Lagerbäck thought that Twain brought on George Wood for defense, but it did not take long for him to realize that he was wrong.
After intercepting Ibrahimović's ball, George Wood did not simply pass the ball out. Instead, he dribbled the ball and rushed forward. Ibrahimović snatched the ball from behind and pushed Wood, but he did not push Wood down. Instead, he helped Wood to get rid of him.
Wood's sudden dribbling forward disrupted Sweden's defensive plan. They did not expect Wood to attack instead of defend.
In the end, Wood passed the ball to Chris Cohen when he was faced with two Sweden players defending, and he completed the shot.
In the next game, Sweden found that they could not go all out to attack and score a goal. England's midfield became more aggressive after George Wood came on, and the Swedes could not rest.
Just like in the game against Germany, Wood's performance did not look like a "injured player" who had not recovered from his foot injury.
He ran at all costs, defended strongly, and maintained a stable mental state. He sorted out the midfield in order, and it made the England fans feel more at ease. This was the change that George Wood brought to the people after he came on.
At this time, no one thought about something as boring as "we have not beaten Sweden for 48 years".
The England team's performance told them that there was no need for them to worry about it.
England had the upper hand on the field. Even if Sweden changed to frequent high balls and used long passes to attack England's defense, the center back composed of John Terry and Steven Taylor looked very calm. In addition, Joe Hart, who was 1.96m tall, expanded his range of control, and many of the passes were picked up by him in advance. The Swedish striker, Goitang, who was also 1.96m tall, did not get many good chances in front of goal.
Time passed quickly, and no matter how Lagerbäck adjusted, Sweden could not do anything to England's tight defense. As the game went on, it was not the England players who became more and more anxious, but the Sweden players. After all, they were now two goals behind.
Things like "we have not lost to England for 48 years!" These things could not comfort their frustrated hearts. There was not much time left in the game, and they were still two goals behind. Looking at England's impregnable defense, even if God himself came to be the 12th man for Sweden, it would not be enough.
The Swedish team became more and more impatient as they played, and the quality of their attacks became lower and lower. Lagerbäck could no longer sit still. He roared furiously at the side of the pitch to keep his players calm. But the more he shouted, the more flustered the players became. It was a vicious cycle.
This England team was completely unaffected by fate, which surprised Lagerbäck. Lagerbäck had not expected them to be so mentally strong. One had to know that the mental fortitude of the previous England team could be ranked last in the whole of Europe …
It was that annoying man who changed everything.
Lagerbäck looked next door. The England team's manager was sitting in the technical area at this moment with his legs crossed.
Looking at his calm and unruffled appearance, it really made people gnash their teeth in anger.
"The match has entered injury time. Three minutes of injury stoppage time! Looks like there's no hope for Sweden! " John Motson said excitedly, "We only have three minutes to break this damn destiny!"
In the face of Sweden's final frenzy, the entire England team huddled in the penalty area to defend for these three minutes. When Sweden got a corner kick in the second minute of injury time, their goalkeeper, Isaksson, rushed up. But what was the use of that? Even if they scored a goal, they would still be behind by a goal. It would not change the result at all.
The England fans were already singing and cheering in the stands. They could finally get rid of the nightmare that had been weighing on them for the past 48 years.
Sweden's corner kick did not pose any threat to England's goal. The mentally unbalanced Swedes kicked the corner kick straight out of the end line. Joe Hart placed the football slowly, and just as he was about to kick the ball out of the goal, he heard the final whistle!
"The match is over! The match is over! We beat Sweden! We beat Sweden for the first time in 48 years! " Motson roared excitedly. In his opinion, breaking into the top eight did not make him as excited as ending their destiny. "Tony Twain's team beat destiny! This damned destiny is finally over! "
The Swedish commentator looked a little depressed, "Our team's psychological advantage over England for 48 years is gone just like that …"
Just after the whistle for three wins, England's substitutes rushed onto the pitch to celebrate their victory.
Tony Twain did not do that. This time, he did not forget to shake hands with the other team's manager.
Lagerbäck looked a little depressed. He shook his head gently and completed the process of shaking hands. He did not stay for long and walked straight to the tunnel entrance. Twain was surrounded by reporters. As the winner, he deserved more attention.
"I have nothing to say. I'm very happy to be able to advance to the top eight. I said that our goal is to be the champion, and now we are moving further and further on the right path. Not beating Sweden for 48 years? "Twain laughed," That's because I didn't manage England for the past 48 years. "
※ ※ ※
While Twain was still being interviewed by the media, the team doctor, Derek White rushed onto the pitch and went straight to George Wood. He asked with concern, "How does your right big toe feel?"
Wood exerted strength on his toes and said to White, "There's no problem."
Mr. White breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good." According to his observation off the pitch, Wood handled the 30 minutes much more easily than the 15 minutes against Germany. It looked like his foot injury had almost recovered.
In this way, he should be able to meet Twain's requirements for the next game and be in the starting lineup.
Thinking of this, White only felt that he was finally going to be free …
※ ※ ※
England defeated Sweden, ending their fate of not beating Sweden for 48 years and advancing to the top eight. This made the England fans extremely excited. After the game, the England fans partied all night and drank all night long. They "looted" all the beer in the bars of Seville. Of course, when someone got drunk, there would naturally be conflicts. This night gave the Seville police a headache.
These things had nothing to do with Twain. He met with White in the hotel that night and confirmed that Wood's injury had recovered well. It should not be a problem for him to be in the starting lineup for the next game. This made him very happy.
