June 27, Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France.

The double-decker stands, which can accommodate 80,000 people, are already densely packed with people.

Tonight here is the seventh match of the round of 16 of this European Championship, Sweden vs. Spain!

The Swedish team's base camp is in St. Denis, so they avoid running on the road and can relax here.

This is the reason why Pan Yi decided to choose Saint-Denis as his base camp early on, and it also reflects his confidence in himself - because the first place in Group E will be the quarter-finals at the Stade de France!

And before today's game, there were already six teams leading the way to the quarterfinals.

The first is four games in the top half.

Switzerland drew 1-1 with Poland, and in the end the two sides decided the winner through a penalty shootout, and Poland had the last laugh.

Wales beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in the English derby.

Croatia drew 0:0 with Portugal, and finally in extra time with Quaresma's goal in the 117th minute, Portugal beat Croatia!

Belgium, on the other hand, recovered its form, beating the "soft persimmon" Hungary 4:0 and also entered the quarterfinals.

Then there's the bottom half of the pitch, where two matches have already been played.

The host French team defeated Italy 2:1 with Griezmann's brace.

Germany, Boateng, Gomez, and Draxler each scored a goal to beat Slovakia 3:0.

This means that if Sweden can make it past Spain tonight, they will meet Germany in the quarter-finals!

An hour after this match, the final quarter-final match will be between Iceland and England, with the winner of the match meeting France in the quarter-finals.

They are also potential semi-final rivals between Sweden and Germany.

——

At this time, Pan Yi was looking at the players who were making final warm-up preparations in the field, and at the same time looking at the fans in the stands.

Today, the stands cover both sides of the stands, which are yellow for Sweden and red for Spain, respectively, and look spectacular.

The Swedish fans, in particular, also took out a super huge flag and passed it in the stands.

And above this national flag, there is also a cartoon image of Pan Yi very specially, handsome He is waving his arms and pointing into the distance.

At the same time, this is also sending a message, that is, they believe that under the leadership of Pan Yi, the Swedish team can create miracles!

All this made Pan Yi feel a kind of emotion, and at the same time there was a kind of excitement of blood boiling.

In his second year at Chelsea, he led the team through the north and south, and although there were difficulties, the overall journey was smooth.

Undefeated all the way and winning all the championships, although he was very satisfied, at the same time it inexplicably felt as if something was missing.

At first, Pan Yi didn't understand what was missing, but now he seems to know.

Lack of excitement! Everything was so smooth!

Lack of the kind of intense stimulation after the weak defeating the strong!

But now, with Sweden, which has a very average lineup, Pan Yi has found this missing thing back.

The thrill of the blood was back in his body, and he could feel the thrill of taking Hamburg to Bayern and Dortmund.

Just as Pan Yi was immersed in the excitement, Arteta walked over.

And as soon as he saw these two people coming together, Scaloni also came over for the first time, and the three of them got together.

"Spain's starting line-up is out!" Arteta handed over a piece of paper, "It's a 4-3-3 as you guessed. ”

Pan Yi glanced at the list on the paper, and sure enough, many players' starters were in his expectation.

The goalkeeper has been replaced by Manchester United's David De Gea, Marcos Alonso, Pique, Ramos and Cesar Azpilicueta at the back, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas in midfield, and David Silva, Morata and Pedro up front.

In general, it is still the original team of the three consecutive European Cup + World Cup champions, but the withdrawal of Xavi, Xavi Alonso, and Villa, and Casillas' decline to become a substitute still have an impact on the strength of this team.

In addition, thanks to Chelsea's outstanding performances over the past two years, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta, who have been outstanding in the Blues, have also replaced Jordi Alba and Juanfran in Spain's starting line-up.

In other words, this game against Spain is another battle between Pan Yi and his two apprentices.

This can't be helped, who let Pan Yi take it well?

If your players perform well, they will of course be looked at by the coaches of various national teams.

Of course, whether they can perform at club level in the national team is another matter.

——

At the same time that Pan Yi got the list, not far from him, Bosque also got the starting list of the Swedish team from his assistant.

Unsurprisingly, this list is not the same as Sweden's starting XI in the last game.

These starters are well rested and ready to play Spain today!

This is another advantage for Sweden and Spain.

Morale is high, no need to rush, and plenty of rest...... Plus there is Pan Yi.

It can be said that the right time and place are on the side of Sweden!

This had to make Bosque remind his disciples to fight against Sweden.

In terms of the team's own preparation, Bosque also pays great attention to Sweden's flanks and rib attacks.

Olsson and Johansson's set-ups, Isak's interspersed intersperse, Forsberg's rib through-ball and, of course, Ibrahimovic's central pick-up and finishing, have been Sweden's main attacking routine so far.

