When it was 1: 0, Sammer could choose to be conservative. When it was 1: 1, he could still choose to be conservative. But when his team was reversed by England by 2: 1, he could not continue to be conservative. Now there was still no news of any goals from Portugal and Wales. It had been seventy minutes. If this situation continued until the end, then Germany, with three points, would be ranked behind Portugal and Wales, who both had four points, and would be eliminated for sure …
He could not continue to be conservative. Sammer got up from his seat.
Schweinsteiger was marked by England's zonal defense. If they continued to put the main attack on him, it would only make Germany's offense fall into a quagmire. Sammer walked to the sidelines and whistled into the stadium, calling Klose's name. When Klose looked over, he gestured for him to be in charge of the offense. Klose nodded to show that he understood.
The Germany team also prepared many sets of tactics. Usually, Schweinsteiger was the core, but it was easy for the opponent to study it thoroughly. Once this set of tactics was studied thoroughly, then Klose would have to step forward and be in charge of organizing the team's offense.
The Germany team was still adjusting, but England had already launched a fierce attack. Tony Twain directed the team to continue to attack and strive to score another goal. It was important to know that a one-goal lead was very unsafe.
England, who had just overtaken the score, was in high spirits. The Germany team was also ready to attack. It was a good time to score.
"The England team launched an attack … Gerrard's long shot hit Rolfes' body and caused a refraction … Fortunately, Adler reacted quickly and saved the ball!"
"The corner kick was launched … Walcott grabbed the point and headed the ball into the goal! It was slightly deflected! "
When Gerrard took the ball again, he pretended to do a long shot, but the ball was pushed away and bypassed Rolfes, who came up to block the shot. Then he passed the ball to the flank and handed it to the lively Moke.
This time, Jansen did not hold back. He did not give Moke a chance to start at all. He came up and tackled Moke with a fierce defensive move.
The referee's whistle sounded. England was awarded another free kick outside the corner of the penalty area. The free kick in this place was dangerous, but the Germans were not afraid because they had the advantage in the air.
Gerrard did not pass the football in from the air. Instead, he gave a low pass! The football drilled through the foot of the human wall that jumped up and rolled quickly along the turf. This ball was played very sneakily. If anyone accidentally touched it, the ball could fly into the goal from the sidelines. In the end, no one touched the ball this time. Just like that, the ball brushed against the back post and rolled out of the end line, scaring the German fans in the stands into a cold sweat. It also made the English fans hold their heads in regret.
The most regretful person was probably Tony Twain. A great opportunity to expand their lead … Just like that, it slipped away in front of countless pairs of feet in front of the door.
England attacked fiercely for a while but still did not score a goal. Tang En decided to quit while he was ahead. He did not dare to take too many risks in such a game. If he continued to attack and allowed the German team to complete their adjustment, it would be his turn to suffer when they recovered. One had to know that England's previous attacks had even pushed the center back to the center circle. If this continued, it would be too dangerous. There were large areas of empty space behind them. As long as the German team passed a long ball over, it would be a vast world for them to gallop freely …
Both Podolski and Gomes had speed and could dribble the ball on their own. If there were too many empty spaces in the backfield, they would definitely be used by them.
Tang En decided to signal the team to retreat a little, changing from an offensive tactic to a defensive counterattack.
At this time, Walcott was dribbling the ball on the field, facing Lahm's defense and preparing to break through. He noticed that there was someone behind him. Schweinsteiger was quietly approaching, intending to launch a pincer attack from the front and back. Walcott was not flustered. He had a plan in mind. Taking advantage of the two people surrounding him, he suddenly accelerated and rushed over, catching the other party off guard.
Just as he was about to start, Schweinsteiger stepped on his back ankle …
The force of his forward charge was forcibly pulled to the ground and he could not move. Walcott only felt a tearing sensation coming from the back of his ankle, and then he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Lahm was shocked and hurriedly raised his hands to indicate that he did not do anything. Walcott's fall had nothing to do with him — he was afraid that he would be given a yellow card, because he had already received a yellow card in the first half.
