"It's cloudy tonight with a short shower. The temperature …"
On the television screen, the beautiful and sexy weather forecaster was introducing the local weather conditions in Valencia during the game to the audience. After five days of scorching heat, the temperature finally dropped, which was a good thing for the fans who went to watch the game live.
But the news made the Spanish manager, Hierro, frown slightly.
The weather was cool, which naturally helped the players play. But if it rained, it would affect Spain's ground coordination …
Contrary to Hierro, if he could, Twain would like to pretend to be a ghost and jump around to pray for rain. For his England team, rain would not have too much of an impact. If he could, he would like to have a rainstorm. The England players had a natural advantage in playing in the rain.
Unfortunately, the sky in Valencia was sunny until dusk, and there was no sign of rain. It was not until the sun fell below the western horizon that a cloud floated from the east and covered half the sky. The edge of the cloud was gilded by the afterglow of the setting sun.
The England team's bus set off from the hotel at this time. The England fans who did not manage to buy tickets gathered outside the hotel to see their team off. This game was crucial to them. Although they still had to play two games to reach the semi-finals, no one wanted to play in the third or fourth place finals, right? It would be a tragedy to fall before the finish line when they were only one step away from success.
The England fans waiting on both sides of the road became excited when they saw the England team's bus slowly coming out. The flashes reflected the figures of the players waving to the fans on the windows. The fans screamed and waved the St. George's cross flag that represented England.
"Champion! Champion! Champion! "
The England fans shouted in unison.
In response, the players in the bus got up and waved to the fans. Twain did not do so. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest. In order to keep his mind clear during the game, he needed to rest well.
Tang En had a talent for sleeping. No matter how noisy it was outside, no matter how loud the commotion was, as long as he was in deep sleep, he would not hear anything. If it were not for this, he would have been tormented by his job as a manager to the point of having a nervous breakdown.
Twain closed his eyes and found that the first thought in his mind was still Spain, which made him a little dumbfounded. Had it become a conditioned reflex?
He tried hard not to think about Spain, so he could only think about something else. This time, Tang En thought of his wife. Due to being busy with work, after a date with Shania in Barcelona, the two never saw each other again. Even though he knew that Shania would be watching every England match from the stands, Twain did not believe that Shania would be there.
His biggest wish now was to lead the England team to lift the UEFA European Championship and then take a month off. He and Shania would find a remote place with beautiful scenery but few people for a vacation and enjoy their time together.
Twain fell into a deep sleep as he missed Shania. When he was woken up by Walker, he could already see the Nou Mestalla stadium in the twilight from the window on the right side of the bus.
"I know you don't want the players to see a manager who falls asleep before a big game," Walker said to him.
"Uh … Thank you, Des." Tang En rubbed his eyes, then used both hands to wipe his face. This way, he looked a little more spirited.
Twenty minutes had passed since he saw the new Mestalla Stadium and arrived at the Mestalla Stadium's parking lot. The fans were too enthusiastic. Even though there were a large number of police officers at the scene to maintain order, the bus still had to pass slowly and carefully.
As they approached the stadium, the enthusiastic cheers of the fans could no longer attract the attention of the players. Now their minds were on the upcoming game, and the expressions on their faces were a little serious.
When they got off the bus, only a few veterans could calmly smile and wave to the welcoming fans. Most of them carried their bags and hurried past with their heads down. For this England team, it was the first time for many of them to play in the semi-finals of a World Series. Today was definitely a day full of fresh experiences.
Since lifting the Jules Rimet Gold Cup at home in 1966, the best result for this England team in a World Series was the semi-finals. In the UEFA European Championship held at home in 1996, England was eliminated in the semi-finals by the eventual winner, Germany, and did not qualify for the final. In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, England, led by Capello, eliminated Spain and made it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost to Italy. They also lost to Brazil in the third and fourth finals, and did not complete a historic breakthrough.
