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

Chapter 353 Kane or Vardy? This is a happy trouble

The result of England defeating Northern Ireland and advancing to the quarterfinals was not unexpected to the public.

After all, their opponent is definitely the weakest among the top 16 teams, both in terms of overall strength and player level.

If they can't even defeat Northern Ireland, all of them, including Ling Feng, will just go straight to the factory.

Why call it the “Three Lions”? Just change it to the smaller name “Three Cats”!

For the Three Lions, advancing to the quarterfinals is good news.

Originally, before the start of the European Cup, the domestic media continued to tout the team's good age structure and the youth storm it had created.

However, in terms of team strength, this young and transitional Three Lions team is far inferior to Germany, France and Belgium.

Therefore, competing for the championship was not in England's plan from the beginning.

Hodgson did not set any goals for his players. He just told them to enjoy this international competition and play well in every game.

But what no one expected was that this youngest team in this European Cup actually set off a youth storm!
Qualifying with all wins in the group stage, coupled with a perfect win over Northern Ireland, not only surprised and delighted the public, but also gave the Three Lions some room for daydreaming.

Huh?
Something seems wrong?!

Of course, with the reminders from Hodgson and some media, they also realized a fact:
That is, whether it is the three opponents in the group stage or Northern Ireland in the knockout stage, their strength cannot be called strong teams!

They will encounter truly strong enemies only in the quarterfinals!

In the next few days, as the quarter-finals were decided one after another, the final eight teams of the European Cup were also announced:
Poland, Portugal, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Wales, Italy!

In this round of competition, basically only the stronger teams were able to advance.

However, there were some unexpected results.

For example, the match between Italy and Spain, and the match between Croatia and Portugal!

This year's Italy can be described as popular.

However, in front of the last European Cup champion "Matadores", this Italy team without superstars but with a steel-concrete defense, withstood the drowsy passing and control, and sent the Spaniards home with two goals!

As the saying goes, fortune changes!

This game allowed the Italians to avenge their defeat in the European Cup final four years ago, and also made the Spaniards realize that today's football is no longer the era of tiki taka!

The other match between Croatia and Portugal was even more tragic.

The checkered army led by Modric fought against Portugal led by Ronaldo until overtime at the Felix Paulet Stadium in Lens.

It was not until the 116th minute that Portuguese golden boy Renato Sanches, who came on as a substitute, shone his brilliance on the biggest stage in Europe!
The eighteen-year-old player dribbled the ball down the middle and launched an attack.

Finally, through the transition of Nani and Ronaldo, Quaresma completed the winning header!

Portugal had a rough journey, with three consecutive draws in the group stage and then defeating the Red Devils in extra time.
And in the upcoming quarter-finals, each game will be a battle between strong teams!
Italy VS Germany!

A clash of World Cup champions!

After easily defeating Spain, this Italian team, which is known as the most civilian team, not only slapped the media in the face, but also won the due respect from the fans.

The German team also went all out in the last round of knockouts, sweeping Slovakia 3-0. It can be seen that there will be a life-and-death battle between the two giants!
Wales VS France, dark horse VS host!
Can the "Red Dragon" Wales, which is participating in the European Cup for the first time, go all the way under the leadership of superstar Bale and defeat the host "Gallic Rooster" France?

Portugal VS Poland!

This is a face-to-face conversation between two superstars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewandowski!
England VS Belgium!
The "youth storm" England, the only team to win all three group matches, meets the luxurious lineup of the "world's best" Belgium. Who will have the last laugh? !

Coming to the quarter-finals, every match is a strong dialogue!

After reaching the quarterfinals, the Three Lions, who have been advancing triumphantly all the way, have finally faced the real test of this European Cup!

That is the "European Red Devils" Belgium, now ranked number one in the world!

. . .

Before the game started, the British media also analyzed and predicted the upcoming battle.

There are definitely a lot of things to watch between England and Belgium.

Among them, the duel between Ling Feng and Hazard, two of the best players in the Premier League, is also one of the highlights of the game.

Compared to Ling Feng, who had a perfect season, won the season's treble and swept the personal honors Grand Slam, Zach Lahm, who has been sluggish in the Premier League this season, only found some form at the end of the season.

When he came to the European Cup, with the full support of his national team teammates, he gradually regained his confidence.

