Fluminense Club, inside the training ground.

Under the scorching sun, the players of the Three Lions

With a few days to go before the first game, the team reduced physical and technical training, mainly focusing on tactical drills, and increased the run-in and tacit understanding between players.

For example, the attacking routine of combining the side and the center, the set-piece tactics and so on.

And every half hour of training, the players will come to the sidelines, take out a cool sports drink from the water tank, and rehydrate.

In Brazil in June, the sun is scorching.

Although it is not too hot, professional players will be very physically exhausted after high-intensity exercise, and they must be hydrated at all times.

Taking advantage of this time, Hodgson and the assistant coach will make one-on-one adjustments and guidance for the execution of the tactics of the players on the field.

And at this moment, Hodgson is putting his arm around Sterling's shoulders and opening a small stove for him:

"Raheem [Raheem], don't always keep your head down when you dribble on the wing, look up at your teammates in the middle as soon as you break through!"

"Also, you can swap positions with Daniel [Sturridge]"

And Sterling, who has a slightly curly moxican hairstyle, is drinking water while listening carefully to the old handsome's guidance.

At this time, Sterling has not yet transferred to Manchester City, nor has he been carefully cultivated by Guardiola, let alone those happy operations on the field.

At this time, Sterling was not the half-angel and half-devil who was later nicknamed "Happy Boy" by fans.

His outstanding physical fitness, coupled with sharp breakthroughs, made him one of the few breaking points in the entire Three Lions.

Of course, the average shooting skills and the decision-making problems after the breakthrough still limit his further development into a world-class winger.

However, in the Three Lions, he is in a similar situation to Ling Feng, and he can completely play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

With the likes of Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney in the squad ready to attack, Raheem Sterling only needs to focus on bursting down the flanks, tearing apart opposition defences and then delivering crosses for his team-mates.

As for shooting, it wasn't his turn either.

Of course, in the game, whether to pass or shoot depends on the player's own judgment.

Tactics are dead, players are alive!

Top players are very good at reading the game and are able to make decisions according to the changes in the situation on the field.

After a short period of hydration, the players returned to the training pitch.

Raheem Sterling, who had just listened to Hodgson's teaching, changed his tempo at one foot on the right flank, and after passing Luke Shaw, he passed a low cross into the middle.

Then Gerrard, who was inserted, suddenly accelerated and ran past Ling Feng, and completed a powerful shot to meet the ball.

It's just that the angle of the shot is too positive, and it is firmly held by substitute goalkeeper Foster.

Even so, this combination of offensive routines made Hodgson on the side nod with satisfaction.

Then he said a few words to the assistant coach next to him.

The next second, the latter shouted at the two midfielders on the substitute side:

"Ling, James (Milner), you let Steven shoot too easily, press harder!"

Hearing this, Ling Feng gave a thumbs up to the sidelines, indicating that he knew.

It is worth mentioning that with the social media fans exceeding one million, Ling Feng has completed the achievement of [social media fans exceeding one million].

And the reward is another [Training Acceleration Card]

However, compared to the [Training Accelerator Card] obtained for the first time, the effect of the card is a little different:

[Item Name: Training Accelerator Card]

[Item Effect: You can choose any one of the major attributes to speed up the training!] 】

[Item duration: 90 days]

That's right, the duration of this [Training Accelerator Card] is three times longer!

In other words, the training effect will also be three times stronger!

However, after the World Cup, there is an annual off-season.

Ling Feng didn't plan to continue to practice hard after the frequent matches in the league and the World Cup, when his body should be most relaxed and rested.

It is the so-called combination of work and rest.

Besides, with his current age and physical state, practicing too hard is too much of a load on his body.

If there is any irreversible damage inflicted, it will be worth the loss.

Therefore, he did not use the card immediately, but planned to wait until he returned to the club for pre-season training.

With the experience of pre-season training and Premier League matches, coupled with the effect of the [Training Acceleration Card], even if he doesn't need to practice, he can quickly improve one of his major attributes!

。。。

On June 13th, the much-anticipated Brazil World Cup officially kicked off!

