While all the Swedish players and staff rushed into the stadium frantically, jumping and jumping excitedly in the stadium, Pan Yi slowly walked back to the coach's seat and sat in his seat.

His tense nerves were completely relaxed at this moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose vigorously, and resting for a short while with his eyes closed.

This penalty shootout was so tormenting!

Or rather, a bit of a fluke.

In fact, as long as the winner is decided by penalty shootouts, it can be said that there is a bit of luck in it.

Considering the stability of the German team in the penalty shootout, if Pan Yi hadn't "opened" for the Swedish goalkeeper Isaksson in advance, it might have been the players of the German team who are celebrating the victory now.

"What's wrong, boss?"

Arteta and Scaloni noticed Pan Yi's anomaly and hurried over to check it out.

"It's fine, I'm just wondering why we didn't get them in 120 minutes." Pan Yi said with a smile.

Arteta and Scaloni looked at each other, a little confused at first, but quickly relieved.

This is their leader!

Sweden beat Germany and reached the semi-finals of the European Championship, what a thing to celebrate!

And now Pan Yi is still wondering why he didn't win more refreshing......

Perhaps it is precisely because of his attitude of striving for excellence that he has become the number one coach in the world.

As for Pan Yi, he really doesn't want to pin the fate of the team on something as illusory as "luck".

In fact, in overtime, Pan Yi's tactics for the Swedish team were considered successful.

The advantage in physical fitness gradually turned into an advantage on the field, and the offensive became very strong.

However, the inability to achieve an offensive and defensive midfield configuration made it difficult for these offensives to be converted into victories, and they were eventually dragged into penalty shootouts.

After beating Germany to reach the semi-finals, Sweden will face the winners of France and Iceland next.

Whether it's the memories of a past life or the comparison of the strength of the two teams, the hosts France should be the more likely winner.

They are not England, known as the "Dragons of Europe", who will capsize in the gutter in front of Iceland.

France may be stronger than Germany!

In recent years, they can be said to have a blowout of stars, and their strength has risen dramatically, and they already have the strength to win any championship.

In fact, in Pan Yi's previous life, the French team did reach the finals in the 16 European Cups, 18 World Cups, and 22 World Cups, and won the final championship in the 18 World Cups.

And against such a French team, it is clear that Sweden need to do better than today to have a chance of reaching the final.

But right now, Sweden is really not funny in midfield.

Whether it's Ekdal, Wayne Bloom, Larson, or Shelström, they can all do a certain thing and accomplish some specific tactical needs;

But it would be a bit embarrassing to ask them to be able to combine attack and defense like the French team Pogba and N'Golo Kante.

Because of this, Sweden's three-back tactics today can defend against the German team's attack, but it will be difficult to go further to counterattack the opponent.

And today's game actually exposed this weakness to the whole world, including the head coach of the French team, Didier Deschamps.

Of course, he also saw how the Germans could defend against Sweden's attack.

As long as tactics are shown on the football field, in the eyes of professionals, there can be no secrets!

"But we really don't have the right person on our hands."

After listening to Pan Yi's explanation, Arteta and Scaloni also smiled bitterly.

The national team is not a club after all, and no one is no one.

If Sweden had N'Golo Kante and Pogba, would they still be the second-tier team in Europe?

"If you want to completely solve the problem of midfield operation and offensive and defensive transitions, it is best to have Shelström and Forsberg start together, the two form a duo and can play stronger, but the defense of the midfield is a problem."

Scaloni analyzed.

After hearing this, Pan Yi nodded and said, "So, there must be at least one defender behind them, and we used Ekdal before." ”

"But a defensive midfielder is obviously not enough to deal with France, right?" Arteta looked worried.

"So, we'll have to think again."

Everyone nodded.

Everyone also tacitly assumed that the French team could enter the semi-finals, and the strength of the French team was clear to everyone.

Especially in the midfield.

Kante + Pogba + Matuidi, all of them are all-round fighters who can attack and defend.

And Griezmann, who is in the front, will often retreat to the midfield to help organize the attack.

The midfield combination they formed became more and more fluid in this European Cup, and the more they played, the more they played, the more they were in shape, and they also showed a very rare smooth attacking scene in France in recent years.

If Sweden can't adjust their midfield, then when facing France, the opposing midfield will completely blow up Sweden, and there is no doubt about this.

So for the Swedish coaching staff, change is the only way to beat France.

