Chapter 939: The First Step Towards Conquering Europe
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Wayne Rooney! Scores one more goal! Just seven minutes into the start of the second half, England scores their third goal of the game! This is an astonis.h.i.+ng advantage!”
This time even John Motson’s tone revealed unconcealed surprise.
Not only himself, but perhaps even the most hardcore England fan did not expect their team to have the lead over Portugal so easily.
One must know that Portugal always had the reputation as “the Brazilian team of Europe.” To be able to play so well against Europe’s Brazilian team, it could be seen that the England team’s strength was extraordinary. Perhaps they were not the rumored “Europe’s second-rate team” long ago?
Rooney was very thrilled about his second goal in the game, and his teammates were as excited as he was.
But while celebrating the goal, Twain keenly noticed that the Portuguese players did not look as frustrated as they had at the end of the first half. They should have appeared ashen after three goals, but looking at them now, their expressions did not continue to deteriorate.
What did Queiroz say to them during the halftime interval?
Twain did not think about this question carefully. For him, a one-goal lead was the least secure score. But a three-goal lead was enough to give him a peace of mind sitting in his chair to watch the game. He did not believe that the Portugal team could turn the game around three goals behind. That would be remarkable.
Unless you’re playing with me, G.o.d.
Twain glanced up at the sky at the thought of it. There was nothing in the dark blue night sky.
As the captain of the Portugal national team, Cristiano Ronaldo was not the type who could be a leader. But at this moment, he gathered his teammates together.
“It’s not the time to give up yet! If we lose to England here, our UEFA European Champions.h.i.+p journey will be over! They are now three goals ahead and will definitely take the enemy lightly. This is our chance! We’ll surprise them!”
He raised his fist and held it out, and his teammates raised their fists to place on top. More and more fists were stacked together. It represented the determination of the Portuguese players.
Ronaldo was thirty-one years old this year. He could still play in one more World Cup. But it would be difficult to say for another UEFA European Champions.h.i.+p. He knew that his form would inevitably decline, which was a rule of thumb that no one could escape. Hence he did not want to have any regrets for UEFA European Champions.h.i.+p this time. They came with the great ambition to conquer Europe. If they were crushed by the England in the first game they played, how could they talk about conquering Europe?
They absolutely must not lose the game!
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“In the 52nd minute, England take a 3:0 lead over Portugal. It seems that Tony Twain does indeed have some skills. Without George Wood, the England team is even better. It’s really unexpected…”
The Germany manager muttered to himself in the stands. There was much to be gained in today’s game. Initially due to Wood’s injury, the Germans’ intelligence reports believed that the Portugal team was the biggest threat in their group. It now appeared that the information had to be updated and the a.s.sessment must be revised.
Similarly, those who had the same thinking as he included the Spanish scouts, the French scouts, the Dutch scouts… and so on other intelligence-gathering personnel who insisted on staying in the stands.
Previously in the domain of the national teams, the popular perception was that regardless of how many glorious feats Tony Twain had achieved at the club level, a football club and national team were two completely different worlds. His outstanding performance in the qualifiers was nothing to go by because the teams in the group were so weak… Danish football and Serbian football had long since fallen.
So, in fact, Twain had not yet proved his ability to coach the national team. Those big shots who coached the national teams were mostly dismissive of him. He was a frivolous young man and a man who was deemed successful due to the media blowing it out of proportions… Here in the arena, actual results spoke louder than words.
Now, Tony Twain used such a beautiful 3:0 score to let those people withdraw their skeptical gazes. It was a beautiful first game.
If they knew each other well, they would definitely come together to pick apart the game so far. But now these “spies” could only give an evaluation in their minds:
“Tony Twain is very strong and needs special attention. Queiroz is already over. His contract expires after the UEFA European Champions.h.i.+p. Watching them botched the game for fifty minutes, it is believed that the Portuguese Football Federation will not prepare a new contract for him. He has completely lost control of the team and is in a completely disadvantageous position in the game against Tony Twain…”
Some people cast glances at the Portuguese Football Federation president, Madaíl, sitting on the podium. The old man’s face looked really ugly…
In front of the whole world, his team was humiliated by the England team’s three-goal. It would be impossible for anyone else to smile if they were to be in the same circ.u.mstances.