Even without George Wood, Twain still led the team to win against Germany and Sweden. However, if they needed to win the championship, then George Wood was indispensable. Placing importance on Wood did not mean that Tang En was incapable. Every manager would definitely have a player that they favored. A manager alone would not be able to lead a team to victory. He still needed players who could support him on the field. Jacquet, who led France to their first World Cup title, had Zidane. Look at the two games where Zidane was banned and how painful it was for France to win. Then look at the final where France suppressed Brazil to the point that they had no chance. This was the difference between having Zidane and not having Zidane. Zidane became the hero of France, but no one said that Jacquet was incapable.
A meritorious manager and a meritorious player were always a match made in heaven and became legends together. If Twain wanted to write his own legend in this UEFA European Championship, then he could not do without George Wood's help.
The next night, England's quarter-final opponent was out — France. They eliminated the Netherlands in the round of 16 with 2: 0.
Starting from the "Group of Death," England's opponents were always strong teams. The only weakest team was Wales, and England still lost in the end. It was strange to say that England's results against strong teams were very good. Even if they were to face France now, Twain was not too worried.
Instead, the English media was a little worried. Twain had said more than once in public that his goal was to be the champion, which was a good thing. But look at England's opponents along the way: "Europe's Brazil" Portugal, the Wales team that made England eat their only defeat, their mortal enemy Germany, the Sweden team that had not won in 48 years, and now the France team that represented Europe's Latin team … What other strong teams were waiting for them in the future?
If England could beat France and make it to the semifinals, then they would likely face the host Spain. What about England's opponents? The most comfortable team in the bottom half was Italy. They did not encounter any strong teams. Wales, who had made it to the top 16, had high morale, but eventually fell at the feet of Italy. Teams like Greece and Croatia basically could not pose any threat to Italy. As long as the Italians handled them carefully, it should not be a big problem to make it to the final.
Of course, the English people now hoped that the likes of Greece and Croatia would make an unexpected appearance and eliminate Italy. That way, England's biggest threat to winning the title would not exist. Unfortunately, the possibility of that happening was too low. Italy had always been steady. They were the kind of team that could not lose against a weak team, but would stumble against a strong team …
※ ※ ※
There was a five-day break between the round of 16 and the quarter-finals. Twain gave the team a day off the day after the match against Sweden. It looked like he was not worried about the French team. He even had the leisure to let the players go shopping.
In fact, he had already flown to Barcelona with his assistant, Des Walker, to watch the match between France and the Netherlands live from the stands at Camp Nou.
The French team's top striker, Benzema, was the best player in the match. He scored all of France's goals in the match, scoring twice and beating the Netherlands until they were speechless.
The French team's midfield core, Gourcuff, also performed well in the match. He directly assisted Benzema's goal and instigated the second goal.
There was also France's new generation of national goalkeeper, Lloris. It was not that the Dutch team did not have any chances in the match, but in the end, they were all resolved by Lloris's brilliant saves.
The current French team was full of talented players. They were strong and could not be underestimated. This group of French players were basically the best in Europe in the past few years in various age groups: Benzema, Ngog, Nasri, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa, Clichy, Lassana Diarra, Sagna …
Seeing their brilliant performance in the match against the Dutch team, Tang En's brows furrowed.
"This French team is very strong. No wonder they were considered the favorites to win the championship before the match started." Walker arranged the camera equipment in his hands as he expressed his opinion of the match.
"We are also the favorites to win the championship," Tang En said calmly.
Walker looked at him with amusement.
"Let's go, Des." Tang En ignored him. He stood up and walked off with his hands in his pockets. The two of them blended into the crowd and left the stadium. They returned to Seville that night.
※ ※ ※
When Walker woke up in the morning and knocked on Tang En's door to ask him to go down for breakfast, he found Tang En sitting in front of the television, staring at the screen without blinking. He leaned over and realized that it was a video of the match he had recorded yesterday.
"You've been watching it the whole night?" He was shocked.
"How is that possible?" Tang En turned his head to look at him. "I just woke up not long ago." He turned his head back to watch the match on the television screen.
"The French team is playing really well …" Des Walker, who was also watching at the side, murmured. "They have a lot of attacking routines and a variety of tactics. They also have players with outstanding individual skills. In terms of talent, they have way more than us … This kind of team is not easy to deal with. "
Tang En shrugged. "They're just a bunch of flowers in a greenhouse."
Hearing him say that, Walker suddenly laughed. "You found a way to deal with them?"
Tang En shook his head. "Not yet."
He stood up. "Let's go for breakfast. I'm hungry. "
Walker made a face at him behind his back and followed him out.
※ ※ ※
"Our team is full of talent! It won't be a problem to win against England! "
The French media generally had such a view. Having just defeated the strong team, the Netherlands, the French people were bursting with confidence.
Even Benzema said in an interview that he thought France would definitely win against England. It was not a problem.
As the top scorer in this competition so far, his words received the approval of many people.
For a moment, the optimism in France prevailed. Everyone felt that France had advanced to the finals and then continued their "feud" with Italy to take revenge for the 2006 World Cup final. As for England and their semi-final opponents, they did not care about them at all.
But at this time, there were still people who came out to pour cold water on them.
Benzema's former teammate at Real Madrid, the retired former Nottingham Forest star, Ribery, appeared in the media. He was worried about the optimism of the French team.
"… I don't think it's wise to think about the finals now. If the French team underestimated the England team, they would definitely suffer. I don't doubt it at all. The reason is very simple. Their manager is Tony Twain. He just led the team to defeat their arch-enemy, Germany, and ended their 48-year unbeaten record against Sweden. This shows that the current England team has always been a very scary team … I played for Nottingham Forest for many years and I know what kind of manager Tony Twain is. Anyone who underestimates him and belittles him will end up very unlucky … "
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