But how to change, to what extent, this is the biggest test, and it is also the key to Pan Yi being able to lead the team to defeat France.

——

On July 4, the final meeting of the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 was played.

France beat Iceland 5-2 at the Stade de France in St. Denis to advance to the last four, and the hosts' opponent in the semi-finals will be Sweden!

France lined up in a 4231 formation for this game, with Olivier Giroud as a central striker and Griezmann and Payet in ambush behind the duo.

Midfielder N'Golo Kante and defender Lamy were suspended, while Moussa Sissoko and Umtiti were given the chance to feature.

Iceland still use a 442 formation, and the starting line-up is unchanged from before.

In the 12th minute of the game, Matuidi sent a delicate overhead cross from the middle, and Giroud burst into the left side of the box and volleyed it into the left side of the penalty area to give France a 1-0 lead over Iceland.

In the 20th minute, Griezmann crossed from the right corner, Pogba jumped high to grab the header and hit the goal, the ball flew into the top left corner of the goal, and France extended its lead 2-0.

It was Pogba's first goal of the tournament, and the French national team has scored six goals in 36 appearances.

In the 43rd minute, Sagna crossed from the right, Giroud grabbed the first point with a header, Griezmann calmly returned in the middle, Payet volleyed after a slight adjustment, and the ball drilled into the lower right corner of the goal, France led Iceland 3-0.

In the 45th minute, Pogba made a long pass from the backfield, Giroud cleverly missed a good ball, and Griezmann quickly stepped forward to form a single knife. In the face of the attacking Hardosen, Griezmann calmly hit the ball to give France a 4-0 lead over Iceland.

This was Griezmann's fourth goal of the tournament, and he also surpassed Sweden's Ibrahimovic to lead the scorer list alone!

In the 56th minute, Gilfi Sigurdsson crossed from the right, Sig Tolsson fell to the ground in front of the goal, and the ball drilled into the bottom right corner of the goal, and Iceland made the score 1-4.

In the 59th minute, Payet took a free kick from the middle to pick up a cross into the penalty area, Haldosen made a mistake, and Giroud hit the goal with a header, giving France a 5-1 lead over Iceland.

In the 84th minute, Skulasen crossed from the left, and Bilgil Vianasson hit the bottom right corner with a header, and Iceland made it 2-5.

With seven goals conceded by both teams, the match became the most scored game of the tournament so far.

Although the dark horse did not make it to the end, Iceland has remained in the hearts of all fans who watched this European Championship.

Whether it's goosebump-inducing Viking war dance-style celebrations or bearded captain Gunnarsson's "grenade tactics", Iceland impress both off and off the pitch.

Anyone who has watched the tournament will probably forget the figure of 330,000 in Iceland, and yes, it is a figure that should be remembered.

With 330,000 players, the smallest number of players in the history of a world series, their run to the quarter-finals may have to wait for them to break it.

Of course, now that Iceland is out, the real dark horse will be their Nordic brother Sweden......

In the other two quarter-finals played earlier, Portugal also eliminated Poland on penalties to advance to the last four.

Their opponents in the semi-finals were...... Wales!

The Red Dragons unexpectedly defeated Belgium with a score of 3:1 and also reached the semi-finals!

In this game, Belgium scored a goal in the 13th minute through Nainggolan to lead Wales.

But Wales scored three goals in a row and finally eliminated their opponents!

Belgium, with a luxurious squad, lost once again disappointingly and left the tournament once again.

Belgian coach Wilmots has been strongly criticized by domestic media and fans, and the Belgian Football Federation has officially announced that Wilmots will no longer be the head coach of the Belgian national team.

Soon, the schedule for the two matchups of the semi-finals also came out.

7 July, Portugal vs. Wales;

On July 8, France vs. Sweden!

——

In the past two days back at the base camp, Pan Yi has been studying the match between France and Iceland, and at the same time thinking about his lineup.

Iceland and Sweden are in the same Nordic country, and there are actually some similarities in the technical and tactical characteristics of the players, both of which are tall and can dare to rush, but the skills at the feet are slightly weaker.

Moreover, Iceland's midfield structure is even similar to Sweden's, that is, a more technical Sigurdsson, with an interception-oriented captain Gunnarsson to escort him;

Isn't this the Swedish model of Forsberg + Ekdal?

