Chapter 230 Brazil's Nemesis Time flies, and it is July in the blink of an eye. The World Cup is still fierce, with strong teams such as Germany, England, France, Italy, Brazil and Argentina advancing to the quarterfinals. Ghana, the only African team, and Mexico, the only Central and North American team, were eliminated in the round of 16. The places for the quarterfinals are monopolized by Europe and South America! Since the teams that have made it to the quarterfinals are all traditional strong teams, the matchups in the quarterfinals are very exciting, especially the strong dialogues such as Germany VS Argentina and Brazil VS France, which have attracted countless fans to watch. Although Lin Feng and others did not have time to watch the games in person because they were attending a training camp, they were also very concerned about the results of the two games. In the match between Germany and Argentina, the two teams ended in a tie in regular time. Neither side made any progress in overtime and the match was dragged into a brutal penalty shootout. In the penalty shootout, the penalties of Lin Feng's club teammate Cambiasso and another Argentine player Ayala were both saved by Germany's goalkeeper Lehmann. The German team, on the other hand, scored all of their first four penalties. In the end, Germany won the penalty shootout and became the first team to advance to the semi-finals of this World Cup with a total score of 5:3. The German team's record in the World Cup is indeed very stable, and this time they are guaranteed to make it to the top four. The Argentina team, the favorite to win the championship, was eliminated and could only pack up and go home with regret.
It is worth mentioning that, like Ronaldo, Messi also participated in this World Cup. But he did not play in this crucial match against Germany. In the previous four games, Messi played a total of 3 times, scored a goal and provided an assist. His personal data is still good. But unfortunately, there are too many big names in the Argentina team. Messi is too young now and his status in the team is too low. Let alone gaining a core identity and status, he is not even a main player. Therefore, this World Cup is destined not to be his stage to perform. But four years from now, when Messi reaches 23 years old, everything may be completely different. The same is true for Ronaldo. In the next World Cup, both of them will become the core of their respective national teams. The performance of Argentina and Portugal will be closely related to their own performance. When talking about Messi, we naturally have to mention Ronaldo. The Portuguese team encountered the European powerhouse England team in the quarter-finals. This year's British team is quite strong, with Ballon d'Or winner Owen and Golden Boy Award winner Rooney leading the front line. With tall Crouch and Tottenham's fast Lennon as supplements, the overall forward line is very young. But these players are all very strong. The 19-year-old Rooney had scored 16 goals in a single season in the Premier League at that time. His personal performance was second only to Lin Feng among young players in recent years. Although Owen was affected by injuries, he did not play many games for Real Madrid. But last season, Owen scored 20 goals in 13 games he started for Real Madrid, which is quite efficient. Let's take a look at England's midfield. Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Bayern midfielder Hargreaves and Joe Cole are in no way inferior to that of France. England's defense is equally strong. Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, each of them is a player who has proven his strength in the Premier League and even the Champions League. Overall, the 06 England team can be said to be the strongest Three Lions team in the past decade or so. Compared with them, Portugal's lineup is actually much inferior to England's. But the England team has encountered a very serious problem in this World Cup: how to solve the problem of the coexistence of the two Germans? Lampard and Gerrard are both very strong in their respective teams and are an integral part of the midfield. But in the national team, their playing styles are very similar and their functions overlap, but neither of them has the ability to become the core of the organization. As a result, when they are on the court at the same time, they cannot achieve the effect of 1+1>2, but instead make each other feel uncomfortable. The result of forcing the two to play at the same time was that Lampard and Gerrard did not play to their respective club strengths in the national team games. In fact, because the two did not have the strength to be the core of the organization, the British team has been lacking a real midfield core in this World Cup.
In addition, Beckham was injured and left the field early in this game, and Rooney was sent off with a red card for fouling and pushing Ronaldo uncalmly. Although the English media accused Ronaldo of deliberately framing Rooney after the game, things had already happened and could not be undone. The England team was greatly weakened without Beckham and Rooney, and ultimately failed to defeat their opponents. The game was dragged into a brutal penalty shootout, in which Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher's penalties were all saved by the Portuguese goalkeeper. The strongest Three Lions team carefully built by Eriksson came to an end in its World Cup journey. The result of this game was beyond many people's expectations. Before the game, everyone was generally more optimistic about England's victory. After all, in recent years the British media has been declaring that this is the strongest Three Lions team in history. Although the Portuguese team is considered a strong team in Europe, it is not the top team. When the two teams meet, England should be the better team. However, the result of this game once again proved that football is not a game of chess. No matter how good the lineup is or how many stars there are, if they cannot perform to their full potential, they will still lose. After the game, Lin Feng called immediately to congratulate Figo. For the Portuguese team, especially a veteran like Figo, it is indeed a very proud thing to reach the World Cup semi-finals again after forty years! I hope they will continue to work hard and achieve even better results! For small countries like Portugal and Croatia, their national team performance depends entirely on the success rate of contemporary players. If they are lucky and the players at a certain stage collectively explode, the national team's performance during this period will be very strong. But if they are unlucky and no good players emerge for a long time, their record will be sluggish. …… Compared to the first three knockout matches, the final match between Brazil and France attracted much more attention! France was the champion of the previous World Cup, and Brazil was the champion of the previous World Cup. Moreover, both teams are among the favorites to win this World Cup, so many people regard this game as an early final. However, due to the poor performance of the French team in the group stage, many people are not optimistic about the French team, and even think that they have completely declined and are not worthy of the title of World Cup seeding team. Compared with them, the Brazilian team, which is in hot form, won all three group matches, and won 11 consecutive World Cup games, is obviously more optimistic. For the Brazilian team, they came into this game with a mentality of revenge. Because in the 98 World Cup final, it was the French team that defeated them! On one side is the defending champions who are in hot form and have the revenge buff, and on the other side is the French team who are in a slump and whose core players are not performing well. Many people predicted that this game would be one-sided. However, after the game started, the situation that the fans expected did not happen. Zidane, who had performed poorly in the group stage, turned around his previous slump and shined in this game like a fully charged battery. Thanks to his outstanding performance, the French team created threats to the Brazilian team's goal many times. Thanks to Zidane's outstanding performance, the French team actually suppressed the Brazilian team on the field. On the other hand, facing the powerful offensive of the French team, the Brazilian team no longer had the bravery they had in the group stage and instead became conservative. However, conservatism did not bring victory to the Brazilian team. In the 54th minute of the second half, Vieira headed the ball to Henry, who broke into the penalty area and scored the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was offside and was cancelled by the referee. But the French team's momentum has been revealed. They are becoming more and more confident as the game goes on, and their attack is like a tide, one wave after another. Scoring a goal is only a matter of time! In the 57th minute, Zidane once again presented a stunning performance to the fans at the scene and around the world.
