Compared to the full capacity of the FA Cup final, the Three Lions warm-up matches were more than half the number of spectators.

Even so, the cheering of tens of thousands of England fans still made the Lions on the field full of momentum.

The Peruvian national team, ranked 64th in the world, is not a strong team.

However, the smaller teams also have stars in their squads.

For example, Bundesliga Bayern Munich center forward Claudio Pizarro, Hamburg striker Jose Paolo Guerrero, Schalke 04's winger Jefferson Farfan, and Juan Vargas who plays for Serie A Genoa.

These four players are known as Peru's "Fantastic Four"

Even if there haven't been too many well-known stars.

But in the seventies, Peru was the soccer powerhouse in South America after Brazil and Argentina.

Unfortunately, Peru has not reached the World Cup since 1982.

In this World Cup in Brazil, Peru is ten points away from entering the World Cup.

The national team is also particular about choosing opponents for warm-up matches.

If you are too strong, you will lose face if you can't beat it, and it will hit the confidence of the players;

Too weak, completely one-sided, and not worth exercising at all.

Therefore, a midstream team that is neither strong nor weak can maximize the benefits of the warm-up game.

And this South American powerhouse, which focuses on defensive counterattacks, is not a soft persimmon that is easy to pinch.

If the Three Lions don't take it seriously, the boat capsizes in the gutter...

So, Hodgson directly put out the strongest lineup in his mind:

Joe Hart was in goal, with the back four from left to right being Baynes, Jagielka, Cahill and Glen Johnson.

The two central midfielders are the Liverpool combination of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, with Wayne Rooney up front.

To the left and right, there is Welbeck and Raheem Sterling.

At the top is the Premier League silver boot Sturridge.

It is worth mentioning that the five Liverpool players selected for the national team all started!

Judging from this starting line-up, it can be seen that Hodgson wants to try to carry Liverpool's excellent performance in the Premier League this season into the national team.

However, none of this has anything to do with Ling Feng, who is sitting on the bench.

He just chewed gum while watching the situation on the field carefully.

Although there is no starter. However, he still has to watch his team-mates' running habits from the bench.

Only in this way can he strengthen the tacit understanding with his teammates as soon as possible, and be able to pass the ball comfortably to his teammates after coming off the bench.

Moreover, most of the Premier League stars on the pitch will be met by him in the Premier League next season.

So, it's also a good opportunity to get up close and get to know your opponents

Cheered on by tens of thousands of home fans at Wembley Stadium, the Three Lions took the initiative on the pitch as soon as they came up.

And Peru also directly gave up the ball, put on a defensive posture of 451, and waited for England to attack.

However, in a dense defensive formation, the difficulty of passing and receiving can also increase exponentially.

England is not Arsenal, and most of the frontcourt players' foot skills are very rough, and they can't play smooth ground passing and cutting at all.

You can only split the ball on the wing, let the two wingers break through and cross the bottom, or shoot from distance on the perimeter.

Whenever England attacked with the ball in the midfield or on the wing, Ling Feng noticed that Rooney, who was in the forward midfield, would not come out to meet his teammates, but plunged directly into the penalty area, forming a double striker with Sturridge.

I don't know if it's Hodgson's tactical arrangement, or his own habits as a striker.

Therefore, Rooney is not so much a striker as a shadow striker.

He was responsible for lying behind Sturridge, linking up front and shooting from the second point.

Gerrard, on the other hand, in midfield, pressed to the midfield position, making arrangements and shooting from distance.

In other words, Henderson is the only one left in the huge midfield.

In the face of an opponent who is weak and unable to organize an effective counterattack, it is normal to press and play like this.

However, the opponent is not a European belly such as Luxembourg and Moldova!

Once England lose possession of the ball up front, Peru only needs a quick counter-attack to quickly pass through the midfield and face the backline directly!

Just as Ling Feng was thinking so, the situation on the field changed abruptly:

Left winger Welbeck failed to break down the left flank and was quickly converted to possession after being tackled by a double.

The Peruvian midfielder made a through pass to Farfan on the right flank.

As the fastest player in the Peru squad, Farfan was the only point of breaking in the front of the Peruvian team.

At this time, Henderson, who stayed in the midfield, was still three meters away from Farfan!