Schweinsteiger, who was opposite him, also kept shaking his finger, indicating that he did not foul.
The referee did not care so much and rushed up to give Schweinsteiger a yellow card. Then he looked at Walcott, who was lying on the ground in pain, turned around and gestured to the people below the field to carry a stretcher.
"What a bastard!" Tang En scolded off the field, urging the team doctors to quickly go up to check on the situation.
He was originally prepared to make adjustments to the defense in a few minutes, but he did not expect the attacking player to be injured now.
"Walcott is injured, looks like he can't continue playing!" On the television screen, Walcott was placed on the stretcher, his hands covering his face with a painful expression. The team doctor next to the stretcher was gesturing to Tang En to change the player.
"Damn it, wake Downing up to warm up," Tang En said to Walker.
England's technical area and substitutes' bench were in a mess because of Walcott's injury. Downing hurriedly put on a training vest from the substitutes' bench and hurriedly ran to warm up. After a minute, he had to run back in a hurry and stand in front of Tang En to listen to the tactical arrangements. Until now, his mind was still a little confused, and he did not completely listen to what the boss said.
"… Go, get on the field!" Tang En patted him on the shoulder and pushed him to the side of the field. Only then did Downing realize that he was going to play. But what was he going to do? He thought about it and guessed that it was to let him attack from the wings and defend at the same time.
The team doctor, Derek White, came over after checking Walcott's injury. He shook his head when he saw Tang En's questioning look. "He might not be able to play in this game, the next game, and the game after that, Tony."
Tang En lowered his head and muttered a string of profanities.
Both Walcott and Bentley were injured. Now, the only player that the England team could use in the right midfielder position was Adriano Moke. They still had to continue to play in the upcoming matches. Stamina had never been Moke's strength. This was too bad …
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Walcott's injury affected the morale of the England players. Tang En just happened to ask the team to pay attention to defense, and the formation shrank back. They started to play defensive counterattacks.
The Germans took advantage of the situation to rush over and besiege England's goal.
Tang En stood on the sidelines and watched the field with a solemn expression. He paid close attention to the performance of both sides so that he could make adjustments at any time.
Now it seemed that the German team had the upper hand, but England's defensive formation was not messed up. Although Toni Kroos took over the role of organizing the attack, England's two center midfielders were not to be trifled with. Michael Johnson, who was focused on defense, relied on his outstanding running ability to stick close to Kroos like a shadow, not allowing him to easily receive the ball and organize the attack.
Both sides were in a stalemate for a while.
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Sammer began to deploy his troops. He replaced Khedira, who had an average performance in the game, with the 26-year-old Bochum midfielder, Marco Marin. He was a winger with excellent dribbling and exquisite skills. Although he was a right-footed player, he was good at playing on the left flank.
Sammer sent him up to strengthen the offense on the flanks, and at the same time increase the team's ability to break through and create chaos for England's defense. Just like how Tang En's substitution of Moke brought a goal, Sammer had the same idea as Tang En.
Then he changed the position of the defensive midfielder, Rolfes, from a defensive midfielder to a center midfielder, closer to England's penalty area, to play to Rolfes's specialty of good passing. In this way, the German team's three lines were more compact and connected more smoothly, reducing the chances of being cut off by England's midfield defense.
The German team, who had made the adjustments, improved in their offense. Marin was a substitution that Tang En did not think of. Because Marin, who played for Bochum, was probably the weakest player in the German team's midfield. He was thin and weak, played football alone, and was almost useless except for dribbling. But it was such a player who had now become the most active German player on the field. His dribbling made the England players suffer.
At the same time, Sammer also asked the German midfield to strengthen their long shots and strive to use the long shots to break through England's dense defense.
For a moment, the battle clouds in front of England's goal were dense, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Marco Marin took the ball … He used his skills to break through Moke. Adriano Moke is not a player who is good at defense … Cross!"
Mario Gómez plugged in from the back, jumped high, and headed the ball to the goal!
Joe Hart struggled to lift Gómez's charging header over the crossbar. Fortunately, Gómez's header was more accurate this time, otherwise it might have gone in.
