"The game is over! The game is over! "John Motson roared happily. In international competitions before 2000, England had never beaten Germany. In the group stage of the 2000 UEFA European Championship, England beat Germany with Shearer's goal, but both teams were eliminated, and the victory of that game was gradually forgotten. Since then, England had never met Germany in an international competition. In the eyes of the Germans, England was still a second-rate team that could only show off in important games, and could not be compared to Germany, who had won three World Cup titles and three European Championship titles.
Such a view was unacceptable to the proud Englishmen. After all, they were the originators of modern football and had never lost to Germany before 1968. Now they were ridiculed by an opponent that was not worth mentioning. Beating Germany in an important international game, and it was best to knock Germany out, was the biggest wish of all Englishmen.
Now, their dream had become a reality.
Just a minute before the end of the game between Germany and England, there was exciting news from another stadium — Portugal and Wales tied at 0: 0 after a dull game.
What did this mean?
Look at the Germans' mournful look, and then look at Sammer's empty eyes and you would know.
The German team was eliminated!
The points ranking from the latest game results: England, with two wins and one loss, was first in the group with six points. Portugal and Wales, with one win, one draw and one loss, had four points, but Portugal was ranked second with a goal difference advantage, and Wales was ranked third. England and Portugal would advance directly to the top 16, while Wales had to wait for the final points ranking of the other groups to see if they could rank third among the four best groups, so as to qualify for the group stage. As for the German team … They had one win and two losses, only three points, ranked fourth in the group, and were already certain to be eliminated.
"The Germans are going home! They don't have to go too far, because many of the German players are still on vacation in sunny Spain … "Motson waved to the stadium below." Goodbye Germans! Goodbye! Aha! "
The football feud between England and Germany was vividly reflected at this moment.
While the English in the stands cheered for their team's victory, they did not forget to laugh at the Germans. They sang, "What's wrong with your face? Matthias? Why do you look so sad? "
Then he sang, "Time to say goodbye. It's time to say goodbye. You won't be able to experience those things anymore … It's time to say goodbye … "
At this time, the security guards and police at the Nou Mestalla stadium suddenly looked like they were facing a formidable enemy. They stood between the fans of both sides with fierce looks on their faces. They asked the England fans to stay in the stands for the time being and let the Germans go first to avoid a conflict between the fans of both sides after they walked out of the stadium. The England fans did not mind. They wanted to enjoy the joy of victory for a while longer.
There were fewer and fewer German fans in the stands. Only a few overly emotional Germans were still under the control of the police. Those who remained were all England fans. They were singing and dancing in the stands.
On the field below the stands, the England players had just lined up to thank the fans and were now enjoying the victory.
When the final whistle sounded, Tang En was the first to rush into the field. He did not hug the team member closest to him. Instead, he ran straight for George Wood. Like him, the team doctor and team leader, Derek White, also ran toward Wood. The two of them clearly had the same idea.
"How's the right foot, George?" The two men ran almost at the same time and asked in unison.
The scene was really a little funny, but none of the three men laughed. Wood shook his head and said, "It's nothing."
"Don't lie to me. I saw the expression on your face just now!" Tang En said very seriously with a frown.
While Tang En was still talking, White had already squatted down to examine Wood. At this time, Tang En glanced over and noticed that some of the media had already noticed them. He hurriedly said to White, "Don't rush, Mr. White. Don't let that group of reporters find good news. "
White knew what Tang En meant. He hurriedly stood up and said goodbye to the two men.
He brushed shoulders with the media. Some reporters recognized him and wanted to ask him questions about George Wood, but he just waved his hand and quickly walked past, disappearing into the crowd.
Tang En just happened to put his arm around Wood's shoulder. The sharp-eyed and quick-witted photographers quickly pressed the shutter and captured the scene.
It was a really precious photo: after a fierce battle, the two heroes of the team hugged together to celebrate the victory.
"Congratulations on the victory. Can you say a few words to us, Mr. Tang En?" Mr. Twain! "The reporters placed their microphones in front of Twain's mouth.
"I'm very happy to advance from the group stage and defeat Germany." Tang En did not have much to say.
Seeing that Tang En was so uncooperative, the reporters could only turn their microphones to Wood. "Congratulations on playing a wonderful game, George! May I ask about your right foot … "
"There's no problem at all," Wood answered decisively.
"Will you be in the starting lineup for the next game?"
Wood had just opened his mouth to answer the question when he was interrupted by Tang En's voice. "I'm sorry, my player has just gone through a fierce game. Now he needs to rest. Can you guys not block our way?"
The group of reporters listened and rolled their eyes. George Wood only went up to run for less than 15 minutes. Why would he need to rest? This excuse …
Tang En did not care what they thought. He hugged Wood and squeezed out. Along the way, there were still reporters joining in the chase, but he turned a blind eye to them.
Until they entered the tunnel. Wood then asked, "Why didn't you let me answer the question just now?"
"I was afraid you would say the wrong thing."
"I can play in the next game."
"That depends on the team doctor's examination results." Tang En turned his head to look at Wood. "Today's situation was too risky. I don't want it to happen again. For the sake of my heart, just bear with it a little, George." He said with a grin.
Wood had no choice but to fall silent when he brought up his heart.
Tang En saw that he was a little depressed and hurriedly patted his head to comfort him. "Aren't you quite confident in your body? The team needs you, George. I won't keep you on the bench. "
Wood stopped and looked at him, as if trying to discern from his expression whether he meant it or was just being perfunctory.
Tang En did not avoid his gaze.
Wood did not see any intention of being perfunctory. He believed Tang En.
"Let's go, George." Tang En patted his back. "Go back and have a good rest. There are more intense games waiting for you. "
※ ※ ※
After sending Wood back to the locker room, Tang En finally accepted the reporters' interview. He admitted that the game had been difficult and praised the German team's performance.