As long as they could beat Spain today, they could do what countless predecessors could not do — break into the final of a World Series for the first time in 50 years! It was also the second time England had broken into the final of a World Series since the establishment of the team.
Speaking of which, the record of England, known as the originator of modern football, was really pitiful …
Tang En was the last to get off the bus. He was different from the nervous players. He was even in the mood to accept a short interview with BBC5 at the entrance. The reporter asked him if he had the confidence to lead the team to the final, and Tang En gave the answer that the English people wanted to hear the most, "There is no doubt that we will be in the final."
In fact, a little earlier, when the Spanish team arrived at the stadium, Hierro said the same thing to the television cameras. At this point, there was no point in being humble.
※ ※ ※
George Wood tried a long shot, but the football shot high and flew straight to the stands. The football was like a small stone thrown into a lake, causing a ripple, and then it could no longer be found.
"Our football is limited, George," Walker said to him next to him.
"Sorry …"
"I'm joking, ha!" Walker laughed. "How do you feel?"
"Very good, I feel …" Wood clenched his fist, "… I'm full of strength."
Walker nodded with satisfaction and no longer disturbed Wood's warm-up.
"Hey, look at them!" As soon as the assistant manager left, Joe Mattock came up and motioned for Wood to look at the Spanish team warming up across the field.
The Spanish players seemed very relaxed. The main striker, Bojan, was even doing fancy flips. Several other midfielders formed a circle and carried out a quick pass. It had to be said that, from a technical point of view, the Spanish players were much better than the English players …
"I think they're deliberately showing off to us!" Joe Mattock said indignantly. "Why don't they just learn from Maradona and flip a mineral water bottle?"
"Why do you care so much about them?" Wood only glanced at them before withdrawing his gaze. Although it was only a glance, he also noticed that Fàbregas was also observing him.
※ ※ ※
"Be careful of George Wood during the game." Fàbregas withdrew his gaze and said to Iniesta beside him. At the same time, he also used his heel to knock the football passed by Silva to Lago behind him.
"I think we have to be careful of their entire team …" Iniesta laughed. "Mr. Twain has kneaded this team into a whole. We can't take it lightly. "
"Whether it's England or George Wood, they're both difficult to deal with." Fàbregas said.
"Agreed."
In fact, Hierro had already warned the players to pay attention to several of England's main players, including Gerrard, Wood, Rooney and Mitchell.
But Spain would not change their tactical play according to the opponent. Their tradition was technical and offensive football. They would never consider abandoning their tradition. Besides, the time of a game could not be adjusted even if they wanted to. Hierro hoped that the players could take the initiative in the game into their own hands. From the first minute of the game until the last minute, they wanted to use the team's advantage in ball possession to lead England by the nose, so that the English could not play their advantage. After re-editing the game between England and France, Hierro showed it to the players twice. On the one hand, it was to let the players be careful of England. On the other hand, it was to let his players learn from England's performance in the game against France — from the beginning to the end, the star-studded France team, which was considered the favorite to win the title, had no chance at all. In Hierro's words, "from the first second of the game, the fate of France's defeat was doomed." He hoped that his team could do the same in today's game, so that England could not fight back and lose the game without any suspense.
"Technique is our advantage, we must make good use of it. Try to keep the ball under your feet. I don't want to see blind long passes and clearances. If the opponent forms a numerical advantage in a small area, use quick passes and cooperation to tear apart their defense. Be fast when you need to be fast, and be steady when you control the ball … "
These were the things that Hierro repeatedly emphasized to them at the tactical meeting last night. Every Spanish player had to keep it in mind. This was the outline of the action during the game, and the specific actions must follow this outline.
※ ※ ※
Since Spain arrived earlier than England, they finished their warm-up earlier. While England was still warming up, the Spanish players had already walked off the field one after another.