Therefore, watching this match between France and Iceland is still very useful for the Swedish team to find out how to deal with France.

Of course, Sweden has its own advantages over Iceland.

That is, Iceland lack a well-rounded superstar like Sweden's Ibrahimovic in the front line, and there is no impactful young player like Isak, which makes it impossible for Icelanders to have as many attacking means as Sweden.

Iceland's style of play is actually very simple and rude: a long pass from the middle to find a center forward to ferry the header, or take the side to cross, if the cross fails, use the winning throw-in to throw a strong grenade into the penalty area, and the front point crosses two points to attack.

The two goals against France were scored by two 45-degree diagonal hangings from the wings, allowing players in the box to grab points and complete the shots.

But France's attack was more fluid.

Pogba and Matuidi surrounded the midfield at the back, allowing Pogba to better play the ability of scheduling, Giroud set in front as the fulcrum, the grid retreated as the front midfield, and at the same time as the second striker and Payet to attack the penalty area.

This kind of attack made Iceland unable to resist, conceding five goals in a row.

Of course, France's defensive team still looks shaky at the moment.

Evra has always been a soft underbelly, and at the same time the air defense is not strong, and Iceland has a lot of grenades and headers on several occasions.

If it weren't for goalkeeper Lloris and the poor quality of the Icelandic striker, France wouldn't have won so many goals.

On the whole, Pan Yi is to find a combination that can inhibit the play of the French midfield, and at the same time can use the loopholes in the French defense to break the opponent's goal.

He didn't want to bet on penalties anymore!

After all, France, whether in the previous life or in this timeline, has never played a penalty shootout in this cup, and Pan Yi can no longer give a reliable "strategy" like against Germany.

"What? Is it tricky? Arteta walked over to Pan Yi's desk and looked with interest at the tactical drawings he had drawn on his desk, which included France's starting line-up and player positioning.

Tazige also understands that the problem that plagues the Swedish team is always the same one, how to configure the midfield.

There are still three days to prepare, but Pan Yi hopes to set the tone of the tactics as soon as possible, and then go all out to practice this set of tactics in the next three days.

Time is really precious in a tournament like this, and you have very little room for mistakes!

When you're at the club, you can spend more time on trial and error, and you can even play less important games like the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.

But not here, every battle is a decisive battle, and if you are negligent, you have to go home!

"France's style of play is indeed very mature, Deschamps seems to consciously want to pursue high position and penetration, and Griezmann's up and down tandem makes them more and more proficient in these routines."

Arteta analysed the opponent's attack, and now he is also in a set:

And the presence of a big center forward like Giroud makes France's attacking methods very diverse. Of course, this is a very natural pursuit, the routine is simple, and it is easy to be frozen by the opponent, so the combination of long and short passes in France is very complementary to a certain extent. ”

'Iceland just couldn't keep Olivier Giroud and they sometimes froze the Frenchman's penetration up front but were crushed by their high balls. France's first two goals were both headers......"

"Also, Iceland's diagonal attack and defense against France on both flanks was also inadequate. Pogba found Giroud and Griezmann with a number of long passes in the first half, but they didn't know how to reflect, and as a result, Pogba tore through the Icelandic defense with a through ball, and finally Griezmann picked the goal. ”

"These attacks seem simple, but they are all a reflection of France's offensive ability, and they are not so easy to defend!"

Arteta analysed, his face also showing embarrassment.

"Unless we can completely suppress the French midfield. Otherwise, it will be difficult to contain their attack. But if we want to limit their midfield, we have to invest more troops and pay a bigger price, and at that point, what will happen to our attack? ”

On the football field, the advantage is largely reflected by the number of people, and it is difficult to establish a sufficient advantage without investing enough troops.

But there are so many starting lineups in a game, and more investment here means less troops to invest in other aspects, which is a matter of choice for the head coach.

Pan Yi nodded slightly, then stood up and walked to the tactics board, and wrote the names of several Swedish players in the midfield position:

"If I line up like this, do you see if I can achieve the goal of balancing offense and defense?"

——

After beating Italy, Belgium, Spain and Germany in succession, Sweden has become a worldwide sensation and the most eye-catching focus of the European Championship.

Various "30-year Swedish fans" have also emerged in major forums, and everyone has said that as early as the 1994 World Cup, they liked the Swedish team with Brolin and Dachlin.

Sweden also made it all the way to the semi-finals, losing to eventual champions Brazil in the semi-finals.

