Chapter 111: World Preliminaries
After the game against Shakhtar Donek, Tottenham rushed back to London without stopping, and then they will take on Aston Villa in the league.
After the match against Aston Villa, Digan will report to the national team, and the group stage of the 2014 World Cup European qualifiers in Brazil is about to begin.
This time, Belgium are the defending champions in Group 1 of the qualifiers, along with Croatia, Serbia, Wales, Macedonia and top contenders England.
Belgium's first game will be away to face strong opponents England, which will also make Degan less travelling, he only needs to stay in London and wait for the big team to come.
Tottenham Hotspur are also included in the Belgian national team, including Dembele, Pokoliño and Vertonghen, while Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard also play for Premier League teams.
There was no suspense in the game with Aston Villa, and Tottenham, who had gradually played their form in the new season, announced the early end of the game in the first half, with a brace from Degan and goals from Bale and Luka Modric to help Tottenham take a four-goal lead in the first half.
In the seventieth minute of the second half, Digan was substituted, Antienes did not hide his selfishness, and the next is the more important world preliminaries, although he is not in his position, he does not seek politics, but it is also his duty to help his old friend François.
In the end, substitute Defoe scored in the 80th minute to completely seal the victory, 5:0, with the victory of this game, Tottenham Hotspur's ranking also rose to third place in the standings.
In the words of the media, they are starting to get closer to the league title!
After the Aston Villa game, it will be followed by a two-week international break, which is also the first time that the Belgian national team has assembled since the European Championships.
In the face of England, the opponent, although various media wrote articles before the game, the atmosphere of this game was very tense and intense, saying that this game will be related to the final ownership of the group leader.
But the Belgian team is calm, and the English are willing to toss, so let them toss!
Although the defeat at Euro 2012 was a shock to English football, it was not easy to make England fully appreciate the reality.
The wounds of Euro 2012 have yet to heal and the English are once again boasting that their players have arrived, and this time, according to the English media, they have found a talented number 10.
Speaking of the No. 10 shirt, people immediately think of Maradona, Platini, Zico, Baggio and other team cores, indeed, on the green field, the forward player seems to have a soft spot for the No. 10 shirt, he should be the team's offensive organization, and even the soul of the entire tactical system.
However, England's number 10 shirt is slightly different, from Lineker to Sheringham, from Michael. From Owen to Wayne Rooney, the No.10 has been given more of a siege job.
However, this time, as the England team assembled, people were surprised to find that England's No. 10 shirt was worn on the body of the teenager Cleverley. Cole, Gerrard, Ashley. After the attempts of Young and others, the player, who can play both in the middle of the midfield and in the midfield, has injected a lot of fresh elements into England.
As an outstanding representative of England's new generation of players, Manchester United's rising star Cleverley has undoubtedly become the new hope of England, early last season, the fledgling Clevery used his young and old performance to announce the rise of another future star, but the ensuing injury made "Smart" suddenly fall from heaven to hell, even after recovering from injury, the Manchester United youngster has not been able to find the form that once fell for him.
But now, Cleverley is back in the limelight, and Cleverley is seen as a key target for both Manchester United and England.
Ferguson even said bluntly: "Not bringing in a new midfielder is to create more opportunities for Cleverley." ”
As a result, Sneijder, Pastore and others have rubbed shoulders with the Red Devils, but look at Cleverley and Carrick's thrilling double back, Manchester United's midfield interception ability is undoubtedly the weakest of the Premier League powers, but even so, the old man is willing to pay this expensive tuition for Cleverley's growth.
Cleverley's growth in England is also impressive, with the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard behind Cleverley and two experienced veterans to help him grow, and England's new No.10 only needs to think about how to sort out the team's attack, which is exactly what Cleverley does best.
Frank Lampard has given Manchester United's youngster a very high rating: "It's a pleasure to have Cleverley by your side, and he's going to be a very important part of the England squad for years to come." ”
England head coach Roy Hodgson was also full of praise for Cleverley: "Cleverley is very good, he is now an integral part of Manchester United and when you watch him play on the pitch you can see why Ferguson likes him so much. ”
Hodgson even believes that Manchester United's rising midfielder Cleverley could become the Three Lions' 'their Fabregas', playing a role similar to that of the small French against Spain.
In the Spanish national team, Cesc Fabregas has often played as a 'false nine' and has been an important member of the Matadors' attacking line, and Hodgson believes Cleverley has the potential to play this way and play well.
'I think you could say Cleverley is an attacking midfielder, but he's a type of attacking midfielder like Cesc Fabregas, and that's what he played at Manchester United, and he has the ability to run back when needed, play as a central midfielder, fight to win the ball back, and he can take on more roles, being close to the front line, allowing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to be more comfortable with the ball in deeper positions.
In addition to Cleverley, another person who has been praised by Hodgson is the Arsenal winger, the teenager Oxlade-Chamberlain, who in Hodgson's eyes is also the future of English football.