In fact, Madaíl was indeed cursing Queiroz and his forefathers eight generations up deep down. The English Football a.s.sociation chief executive, Mr. Shaun Harvey was sitting next to him and smiling as brightly as a spring flower. It was simply a blatant taunt. He really could not take this lying down.
The somewhat chubby Englishman had already cheered in front of him thrice. G.o.d d.a.m.n it!
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Both Ronaldo and Queiroz antic.i.p.ated well. The England team inevitably slackened after a three-goal lead. Whether it was their defense or counterattacks, they were not as aggressive as they were before.
This was a chance for the Portuguese player. If they could not seize it, then their failure would truly be irreversible…
The Portuguese players bet all their hopes in this game and turned out in full force. They did not care how they would defend against the England team’s fourth quick counterattack. Because this consideration was meaningless if they could not get a goal in at this time. It was no difference whether the other team scored ten goals or one more goal.
The Portuguese players’ ferocious attack left the England team in a bit of a mess which also surprised Tony Twain – he did not think that Queiroz’s team really wanted to reverse the natural order of things.
“Ronaldo forces a breakthrough in the middle… He was tripped by Michael Johnson to the ground. A free kick! … Ronaldo himself will take the penalty shot. He stands behind the ball… He runs up and lifts his foot for the shot – the ball goes in! The ball is in!!”
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!” The Portuguese commentator roared excitedly.
The Portuguese fans, who had been silent for most of the game, jumped from their seats.
“The Portugal team gets a goal back … it is completely unexpected, but it does not change the outcome of the game. For the Portuguese fans it is just a goal to save face.” John Motson said. What he said made sense. The English fans were not upset and furious about the goal concede. They still had a smile on their faces – they still had a two-goal lead.
Madaíl stood up and waved his fists for a while before sat down again. After a brief excitement, he still felt depressed. His team needed to score three more goals if they wanted to win… It was too difficult.
The goal concede surprised Twain, who stood up and swore while complaining about his displeasure. But he did not take the goal concede too seriously in his mind. Like the English fans, he felt that there was nothing to fear at all with a two-goal lead in hand.
But the goal greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the Portuguese players.
Just four minutes later, they regrouped and came back even stronger. Meireles pa.s.sed the ball forward. The player who pulled to the sideline to receive the ball this time was not Ronaldo, but their striker, Yannick Djaló. The not-so-tall black kid was very fast. When he received the football, he ripped apart the England team’s defense.
Then he did not continue to dribble the ball or cut inward to break through. He suddenly raised his foot to cross the ball!
England’s rear defensive line was not tight. Otherwise they would not have been ripped apart by Djaló. They were clearly not as concerned about Portugal’s attack as they had been before. Ronaldo’s free kick which cracked the goal open did not sound the alarm for them.
Djaló’s cross pa.s.s did not send the football in front of the goal but crossed it over to the penalty area. Ronaldo, who suddenly appeared in the middle, leapt high over there. He was 1.88-meter-tall and had an excellent bounce. He would occasionally use a header to breach the goal …
“Djaló crosses the ball over … Ronaldo jumps for a header!!”
The football was. .h.i.t by his head and flew towards the goal. Joe Hart’s standing position had some problems. He was defending the back goalpost but did not expect Ronaldo to head the ball toward the front goalpost … England’s national goalkeeper flew out with all his might but did not touch the ball at all.
Everyone saw the football brushed the nearest goalpost and crashed into the net…
“The ball’s in! A second goal! Ronaldo scores his second goal!!!” The Portuguese commentator went crazy. “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!! This is incredible! We’ve reversed the score with two goals and we’re only one goal behind! Anything is possible! Come on, Portugal!!”
Ronaldo was so excited after the goal that he waved his fists wildly and roared toward the sky. So much so that his teammates were afraid to approach him for a while, for fear that his fists would hurt innocent people.