The German team got a corner kick. Looking at the giants who were more than 1.85 meters tall appearing in front of the goal, the England players suddenly became nervous.
Although he made a mistake in attacking in the first half, which led to the opponent's goal, Joe Hart still had to attack in such a situation. This time his performance was not bad, and he picked the ball in the air.
But this series of German attacks had already sounded the alarm bell for England's goal. Maybe when the German team made a comeback again, the alarm bell would become a "death knell" …
The German team launched a frenzied attack on England's hinterland, and the England players could not even cross the half of the field. The Germans' strong bodies and excellent stamina at this time had the upper hand. They controlled the initiative of the game, and the England players were at a disadvantage in the physical confrontation.
When the game went on for 75 minutes, the situation was very unfavorable for England, as if they could concede the goal at any time.
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Tang En anxiously walked up and down on the sidelines. He was very nervous now, afraid that the Germans would equalize the score at the last minute of the game. If that happened, there would be nothing he could do.
When he walked to the front of the substitutes' bench, George Wood stood up from his seat.
"You need to strengthen the defense," he said to Tang En. "Let me play."
Tang En ignored him and turned to walk back. Wood followed behind him and repeated, "Let me play."
"That's impossible, George," Tang En responded with his back to him. "Even if it's a draw, we can still qualify."
"But you want to win. You know what a game with Germany means. "
Tang En stopped and looked back at Wood. "Even if I want to win, I won't joke about your career."
"This is not a joke. My foot is already healed."
Tang En smiled and exposed his lie. "Mr. White told me that your right big toe still hurts when you touch the ball."
"That's not a problem at all!" Wood raised his voice. If Sophia was beside him, she would definitely reprimand him for speaking to Mr. Tang En. But now Wood did not care about his relationship with Tang En. He just wanted to play, and he was going crazy thinking about it. "The team is in a difficult situation now. I'm the captain. I can't just sit here and watch!"
Tang En was stunned by his words.
"Gerrard's stamina is running out. The Germans are using him as a breakthrough point!" Wood pointed to the field and said to Tang En, "If you still don't make a substitution, then …"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the cheers of the German fans in the stands.
When Gerrard was facing Rolfes, he slipped and lost his target. Rolfes took the opportunity to break through and stirred up England's defensive line. If Terry had not used his body to block Rolfes' long shot, who knew what the consequences would have been.
Wood did not continue to speak and just looked at Tang En quietly.
This was a rare situation in Tang En's impression of Wood being emotional. He was like a block of wood and was always so boring. Tang En did not expect him to be so emotional and tell him that he wanted to play. In the past, he always listened to whatever Tang En said. He was the most obedient person and faithfully carried out the tactics. He was the type of player that any manager dreamed of having. But now he strongly opposed Tang En's arrangement for him and refused to accept the arrangement of only playing in the knockout round.
The fierce battle on the field continued. The England team was pushed into the 30-meter zone by the German team's offensive. In order to block the Germans' long shots, they had to use their bodies to block the holes. But it did not feel good to be hit by a powerful long shot.
The cheers of the German fans in the stands were gradually increasing. They seemed to see the hope of equalizing the score.
The England fans were not willing to be suppressed by the Germans. They sang in the stands to cheer for the England team.
Tony Twain and George Wood confronted each other off the field, as if they were completely unconcerned about what was happening on the field.
"The England team is now facing a huge predicament! In the last ten minutes of the game, the Germans launched a frenzied attack. They got two corner kicks in three minutes … Mitchell has basically been fixed as a center back … "Motson's voice was filled with anxiety. Everyone knew that the German players were tenacious. The more unfavorable the situation, the more they would be able to explode.
In the noisy environment, Tang En opened his mouth. "George …"
At this time, a huge roar broke out in the stands. The German fans were cheering for their team. Tang En's voice was drowned out by this turbulent wave.
Wood only saw Tang En's mouth open and close, but did not know what he said.
"The German team's long shot hit the crossbar and bounced out! It's too dangerous! There are still ten minutes left in the game. Can the England team hold on to this one goal advantage until the end? "
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