did not respect their opponents, but the Welsh reporters themselves also knew that it was best not to hold out any hope for tomorrow's game. England's morale was high, and even if they were to face Germany, they still had the belief that they would win. Not to mention the tiny Wales team …
It had been 40 years, and it was not easy to break into the UEFA European Championship finals again, but it was just a green leaf under the rose, and a dish to go with wine …
Although this was the truth, it was really unsatisfying to think about it.
※ ※ ※
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Title: Armed with God
Book number: 1275267
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