“It’s really…” Motson did not know what to say for a while. Within four short minutes, their lead had gone from three goals down to one goal and became the “world’s most dangerous score” . . . “Those tenacious Portuguese players, England has slightly underestimated their opponent!” It was not that they had “slightly underestimated their opponent.”
Camp Nou was shaking. The Portuguese fans were stamping their feet and cheering wildly in the stands. Even the camera lenses shook. They saw hope of beating England.
Come on, let’s have a dramatic reversal!
The Portuguese were in full celebration mode while Tony Twain was somewhat fl.u.s.tered and exasperated. He got up from his seat, waving his arms and scolding loudly. He was very unhappy with the performance of his players within these four minutes. “You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! I want to see how you are going to wrap this up now!”
The members of the England coaching unit also had grim expressions on their faces.
The England players stood stupefied on the pitch and felt incredulous about the score. There were a number of them who probably had not regained their composure.
It was those people in the stands who were “here to watch the show” started to show smiles on their faces. The game was really interesting…
“… Tony Twain’s team, like his own temper, is a little erratic and shows inconsistencies in its performance. It clearly ill.u.s.trates a problem under the circ.u.mstances of actually allowing the Portugal team to score two goals in four minutes when they have a three-goal lead before…” The German manager added another line in the notebook.
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On the podium, Madaíl cheered from the heart. His current mood was very different from what it was four minutes earlier. Quite simply, he saw the hope of winning. It was right in front of his eyes… He could catch it as soon as he reached his hand out. He no longer cared what that Englishman, Harvey would think of his crazy celebration. He just wanted to show off!
Come on, Portugal!
He roared in his heart.
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Twain dropped the “I want to see how you wrap this up” remark, he sat down in his seat in a huff and waited to see what the overwhelmed players on the field would do. But his stance did not last long. He quickly got up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines to yell, “What are you doing? Now’s the time to buck up! Gentlemen! We’re only one goal ahead. If you still don’t do something, all of us will be the laughingstock of the world tomorrow!!”
“To lose a game with a three-goal lead! We’ll be the first! Do you feel honored by it!?”
He did not make any tactical adjustments because the tactics were not the problem at all. The problem laid with the att.i.tude of those carrying them out. As long as they could adjust their mentality, the tactics would still work.
And he knew that as long as the mentality of the players could be adjusted, the initiative of the game was actually in his hands.
The Portuguese players could not accept the result of a 2:3 defeat. They would continue to attack and fully press on, hoping to take advantage of the England team’s collective distraction to equalize the score, or even overtake…
It was a dangerous moment for the England team. But it was also a time of opportunity… It depended on who could seize it. So, he had to yell at the England players to wake up right away.
Not all England players could hear Twain’s words, but they knew the boss was furious.
He did indeed have reason to be angry. A three-goal lead was reduced to a one-goal lead… It was truly a shame!
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The game resumed and the Portugal team did launch a tidal wave of offensive against England, one wave more powerful than the other. England could only shrink its defense, looking extremely pathetic.
But behind the pathetic scenes, Twain saw what he wanted – his players got their game form back. As long as they maintained their form, England’s defense would be fine.
Portugal also quickly found that their opponent had returned to its normal state and had not been impacted by the previous two goal concede. After weighing the pros and cons, they dialed down the siege against England because they must start to reconsider their defense against England’s counterattack…
Following which, England then organized several counterattacks that were intercepted by the Portugal team’s defense led by Pepe. The game was back in a stalemate after a brief high.
The two managers also kept changing their postures on the sidelines.
At first, Twain was standing on the sidelines, watching the field nervously. Queiroz, on the other hand, sat in his seat, seemingly had a card up his sleeve.
But as time went on, the score still remained at 3:2. After s.h.i.+fting his b.u.t.t in the coach’s seat, Queiroz finally stood up and walked to the sidelines He made various hand gestures, and an anxious look gradually surfaced on his somewhat suntanned face.