Therefore, Bosque has been telling his two main defenders at the back, Pique and Ramos, in addition to keeping an eye on Ibrahimovic, to pay attention to Sweden's attack from both sides.

After all, Ibrahimovic, who is now older, already needs more support from his teammates;

The Swedish team, whether it is a fullback or a winger, often uses the rib attack method when they finally hit the opponent's penalty area, passing the ball to Ibrahimovic, or inserting it directly into the goal.

For Spain, Pique and Ramos have been paired for a long time, but there are still sometimes gaps in the combination between the two;

Coupled with the technical characteristics of the two fullbacks Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta, Pan Yi is really familiar with it, so Sweden will definitely take advantage of the gap between these four defenders and make a fuss in the ribs!

"Let's see who can score first." Bosque looked at the list in his hand, smiled, and muttered to himself.

Spain's defensive problems, Bosque is certainly clear in his heart.

However, it is impossible for any team to defend 100 per cent, especially players like the Spanish back, who want to be turned into strikers.

Sharpedge Ramos, Sharpedge Pique, you think it's a joke?

So instead of trying to find a way to strengthen the defense, it is better to take Spain's characteristics to the extreme and use the attack to crush Sweden!

After all, Sweden's defense is also very problematic, and it is far from being as solid as it appears on the surface.

Let's not mention that compared with the four main defenders of Sweden and the four defenders of Spain, there is a big difference in fame and strength;

The shortcomings of Lindelof and Granqvist's slow turning and slow chasing, the Spanish team of young and fast players, can definitely take advantage of it.

As long as the ground attack is resolutely taken, then the advantages of the Swedish team's strong air defense capability can also be avoided.

Playing to the strengths and avoiding the weaknesses is the central idea of Bosque's tactics in this game.

Moreover, even if you sometimes have to play high balls, Spain now has a high striker Morata!

He had a very good season at Juventus, helping them win the Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles.

With ground attacks as the mainstay and air strikes as supplements, I don't believe that we can't break the Swedish city!

Thinking of this, Bosque looked to the other side, and Pan Yi also happened to look at it at this time.

The two looked at each other and smiled, nodded to each other, said hello, and turned their heads away, obviously thinking about the targeted tactical arrangements and arrangements again.

——

"This is Spain's starting line-up!"

Today the Swedish team drew the away team sequence, so they sat in the away team's dressing room.

But the good thing is that the Stade de France is like Wembley Stadium, it is dedicated to hosting national team matches and some special important matches, and the dressing rooms of the home and away teams are not too different, they are very spacious.

Unlike the dressing rooms of many clubs, it is simply a home and away day.

The home team's locker room is generally luxurious and spacious, so spacious that you can do all kinds of sliding and kneeling in it;

The visiting team's locker room is often compact, with a dozen people in it to meet head to shoulder......

This is also an advantage for the home team.

Now, Pan Yi is on a large tactical board in the away team's locker room, with Spain's starting lineup players on it, analyzing Spain's tactics against all the Swedish players.

“…… Whether it's David Silva, Pedro and Andres Iniesta, or Cesc Fabregas, these players all have one characteristic, they are not very tall, they belong to the kind of young players who are very technical. ”

"Bosque's intention with them is very obvious, that is, when we shrink the defense, the young and fast players can create more opportunities and dribble in dense defensive areas, and then create a threat, which will also be the main attack of Spain in this game!"

Speaking of this, Pan Yi pointed to Lindelof and Granqvist and admonished: "You must always remember to occupy your own position, and don't easily let the other party deceive you." Their attacking players will definitely do everything possible to pull you out of position, don't be fooled, remember! ”

When the two central defenders heard Pan Yi's solemn advice, they immediately nodded solemnly in agreement.

"You!" Pan Yi looked at Ekdar, "You have to build an interception zone in front of the defensive line. Your job is to protect the team in front of the defence, especially after the two ribs and Cesc Fabregas retreated, and choke him for me as soon as he retreats! ”

Ekdal, the current Hamburg player, was actually seen as a new generation of Ibrahimovic as a child, playing first as a striker and then as a striker.

But as he got older, he moved further and further back, and his style of play became tougher and tougher, gradually becoming a qualified midfielder......

After Pan Yi took charge of the national team, he was also fixed in the back position, and his performance is getting better and better.

Although his contribution to the offense is not very large, he is very good at defense and is very trusted by Pan Yi.

Especially in the current situation where the national team's defense lacks the speed to follow, Ekdal, who originally had the speed of a striker, is still a great help to the team.

"The best way for the opposition to play is to rip our defenders out of position, then cut in and break down our defence."

