Chapter 132: The Best Selfie?
"Beep~Beep~Beep~~"
With three long whistles from Turkish referee Güneit Chakir, the third round of Group D between Argentina and Nigeria came to an end, and Argentina finally beat Nigeria 2-1 with two goals from Messi and Rojo to emerge from Group D with four points from three games.
However, at the same time, it also brings endless troubles to Argentine fans, because Argentina will face the favorite France in the 1/8 finals.
Of course, it is very rare for Argentina to qualify from Group D, and naturally it can no longer expect an opponent in the 1/8 finals.
The French players who followed the two group games in Group D were very speechless, knowing that Argentina could beat Nigeria rather than draw against Denmark, compared to the face of the group leader, it is more important to go further.
Even if fans are asked to choose a strong team to save face and have the last laugh, it is estimated that 99% of fans will choose to have the last laugh.
But French coach Didier Deschamps and the French players do not regret it, although Argentina is also the favorite to win the championship, but the current Argentina is not the Argentina of four years ago, and Messi in the Argentine national team is not Messi in the club, which is not enough evidence at all.
According to the knockout round arrangement of this World Cup, the 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and Croatia are arranged in the fourth game, at the Nizhny Novgorod Arena in Nizhny Novgorod, at 9 p.m. local time on July 1, Russia.
For the second 1/8 final of the Chinese team in the history of the World Cup, Chinese fans are naturally looking forward to it, and as in the past three group games, the tickets arranged for Chinese fans were sold out early, and a large number of tickets belonging to Russia were also purchased by Chinese fans who were not short of money, even if the transaction price was much higher than the face value of the tickets.
The Chinese team flew from Sochi to Nizhny Novgorod at noon on the next day to prepare for the 1/8 final against Croatia.
It is worth mentioning that while the Chinese team is preparing for the 1/8 finals, the domestic "Xinhua News Agency" reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin sincerely invited the two heads of state to watch the 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and the Croatian team.
As for why it was invited to the first game of the knockout round, it is directly related to the Chinese team meeting the stronger Croatia......
However, is it true that the Chinese team can't run over Croatia and go further?
"Xinhua News Agency", as an important propaganda and public opinion organization established in the early days of China, has been working under the direct leadership of the Party Central Committee since its birth, shouldering the sacred mission entrusted by the party and the people, playing the role of mouthpiece, eyes and ears, think tank and information collection, and has made important contributions to the party's unity and leadership of the people of all ethnic groups across the country to achieve major victories in revolution, construction and reform.
The Chinese players preparing for the tournament felt a surging sense of strength while carrying a huge amount of pressure, and they were able to see Xi Boss in person and even have the opportunity to shake hands, regardless of the outcome of the match.
For the players, it's a matter of glory!
It is inevitable to feel the pressure when the game comes to the knockout round, after all, if you lose, you will go home, and everyone will have the pressure, but the players feel more of a surging sense of power, because they know that there are only a handful of people who have seen the head of state in their lives, and if they play well, it is entirely possible to be praised by the head of state!
Thinking about this, the motivation of the players to train has increased greatly.
The final round of the other four groups continued, and Tang Zheng in preparation also paid attention, especially the one in Germany and South Korea.
Unexpectedly, when Sweden led Mexico by three goals, the German team conceded two goals in stoppage time, losing 0:2 to South Korea, which had lost both previous games, and lost the opportunity to advance, which is regrettable.
Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV and watching the live TV broadcast, could not calm the ripples in his heart for a long time, it stands to reason that the obviously stronger German team beat South Korea is a very normal result, but many times the game cannot be measured by strength.
Throughout the game, Germany dominated the game, but threatened South Korea's goal very few times.
Tang Zheng regretted not that Germany failed to advance, but that he suffered Reuss.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 European Championship in France were missed due to injuries in succession, and it was difficult to catch up with the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The best Reuss, the worst German team.
It's a kind of sadness.
Due to Germany's defeat to South Korea, even if Mexico defeated Sweden by three goals, it will still advance to the round of 16 of this World Cup, but if nothing else, Mexico, which was originally determined to be the first in the group, is likely to face the five-star Brazil, the most optimistic World Cup winner of major bookmakers!
