Chapter 37: Baggio Savior
After the game, the media used "Ling Feng is out of the horse, a top two" to introduce the game.
Ling Feng contributed an assist and a goal in the 20 minutes of coming off the bench to give China a comfortable 3-0 victory over the United States and become the fourth team to secure the right to qualify from the group.
And Ling Feng himself has become a unique scorer king with seven goals, and people have speculated that the second highest number of shooters on the list is probably this number.
Seven goals!
Since the 1978 World Cup, only Ling Feng broke the fate of six goals in the last World Cup - and in this World Cup, he only took two games and a total of 110 minutes to do so.
Terrible Ling Feng!
Not only China, but many media have already added the title of "King of Balls" to his head.
The king of the ball, the highest honor, so far the only two who have been recognized as the king of the ball are Pele and Maradona, Ling Feng is the third, no one can, and no one can find a reason to refute him.
Ling Feng debuted for seven years, and he has created miracles again and again, his record has not been broken until now, and even after ten or twenty years, no one may be able to catch up with his achievements!
It is well deserved to be called the king of the ball!
Of course, there is another successor to the king of the ball - Ronaldo.
There are also Baggio, Zinedine Zidane and so on......
For the trio, we can call them the king of regrets.
If Baggio scores that penalty and Italy wins the championship, then the Hercules Cup is the scepter for Baggio's coronation; If Zidane hadn't made an unforgivable mistake on impulse in his final game and France beat Italy on penalties in the next shootout, then Zidane would have been the king; If Ronaldo is not injured, but has been growing and maturing, then we can believe that he will also be the king of the ball!
Baggio is out of the question, Zidane and Ronaldo, are working in that direction.
And what is our king doing now?
In the next game against Portugal, the Chinese team is now making arrangements for the game.
It doesn't matter whether this game can be won or not, the first place in the group is a foregone conclusion, even if it loses to Portugal and the United States defeats Poland, then whether it is in terms of winning or losing or goal difference, China is still the first in the group.
But based on and Rui. The friendship of Costa, Figo and others, as well as considering the future games, Ling Feng really hopes that Portugal can qualify second in the group.
The results of the matches after Group D are as follows.
The German team in Group E still did not encounter a team that could cause them any problems, the veteran Effenberg is getting stronger, and the rookies Ballack and Deisler are even more like fish in water, the Irish team was beaten 1-0 by them, and the assist was Effenberg, and it was a wonderful pass from the midfield conspirator that made Krauser score his first non-header goal of this World Cup.
Krauser, who scored four goals, is also a strong contender for the Golden Boot award, but now his skills are still very rough at his feet, and he can't always smash it all the way with a header, so many people are not optimistic about this young player.
In another game, the Saudis, who had just been slaughtered 0:8, finally found their positioning, they are not a world powerhouse at the same level as China, and their tails are still clamped well.
In this game, Saudi Arabia took a defensive counterattack, but unfortunately faced the Cameroon team that was higher than itself, and still could not hold it. Yea was honoured to add to his World Cup goal tally, which laid a solid foundation for him to become the goalkeeper who conceded the most goals in World Cup history.
It's always been a record, and it's a unique personal record!
In the Anglo-Argentine battle in Group F, England tried their best not to be the opponent of the newly formed Argentina, but Argentina did not take any advantage from their rivals, almost the same as four years ago, it was the golden boy Owen again, he created a penalty and scored a goal, while Argentina scored a goal each by Batistuta and substitute Riquelme.
The two sides shook hands 2:2.
It is worth mentioning that England's penalty was scored by David Beckham himself, although he failed to win the game, but it also indirectly avenged the revenge four years ago.
Nigeria failed once again, losing 2-1 against Sweden and having been knocked out of the Group of Death after losing both games, the only point they have left is to have some fun in their final game against England.
In the final round of the group stage, the easiest thing is the team that has already secured the right to qualify from the group - or even the team that has won or lost has nothing to do with them, so the last game must be a practice match where most of the main players are hidden.
In Ling Feng's words, what are the benefits of this kind of practice match.
1. Ninety percent of the opponents are teams that must win to ensure qualification, and they must be desperate to win, and in a game where they are not afraid of death, they may get injured and miss the rest of the games - don't believe it, look at Nesta, who was so weak in the last World Cup.
Second, let the substitutes all go up and have fun! I finally got into the national team in a World Cup, but I didn't play for a minute, which is too faceless, isn't it?
People say that the most depressed players are the players who were brushed off at the moment before the World Cup, but in fact, the most depressed are those guys who went to the World Cup but didn't play for a minute - think about it, if you don't go to the World Cup, you can still sit on the comfortable sofa at home, watch the game with your wife crossed your legs, and you don't have to live such a month of hard abstinence. During the game, I always remind you to worry that the coach will call your name to warm up - even if you go to warm up, you may not be able to play.
If nothing else, the Chinese team is going to change to a group of substitutes to play against Portugal - our reasons are very good, the players need to be protected, and the substitutes who finally get the opportunity to play will naturally not let go, because they have to prove themselves in the rare opportunity to play, but in case they lose the game - then it can't be blamed, the strength of the substitute players is also worse than the main lineup.
The easiest is the team that has the right to qualify, and the most annoying, or the most inscrutable, is the team that has been eliminated.
These are the two extremes just now, one is to enter the top 16 regardless of whether you win or lose, and the other is to go home no matter whether you win or lose.