In the opening match, the host "Samba Army" Brazil played against the "Plaid Army" Croatia.

Neymar, the leader of Brazil's new generation, scored twice in the game, leading the Samba army to a 3-1 victory over Croatia, which has many odd players such as Modric, Rakitic, and Perisic, and got off to a good start.

The next day, after repeated deliberations by the coaching staff, the Three Lions also confirmed the starting eleven for the first game against Italy.

Tactical formation: 4231

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart

Defenders: Johnson, Jagielka, Cahill, Baines

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson

Left and right wingers: Welbeck, Raheem Sterling

Forward: Wayne Rooney

Forward: Sturridge

Ling Feng, who performed amazingly in the three warm-up games, did not enter the starting lineup.

In this regard, Ling Feng was not surprised.

At the end of the day, head coach Roy Hodgson opted to be more steady.

After all, Ling Feng had only run in three games with his teammates, which added up to less than two hours.

Even if he performed well in the warm-up game, he had a good run-in with the team.

However, if he replaces one of the original main players with only three warm-up games, it will undoubtedly be unfair to the main player who went through the World Preliminary Tournament with the team and helped the team qualify for the World Cup!

Moreover, the World Cup is the most important and greatest event in football!

Every game is about the honor of the country, and every game is a needle-to-needle.

Hodgson, who is under great pressure, does not dare to make changes to the main lineup in his mind.

I am afraid that if it changes, it will destroy the originally stable main structure and chemical reaction.

Of course, considering Ling Feng's outstanding performance in the warm-up match and his unique tactical role, Hodgson hopes that Ling Feng can understand his decision and play the role of a substitute wonder.

For this reason, after the starting lineup was announced, Hodgson even called Ling Feng to his room to appease the supernova.

To sum it up, it means that you did well in the warm-up game, but you didn't start, because you were thinking about balabala and so on tactically and experienced.

This is somewhat similar to the situation when Ling Feng was first promoted to the first team.

Therefore, Ling Feng can understand Hodgson's thoughts very well.

He was also very grateful to Hodgson for being able to give him an "explanation" in person

After all, with Hodgson's qualifications and status, there was no need to do this.

However, Hodgson did it anyway.

That's enough to see how much Hodgson values himself!

And Ling Feng also said that he respects all the decisions of the head coach and resolutely contributes his own strength to the Three Lions.

He wasn't afraid that he wouldn't have a chance to play at this World Cup.

Ling Feng believes that with the ability he showed in the warm-up match, he must have left a deep impression on the coaching staff.

If the situation is not right, Hodgson will definitely think of himself as soon as possible!

And their first group stage opponent, Italy, is not a good one.

The "Blue Coats" Italy are led by two historical stars, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon, and the team includes stalwarts such as Marchisio and De Rossi, as well as young talents such as Balotelli and Verratti.

The backline has always been the most reassuring part of Italy.

Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Barzagli, manager Prandelli moved Juve's backline directly to the national team.

The trio's chemistry and tournament experience can be trusted, and with Buffon on the goal-line, any striker will have a hesitation when he sees it.

In this squad, the 35-year-old Pirlo is still the absolute core of the team.

It is worth mentioning that Pirlo's contract with Juventus was supposed to expire this season.

As a result, just a few days before the start of the World Cup, Juventus signed a new two-year contract with Pirlo.

Without the club's future concerns, Pirlo was able to devote all his energy to his final World Cup.

And how the midfielder can make the most of his passing advantage and coexist with young players will determine how far the Azzurri can go in this World Cup!

It is worth mentioning that many fans in later generations have assumed that if England had been given a Pirlo, England would have won the championship long ago.

It's a pity that Pirlo is Pirlo because he was born and raised in the Apennines.

However, in this World Cup, the Three Lions have a "new Beckham" with the pinnacle De Bruyne's passing skills

Perhaps, Ling Feng, a little butterfly, will bring some different changes to England

。。。

June 15th.

The weather was sunny.

The Amazon Arena in Manaus is about to play its first World Cup match.

