Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 352: Dreamy Upper Half! Advance to the Quarterfinals!

Since the number of participating teams in this cup has expanded from 16 to 24, the qualifying rules have become more complicated than in previous years. In addition to the top two teams in the six groups advancing directly, the four third-placed teams with the best results in each group will also get tickets to the knockout stage.

And it is under this format that the competition in the group stage becomes more exciting, fierce and full of variables.

However, the situation in Group B became clear early on due to England's unexpectedly strong performance.

Complete victory over Russia, reversed Wales, and easily defeated Slovakia
The Three Lions sang all the way through Lingfeng and finally won an amazing record of winning all the group matches!

This is also the only team in this European Cup that has won all the group matches!
Not only that, winning all three games, scoring eight goals and conceding only two goals also set England's best record in the European Cup group stage history!
This is a feat that even the golden generation back then could not accomplish!
However, in major international cup competitions, it is often not a good thing to get into shape too early.

In the history of the European Cup, a total of ten teams have won all their group matches.

But only France in 1984 and Spain in 2008 have finally lifted the championship trophy.

Therefore, in the post-match press conference, facing the media's congratulations and flattery, Hodgson only appeared very humble and cautious:

"The group stage is completely different from the knockout stage. We must play well in every game to earn ourselves a chance to go to the Stade de France!"

At first glance, these remarks seem to be modest.

However, if you think about it carefully, you will know what this sentence means.
The Stade de France is the venue for the final of this European Cup.

In other words, Hodgson, as the Three Lions coach, aims to reach the final!
As the flash lights flashed one after another at the scene, major media rushed to report, and all of them exposed Hodgson's naked ambition!

Hodgson remained calm about the media hype.

Coaching in England means you are always under the spotlight and the microscope.

Anyway, FA Chairman Dyke has publicly stated that the team can win the championship.

Even if his slogan was to reach the finals, it would not change anything.

Besides, since I have the opportunity to lead the team to participate in an international competition like the European Cup, it would be a lie to say that I don’t want to win the championship.

Even though he is nearly 70 years old, Hodgson's desire for the championship is no less than any other young head coach.

As the saying goes, an old horse in the stable still has a thousand miles to go!
A coach who doesn’t want to win the championship is not a good head coach!
However, he doesn't know whether he can lead the team to achieve a breakthrough in this tournament.

Who can predict the future?
I'm just trying my best.
. . .

With the Three Lions firmly clinching first place in the group, the other three teams in the group can only fight hard for the qualifying spot as the second in the group.

In another final round of the group match that ended at the same time, Wales defeated Russia 3-0 in Toulouse, with two wins and one loss in three games, accumulating six points and qualifying as the second in the group!
As for Slovakia, the third in the group with only three points, it will have to compete with the third in other groups.

Whoever has a better record will be able to enter the knockout stage through the reform of the competition system.

Of course, for the Three Lions and Ling Feng, this has nothing to do with them.

After qualifying with a perfect record, the Three Lions players were warmly received by Prince Harry and FA Chairman Dyke as soon as they returned to the hotel.

Then, everyone enjoyed a very sumptuous French meal.

After the feast, Hodgson announced publicly that as a reward for winning all the group games and qualifying, they would get a day off!

They can use this day to go out and visit the "fashion capital" Paris, or meet with their family and girlfriends to express their longing for each other.

Of course, at the end, Hodgson did not forget to remind his disciples who had already happily forgotten:

"Remember, don't cause me any trouble! Otherwise, you won't be able to play in the next game!"

He knows the moral character of his disciples very well.

Except for a few players like Ling Feng, Kane, Rashford, etc. who don't like or are not old enough to go out, the others are all loyal fans of nightclubs and bars.

Especially if the disciples spent all their energy on women, how could they have the energy to run on the court? !

As all the group stage matches of the European Cup have come to an end, the top 16 teams in the knockout stage have also been decided!
The first place in the six groups are France, England, Germany, Croatia, Italy and Hungary.
The six second-placed teams are Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Spain, Belgium and Iceland.

The four groups with the best results are third, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Portugal!

The promotion results were not surprising, as most of the traditional strong teams advanced to the knockout stage.