In the quarter-finals, Sweden also defeated Romania on penalties, and there was another famous scene in this game.

It was a textbook free-kick routine when Sweden won a well-placed free-kick on the right-hand side of the penalty area and two Swedish players stood in front of the penalty spot.

When the whistle blew and everyone thought they would go straight to the goal, the penalty taker struck Brolin behind the wall, and he burst into the six-yard box with no one to guard him.

This classic free-kick combination also had a lot of inspiration for later teams.

Including in the 1998 World Cup, when Argentina played against England, Zanetti also performed the same operation, and the goal scored by Weghorst of the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup is similar.

And many fans believe that the current Swedish team has let everyone see the shadow of the Swedish team that won the third place in the World Cup that year.

Forsberg in midfield is Dachlin, and Ibrahimovic is a strengthened version of Brolin!

There are also many people who said that after Pan Yi took charge of the Swedish team, the team's skills and tactics have been further released, both offensively and defensively, which have made great progress compared with their predecessors.

Therefore, it is true that everyone thinks that Pan Yi's slogan of Sweden winning the championship is definitely not groundless, and they do have this ability!

However, there are also many professionals who believe that although the performance of the Swedish team is improving every game, each game is getting better and better, but this team has natural flaws.

"For Sweden at the moment, they've taken their defence to a certain level. Their unwavering adherence to Pan Yi's tactical approach has allowed them to concede just one goal in their previous five games, which is an absolute phenomenon. ”

"But for the Swedish team that is aiming to win the championship, the biggest problem is not their defence, but their attack and their play in key games."

"The cup is different from the league, the league is attacking, the cup is on defense, and that's a well-known thing in football. Pan Yi used a defensive tactic of three midfielders, which allowed them to withstand the German attack and reach the semi-finals through a penalty shootout. But will such a trick be useful for France? ”

"Pan Yi is a very great manager, his ability is undoubted, and he has really made a big difference in Sweden. But he still hasn't done enough to balance the team's attack and defence, and he needs to enrich the Swedish team's attacking routines and methods. ”

However, unlike defensive adjustments that can be immediately effective, with the current staffing of the Swedish team, I am afraid it will be difficult for Pan Yi to change on the offensive end. The main problem is in the midfield. The three midfielders are all defensive, so it's really hard to ask them to free up their energy to attack, don't you know that ability? ”

"If they still can't score against France, can Pan Yi really expect his team to drag the game to penalties again? From the current point of view, France's attack power is definitely higher than that of Germany......"

This is a column from the British newspaper The Times, and it is clear that they are not very optimistic about Sweden's semi-final prospects.

This is not because Pan Yi's ability is not enough, but they believe that the current staffing of the Swedish team objectively limits Pan Yi's performance.

Pan Yi's improvement on Sweden's defensive end is very good, and it is also the key to Sweden's ability to beat Germany, but it is not enough to reach the final in this way, or even win the championship.

Of course, each coach has different views on this.

Mourinho believes that as long as they defend well, Sweden can also win the championship.

He affirmed Pan Yi's three-back kick and said that this kick won his heart.

"When you're facing opponents like Germany and France, who are much stronger than you, you don't have to think about attacking. Let's defend honestly and fight in the penalty shootout! ”

Arsene Wenger clearly disagrees with Mourinho's claims.

He said: "How to think about sending the ball more into the opponent's goal while stabilizing the defense is the moment to show the wisdom of the top coach, and it is also the biggest test for Pan Yi after leading the team to the semi-finals!" ”

But he also added in the end, "No matter what Sweden's results are, in this case, to reach the semi-finals, Pan Yi has done everything he can, and the rest can only be left to God!" ”

And Ferguson obviously considered the problem from Pan Yi's point of view, he said:

"Everybody wants to play football that is beautiful and winning, and so do I."

'In fact, when I was in charge of Manchester United, every week I was thinking about how to win the game in the most beautiful way that would please the fans as much as possible.

'But when I lost to Barcelona twice in the Champions League final, I also started to think about whether I should compromise a little more. After all, you can't play the football you want when you're against an opponent who is stronger than you. ”

"It's the same with the Swedish team now, and the existing staffing simply can't afford more aggressive and risky tactics, so I can understand Pan Yi."

"Because he can only use a tactic that is easier to produce results to help the team and win the game as much as possible!"

(End of chapter)