The two sides are the "Three Lions" England and the "Blue Jacket" Italy!

The stadium, which can accommodate 46,000 spectators, was packed.

In the stands, blue and white are in line with each other.

"Welcome to Manaus, the first match of Group D, the battle between England and Italy!"

"Let's take a look at the starting line-ups for both sides."

"On the Italian side, a 4141 formation was discharged."

"The starting goalkeeper is not the familiar Buffon, he is replaced by the goalkeeper Sirigu of the French giants Paris Saint-Germain"

'At the back, Paletta replaced Leonardo Bonucci as Barzagli's partner, while Giorgio Chiellini was on the left.

"There were five in midfield, De Rossi was behind. Pirlo and Verratti are in the middle, and Marchisio and Candreva are separated.

"At the top is Super Mario, Balotelli!"

In the last eleven meetings between England and Italy, Italy have the overwhelming upper hand.

And the most recent defeat was a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals of the European Championship two years ago!

The likes of Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Welbeck in the Three Lions squad all witnessed the moment of being eliminated by Italy on penalties.

Therefore, of course, they will be hoping for revenge on Italy and get off to a good start in their opening game to get their World Cup campaign off to a good start.

Before the start of this matchup, countless football people and media reporters gave the Three Lions a trick to help them come up with various ways to "stare at Pirlo".

Hearing these rumors, Italian coach Prandelli at the pre-match press conference only smiled slightly:

"Limit Pirlo? This is nonsense, and everyone knows it. ”

Whether it's the coaches and players of the Three Lions or the fans of England, everyone knows that Andrea Pirlo is the most dangerous player in the Italian squad.

However, knowing and doing it are not the same thing at all!

With the cheers and applause of the fans at the scene, the starters of both sides led the little ball boy and slowly walked into the court.

Ling Feng came to the bench with other substitute players.

After pre-match ceremonies such as the playing of the national anthem and the handshake of the teams, players from both sides came to their respective halves to wait for the game to begin.

Looking down at the time of the watch, the referee whistled, and the focus of Group D officially began!

From the beginning of the game, Ling Feng, who was sitting on the bench, fixed his eyes on Pirlo's body.

Of course, he knew that the protagonist of this game was undoubtedly the man wearing the number 21 blue jersey.

And almost every Italian attack was handed over to Pirlo's organization.

Every pass, whether it's a through pass, a split, or an inverted foot with Verratti and Marchisio, looks so reasonable and elegant.

However, the vengeful Three Lions showed a strong desire to attack from the beginning.

In the fourth minute, Raheem Sterling broke through on the right side of the pitch and drove all the way to about 25 metres from the goal, when he suddenly fired a shot with his right foot.

What surprised Ling Feng was that this long-range shot was not bad.

Just a little off the goal, it hit the side-netting on the right, rippling in waves.

In this regard, the English fans in the stadium applauded it.

Without any temptation, the two sides started to do it as soon as they came up.

Both sides have attacked and defended each other, and both have opportunities to attack the goal, but they are always a little bit worse.

It wasn't until the thirty-fifth minute of the game that Italy won a corner kick on the right side of the field.

Candreva, who was in charge of the kick-off, looked at the crowd in the penalty area, and then at Pirlo on the line of the big penalty area, and chose to take a tactical corner kick and short the ball to Verratti, who was nearby.

The latter stopped and passed the ball to Pirlo, who came to pick up from outside the large penalty area on the left.

Under everyone's attention, Pirlo made a move that surprised everyone present:

He rushed forward and, under Sturridge's interference, did not catch the ball, but consciously spread his legs!

This leak has deceived the whole world!

At this time, the attention of the English players on the field was attracted by Pirlo, who was faking to run, but he didn't expect Marchisio behind him to come forward to receive the ball, observe Joe Hart's position in front of the goal, and then swing his legs and shoot angrily!

A powerful slash to the ground, the ball is extremely fast, straight to the bottom right corner of the goal.

Joe Hart couldn't make a save and could only look at the ball and sigh

(End of chapter)