"So the most important thing for all of us in the game is to have a strong defensive position and a strong midfield to provide strong protection, so that their attack completely loses the ability to push in depth!"

As long as there is no depth, the Swedish defence will be guaranteed and the game will likely turn into a head-to-head confrontation.

The positive ability of the Swedish team's defensive players can be described as a strength, and the difference is in turning and catching up, so Pan Yi's defensive tactics are just to give full play to the strength of the Swedish team.

"I understand, sir." Ekdar repeatedly agreed, "Guaranteed to complete the mission!" ”

He joined the team after Pan Yi left Hamburg, so he did not have the opportunity to play under Pan Yi.

But those veterans of Hamburg, such as Lin Zhijian, Janssen, Westermann...... Especially Wu Lei, when he talks about Pan Yi, his eyes are simply shining!

Including the current Hamburg coach Nagelsmann, Pan Yi usually talks about his mentor.

This naturally made Ekdar full of reverence and fascination for Pan Yi.

And today, Pan Yi has really become his head coach and is a great reuse to him, how can he not be flattered by this?

He even had a feeling that he could die for Pan Yi!

Not to mention just protecting your own defense on the field......

'Our attacking tactics are to be proactive and look for opportunities as we have done before. If the opponent relaxes their guard against Ibrahimovic, give the ball to your captain! ”

Pan Yi has a lot of trust in Ibrahimovic, and the striker's awareness and ability have never failed to live up to Pan Yi's high expectations.

Three goals in two games, which also allowed Ibrahimovic to be at the top of the scorer list after the group stage.

At this time, Pan Yi looked at Ibu again and said, "Zlatan, you should be very clear about this. Pique can take advantage of this point, pull it out, or suppress him, and let the wings cut in to create opportunities, understand? ”

Eevee nodded.

He's certainly no stranger to Pique and Sergio Ramos, and he knows how to deal with the two defenders.

At the same time, he also knows how to link up with his team-mates on both wings to give them more opportunities to face the Spanish goal.

When it comes to protection, Spain may not have protected the defence better than Sweden.

With the departures of Xavi Alonso and Xavi, Spain's midfield is not as offensive and defensive as it used to be.

Sergio Busquets is slow to move at the back, and if Sweden does take the opportunity to counter-attack, Spain's defence may not be as solid.

'From the very beginning, I want all of you to start pressing aggressively, starting up front.

"We have to put enough pressure on Spain from the start. Once we get the ball, we have to be aggressive and quick to counter-attack and create a threat. ”

"But you must also remember what I said, Spain is very adaptable, watch my adjustment!"

Pan Yi had drawn up a number of game plans against Spain before the game, but one thing he was very sure of was that he must first fight for the initiative after the opening.

Because in Bosque's view, Sweden should not have the confidence to play against Spain or fight for possession, and Pan Yi wants to do the opposite.

At the beginning, the momentum and sharpness of Spain were suppressed, so that the next games would be more playable.

However, he himself knows very well that it is absolutely impossible to suppress Spain in the whole game.

Once Spain get used to Sweden's pressing and tempo, the team will be able to use their tacit and skillful possession skills to gradually bring the game back into their control.

And how to adjust it later, it still depends on the specific situation of the game.

"Believe me, as long as the tactics are in place, we can win this game!" After Pan Yi introduced the tactics, he finally said in a confident tone that everyone was already familiar with.

——

When the players on both sides walked out of the player tunnel one after another, the stands of the entire Stade de France were completely boiling!

All the fans chanted the names of the two teams and players, while others shouted Pan Yi's name.

After all, Pan Yi is one of the few people in the world who is more famous as a coach than a player!

"The two teams entered the pitch and are ready to start playing the national anthem, so let's take a look at the starting line-ups for both sides!"

The on-site commentators immediately began to analyze the starting line-ups of both teams, while also giving a certain preview of the game.

When the national anthem was played, Ibrahimovic, as the captain, sang loudly, and the Swedish internationals beside him also roared one by one, looking full of desire to fight!

And speaking of Ibrahimovic, it is clear from his surname Ibramović that he is not a native of Sweden.

His father is Bosnian and his mother is Croatian.

Because of the war, Ibrahimovic's parents fled to a small town in Malmö, Sweden, and later became Swedish citizens, and Ibrahimovic began his legendary journey with the Malmö club.

Today, Ibrahimovic has become a true legend in Sweden.

There are two things that illustrate Ibrahimovic's influence in Sweden.

One is to sing the national anthem.

In 2014, Ibrahimovic recorded a Swedish national anthem for a Volvo commercial, which was played 3 million times in Sweden and won him a Golden Disc Award......

