Twain realized that ever since the team lost to Wales, good luck had basically drifted away from his team. By the time they faced Sweden, the team's injury list had increased to three players. Bentley, George Wood and Walcott, all three of whom would not be able to play in the match against Sweden.
Walcott had a sprained ankle and would definitely not be able to make it to the round of 16 and quarter-finals.
Fortunately, he had brought three right midfielders with him. This had previously been criticized by the media, but now it had saved England — they did not have to worry about who would be able to play as a right midfielder.
Adriano Moke would definitely be starting in the match against Sweden, but it was unknown for the quarter-finals … If he performed well in the match against Sweden, then it was likely that he would continue to be in the starting lineup. If not, then it would depend on Bentley's recovery.
If Bentley also did not recover to the point where he could play in the match … Twain would have a headache.
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The Swedes were now particularly concerned about George Wood's injury. It was confirmed that Walcott would not be able to play in the match against them. This threat could be eliminated. George Wood was the core of England, and his role had been vividly demonstrated in the last ten minutes of the match against Germany.
Sweden's manager, Laris Lagerbäck, was very concerned about England's situation because he had always suspected that Tony Twain was deliberately putting up a smokescreen. He had asked Wood to go to the hospital for a check-up, but during the afternoon training, the reporters had photographed Wood training with the team and touching the ball, and he was not affected at all.
From the research, Tony Twain was a cunning person. One could not simply judge what he was going to do next from the surface.
If Wood could be in the starting lineup, Sweden would need to prepare a set of tactics. If Wood could not be in the starting lineup, or even not play at all, Sweden would need to prepare another set of tactics. If they could not settle down, then it would not be good. He could not possibly let the team practice two tactics at the same time, could he? How could he do that when the time was tight?
Of course, Twain would not let Lagerbäck know his true intentions. Every day, the images that the reporters could capture were only the England team warming up and warming up.
Lagerbäck finally decided to prepare for this match under the premise that George Wood would not be in the starting lineup. He believed that George Wood had to have a reason for going to the hospital that time. His foot injury should not have completely recovered. Lagerbäck repeatedly analyzed the situation and felt that Tony Twain would not let Wood start in the match. The reason was simple. Purely based on the analysis of strength, the Swedish team was no match for the England team. In a competition where they had a higher chance of winning, Tang En would not let his beloved general take the risk.
Lagerbäck once told the media the secret behind Sweden's undefeated record against England for 48 years, "Our team is too familiar with the England team. The English style of football was easy to see through. Their biggest enemy is themselves, and their arrogant attitude makes them never study their opponents. "
Lagerbäck believed that he knew England very well. He did so ten years ago, and he would still do so ten years later. Tony Twain would definitely not let George Wood start, and England's tactical play would not be any different from before. As long as he was careful, he would definitely be able to continue his undefeated record.
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Lagerbäck's guess was right. Tang En did not plan to start Wood in the match, but it was not because he thought he could easily defeat Sweden.
After the lesson in Wales, Twain was now very cautious.
Moreover, Sweden could be considered England's nemesis.
England was not afraid of France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and other strong European teams, but Sweden, which was far from being a top team in Europe, was indeed a sore point for the English people.
Their pain towards Sweden was purely on a football level, and it was different from their hatred towards Germany — England had not defeated Sweden for a full 48 years …
For a team that prided itself on being the world's top team, and always aiming to become the World Champions and European Champions, not winning against a second-rate European team for 48 consecutive years made them very depressed. They felt that they would win every time, but the results were always not what they wanted.
The last time England and Sweden played against each other in a major international competition was the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the last round of Group B matches. Both teams played well for half of the match, and the final score was a draw of 2: 2. Lagerbäck, who led the team to a draw with England, was still managing Sweden. England's manager had already changed four times, from Eriksson to McClaren, from McClaren to Capello, and from Capello to Tony Twain.
The last time England won against Sweden was in 1968, when they had just won the 1966 World Cup.
