At the hotel where Argentina stayed, Sampaoli watched all the footage of China's first five games. He admits that the Chinese team is indeed very strong, especially when the main lineup is complete, judging from these games, it seems that the only way to stop the Chinese team is to rely on luck, the German team was lucky in the first half, but the second half was ......

However, Sampaoli felt that Argentina's luck was better, although the game had not yet started, but the main central defender of the Chinese team, Liang Xiran, was suspended from the game with a red card and was definitely unable to play. After repeated research, Sampaoli found that no matter how the Chinese team adjusts and arranges the defensive formation, there will always be some obvious flaws, which will undoubtedly become the space used by Argentina.

The only fly in the ointment of the Chinese team is the limited strength of the substitute players, and the battle with the German team is the most direct proof of this. Sampaoli believes that as long as Argentina plays normally, it should not be a problem to defeat the Chinese team. He has already conceived the idea that Messi will either play in the middle or on the left, there are always two places, and there is always a position where the lifeblood of the Chinese team is.

A little smile appeared on the corner of Sang Pauli's mouth, and he whispered to himself: "An Rong, whether you platoon Li Yongxuan or Yuan Chengye, there will be big loopholes in your defense line." ”

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On the training ground of the Chinese team, An Rong focused on the back line, and he mainly tried the combination of "Huang Yu + Yan Tao + Tang Ling + Yuan Chengye", followed by the combination of "Huang Yu + Yan Tao + Li Yongxuan + Tang Ling". From the training, it can be seen that An Rong will first use the first method in the semi-finals, and the second will be used as an alternative. The training session was so confidential that the staff emptied all the reporters, so much so that many Argentine paparazzi were disappointed in their desire to find out the news.

An Rong knows very well in his heart that no matter how the defense line is adjusted now, Argentina's Messi can find a breakthrough, fortunately, Argentina, as a South American team, is not good at fast attack, which gives the other players of the Chinese team enough time to fill the position. An Rong will still take defensive counterattacks in the game, although the team lacks Liang Xiran, a lagging central defender, but in the face of a team that focuses on passing and control, playing defensive counterattack is the best choice.

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At two o'clock in the morning on July 11, Beijing time, the first semi-final between Brazil and France was played at the Zenit Stadium in St. Petersburg, and both sides presented their strongest lineups. The two sides drew 0:0 in the first half, and in the 64th minute of the second half, Neymar planned an attack on the left side, Marcelo received the ball and crossed the penalty area, Jesus inserted a shot and scored, and Brazil led 1:0.

The Samba Army's lead did not last long, and in the 71st minute of the game, Pogba's long-range shot was saved by Alisson, but Griezmann grabbed the second point but did not shoot from the angle, and he cleverly played the ball to Mbappe, who easily scored from six yards to make the score 1-1.

In the 113th minute of extra time, Neymar finally stepped up, he smashed into the far corner of the goal from the edge of the penalty area, France goalkeeper Lloris failed to save the goal, and Brazil exceeded the score again 2:1.

This is also Neymar's fifth goal in this Cup, second only to Zhang Shujie (7 goals) in the scorer list, and the same number of goals as Li Mu, but because Li Mu took a shorter time, according to the rules of the World Cup, Li Mu ranked behind Zhang Shujie in the scorer list, and Neymar was third.

With a final score of 2:1, Brazil was able to advance to the final first, and their opponents will be the winner between China and Argentina, while the French team can only fight for the bronze medal against the loser of the Sino-Arab battle.

This is Neymar's first World Cup final, and he had that opportunity four years ago, but an injury in one of the games that left him out of the semi-finals, and it was his absence that caused the Germans to cause the biggest tragedy in the history of Brazilian football. But now the past is different, not to mention that the Brazilian squad is stronger than four years ago, and Neymar is also becoming more mature. The Brazilian king, who is desperate for the Ballon d'Or, vows to win the Hercules Cup, and only by winning this title will he have the bargaining chips to compete for the European Ballon d'Or and the World Footballer of the Year.

As for the outlook for the final, Neymar made it clear that the title was the only goal. When the reporter asked him which opponent he would most like to meet in Argentina and China, he replied: "It's the same with everyone, because they are both strong." Argentina has Messi and Dybala, and China has Zhang Shujie and Li Mu, and I don't think it's surprising who wins or loses. ”

"So which team are you more optimistic about making it to the final?"

"Argentina. Because there is a little problem with the back line of the Chinese team, we all know that every team will play more conservative and careful in this kind of competition, and this is very demanding on the defensive line. The Argentine lineup is very neat, but the Chinese team is not. Some people may say that they completed a shocking reversal in the round of 16, but indeed, such a Chinese team deserves respect. But I would say that a reversal doesn't happen all the time, and if the Chinese team makes the same mistake at the back against Argentina, they will definitely be out. ”

Neymar's meaning is very obvious, in the game with the German team, two of the three goals conceded by the Chinese team are the mistakes of the substitute goalkeeper, if in the face of Argentina, there are substitute players and then there are big mistakes, then Messi has the ability to make a final decision.

Neymar's words quickly reached Zhang Shujie's ears, and he said to the media with a smile: "Neymar and his Brazilian team have reached the final, and what he wants to say is his business, I don't care." My team-mates and I are thinking about Messi's Argentina right now, and the absence of Liang Xiran will inevitably make our defence a little tight, but I believe that our substitutes can be used very well. We are a team, a very strong team, and if we want to get to the final, we have to beat Argentina first. ”

The battle between China and Argentina will start tomorrow, and the Chinese team, which lacks a main central defender, will face off against Argentina with a full main lineup. The semi-finals are currently the best record of an Asian team in the history of the World Cup, held by China and South Korea. It's just that in the 2002 World Cup, the South Korean team used what means to advance to the semi-finals is known to the world, but the Chinese team is different, relying entirely on its own strength. This is the strongest Chinese team, strong enough to make them famous in history. It's just that they don't want to be like Brazil in the 80s, where they have a strong name but no champions. Now, it's time for them to make history.

(End of chapter)