Twain turned around and sat back in his seat. He crossed his legs, ankle over the knee.
As the game wore on, the situation could only get better and better for him. He knew he was getting closer to the first UEFA European Champions.h.i.+p victory as the minutes ticked by.
What did it matter that the game was ugly to watch? So, what if it was a narrow victory? It was just an interlude in the process. As long as the result was good, then all was well.
Twain was able to stay calm and composed, but it did not mean that his players could accept the result – the original three-goal lead would have allowed them to finish the game beautifully so that no one would still think that they were a second-rate team in Europe. But the Portugal team’s counterattack in four minutes ruined everything they had done before. No one would remember the glory of their three-goal lead. The three-goal lead could only become a joke and a footnote to the current score. Even if they won, people would just say that, “They were close to losing the game in the situation where they had a three-goal lead. They won narrowly in the end… But that was terrible!”, “They really showed themselves to be a second-rate team in Europe. A bunch of egomaniacs touted by the English media…”, “They are really all made of China, good-looking on the outside but completely fragile. The Portugal team was really unlucky…”
The thought of getting that kind of evaluation made them unable to bear letting the game end like this. Now they wanted more time in the game than the Portugal team so they could continue to expand the score.
Twain used the last subst.i.tution spot in the 80th minute and brought Chris Cohen on to replace Downing. He had replaced Walcott with Bentley and Gareth Barry with Gerrard before.
The two wingers he replaced were physically fit. They were able and willing to return to defend in time, which demonstrated his att.i.tude – the heavy emphasis on defense in the final stage.
But the players on the pitch did not think so. They were enraged by the Portuguese players and were looking for a counterattack opportunity in the final moments of the game, like a bunch of hungry wolves who were also baited by their prey at the same time.
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In the 86th minute, the Portuguese players launched an attack. The goalkeeper, Patrício kicked the ball wide into the midfield.
The tallest man on the field, Mitch.e.l.l, won the fight for the header. He gave the ball to Gareth Barry.
Barry pa.s.sed the ball to Michael Johnson up ahead. When the Portuguese players realized the control of the ball had changed hands, they hurried back to defend. Three players pounced toward Johnson with the ball at the first instance.
Johnson, a produce of the Manchester City youth camp, showed a remarkable calm composure at this time. He did not rush to put the ball in front of him. Instead, he turned his body and drew the other side’s defensive attention to his side. Then he saw Wayne Rooney plug in from behind!
If he pa.s.sed the ball over to him, it would be a one on one with the goalkeeper!
At the thought of it, he gave his ankle a shake, and sent the football forward.
Rooney plugged in just in time and got to the ball in between two Portuguese center backs.
“A gorgeous straight pa.s.s though the gap!”
Rooney dribbled the ball into the penalty area and saw the goalkeeper, Patrício, struck. He raised his leg to do a long shot!
The football was blocked out by Patrício… the English fans held their heads in their hands and bemoaned the attack.
But England’s attack was not over yet!
Chris Cohen, who had only been on the field for six minutes, appeared on the left side of the penalty area just as the football flew straight into that direction.
Patrício was still lying on the ground. When he saw Cohen, he had a look of horror on his face. Using his hands and feet, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and jumped toward the goal behind him.
Cohen did not have a single Portuguese defender around him. Johnson and Rooney had helped him attract all the Portuguese players’ attention.
He suddenly slowed down during the run, adjusted his pace, and then picked up his left foot just when the football fell.
He directly volleyed a shot!!
Patrício flew out for a save again, but the football flew past him in front of his eyes and hit the net…
“The ball went into the ——!” Motson’s voice was so excited that it was even a little ragged. “Chris Cohen scored his first goal for the national team! 4:2! England has locked in the win!!”
Queiroz, who was standing on the sidelines, only felt his knees weakened and his body swayed.
While Tony Twain, who was just watching the game just now with his legs crossed, had had rushed to the sidelines at this time. He raised his arms high to announce his victory.
The road to conquering Europe, started with a 4:2 victory over Portugal!