In the quarter-final match against Hungary, Hazard made twelve dribbles, contributed one pass and one goal, and finally regained his omnipotent form last season.

Of course, Ling Feng and the Three Lions players don’t think that Belgium only has Hazard.

If Hazard is the sharp blade that Belgium uses to tear open the opponent's defense, then Manchester City's core "Ding Ding" De Bruyne is Belgium's navigator!
Although the performance in the first round was not good, there were even internal rumors of discord between the two.

However, the two quickly broke this rumor with their tacit cooperation on the field!

So far, Hazard and De Bruyne have combined to provide six assists, making them the dual core of the European Red Devils.

I have to say that this Belgium team has too many offensive players in the frontcourt.

Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Mertens, Benteke, Carrasco, Batshuayi.
Every one of them is a star!
Facing Belgium's luxurious attacking line, should England press forward and fight back, or avoid their sharp edge and pragmatically defend and counterattack?
this is a problem.

Of course, this is not just something that Hodgson and his coaching team should consider.

In Ling Feng's opinion, England will have a better chance of winning if it fights head-on with its opponents.

Because, strictly speaking, England's lineup is top-heavy!
The frontcourt has top Premier League players such as Ling Feng, Vardy, Kane, Sterling and Rooney.

The backcourt, however, was lackluster.

Especially the center back position!
Tottenham's full-back combination of Rose and Walker are strong players who can play both up and down.

The central defender combination of Smalling and Cahill also looks good.

In the three games that these two started together, they only conceded two goals, and it seems that the Three Lions' defense is very good.

However, only insiders can see that the reason why England's defense concedes fewer goals is because its frontcourt attack is too strong!
If the frontcourt offense suppresses the opponent, the backcourt defense pressure will be much less.

Moreover, under Ling Feng's command, after the team takes the lead, they will try their best to control the ball and not give the ball to the opponent easily.

In addition, the strength of the opponents along the way was not very strong.

Due to various factors, England's number of goals conceded is second only to Germany and Italy, ranking at the top.

However, in front of the Belgian who "only plays with talent", the central defender partnership of Smalling and Cahill did not make Ling Feng feel at ease at all.

The two players are very similar in type, tall, good at frontal defense and heading, but slow at turning and chasing back, and poor at one-on-one.

Especially when facing forwards or wingers with excellent individual abilities, there is no doubt that they will be turned into a sieve by Hazard or Carrasco.

Therefore, when the overall offensive capability is obviously stronger than the defensive capability, the Three Lions holding high the banner of offense is the key to opening the door to victory!
Moreover, there is good news for England:

That is, in the upcoming quarter-finals, Belgium's two main central defenders, Vertonghen and Vermaelen, one will miss the game due to injury and the other will be suspended due to a yellow card.

The defense line lost two generals at once!
You know, after losing to Italy in the first game, the Belgians finally found the best combination of the four-man defense!
With the joint efforts of Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Vermaelen and Meunier, the team quickly completed the running-in process.

And in the next three games, they all kept a clean sheet!

The absence of Vertonghen and Vermaelen will definitely greatly weaken Belgium's defense.

Therefore, Ling Feng believed that as long as the team launched a fierce attack, this makeshift defense line would surely collapse in an instant!
Hodgson also noticed the opponent's defense was short of personnel.

As the saying goes, take advantage of his illness to kill him!
After a meeting with his assistant coaches, Hodgson decided to attack instead of defend in the match against Belgium!
After deciding on the tactics, it is time to deploy the troops.
The sun was shining brightly on the Burgundy courts outside Chantilly.

The Three Lions are divided into two teams, the main team and the substitute team, and are conducting tactical drills.

The starting lineup all wore orange vests over their training suits, while the substitutes did not wear vests.

With all the members present, after observing the first four games, the entire main lineup framework has been basically determined.

There are only a few positions that need to be considered and adjusted according to the opponent's tactics and lineup.

Hodgson also mentioned the upcoming "European Red Devils".

You know, Belgium is definitely the Three Lions' strongest opponent so far in this European Cup!

