An Rong has watched all three of England's group stage matches, and has watched them more than once. England's style of play has not changed much over the years, and it still likes to start from two sides, the Chinese team is not afraid of this, if England does not have more offensive means in the round of 16, then in terms of winning odds, the Chinese team will definitely be greater. Because the Chinese team's offensive means are very diverse, whether it is in the middle or on the side, they organize effective attacks.

An Rong has carefully observed that in England's three lines, the front court can be described as star-studded, in addition to the outstanding Harry Kane, Rashford, Vardy, Sturridge is also very strong, and the midfield has first-class stars like Ali, but except for these people, the other players seem to be inferior, but An Rong believes that the existence of Harry Kane and Ali can create some threats for the Chinese team.

Although An Rong also knew that his disciples felt that they could pass the England level, he was just a self-feeling of the players, and An Rong did not change their minds. It's good to have confidence in this kind of stage, and this group of national team players is really confident. An Rong only hopes that this self-confidence does not turn into conceit, and so far, he has not found such a problem.

An Rong is studying England, Southgate is also studying China, and like other managers, Southgate is struggling with how to defend against China's attack. Compared with other teams, they often only need to care about the only core player of the opponent, but the Chinese team is different, Zhang Shujie and Li Mu on the front line, Xu Ziyi and Chen Zihua in the midfield, Zhao Wenkang and Xu Zhixin on the side, these players can attack, this kind of team is often difficult to deal with, making it difficult to prevent.

Southgate was a nerve-wracking one, and in defence, the centre-backs of Yan Tao and Liang Xiran were more than enough to withstand any attack, plus two full-backs were good at attacking and defending, and a very good goalkeeper. Southgate found that the Chinese team could not find obvious weaknesses in either attack or defense.

Now it's a real problem. Southgate also considered himself unlucky, why did he meet the Chinese team in the round of 16.

During the period of preparation of the Chinese team, the competition between the top 16 is in full swing, which is very different from the group stage, if you lose one in the group stage, there is still room for a turnaround, but the knockout round is different, especially this is a single round-robin knockout roundout, once you lose, it means that the World Cup journey is over.

In the first match between France and Croatia, France defeated Croatia 3-1 after falling behind 0:1 thanks to Griezmann's brace and Mbappe's goal before the end, and the Gallic Roosters also became the first team to reach the quarterfinals, while Modric and his teammates unfortunately exited.

In the match between Uruguay and Portugal, the stars of the two teams, Suarez and Ronaldo each scored twice, the two sides fought 2:2 in 90 minutes, and in the 117th minute of extra time, Ronaldo assisted Andre Silva on the right side, and the A seat scored with a header, and each of them scored the second goal of this cup to help Portugal beat Uruguay 3:2 and advance to the quarterfinals.

The third match was between Spain and Russia, and although Russia was the host, it was clearly Spain the better side in terms of strength. Spain also had the advantage in the whole game, but Morata missed two consecutive solo shots, Isco and substitute Vazquez each had a chance to hit the goal from close range, but they could not change the score, until the 81st minute of the game, David Silva took a corner kick, Ramos shook his head in front of the goal, scored the only goal of the game, sent Spain to the quarterfinals.

The fourth game is Argentina against Denmark, just six minutes into the game, Messi was tripped by the opposing defender with the ball in the penalty area, Argentina won a penalty, Mei Tianwang personally took the penalty, Argentina led 1:0, which is also Messi's fourth goal in this Cup, and Zhang Shujie tied for the top of the scorer list, but according to the selection rules of the best scorer in the World Cup, the actual first place is Zhang Shujie, because Zhang Shujie's four goals are all sports goals.

Towards the end of the first half, Messi assisted Di Maria to extend the score to 2:0. In the second half, neither side could find another goal, and the score of 2:0 remained until the end of the game, and Argentina entered the quarterfinals without any danger.

In the fifth, the mighty Brazil faced Sweden, and in this game with little suspense, Sweden, who lost Ibrahimovic, posed a very limited threat to Brazil, and Brazil kept Sweden at bay. It's just that the star Neymar has been mediocre in the normal game, and the team's two goals are not too directly related to him, the first goal is Gabriel Jesus's powerful shot from the side to the penalty area, and the second goal is Casemiro's sweeping goal from a set-piece, which is also Casemiro's first goal for the Brazilian national team. In the end, Brazil defeated Sweden 2-0 to become the fifth team to advance to the quarter-finals.

The sixth match, Costa Rica vs. Germany, was also a game without suspense, and despite Costa Rica's miracles in two consecutive World Cups, this year's miracle road is coming to an end. Germany advanced to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica thanks to goals from Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Müller. The score of 3:1 seems to be not small, but in fact, if it were not for Keylor Navas's outstanding performance, the German team would have scored at least six goals! Even Costa Rica's own on-site commentators believe that Navas saved the few points of dignity for the team.

The seventh game was played by the European Red Devils against Poland, Milik helped Poland lead Belgium 1:0 in the first half, but in the second half, Belgium relied on goals from Lukaku and Hazard to reverse the game 2:1 and became the seventh team to enter the quarterfinals, while Poland could only pack up their baggage and go on vacation early.

Seven of the eight games in the round of 16 were played, and seven places were produced in the quarterfinals, including two in South America and five in Europe, which seems to prove the pattern of today's football, which is still dominated by Europe and two people in South America, so the Chinese team is not only the only team in Asia, but also the only team outside Europe and South America, if the Chinese team cannot defeat England, then there will be no teams outside Europe and South America in the quarterfinals. Therefore, it is self-evident how arduous the task of the Chinese team is.

In the last World Cup, after reaching the round of 16, the slogan of the Chinese team was "Fight for the Glory of Asia", and this year I am afraid it is not only for Asia. Everyone in the world is looking at the Chinese team to see if they can be the "other" in the quarterfinals!

(End of chapter)