The reason why a dark horse is a dark horse is simply that it is not favored before the game, which does not mean that it has no strength.

Although luck often plays a role, on the football field is always about strength.

Just like the Kaiserslautern led by Rehhagel back then, the reason why he was able to create a miracle of winning the championship was that he also had very outstanding strength, Bremer, Koch, Wagner, Sforza, Marshall, and Risher were all very powerful players at that time.

You must know that in the year when Kaiserslautern created a miracle, the twenty-two-year-old Ballack could not play the main force in this team and could only serve as a substitute.

There is also Greece, to win the European Cup, the overall strength of the Greek team is also quite good, Yang Yang has been teammates with two Greek center forwards, so he knows that these two players are very distinctive, and they are both players with very good strength.

Whether it's Kaiserslautern or Greece, Rehhagel is a team that is very competitive on the pitch by bringing together a group of players who don't look well-known but have good quality through a holistic approach.

Before the World Cup semi-finals, many media regarded China as the biggest dark horse in this World Cup, thinking that they could become the "Greece" in the World Cup and go all the way to the end, but this statement is not mainstream.

Greece itself is located in Europe, the league is very strong, and the ability of the players is also excellent, although there are not many internationals in the Greek national team who play in the four major European leagues at that time, but basically they play in their own leagues, and many of them are Champions League regulars.

But China is different, with the tide of Chinese players staying abroad in recent years, more and more international players have landed in the European League, but behind this trend, there are very few who can really gain a foothold in the European League and play the main role.

Feng Xiaoting, Gao Lin, Chen Tao, this is in addition to Yang Yang, this is the only three major leagues in the national team main level players, among which Chen Tao in Dortmund or because of Gundogan's injury, he was transformed by Klopp into a midfield player, this is the main force, and the position is not firm.

Wu Lei is the main player of Ajax, Zhou Haibin is the main force in the Portuguese Super League, and Hao Junmin and Zhang Linpeng are the team's rotation players

It can be said that the overall strength of the Chinese team is not strong, and even this group of Chinese players does not have much influence in European football, and the only one who is competitive is Yang Yang.

The first person in world football, the scoring machine that scored 60 goals in a single season in La Liga, and the FIFA Golden Ball Award, which has been won for many years, have all made Yang Yangyang dazzling, but they still can't hide the lack of overall strength of the Chinese team.

From the group stage to the knockout round, from Costa Rica to the Netherlands, the Chinese team relied on tenacious defense and Yang Yang's personal ability to solve the game all the way.

But football is never a one-man battle

Within the Argentine national team, they were not convinced by the performance of the Chinese team.

Mascherano and Di Maria are friends of Yang Yang, but this does not prevent them from thinking that the Chinese team has been able to get to this day by relying on three things, Yang Yang, defense and luck.

Therefore, in Argentina's pre-match preparations, head coach Savilla clearly reminded the players that they must pay attention to Yang Yang, freeze him no matter what, and not let him have the opportunity to attack with the ball easily, especially in the 30-meter area.

The defense froze Yang Yang, and the offense relied on Messi.

Due to Di Maria's injury, Argentina replaced him with Enzo Perez, who played for Benfica in the Portuguese Super League, was Zhou Haibin's teammate, and was used to playing in the middle, but was placed on the right side by Savilla.

The double midfield position has not changed, it is still a combination of Biglia and Mascherano.

The biggest change at the back is the return of Rojo from suspension, who will continue to play as the team's left wing-back, who has been one of Argentina's best performers this season and has already received a lot of attention from teams in the big four leagues.

It can be said that Argentina is now strong, and all the players are gearing up to kill the Chinese team and advance to the finals.

Although the atmosphere in the dressing room before the game was a little dignified, the players were generally full of fighting spirit and confidence.

Whether it was in the past or now, the Chinese team has never been a character that the Argentine team is afraid of, even after experiencing the World Youth Championship in 05, they are more still unconvinced.

"Don't worry, Leo, from the group stage to the knockout round, every game is dead, the physical consumption is too great, it is estimated that this game may not be able to play as well as before, we will definitely be able to enter the final."

Seeing that the face of his teammate Messi next to him was a little solemn, Aguero smiled and patted Messi's shoulder and comforted.