Among them, the most thrilling road to promotion is naturally Portugal, which has Real Madrid's top star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal's start was far less strong than England's, and was instead very bumpy.

In the first round match against Iceland, they were tied by the Vikings who were participating in an international competition for the first time.

In the second round against Austria, Ronaldo still created a penalty despite being closely guarded by the opponent.

However, the Real Madrid superstar, who has a very high penalty success rate, shot the ball onto the goal post.

Even though they did score a goal in the end, it was ruthlessly disallowed because of offside.

In the end, Portugal, whose attack was fruitless, could only draw with Austria.

It was not until the last round against Hungary that Ronaldo finally burst out with tremendous energy!

After falling behind in the first half, Ronaldo was like a god in the second half!

With a header and a wonderful heel goal, the score was tied at 3-3!
This game was also called one of the best games of this tournament so far by the media.

In the end, thanks to Ronaldo's divine performance, Portugal, which had drawn three games in a row in the group stage, was able to get the last ticket to the knockout stage by virtue of its record advantage!
However, in addition to helping Portugal advance in the final moments, another football superstar, the Swedish god Taib, who once staged a peak showdown with Ronaldo in the qualifiers, encountered a tragic moment in his national team career in this European Cup.

With one draw and one loss in the first two games, Sweden's qualifying situation is precarious.

Before the last round of the group stage, Ibrahimovic suddenly announced at a press conference that he would retire from the national team after the end of this European Cup!

Once this news was announced, it became the focus of public and media attention.

At that time, the news
In Ling Feng's opinion, the original intention of announcing the breaking news on the eve of the Ibrahimovic battle might be good.

I hope to use my last game to inspire myself and my teammates before the life-and-death battle against Belgium.

However, the gap in strength between Sweden and Belgium is too big.

Even though Ibrahimovic and his teammates fought hard, they were unable to knock open the door guarded by Courtois.

In the end, thanks to Nainggolan's world-class long-range shot, the proud Swedes were sent back to cold Northern Europe.

The famous "King of Force" Zlatan Ibrahimovic also bid farewell to his national team career with a cruel defeat.

However, Ling Feng is very clear that Ibrahimovic's football legend has not yet ended.

Old soldiers never die, they just fade away!
. . .

As the top 16 teams were announced, the results of the knockout rounds were also announced:
As England finished first in the group, they did not enter the lower half where all the strong teams were located as in the original history, but entered the upper half where the overall strength was weaker!
Their opponent is Northern Ireland, the weakest team among the top 16!

The opponents in the same upper half are Switzerland or Poland, Croatia or Portugal, Hungary or Belgium!

Compared with the opponents in the lower half, the majority of England fans slid on their knees in their living rooms to celebrate!

Because, compared to the upper half where the weak teams gather, the lower half can be called the death zone!

The eight teams in the lower half are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Wales, Slovakia, Ireland and Iceland!
Especially Germany, France, Italy and Spain, these four teams have a total of ten World Cup titles and nine European Cup titles!
Horror!
The British media was singing and dancing about the team's dreamy entry into the top half, and began to conduct detailed analysis and discussion on the topic of "Can England win the championship":
Among the opponents in the upper half, only Croatia, Portugal and Belgium can pose a threat to England.

And in the quarter-finals, Croatia and Portugal will decide the winner, and only one team can advance to the next round.

So, strictly speaking, only Belgium, and the winner between Croatia and Portugal can stop them from advancing to the final!
In the lower half of the death zone, there will be at least one showdown between top teams in each knockout round.

In comparison, they are simply too happy!
Even the Guardian, which is always rigorous and fair, said bluntly:
“This is perhaps England’s best chance to reach the European Cup final!”

You know, England's best result in the European Cup was only third place in the first European Championship in 1968.

They have never made it to the finals!

While the outside world was in a state of confusion, the Three Lions players were enjoying a short vacation after a month.

During the short one-day holiday, Ling Feng, like many of his teammates, chose to spend it with his family and girlfriend.

As a member of the England wives group, Barbara wears Ling Feng's No. 7 jersey in every game and cheers for her boyfriend in the stands with Ling Feng's parents.