When a reporter asked if they knew Wood was still injured when they sent him on at the last moment, Tang En froze for a moment. Finally, he nodded. "His injury has not fully recovered, but I think playing for ten minutes should not be a problem."
"Are you worried that his injury will worsen because of this?" the reporter asked.
Tang En had no choice but to re-examine the person who asked the question. One was still dressed in a suit in this weather, wearing a white shirt and tie. His hair was combed back meticulously. He also wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses, looking old and experienced. However, this person did not look more than 30 years old. The Sun? He had never seen this person before. The News of the World? He did not look like it …
Tang En frowned. "I'm not worried. We know his recovery from his injury like the back of our hands. "
He lied because he did not want to be entangled with a group of reporters here.
The reporter's question made Tang En lose interest in accepting the interview. He quickly walked to the locker room, ready to see the results of Doctor White's examination.
"Mr. Tang En, I still have a question!"
"Mr. Tang En, may I ask if George Wood can start in the Round of 16? Or is he just going to play … "
Seeing that he was about to leave, a group of people hurriedly shouted without regard for the order.
Tang En turned a deaf ear and ignored them, pushing aside the reporters and squeezing out.
He pushed open the locker room door. Some of the players had already returned. The rest who had not returned must be in the mixed zone for interviews. Seeing the Boss appear at the locker room door, everyone looked over and greeted Tang En. Tang En nodded in return and walked straight to the corner. White was examining Wood's right big toe.
"How is it, Mr. White?" Tang En asked.
Derek White looked up at Tang En, then stood up and gestured for him to go out and speak.
Wood watched from the side as the two gradually walked out of the door and closed it.
"George, is your injury okay?" As soon as the Boss left, the players immediately surrounded him and asked with concern.
Wood shook his head. "I think it's fine. But … "He looked at the door. Everyone knew what that meant.
The people who decided whether Wood's right big toe was fine were not him, but the two people who had walked out side by side.
※ ※ ※
Outside the locker room, the two men avoided the crowd, found a corner where no one noticed, and began a conversation that was likely to affect the future of the England team.
"Purely from a medical point of view, I suggest that he should still do strength and endurance training the day after tomorrow, and not touch the ball. What happens after that, we will continue to observe. I just checked his injury, and there is not much of a problem, but I can't tell you here what will happen, what will happen, what will happen. " As the team doctor's team leader, Derek White had always been cautious. He had no choice but to be cautious. It was directly related to a player's future career. If he made a mistake in judgment and said the wrong thing, it was likely to ruin the future of a promising professional player.
Such a thing was not unprecedented in English football, because most of the team doctors of English clubs in the past were not really qualified doctors. They did not even know anything about sports medicine and thought that a "magic sponge" could cure all diseases.
England's famous football family, the Redknapp family, had such a tragedy. Former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp's brother, Mark Redknapp, was also a promising professional football player. As the hopeful star of Bournemouth Football Club, he was injured in a game and had to be carried off the field. After that, he could only walk with crutches.
It was originally an ankle fracture, but the club's team doctor recklessly diagnosed it as a "ligament strain." As a result, for the next year, he constantly trained, played, got injured, recovered, trained again, played again, got injured again … until he finally had to end his career prematurely and become a football agent. But he tried not to go to live football games. Football did not leave him with any good memories, and it was all thanks to an irresponsible and incompetent "Mr. Nanguo."
"If it's possible, it's best to take an X-ray," he added.
Tang En felt that the request was too difficult. "We didn't bring that thing to Spain …"
"What about the local hospital?"
"I don't know, but we can try to communicate with them."
"Then let's communicate with them."
Tang En nodded and agreed to the suggestion. He did not dare to let his guard down when it came to George Wood's problem. Although it was a little troublesome to do, it was worth it. He also wanted to make himself feel at ease.
After this matter was decided, the mood of the two men seemed to be a little more relaxed. Wright even joked with Tang En, "Although it's a little dangerous to let Wood play in the last ten minutes, we also confirmed one thing: George's condition is still there, and there's no problem with his coordination with the team. You can rest assured, Tony. "
Tang En smiled, "He's always been like this, stable enough to make the enemy despair." There was pride in his tone. After all, George Wood had been brought up by him. If Wood performed well, he would also be proud.
The two men casually chatted for a while and then returned to the locker room. The players who were being interviewed outside had already come back one after another. Seeing the boss enter the room, they all looked over. They had defeated their old enemy, Germany, and also won first place in the group, successfully qualifying. Everyone still wanted to hear the boss' praise.
Tang En did not let them down. Seeing that everyone was there, he beamed with joy and said, "Well done, guys. We just won against Germany, and we even kicked them back home! "He made a gesture of kicking the buttocks, which caused the players to roar with laughter.
England and Germany had a feud in football. Although Tang En was not English in his heart, his players were, so he had to show that he also valued this feud. This would help motivate the team's morale and unite the hearts of the people. If he ignored the opponent that the entire country valued, then he would not be able to build up his prestige in the team. This was also another reason why Tang En valued the match against Germany so much.
It was just like if the manager of the China national team said before the match between the China team and the Japan team that he did not care about the result of the match, and was baffled and indifferent to the hatred of Japan shown by the players, media, and fans, his status in the locker room would definitely plummet, and he would not receive much support from the people.
"Now you can take a good rest. We'll have a holiday tomorrow! But let me remind you … "Tang En's expression became serious again," I don't want your condition to be good for one match and bad for one match. I don't want the match against Wales to happen again. Every subsequent match is a knockout match. If we lose a match, we'll be the ones to go home! Our goal is to be the champions. Before we pick up the championship trophy, no one can fall behind! "
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