In this World Cup, Aguero's form is not good, and it is difficult to get a main position in the team, and even in this game, after Di Maria was absent due to injury, head coach Savilla would rather use Enzo Perez than let Aguero play.

can't play, but Aguero's mentality is still relatively positive.

"yes, ninety minutes later, you're just waiting to celebrate," Ravitch said with a smile.

He will be the starting left winger for this game.

"The Chinese team is now at the end of the crossbow, to be honest, I admire them a lot, it is very surprising that they can break into the semi-finals, but it is over here." Higuain said very firmly.

The current captain of the Argentine national team is Messi, and Mascherano is the other captain of the team.

When he saw his teammates so confident, he was also happy in his heart, but he had to remind them.

"Still can't be careless, the Dutch attacked for 120 minutes and didn't take it down, but was broken through by a counterattack by Yang Yang, which is what we need to be vigilant about, especially to pay attention to Yang Yang's running."

He has been teammates with Yang Yang in Liverpool and Real Madrid for seven or eight years, and he knows Yang Yang's threat better than anyone else, and even many times, Yang Yang is able to create miracles in unexpected situations.

He knew this when he was at Real Madrid.

But within the Argentine national team, there is no way to get everyone's approval, because there is also a supreme player in the Argentine national team, and that is Messi.

Nor can Mascherano say much about this situation.

He has experienced many major tournaments, this is the third World Cup he has participated in, and he knows in his own heart that this World Argentine National Team Cup is the worst in the last three editions, and even the last four.

Needless to say, the World Cup in 02, the strength of the 06 and 100 World Cups was very strong, and the attack and defense were excellent, but the biggest problem was the head coach, especially in the 100, Maradona's coaching was a disaster, bringing Argentina, the strongest in recent years, into the ditch.

Before this World Cup, Argentina was not favored, and Savilla was also not favored, and even qualifying for the group stage was bumpy, but from the knockout round, Argentina became stable.

A big reason is that Biglia appeared in the starting line-up and became Mascherano's partner.

It can be said that the existence of double backs has covered up Argentina's defensive holes to the greatest extent, and at the same time supported the team's frontcourt attack, so that the stars in the front court can gallop casually without worrying about the back.

But this still does not solve one problem, and that is the team's attack.

Messi scored four goals in three games in the group stage, but so far, the team has played five games, including two knockout games, and his goal tally is still four, Aguero and Higuain are both soft in the competition, Di Maria has performed the best, but is injured and absent.

Can such Argentina really completely ignore the threat of the Chinese team, especially Yang Yang

Just one day before China played Argentina, Brazil, the favourites to win the championship, lost 7-1 to Germany on their home ground, in front of the eyes of fans across the country, and conceded seven goals in a row, and it was not until the final stage of the game that Oscar pulled a goal back and saved face.

Who knows, it was not the Germans who deliberately gave face to Brazil

South America produces geniuses, and the World Cup in South America is also full of surprises.

It's like before the game, no one will believe that the Chinese team can reach the semi-finals, no one will believe that Brazil will lose 1-7 at home to Germany, no one will believe that the favorite Spain will lose 1-5 to the Netherlands in the first game

Of course, few would believe that Argentina would make it to the last four, even though they look really strong.

What did the outside media say after Argentina beat Belgium

One slothed team beats another, even slacker.

If you look at the cards, Argentina's performance along the way is not satisfactory, it is the defense that has supported the team to this day, but if you want to beat the Chinese team, you need the team to come up with a better attack, and it can no longer be as loose as before.

In the dressing room before the game, looking at the confident appearance of his teammates, Mascherano was a little worried.

He knew Yang Yang too well

The two have been partners for so many years, and the first goal of Mascherano's career was an assist given to him by Yang Yang, he knows this friend too well, and anyone who despises or is careless will eventually encounter Yang Yang's ruthless lesson.

But now, he is not the captain of the Argentine national team, although he still wears this title, the captain's armband is always worn on Messi's arm, he is only the "former captain" appointed during Maradona's coaching.

In this case, he can't say anything that hurts the morale of the team, or is not good for the team, otherwise, he will become a public enemy in this dressing room.

Thinking of this, Mascherano raised his head and looked at Messi, who had been silent, and he suddenly felt that the Real Madrid dressing room under the leadership of Yang Yang was really much more comfortable than the Argentine dressing room.