Seeing that the midfield was as wide as the sea, Farfan directly made a soup, and directly left Henderson who came to help defend behind him, and then advanced from the middle.

At the same time, Peru's left winger and midfielder are also following at high speed!

Coupled with the center forward Pizarro next to the central defender, between the transition between offense and defense, Peru actually formed a four-on-four situation!

This scene drew cheers from the few Peruvian fans at the scene.

Coming from near the centre circle to just outside the penalty area, Farfan passed the ball to centre-forward Pizarro.

The 36-year-old Bayern centre-forward leaned on his back to centre-back Cahill, held the ball firmly and then knocked it back to his midfielders who were speeding up on the left.

The latter shot directly at the ball, and with a "boom", there was a slash on the ground.

The ball shoots out and into the near corner of the goal!

Fortunately, Joe Hart focused and went straight to the ground to press the ball firmly under his armpit to defuse the threatening attack.

And such a scene, although it is rare.

But it was a microcosm of the entire first half.

England pressed Peru into the half-pitch and bombarded it, but it was not as threatening as one or two quick counter-attacks from Peru.

Perhaps seeing the problem, at half-time, Hodgson pointed out Rooney's problem in the dressing room, allowing him to drop back more to receive the ball outside the box.

It was only at this time that Ling Feng understood that entering the penalty area was not Hodgson's tactical arrangement, but Rooney's striker instinct!

This is also normal.

Although in Manchester United's tactics, Wayne Rooney also dropped back and became a shadow striker.

But at the Three Lions, he has always been the first choice up front.

It was only because of Sturridge's burst of form and the number of midfielders that Hodgson let Rooney drop back a bit.

However, the long-standing habit of inserting forward is not something that can be changed in a while.

Of course, after the old coach's reminder, Rooney also nodded and said he understood.

Subsequently, the old coach did not forget to ask Gerrard to reduce the frequency of long-range shots, and organize on the periphery to avoid opponents from counterattacking.

There is no strictly defensive midfielder in this England team.

Steven Gerrard, James Milner, Frank Lampard and Jordan Henderson are all so-called all-round midfielders, who can shoot forward from distance and intercept and defend at the bottom.

Ling Feng, Lallana, and Wilshire are midfielders who are more inclined to organize attacks.

Of the seven midfielders, perhaps the best defender is Jordan Henderson.

So, Hodgson was going to push Gerrard up and then leave Henderson alone in midfield.

However, after a tactical experiment in the first half, he found that Henderson's midfield defense alone was too weak!

But he couldn't have left Gerrard in midfield to defend and do the dirty work of tackling and intercepting.

It's a waste of his attacking talent, and Gerrard himself will be uncomfortable.

As for not starting Gerrard altogether, replacing it with a youngster with better fitness, so as to ensure defensive coverage in midfield.

It's even more unlikely!

As England captain, Steven Gerrard is the heart and soul of the Three Lions.

As long as he doesn't take the initiative to say tired or give way, Hodgson will definitely let him start.

Rooney is also for this reason, and it is impossible not to start.

There's no way Hodgson can take these two down.

Once he does, let alone the FA, the media will write a whole bunch of news to spray him to death the next day!

Therefore, he can only make some subtle adjustments according to the playing style of the two as much as possible, so as to make the team's attack and defense more balanced.

The intermission lasted fifteen minutes, and it was fleeting.

The two sides did not make any substitutions and went straight to the second half of the game.

In the final analysis, there is still a certain gap between the two sides in terms of strength.

After tweaking the details of the tactics, England played more freely and methodically on the field.

Gerrard doesn't plug in as often, just splitting the ball on the perimeter to keep the space in the middle from being so empty.

And Rooney's retreat to catch the ball also gave the crosses from the two wings an extra receiving point.

The attack has improved and the midfield has been a bit more solid defensively.

The Peruvian team's counterattack basically did not pose much of a threat.

Under pressure, in the 53rd minute of the second half, the "Happy Boy" broke through the fullback on the right side and successfully passed an inverted triangle low flat ball from the bottom.

And Rooney, who received in the middle, met the ball and shot low into the lower right corner of the goal, taking the lead in breaking the deadlock!

As Wayne Rooney arrived at the corner flag for his iconic 'boxer' celebration, the Wembley Stadium erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

As a young talent and the current number one star of the Three Lions, Rooney's popularity in England is the highest in the team.