As he left, Fàbregas looked up at the sky. Night had completely fallen. The afterglow of the setting sun in the western sky could no longer be seen in the stadium. But it was still early for the Spanish — according to the Spanish lifestyle, they should not have started eating dinner at this time.
In fact, if everything went according to the Spanish work and rest schedule, most of the UEFA European Championship games would be kicked off at midnight. But for the sake of television broadcasting, the games were all set to kick off in the afternoon and evening prime time.
It was not possible to tell if there would be rain in the night sky. Fàbregas quickly withdrew his gaze and followed his teammates into the players' tunnel.
※ ※ ※
"Do you think it will really rain tonight like the weather forecast?" After the Spanish players left, it was the English people's turn to start worrying about the weather.
"Who knows?" Two players stood in the middle of the field and looked up at the sky as if there was an alien UFO up there.
It was not until a football hit their backs that the two men came back to their senses.
"What are you looking at? Warming up! " Although Gerrard was no longer the captain of the team, he still had the authority of the captain. After all, he was a veteran and respected.
"It depends on the weather to see if it will rain …"
"What do you care about that for? It's not up to us to say whether it will rain or not. If you don't actively warm up now, you might get hurt. "Gerrard said to them.
The two men shrugged and said, "We're the substitutes anyway …"
"The substitutes also have a chance to play. Go warm up. "Under Gerrard's gaze, the two players turned and ran to the area where they should be. After Gerrard finished persuading them, he turned around and saw Wood looking at him. He smiled at Wood.
In fact, it was not only the players who were concerned about the weather. The coaching staff of both teams were also concerned about the weather. In order to better prepare for the game, the Spanish weather station provided a real-time weather broadcast service for the Spanish team to help them defeat their strong opponent, England.
England did not have such good treatment. They were not playing at home and did not have all the advantages that the host team had. The English coaches could only speculate whether it would rain from the weather conditions. In addition, they had to endure the boos from the fans in the stadium — in fact, there was no deep hatred between the English team and the Spanish team. The naval battle 500 years ago clearly did not affect the feelings of the fans of the two countries. Now the Spanish fans were treating the English team this way only because the English team was their enemy tonight.
Until the end of the warm-up, there was no sign of rain in the sky. The English team also retreated into the locker room.
Tang En, who had been in the changing room the whole time, moved closer to Walker's side and asked him in a low voice if it was raining outside. After receiving a negative answer, he clapped his hands and raised his voice. "Alright, guys, don't think about that damned weather anymore. Whether it rains or not has no effect on us. The ones who should be worried about it should be Spain. Now take back your thoughts. I ask you … Are you all ready to face the next game? "
He looked at all the players. In these people's eyes, he saw determination, hesitation, excitement, fanaticism and agitation, but also unease, nervousness and fear …
It was normal. This was the performance that an ordinary team facing a crucial battle should have. Tang En was relieved. The players did not show a unified paranoia, such as a rush of blood to the brain or a rush of nervousness.
"Of course, Boss!" Those with determined eyes were the first to answer loudly.
Tang En did not encourage them. Instead, he waved his hands and said, "Whether you are really ready or not, I can only know after seeing your performance on the field. Are there any tactical problems? This is your last chance. "
No one raised any questions.
"It looks like you all know what you have to do. Well, don't be muddle-headed on the field. Now, guys, you're not facing one game, you're facing two. These may be the two most important games in your career as a player — I'm not talking about the semifinals and the finals. "
His words amused many people.
"These are the two most important games in your career as a player. If we keep winning, we can trample the whole of Europe under our feet. But if we lose … then all the efforts we have done before will be in vain. People will not remember that you once kicked the Germans back home, nor will they remember that you ended your fate of not winning for 48 years against Sweden, nor will they remember that you once humiliated France with four goals. They will only remember that you are losers! Just like the French team that just left. Until now, will anyone still mention that they were once called the 'favorite to win the championship'? No! They will only laugh at this loser unscrupulously! "
Tang En raised his voice.
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