1968 was really a strange year. The England team that won the World Cup on home soil seemed to have used up all the luck they had accumulated for more than a hundred years. The last time they won against Sweden, the first time they lost to Germany, and from then on, they were cut off from the title of a major international competition, and did not even participate in the finals. Every time they were regarded as "the strongest national team in history", and high hopes were placed on them, but they always left in disappointment.
Since then, they had played against Sweden 12 times, with eight draws and four losses, without a single win.
England has not met Sweden since 2006, and the past has gradually faded from people's minds. It was not until this European Championship, when England and Sweden met in the knockout stages that people thought about history: Oh, so England had not won against Sweden in the past 48 years!
And the damage that Sweden did to English football was not just the shame of not winning for 48 years. Another reason sounded a little superstitious, but it was a fact — as long as England lost to Sweden, then they must be very unlucky in that tournament: In the 1990 European Championship qualifiers, England and Sweden were in the same group, and although England did not win against Sweden, they were able to advance to the finals, and were eventually stopped in the semifinals of the 1990 World Cup. In 1995, England, preparing for the next European Championship, looked for Sweden to warm up, but they were stopped in the semifinals of that European Championship again. In the 2000 European Championship qualifiers, England and Sweden were in the same group, and as a result, Sweden beat England to win the group. Although the latter advanced through the play-offs, they did not even advance out of the group in the 2000 European Championship finals. Before the 2004 European Championship, England continued to try to break the "cycle" of "not being able to win against Sweden", but they not only lost to Sweden, but also stopped in the quarterfinals of that European Championship. In the 2006 World Cup, England and Sweden were in the same group, and both teams tied in the final round. Although England relied on this tie to win the group and avoid their mortal enemy, Germany, they were eventually eliminated by Portugal on penalties, continuing the "unlucky cycle" of "not being able to win against Sweden".
As a result, in that decade, the English stubbornly believed that as long as England could beat Sweden, their dream of becoming the world champion would definitely come true.
It was a little embarrassing to say it out loud. It turned out that China was not the only one with a dark history of "not being able to win against Sweden".
Even if England had just beaten Germany and sent their biggest enemy back home, the England fans did not dare to be careless and say that they could definitely end their destiny this time. Many people were still worried about the future of the team. Those England fans who booked hotel rooms in advance until the day of the final were now starting to wonder if their money would be wasted.
Unlike the unforgettable hatred between England and Germany, the encounter between England and Sweden was destined to be less explosive. Whether it was England or Sweden players, when they were interviewed, they would not talk about this kind of thing, and the reaction of the fans was not as intense as before the game against Germany.
Because whether it was Sweden or England, the emotion that they showed towards this "record" was more – doubt.
That's right, when the Swedish players were asked by the reporters that they had not lost to England for 48 years, they all laughed and said, "This is really a puzzling question. We all don't know why. "
Ibrahimović, who was already 34 years old, was a veteran player in the Sweden team who participated in the 2006 World Cup. Although he did not play in the game against England, he could see it clearly from the substitutes' bench. In the 90th minute of that game, Sweden was still trailing England by 1: 2. The English had just scored the second goal in the 85th minute, which made people think that Sweden was going to lose this time, but Larsson's strange header finally fixed the score at 2: 2. This was indeed unimaginable.
When asked by the reporters about that game, Ibrahimović, who was still smiling, frowned and said, "It is really strange for you to say that, I also don't know why. In the second half, it was like we were suddenly full of energy. The last goal was really strange, I don't know how Larsson scored the goal, maybe it was God? "A smile appeared on his face again.
The Swedish reporters were also curious and puzzled about this phenomenon. In terms of strength, they were definitely not as good as England. In international competitions, England's results were also much better than Sweden's, but why could England not win against them for 48 years? This was the most imbalanced confrontation in international football, and it was unbelievably imbalanced.
The England players also felt that it was strange when they were faced with this question from the reporters.