After the brief meeting, Ling Feng walked out of his girlfriend's hotel room with lipstick marks all over his face, and then received a small task from his girlfriend:

"He will score his next goal as a gift to her in front of the whole world!"

Ling Feng naturally agreed to this.
Soon, three days later, he arrived at the moment of completing the mission.

The second quarter-final of the European Cup, England vs. Northern Ireland, kicked off at the Parc des Princes of Paris Saint-Germain!

Like Wales, Northern Ireland is also reaching the final stage of the European Cup for the first time.

In the group stage, Northern Ireland was drawn in Group A with Germany, Ukraine and Poland.

As a newcomer to the European Cup, Northern Ireland lost to Germany and Poland by one goal, but beat Ukraine 2-0, allowing them to advance to the knockout stage as the third-best of the four groups.

The most famous player in this Northern Ireland team is Jonathan Evans, the older brother of the “Evans Brothers”!

Apart from central defender Evans, who once played for Manchester United and won the Premier League and Champions League with the team, there are only a few players in the team who play in the top five leagues.

The overall lineup is lackluster and the players' levels are uneven.

In this match, facing England, which had sent out all its main players, Northern Ireland showed the determination of unity.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two sides is too big.
In the 27th minute of the first half, Northern Ireland's goal was lost!

The one who opened the door to victory for England was none other than "the sharpest sword of the Three Lions" - Ling Feng, wearing the legendary No. 7 jersey!
"Wow!"

"Smooth coordination!"

"Kane knocked the ball back and Ling Feng shot it. The ball was like an indestructible sword, piercing the heart of the Northern Irishman mercilessly!"

"This England No.7 scored the third goal of this European Cup!"

"He is currently ranked second in the scorer list, second only to Bale who scored three goals in three games!"

"At the same time, this talented super golden boy has provided four assists in three games and is also at the top of the European Cup assists list!"

"Capable of scoring goals and providing assists, the new No.7 of the Three Lions has become the most indispensable member of the team!"

After scoring the goal, Ling Feng immediately came to the sidelines and blew a kiss to his girlfriend in the stands!
The live camera at the scene was also aimed at Barbara at the first moment.

The Hungarian supermodel with smoky makeup blew Ling Feng several kisses in return, ignoring the gazes of the people around her and the millions of fans in front of the TV.

After taking the lead, England played more relaxed.

In the frontcourt, Ling Feng, Sterling, Kane and Rooney also frequently made empty runs and made continuous short passes.

Such a scene also makes some old English fans feel incredible.

Is this still the technically rough England team they remember?

In their memory, the rough guys in England could only make long passes and crosses from the flanks after flying on both wings.

But now, they are actually using Spain's ground control method? !
Of course, they soon discovered that it was all thanks to Ling Feng!
The British number seven kept running and connecting in the frontcourt, keeping the ball flowing!

In the first half, England had the upper hand and entered the locker room with a one-goal lead.

In the second half, England controlled the ball to draw the opponent's formation, and then suddenly changed the rhythm and penetrated Northern Ireland's goal again!
After Ling Feng switched positions with Rooney and moved to the right, he made a wall pass with Rooney and then broke into the penalty area from the flank between the full-back and the center back.

Looking at the goal, he pretended to shoot and suddenly made a highly penetrating inverted triangle pass.

Kane, who defeated Vardy to get the chance to start in this game, did not disappoint Hodgson!
He took a step back, got rid of the defender, and then kicked the ball into the lower left corner of the goal!

Ling Feng and Kane, who completed the pass and shot to each other, also high-fived and hugged each other with smiles on their faces.

This frontcourt attacking duo, who once led England U21 to the European Youth Championship, also continued their extraordinary chemistry in the adult national team.
When the game reached the 83rd minute, seeing that there was not much time left and the team was already two goals ahead, Hodgson replaced Ling Feng, the core of the team who had once again completed the pass and shot, and let him receive the applause of the fans.

In the end, England relied on the assists and shots of Ling Feng and Kane to easily beat "England's little brother" Northern Ireland 2-0 and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals!

(End of this chapter)