Not surprisingly, Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 and Switzerland drew 2-2 with Costa Rica in the two group games played later.
The rest of Group G and Group H are largely clear, especially in Group G, where England and Belgium have already qualified together at the end of the second round of the group, and their third-round head-to-head meeting is more like a battle for who will finish second in the group, thus avoiding the strong top half of the group.
The suspense in Group H is two out of three, with Japan and Senegal having the best chance of being the last two teams in the round of 16 at this World Cup.
Japan only need a draw against Poland to secure progress, as does Senegal, who have four points from two games, but Colombia, who suffered a shock loss to Japan in the first round, need to win in the final round to advance.
After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Colombia finally defeated Senegal 1-0, because Japan lost 0-1 to Poland, and the winning Colombia climbed to the top of Group H.
So, the question is, Japan and Senegal, who lost, both have four points, scored four goals and conceded four goals, and their records are all draws, who will advance to the round of 16?
According to the relevant regulations of this World Cup, when the number of goals, goals conceded and mutual records are the same, it is not a draw, but the number of red and yellow cards of the two teams, so the Japanese team, which has committed the least fouls so far in this World Cup, narrowly beat Senegal to become the last team to enter the round of 16 by virtue of the advantage of fewer cards.
The final two matches in Group G were about group standings and glory, with Belgium beating England 1-0 and Tunisia overturning Panama 2-1.
With the conclusion of the two group games in Group G, the 48 group stage matches of the 2018 World Cup in Russia have come to an end, and the dust has settled on the 16 teams that have advanced to the knockout stage.
Nine European teams, four South American teams, two Asian teams and one team from CONCACAF
The eight matches of the 16 teams are arranged in the upper and lower halves, and the Chinese team, which Chinese fans are concerned about, is arranged in the lower half with Croatia in accordance with the knockout round format of the World Cup in Russia.
Interestingly, the top half and the bottom half are completely two worlds, because the entire top half is very strong except for Japan, and it can be called the top half of death.
First Half Matchup: A1 Uruguay VS · B2 Spain, C1 France VS· D2 Argentina, E1 Brazil VS · F2 Mexico, G1 Belgium VS· H2 Japan.
Second half matchup: B1 Portugal VS · A2 Russia, D1 Croatia VS· C2 China, F1 Sweden VS· E2 Switzerland, H1 Colombia VS· G2 England.
According to the schedule, once the Chinese team defeats Croatia to advance to the quarterfinals of this World Cup, the team against will be the winner between Portugal and Russia.
There is even a possibility of advancing to the finals!
There are many domestic media and fans pondering and researching, this possibility is really likely to happen!
In the entire bottom half, only England won the World Cup in 1966.
With the strength of the Chinese team and some luck, anything is possible!
Of course, the first thing the Chinese team needs to do is to beat Croatia!
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Forty-eight group stage matches are over, and the World Cup in Russia ushered in a one-day break.
The wait is an ordeal for the fans, but it is even more true for the 16 teams in the preparation for the game, because in the near future they will have to fight for 90 minutes, if not 120 minutes, for each other.
The 1/8 final between China and Croatia is scheduled for the second match of the second day of the knockout stage, which is 9 p.m. local time in Erros.
Before that, there were three fights.
France vs. Argentina, Uruguay vs. Spain and Portugal vs. Russia.
Undoubtedly, the most watched 1/8 finals are France and Argentina, the two favourites.
The two sides have played each other 11 times, including nine international friendlies and two World Cups.
In the head-to-head record between the two sides, Argentina has the upper hand, with six wins, three draws and two losses, scoring 12 goals and conceding seven.
The most recent meeting took place in February 2009, when Argentina beat France 2-0, but it's been nine years since then, so there's not much value to consider.
The World Cup has been met twice, with Argentina winning both games.
Considering that the last time the two teams met in the World Cup was back in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, there is also no reference value.
Of course, for Chinese fans, the 1/8 final between the Chinese team and Croatia is the real focus.