Moreover, the chairman of the English Football Association, Dyke, also sent someone to find him and conveyed a death order:

We must beat Belgium!
Obviously, there are only two options before Hodgson:

Either beat Belgium and reach the semi-finals!
Either go home and end the get out of class!
Of course he chose the former!
To this end, he specifically asked the substitute lineup to simulate Belgium's tactical formation, and then used tactical drills to find the weaknesses in the opponent's tactics and formation.

"Raheem (Sterling)! Look up!"

"Jordan (Henderson), pass the ball faster!"

"Eric (Dyer), less long passes! Let Ling handle the ball!"

Looking at the smooth cooperation of his players on the field, Hodgson, who was standing on the sidelines, was overwhelmed with thoughts.

In his mind, the starting eleven for the next match against Belgium has already been finalized.

Except for two locations.

That is the position of right winger and center forward!
First, the right winger.

In the first two rounds of the group stage and the quarter-finals, England's captain Rooney played as the right winger.

But this is a helpless move.

He didn't pose any threat when he played as a right winger.

It was not until he started to switch positions with Ling Feng that he suddenly caught his opponent off guard!
Ling Feng's playing style will change according to the change of position.

As a free man in the frontcourt, Ling Feng has sufficient physical fitness and ability to play in all positions in the frontcourt.

However, his best position is still attacking midfielder.

In the attacking midfielder position, he is like a combination of the organizing core and the shadow striker.

In addition to using passes to connect the offense and threatening the goal with long shots from the front, he occasionally attacks the goal directly.
The ever-changing offensive methods make it difficult for opponents to defend.

Ling Feng, who came to the right, was like a pure winger.

On the wing, he can fully utilize his speed advantage, but his offensive means are relatively simple, which is to dribble past the opponent and then complete the cross!

Therefore, the opponent only needs to defend his starting acceleration and cross.

It is worth mentioning that this number seven of the Three Lions is the dribbling king so far in this European Cup!

He dribbled past other players 27 times in total, and succeeded 24 times, with a success rate of nearly a terrifying 90 percent!
Of course, his dribbling is different from that of Hazard and Messi, who rely on their footwork and changes in rhythm.

His excellence can be summed up in one word:

fast!
Just by making soup, he was able to leave the defensive players several steps behind!
The opponent can either reach out and pull him down, or just eat his tail gas.
It was after Ling Feng switched to the right that the Three Lions truly achieved the simultaneous development of both wings.

With Sterling on the left, Ling Feng on the right, Rooney distributing the ball in the middle, and Vardy or Kane specializing in finishing, the entire Three Lions' frontcourt offensive system has become clear!

Therefore, some coaches also suggested, why not let Rooney play as attacking midfielder and Ling Feng play as right winger?

This suggestion also made Hodgson feel a ripple in his heart as he looked at Rooney wearing an orange vest on the field.

"It seems. It's not impossible?"

First of all, Rooney, as the team leader and captain, must start.

However, it turns out that Rooney has no speed as a winger and cannot dribble past opponents.

Coming to the middle, Rooney can also avoid the obvious disadvantage of his physical decline and connect the ball with his own football intelligence and awareness.

After all, he is the most outstanding talent England has ever had, and there is no problem with his football IQ and awareness.

What's more, he has Ling Feng, the best midfielder in the Premier League, by his side!

Anyway, Ling Feng has absolute freedom in the frontcourt and can change positions at any time according to his own understanding of the game progress.

It doesn’t really matter whether the two people’s positions are changed or not.

After deciding to let Rooney continue to play on the right, the next thing to consider is the starting center!
In the first two group matches, Vardy served as the team's starting center forward.

This grassroots striker who has been making waves in the Premier League this season has performed very well and also scored a goal.

Especially his impact and speed, he has a perfect understanding with Ling Feng, and their cooperation is further enhanced by the club's ties, making it extremely sharp!
Often once Ling Feng gets the ball, Vardy knows how to run to receive the ball, or engage the defense to create opportunities for Ling Feng to pass or shoot.

Kane, who got the chance to start in the third round of the group stage and the quarter-finals, showed more comprehensive center skills.

Such as back, header, pass
Moreover, as teammates who reached the top of the European Youth Championship with Ling Feng, Kane and Ling Feng have a good understanding with each other.

Each of them has his own strengths and distinctive characteristics.

So... Vardy or Kane?
With two super strikers, who will start?

For Hodgson, this is a happy trouble
(End of this chapter)