"It was Wayne who scored the goal."

Accompanied by the DJ's elongated tone, tens of thousands of England fans in the stadium shouted in unison:

Rooney !!

After taking the lead, the Three Lions relaxed even more.

In the sixty-third minute of the game, seeing that the situation was very good, Hodgson turned around and glanced at the bench, and then whispered a few words to the assistant coach.

The latter immediately came to the bench and named five people in one breath:

"Ling! Jamie! Luke! Jack (Wilshere)! Chris (Smalling)! ”

"Go warm up!"

Hearing this, Ling Feng and the others immediately put on their substitute vests and came to the sidelines to warm up.

Seeing Ling Feng and others coming to the sidelines to warm up, the nearby stands couldn't help but hear the cheers of the fans.

Especially when Ling Feng's handsome face appeared on the big screen of the stadium, the cheers of the female fans in the stadium were even worse.

There is no way, people are handsome, just like fireflies in the dark night, so distinct, so outstanding.

As he was warming up, Vardy suddenly approached Ling Feng's side and asked in a low voice:

"Ling, how do you say I'll score a goal later, and what kind of celebration will you do to be more handsome?"

"You're so confident you'll score later?"

"If you pass the ball to me, can I not score?"

Hearing this, Ling Feng immediately felt in a good mood.

The second brother said this well, and I have been teammates for half a season, and my emotional intelligence has also become higher.

"That's right. However, depending on the coach's arrangement, we may not be able to play at the same time. ”

"And what about you, what are you going to do to celebrate if you score?"

Faced with this question, Ling Feng couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

To be honest, he didn't really think about what he would do to celebrate if he scored on his international debut.

Because, the Three Lions are different from Leicester City.

At Leicester, he was at the heart of the midfield and the initiator of the attack, with unlimited fire.

But in the Three Lions, he's a little Karami.

There are a lot of big guys in the team, and his position has moved back, and he will only be further away from the goal.

There are certainly not many chances to shoot on goal in every game, and it will not be his turn.

He did think he might be able to provide an assist on his international debut.

After thinking about it, Ling Feng held back an answer:

"If I score, I'll wave to my parents in the stands."

As he has a good chance of making his international debut today.

So, he had already passed the staff and asked his parents to come to the stadium to witness this moment with him.

When the clock ticked for the 68th minute, Steven Gerrard burst into the box and fired a powerful long-range shot past the Peruvian goal.

The score came to 2-0.

At this time, Ling Feng and Vardy, who had finished warming up, took off their vests and came to the sidelines, ready to come on as substitutes.

"Ling, after you come on the pitch later, don't cut forward, use the pass to hit the rib space between the central defender and the full-back"

"Jamie."

After the tactical coach gave the three of them a quick explanation of the tactics, the fourth official on the sidelines held a substitution card and signaled for a substitution.

England used up three substitutions in one go!

Ling Feng was used for Steven Gerrard, Luke Shaw for Baines and Welbeck for Vardy.

It's basically a counterpoint substitution.

Looking at Ling Feng, who was wearing a 15 pure white jersey and standing on the sidelines, the on-site director aimed at the young player who was about to make his national team debut very interestingly.

In the stadium, there was a burst of warm applause.

Fans were delighted to have injected new energy into the Three Lions.

At the same time, Ling Feng's parents, who were sitting in the VIP viewing stands, also waved the scarf and flag of the Three Lions in their hands to cheer for their son!

"Come on, Xiaofeng!"

"Rush me!"

The on-site narrator introduced this handsome black-haired young man to the audience with a passionate voice:

"Ling Feng, a young midfielder from the Premier League's promoted Malicester City, became the eighth youngest player to make his debut for the England national team at the age of 18 years and 357 days."

'The youngster, who is not yet 19 years old, has won two titles in the Championship and FA Cup this past season, and has won both Championship awards.

"Along with him made his international debut, his team-mate, Jamie Vardy, the Championship Golden Boot who broke the Championship scoring record."

On the occasion of high-fives and hugging Gerrard, Gerald did not forget to send a greeting to Ling Feng:

"Good job!"

"I will!"

And the scene of the two hugging happened to be captured by the photographer on the scene, who took this very commemorative photo in the future.

At this moment, no one would have imagined that this would be the handover of the Three Lions' old era and new era

(End of chapter)