I don't want to miss any of the team's preparations.
Although the players in the front court of the Chinese team are only in their twenties and have a long career, fans know that the peak of the Chinese team may only be this one, because ...... Tang Zheng is 28 years old this year, and the Qatar World Cup four years later will be 32 years old.
At the peak of Tang Zheng's career, it was the best moment for the Chinese team to achieve the best results in the World Cup.
Otherwise...... Why is only Tang Zheng who can be called the world's top superstar?
The one-day World Cup gap is fleeting, and the 1/8 finals of France vs Argentina and Uruguay vs Spain are just around the corner.
The football atmosphere in Kazan and Sochi, the cities that hosted the two quarter-finals, has become frenzied again, and fans of any national team are venting the indescribable excitement and surging feeling in their hearts.
However, the Chinese fans are most concerned about the two 1/8 finals on this day, but the head of state Xi Boss was jointly invited by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin to watch the fourth 1/8 final of the Russian World Cup between the Chinese team and Croatia.
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On the day of the match between France vs Argentina and Uruguay vs Spain, the Chinese team and the Croatian team staggered to the Nizhny Novgorod Arena to adapt to the game, which is commonly known as stepping on the field.
Croatia was arranged by the organizing committee to acclimatize to the venue in the afternoon, while the Chinese team was scheduled to be in the morning.
The Chinese players were particularly excited to know that they had arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, to meet everyone, and the training atmosphere was very good, and the 23 players in the squad were eager to try and were in hot form.
When the whole Chinese team entered the state of joint training, I don't know who shouted: "Look~ It's Boss Xi and Mrs. Xi, as well as Putin and Infantino!"
Accompanied by Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Boss Xi and Mrs. Xi, who only met with a smile, walked from the players' tunnel into the Nizhny Novgorod Arena, which happened to be completely in line of sight with Tang Zheng and others.
In addition to the fact that head coach Lippi is accustomed to strong winds and waves and does not have many emotional fluctuations, it is the captain Tang Zheng who reacts the fastest.
As China's number one sports star, Tang Zheng was summoned by Boss Xi in Germany, Spain, and China, so his surprised expression was replaced by a smile, and then he took the initiative to meet head coach Lippi.
In the entire Chinese team, except for Tang Zheng, who talked to Boss Xi, Mrs. Xi, Putin and Infantino with a natural expression, the other players were in a state of confusion.
They are not even better than Tang Zheng, and the attention they receive is really limited, but as the head of state, *** obviously did his homework before coming, he can call out the names of each player, and shake hands one by one, so that these players who are in a state of confusion return to reality.
Although they have been mentally prepared for a long time, when they actually face the head of state, they will be somewhat nervous, even those veteran players who played in the World Cup in Brazil four years ago cannot avoid it.
Of course, these players reverted back to passers-by after the simple encouragement of Boss Xi, leaving only captain Tang Zheng to talk and laugh with Boss Xi, Putin and Infantino.
Lu Liang, who was already training not far away, looked at Tang Zheng and said enviously: "Brother Zheng's heart is really not ordinary, he can talk and laugh with Boss Xi, Putin and Infantino, and say it with envy!"
Sun Jingbo tapped his chin and said enviously: "Yes, I don't know if I will have Brother Zheng's achievements in the future!"
The other players didn't speak, but the envious look in their eyes was enough to say it all.
At this moment, Ye Erfan, who scored the only goal of the Chinese team in the third group stage, suddenly shouted: "Look! Brother Zheng is taking a photo with Boss Xi and Putin! No, it's a selfie!"
Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see Tang Zheng standing in the middle with his mobile phone, Boss Xi and Putin standing on both sides, smiling, and Tang Zheng's left thumb kept pressing the shooting button on the mobile phone screen.
In October 2015, when Boss Xi visited the United Kingdom, Aguero once posted a selfie with Boss Xi and British Prime Minister Cameron on his personal social networks, and then that selfie was called the best selfie by fans from all over the world.
If this photo is released, will you still have to say the best selfie?