For them, continuous losses against Germany only aroused their strong hatred and fighting spirit, but continuous losses against Sweden only made them feel puzzled. Faced with such an opponent who was not on the same level as them, they really could not bring up any hatred.
If to the English people, Germany was a "feud", then to Sweden, it was a "fate", and there was a hint of mysticism in it.
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"I also don't know why I can't win against them, maybe it is bad luck …" Rooney, who participated in the last game between England and Sweden and was very unhappy with Eriksson because he was substituted in the middle of the game, could only scratch the back of his head now.
A group of reporters from England, Sweden, and other countries blocked the entrance of the hotel where the England team was staying. They could not go in, and could only wait outside. When they saw the England players coming out, they swarmed up and threw questions and microphones at them.
"I did not participate in the last game between England and Sweden, and I did not participate in the previous 12 games, I don't know why it is like this." Aaron Mitchell also had to answer this question under the questioning of the reporters.
Tony Twain walked out of the hotel and frowned when he saw the reporters surrounding his players and asking questions.
Even he himself had been repeatedly asked the same question for the past two days – "Why has the mighty England not beaten Sweden for 48 years?"
At first, he could talk about it as a joke, but when everyone asked the same question, he became alert.
Because he saw danger in the fanatical eyes of the reporters.
Before this, he was still glad that England did not meet Sweden in the 10 years after 2006, and that embarrassing record had faded away, which helped him in his preparations for the game. He did not expect it to be mentioned by the media today, as if they were afraid that the players did not know that England and Sweden had a feud that lasted for 48 years.
This made him, a "former Chinese", think of the "Koreophobia" of Chinese football. Originally, losing to the same opponent was not a big deal, but the media's irresponsible promotion and publicity stunt created a "Koreophobia" for Chinese football. They personally set up a "super strong opponent" for Chinese football that was not scary and had a hateful appearance. Chinese football, which was not psychologically strong to begin with, fell into a vicious circle of "not being able to win against Korea" since then …
The media could be said to have "great credit" for this.
Now, Twain did not want a repeat of the tragedy to happen to the England team. Not to mention that English football and Chinese football were not on the same level, in Twain's view, England was simply a living "Europe's China team", there were too many similarities between the two. The psychological quality of England's superstars, who were spoiled by the local media, was probably the most fragile among the big powers in Europe.
If this group of reporters continued to pester them, the new players who originally did not have any feelings for the England and Sweden feud would probably develop psychological barriers … This would not do.
The media could not do anything else well, but they were definitely the best at causing trouble.
Twain turned around and walked back to the hotel lobby to find the person in charge of security. He pointed to the "enthusiastic" reporters outside the door and said to the person in charge of security, "My players need the best rest, I don't want them to be disturbed by the media. Also, that group of reporters is blocking the door, which will also hinder the normal access of your guests. "
The person in charge of security had obviously learned enough from the previous few hotels that had hosted the England team, and he quickly nodded and said, "Yes, sir. I'll let them leave. "
Twain nodded approvingly and found a place to sit at the door, coldly watching the hotel's security drive away the indignant reporters.
During the tactical meeting that night, Twain first announced a new rule — no players were allowed to answer questions about the 48-year feud between England and Sweden when interviewed by the reporters.
"There's nothing to discuss about that issue, don't fall for someone's trap." He reminded them with a deeper meaning.
He wanted to stop the players from thinking about it, even though he did not know how effective his prevention would be, but it was much better than doing nothing and letting it develop.
Originally, everything was under his control, but now, he had allowed the group of pervasive media to stir up the evil fire in the players' hearts. He was afraid that the evil fire would suddenly burst into flames during the game, and he could not suppress it, leading to irreversible consequences …
If he had the power to decide the life and death of others, the first person he would get rid of would definitely be the reporters, especially the tabloid reporters. Now, he especially liked to control the news. Questions that make me unhappy are not allowed to be asked! Questions that make me unhappy are not allowed to be published! News that makes me uncomfortable are not allowed to be published! Even if they are published, they have to be taken down!
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