Isn't it outrageous?

Also in 2014, the Swedish National Post even released a set of Ibrahimovic stamps called the "Ibrahimovic Set", which sold 5 million sets of stamps in pre-sale.

You may think that 3 million and 5 million sets are not a big deal, but you need to know that the denominator of these data is that the total population of Sweden is only 9.68 million (2014 data).

One can see what kind of place Ibrahimovic occupies in the hearts of the Swedes.

And Ibrahimovic clearly loves his country very much, as can be seen from the way he sings the national anthem.

"You are ancient and free, ...... far north"

The Swedish national anthem sounds very atmospheric, although Pan Yi can't understand it and can't sing it, but he is also standing solemnly.

But in the stands it's different.

All the Swedish fans sang along, and some even burst into tears with emotion.

"Memories of Ancient History, Quietly Sleeping ......"

"I will live forever in this Nordic homeland!"

After the national anthem was played, with the warm applause of the audience, the players began to return to their own half one after another.

After Ramos and Ibrahimovic shook hands, the captains of both sides began the draw, and Spain were given the right to kick off and the game was about to begin.

"Sweden have been in excellent form of late, beating Ireland 2-0, Italy 2-0 and Belgium 1-0 in the Group of Death.

"Spain, on the other hand, has not returned to its heyday since losing 5-1 to the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup and exiting the group."

"In the final round of the group stage of this European Championship, they lost to Croatia, who came on as a substitute, which was a big surprise."

"It's just that the strength of this team composed of giants such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and so on should not be underestimated."

"At least compared to Sweden opposite, Spain's squad is indeed too luxurious. The only star in the Swedish team who can be called a giant star is Ibrahimovic! ”

"Okay, it's about to start. Judging from the arrangement, both sides are obviously very targeted, and now it is up to us to see who can stand out in this game! ”

With the words of the on-site commentator, I saw that the referee finally blew the whistle for the start of the game.

Spain kicked off first, and after Pedro kicked the ball past Andres Iniesta, who immediately knocked back to Cesc Fabregas.

Smallfa crossed to Sergio Busquets, who then slid it straight at Pedro's feet, but Ekdal was the first to stand behind Pedro, not letting him face the defence directly and not allowing him to turn easily.

Pedro couldn't help but pass the ball back to Sergio Busquets, who in turn passed it to David Silva.

Throughout the non-stop back and forth pass, Spain unwittingly completed the pressure at the back.

Bosque's team usually use this kind of defensive line to press, shorten the distance between three lines, and then use skillful ball control to press the opponent in the half of the court, which is exactly the same as the melon-style Barcelona.

But this time, when they pushed the ball into the Swedish half, the entire Swedish backline retreated to the edge of the penalty area and no longer retreated, but began to press and defend aggressively.

The ball soon fell to Sweden and Busquets tried to pass an open ball for Pedro, but Lindelof stepped up early and cleared the ball with a big foot and the ball fell to the Spanish defence.

Ibrahimovic and Gerard Pique battled for the ball, with the latter putting the ball back in the hands of the midfielder, but as soon as Cesc Fabregas got the ball, Wayne Bloom immediately surrounded him and tangled him.

One of the top priorities of the Swedish team's midfielder today is to disrupt Spain's transmission and control organization, so in the midfield, he still used the double back combination of Ekdal + Waynebloom when he played Italy, which is to kill these little fasteners in Spain!

Waynebloom may be slow and inflexible – in other words, less mobile, but he has a good positional sense and is less easily carried away by Spain's interspersed runs.

It's just that Cesc Fabregas has a lot of ability to get rid of, and he's particularly flexible in front of a slightly clunky defender like Wayne Bloom.

He swayed from side to side before flashing a little bit of space, and then after glancing ahead, he saw that Morata was already activated and ready to rush forward.

It's a good opportunity to attack!

Cesc Fabregas lifted his leg and immediately picked the ball behind the Swedish defence for Morata to catch up.

Morata wasn't slow either, and he saw the gaps behind Lindelof and Glenqvist.

So I saw that he and Xiaofa understood each other, and as soon as he saw Fabregas's leg lift, he knew what to do.

Morata immediately ran as fast as he could, slotting diagonally behind the Swedish defence, and as soon as he passed, he had a chance to form a one-on-one shot.

But as soon as he ran together, he heard a crisp whistle on the scene, and the linesman raised the flag in his hand high, signaling that Morata was offside.

It turned out that at the moment of Cesc Fabregas's pass, Morata had actually fallen into the Swede's offside trap.

Pan Yi on the sidelines couldn't help but show a smile:

"Hmm...... This trick is really useful against King Yue! ”

(End of chapter)