Roy Hodgson has long said that a new generation of young players is important for England and that they are taking over the squad from the senior players: "The experience of the senior players is important, but I think it's good that the fans would prefer to see some new faces come in and challenge for their places. ”
England captain Steven Gerrard agrees that the new generation of players is worth looking forward to, and he said that as a veteran player, he will try to lead the young people forward as much as possible: "We feel like lads and that's why we are playing at this level. The most important thing is to find the right balance between experience and youth, in a game like World Cup qualifying, if it is not appropriate to send eleven young players in a game, the veteran players can help the young people a lot, if you find the right balance, you can win the game. ”
The Liverpool captain also expressed his appreciation for Cleverley, who is optimistic about Hodgson: "Cleverley will be a good player, he is still a young man, it will be a good experience for him, he plays for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he is in the England squad, so he has a great future. If Cleverley continues to learn and work hard to improve, he will become an extraordinary player. ”
Despite the brilliance of Cleverley's young players, England were plagued by a number of problems ahead of this clash with Belgium, starting with injuries.
The current national team's main left-back Ashley. Kerr has already confirmed that he will not be able to play against Belgium and since last season, he knows he has not recovered from an ankle injury, and Chelsea captain John Terry is also injured and will be treated for an ankle injury.
In addition, on the front line, Rooney has just returned from injury, although the game with Tottenham Hotspur performed well, but what the state is, it is still unknown, Hodgson after communicating with Ferguson, finally gave up recruiting Rooney into the national team.
Another center forward candidate, Carroll's poor form and lack of Hodgson's eyes, as a result, the England team, which was already not rich in forwards, became more and more strained.
Against the strong Belgian team, if there is no longer a center forward who can stand up, it may not be so easy to play, and in fact, the England team really does not have this person now.
Looking at the local players in England, whether it is blown out or their own strength is good, there are countless good players, but the center forward position is not optimistic.
In addition to Rooney, Defoe, Carroll, Darren. In addition to Bent, Crouch has always had a good efficiency, when Rooney, Carroll and Bent were all in poor form, Crouch should have had a chance, but this time, the England high-tech man did not even enter the squad, which made him very puzzled and bombarded Hodgson's approach.
In an interview, Crouch used Sheringham as a way to prove that he is not old: "I was inspired by Sheringham, who was 36 years old and could still play his part in the 2002 World Cup, so why can't I play in Brazil at the age of 33? I'm only 31 years old, so I can't accept that, and I'm lucky that my career is rarely delayed by injuries, so I can't afford to lose my chance. ”
In response to Crouch's bombardment, Hodgson also talked about this issue in an interview before the game, saying that the reason for Crouch's abandonment was to accept punishment: "I was going to sign him when I was in Fulham, and I chose to take him to the European Championship, but he didn't want to participate, he made it clear that he would not consider playing for England unless he was guaranteed a main position, so I don't think my team needs him anymore, so I don't plan to bring him in, as for when to call him again, It's up to me when I feel the need for him again. ”
Without Crouch's high point, England still have to "surprise win" if they want to beat Belgium, and their surprise player is likely to be Liverpool's genius Raheem Sterling.
As more and more young people join, veterans such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will often reminisce from young people.
In Lampard's view, young people are fearless these days: 'Of course I realise that young players have been given more opportunities, I think young people are playing football nowadays and are not as timid as we used to be, it helps young people to develop and improve, I love being around young players, there's a fresh and refreshing feeling around these young boys, whether it's at mealtimes or in hotels, I like to hang out with them and it makes me feel younger. The good relationship gives us a good atmosphere both at dinner and on the pitch, which allows us to get better. ”
Despite the injury problems and the bombardment, the English media are generally optimistic that the team will win the World Cup against Belgium.
However, Hodgson did not dare to be careless, and in an interview, he admonished his players to be 12 points of spirit: "Belgium are a strong opponent, they have a lot of talented players, many of them playing in the top leagues in Europe, they have this strong body and a high level of competition, so we are fully aware that this game is a tough test for us. ”
The English are making a lot of noise here, as if they are going to battle, and Belgium, as an opponent, has been very relaxed since the concentration.
The head coach of the team, François, faced the first game after taking office, although the opponent was a strong opponent like England, but in him, he could not find the slightest nervousness.
'The first game against England was a real test but I believe in my players, they are the best, they are young, but this team has been through a lot of international competitions and of course we have Rhodes and this is the guarantee of our victory!
Deegan also said in a subsequent interview: "We won't have any pressure, England are a good opponent, but I think as long as we can play to our full strength in the game, victory should not be far away!" ”
If someone else looks down on English football so much, it will definitely attract criticism from the whole English media, but Degan is different, his recent form is getting better and better, especially scoring hat tricks in the game one after another, so that the English media do not dare to launch their best psychological warfare before the game starts, for fear of annoying Degan and making this animal go crazy during the game, if it really stimulates Degan's Saiyan blood, then the fun will be great!