And this kind of team often has a characteristic - there are not many broken jars, but a lot of people fight for honor!
Especially the kind of team that didn't score a goal in the first two rounds, the last game will definitely fight fiercely, the purpose is to score a goal or get a point or even win a game, how to say that it is not easy to come to the World Cup, so it is good to get some results, go home and show the old folks!
That's what Nigeria is all about.
They are a strong team in Africa, and their performance in the 98 World Cup is also impressive, last time they were the first in the group, and this time if they didn't get a point and went home obediently, it was indeed a little unreasonable.
Therefore, England's last game may not be an easy win.
Argentina and Sweden both have one win, one draw and four points, and if the last game is a draw, and England beat Nigeria, then all three teams have five points - if that is the case, then this group of death is the most characteristic group of death in the history of the World Cup!
Therefore, the further the game goes, the better it looks, just because, when people are cornered, it is definitely not the same as usual!
The second round of Group G really drove Chinese fans crazy.
Italy, facing the Croatian team, which was completely different from the last World Cup, was forced to be scrambling by the opponent, and was led 2:1 by Croatia when there were a little more than ten minutes left in the game!
Let's talk about Italy, if they are ahead, it will be indeed difficult for the other side to catch up, and the Italians, who have relied on defense to eat, simply retreat into the corner, and basically no team can attack it.
But if they fall behind, it's not so easy to catch up!
In this game, people have seen what it means to give back to the other.
Vieri broke the deadlock in the 10th minute of the second half, but before the Italians could close their mouths with joy, the Croatian scored twice in the 73rd and 76th minutes to give the Italians a black three-minute game.
When the first goal was conceded, Trapattoni could still sit on the bench honestly, looking like he was winning.
But three minutes later, another goal was conceded, which is probably not the same as in the history of Italian football!
Trapattoni had to use one last trump card, and that was Robert. Baggio.
Amid the applause of the Chinese fans, Baggio replaced Piero.
In the 80th minute of the game, Baggio completed his first shot of the game, but unfortunately the angle was not enough, and the ball was confiscated by the opposing goalkeeper.
Baggio didn't make any extra moves and quickly returned to his own half.
The Croats are playing smart, and they're trying to waste the rest of their time, but there is a bonus to that – for the first time, people have seen Italy have more than six players in the opposing half!
It's a scramble, and at the last moment, you must cut off the opponent's ball and then organize an attack.
Whether it's Totti, Tomasi...... After these people got the ball, they all saw the opportunity directly to Baggio, and at this time a firm belief was established in everyone's hearts, believing in Baggio, yes.
Baggio still had that calm expression, but his heart was also in his throat.
In the eighty-seventh minute, Nesta broke the ball near the midfield and stuffed the ball low to Totti, the Roman prince quickly flashed the defenders around him and then plugged the penalty area, Vieri in front pushed the ball back, and the sky blue figure rushed up with the flowing ponytail, emergency stop, side dial, smash, several actions in one go!
Perhaps aware of the impending danger, the Croatian defenders around him rushed up to contain Baggio!
Two defenders intercepted at the same time, and the other teammates were not in a very good position, Baggio chose to pass at this time, is it helpless, or confident?!
This is not the last chance, but it is an opportunity that should not be wasted.
Breaking through with the ball means that you take responsibility, if you enter, you are a hero, if you don't enter, you are a sinner!
With a wonderful feint, Baggio shook off the first defender's press and rushed along the line of the penalty area with another defender, Lapa Novelty.
Suddenly there was an emergency stop, and Lapa Novelty was dodged by Baggio's feint, and on the edge of the penalty area, Baggio shook off the last defender!
This position, which has always been familiar to Italian fans, is the legendary Piero area.
Piero was fond of lobbing goals, while Baggio often single-handedly slotted into the opposition penalty area to create a one-on-one shot, but today, he mimicked the shots of his junior and rival Piero.
The right foot made a beautiful arc, and the ball fell straight into the corner of the goal!
2:2 draw!
In the eighty-seventh minute of the game, Baggio, who came on as a substitute, equalized the score with a golden goal!
Although a single point is not enough to satisfy the Italian fans, it is still much better than the loss.
At this moment, people vaguely saw the United States eight years ago, the sky-blue figure galloping on the field, and the chic ponytail!
The fans who survived the catastrophe are satisfied, but it doesn't mean that Baggio is also satisfied!
When the referee raised the stoppage time mark, the ball rolled to the feet of Croatian defender Šimnic.
Just as he was thinking about whether to kick the ball out or pass it to his teammates to finish the rest of the game, he suddenly felt a pain in his foot, and then the whole person flew up!
Baggio!
Baggio's side tackle cut the ball straight away!
Single-handed!
At the same time, a Croatian player signaled to the referee that the opponent had committed a foul, but the referee waved his hand to indicate that it was a good goal.
A single goal, there is no reason not to score, an easy push, the ball passed under the goalkeeper's armpit, and slowly rolled into the goal.
3:2! In the final moments, Baggio's two goals helped the Italian team come back to life!
From 1:2 to 2:2 to 3:2!
The Croats pushed Italy into the abyss in three minutes, and Baggio reciprocated them with three minutes!
The name on the chronograph is firmly engraved in the hearts of the fans, it is a legend, a legend that does not age!
“87’,90’robertobaggio!”