He was intercepted by his club teammate Ronaldo in the midfield. Zidane was not in a hurry. He used a light lob to avoid Ronaldo and then headed the ball to Malouda. Malouda caused Cafu to foul when trying to break through on the wing, winning another free kick for the French team. In this game, the French team won many direct free kicks in the frontcourt because of their fierce attack. However, France's previous free kicks had not posed a threat to Brazil's goal, and this time the free kick was too close to the sideline, so Brazilian fans did not take it too seriously. Some Brazilian fans are still swinging Gallic roosters with ropes tied around their necks, implying that the Brazilian team will strangle the French team like this rope. However, the next second, the Brazilian team was strangled by the French team! Zidane took the free kick and passed it diagonally to the back of the penalty area with his right foot. The high point in the middle of the French team attracted the attention of the Brazilian team. Carlos did not stick close to Henry, resulting in Henry being unguarded at the back point! Faced with such a good opportunity, a killer like Henry would naturally not miss it. He quickly got to 4 meters in front of the goal and volleyed the ball with his right foot into the goal. France leads 1-0!! The stadium was completely boiling at this moment, with the French fans singing and dancing, almost crying with joy. The fans of the Brazilian team next door almost cried when the French team scored. It's Zidane again, and this damn guy again. At this moment, Brazilians remembered the fear they once had under Zidane's control. That was eight years ago at the World Cup in France. In the final held at the Stade de France, it was this bald man on the field who scored twice, helping the host team defeat the Samba Army and giving the Brazilian team a humiliating defeat. Although Zidane did not score a goal in this match, he almost dominated the game single-handedly. His performance was completely different from that in the group stage, which made the fans who watched the French team's games all the way find it hard to believe - is this still the same person? After taking the lead, the French team's morale was high. Instead of retreating to defend, they attacked more fiercely. In the 61st minute, France almost extended the lead. Ribery broke into the penalty area from the left and pushed the ball in front of the goal. Juan's clearance almost went into his own goal, which scared countless Brazilian fans. Brazil coach Pereira had already sensed the taste of death at this time, and he knew that the team must strengthen its offense. So, in a desperate move, they chose to replace Juninho, who had performed poorly, with Ade. This free kick master had almost no outstanding performance in this game, and his several free kicks did not pose any threat. In front of Zidane, who is also a free kick master, he was completely defeated. However, it is definitely not a wise choice to replace Ade at this time, because the Brazilian team is facing very heavy defensive pressure at this time. Replacing a midfielder with a forward would further weaken one's own defense. The result is that the French team's offensive threat has become even greater! In the 70th minute, Ronaldo forced a breakthrough and fell on the edge of the penalty area, but the referee Cantalejo did not blow the whistle. France seized the opportunity to launch a quick counterattack. Henry made a low pass from the right, and the scarred man Ribery showed the world his terrifying speed. He broke into the penalty area at an incredible speed, but Brazil's goalkeeper Dida acted in time and bravely pounced on him, snatching the ball away from Ribery's feet like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. The young Ribery is very fast, but he still lacks experience. If he had observed the ball in advance and shot earlier, the result might not be this. Facing the fierce attack of the French team, Brazilian goalkeeper Dida became the busiest person during this period. After saving Ribery's one-on-one shot, Henry's shot in front of the goal was also saved by Dida in the 72nd minute. The Brazilian team made substitutions one after another, Cafu and Kaka were replaced by Cicinho and Robinho. The French team saw that the opponent was going to fight desperately, and several of their forwards were exhausted from the previous crazy attack, so Domenech chose to replace Ribery, who was extremely exhausted, with Gove, and then replaced Malouda and Henry one after another. When Henry, the goal scorer, left the field, he received a standing ovation from all the French fans. In the final stage of the game, the Brazilian team tried their best to attack, but the French team's defense was very solid and did not give the opponent too many opportunities.
Despite frequent shots from Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Robinho, none of these attempts resulted in a goal. Finally, after all the injury time had been used up, the referee blew the whistle to end the game. Thanks to Henry's goal, France defeated Brazil 1-0, ending their opponent's 11-game winning streak in the World Cup. It is worth mentioning that the team Brazil lost to in the last World Cup was France. The French team also won the title of Samba Star, but it would be better to say that Zidane is the Samba Star than to say that the French team is the Samba Star. Otherwise it would be difficult to explain why Zidane's condition was so different before and after meeting the Brazilian team! (End of this chapter)
