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

Chapter 364: 31-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, everywhere he looks, is the shadow of himself at 21!

In the 38th minute of the first half, Portugal unexpectedly broke the deadlock with Ronaldo's super header.

You know, so far in the first half, England has firmly held the initiative on the field.

Whether it is the number of passes, ball possession or shots, they are ahead of Portugal.

But no goal!

Portugal had only launched one quick counterattack so far, and Ronaldo scored the ball into the net.

Who can I talk to to explain this? !
But that's football!

You never know when a goal will come!
In football, there are many laws that people believe in.

One of them is that when a team has the upper hand on the field and suppresses the opponent but fails to score, it will often be punished!

And this law has once again been verified in England.

"Damn, it's only half a meter away."

As a background, Ling Feng watched Ronaldo's header goal from close range, and his heart could not calm down for a long time.

As expected, it’s Brother Luo!
This bounce, this hovering in the air, is too outrageous!
In his opinion, Ronaldo's jumping attribute is at least 99 if not 98!

As far as he knew, there were almost no players in the entire football world who could jump higher than him.

In that header just now, Luo Ge almost rode on Walker's head!

Is it really going to dunk on your head?!
After scoring the goal, Ronaldo excitedly rushed to the corner flag area, then jumped up, completed a 180-degree half turn in the air, and while landing and waving his arms, he roared in unison with tens of thousands of Portuguese fans:

"siuuuuuuuuu!"

As an opponent, Ling Feng felt both excited and amused when seeing Luo Ge's iconic celebration.

Although the celebration is perfect, it does feel a bit silly at times.

Of course, he didn't want Luo Ge to siu too many times in this game.
Seeing Portugal score the first goal, Hodgson on the sidelines had a serious expression on his face. He sat back in the coaching seat and began to discuss countermeasures with his assistant coach.

With a one-goal lead, Portugal, which mainly focuses on defensive counterattacks, will definitely continue to squat and park the bus, and will be able to defend more easily.

In order to equalize the score, they must strengthen their offense and press forward!

In this way, although more scoring opportunities can be created, the risk of losing the ball will also increase.

Thinking of this, Hodgson couldn't help but look at the flamboyant Portuguese No.7 on the field:
"What the hell."

Ronaldo's header disrupted all their prior plans!
That’s what superstars do!

All it takes is an opportunity that is not an opportunity to turn the situation around single-handedly!
At the same time, above the stands.

Mendes, who saw Ronaldo's header, couldn't help but smile and turned to look at Mourinho:

"Chris is still in great shape!"

As Portuguese, both were there to support their country.

In addition, Mourinho, the new coach of the Red Devils, is also observing the international players playing for Manchester United, such as Smalling, Rooney and Lingard.

Of course, there is also Ling Feng, the potential first recruitment target!

Hearing this, Mourinho, who was wearing a casual POLO shirt, just said lightly:

"I never doubted his ability!"

"However, this Portugal team relies too much on Cristiano in attack."

"Besides, my days working with him are over. Now, I am no longer in Madrid, but in Manchester."

Nodding slightly, Mendes then looked at his other important client on the field: "Ling's performance was quite standard, and he didn't seem too excited."

"Hodgson's tactics are too conservative!"

"Rooney right now is not fit and capable of playing as a winger!"

"If I were England's head coach, I would definitely replace Rooney with Jesse Lingard, who has better running ability, and then create more space for Ling Feng to give full play to his ability to attack the goal!"

"In this way, England will definitely be able to open up the situation in a short time!"

Hearing this, Mendes on the side also laughed and said:
"Thank God you're not England's manager."

“But I’m the manager of Manchester United”

Mourinho did not say this.

At this time, he couldn't help but think of Manchester United's lineup and a very critical issue in the new season:

How to use Rooney, the captain and leader of the British team?
As early as March and April, when Mourinho had private contact with Manchester United, he began to watch Manchester United's game videos.

It is obvious that Rooney's competitive state and physical function have declined significantly.

Judging from the Three Lions' tactical formation and playing style, Hodgson obviously put Rooney in the right winger position after careful consideration.

Thinking of this, Mourinho could understand Hodgson's approach.

Even if it will affect the team's breakthrough and speed on the wing, even if it will affect the team's offensive rate, Rooney, whose form has declined, must be put in the starting lineup.

Because he is the top star of Great Britain and the leader of the locker room!
At Manchester United, he faces the same problem.

If Rooney must start, what position is best for him to play?
In Mourinho's vision, this Manchester United will definitely play with the 4231 formation in the new season.

So, the positions that Rooney can play are only the six positions in the frontcourt.

First are the most undisputed attacking midfielder and center forward positions.

With the joining of Ibrahimovic, Da Fengxian will definitely become the only choice for the starting center.

Otherwise, there would be no need for him to persuade Ibrahimovic to come to Manchester United to play and give him a weekly salary of up to 200,000 pounds.

Anyway, Rooney's ability to play as a center forward has seriously deteriorated. Neither his speed nor his confrontation is enough for him to be the starting center forward at Manchester United.

He left the attacking midfielder position to Ling Feng.

Mata in the team can play a substitute role.

The remaining four positions are two defensive midfielders and left and right wingers.

With Kante's joining almost complete, the "new Makelele" will definitely occupy a starting defensive midfielder position.

But there are too many midfielders in Manchester United.

Herrera, Fellaini, Carrick, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger are competing for a starting position.
What's more, Rooney's ability to organize the ball in the midfield is not as good as Carrick's, his running and defensive abilities are not as good as Herrera's, and his height and toughness are not as good as Fellaini's. He has no advantage at all.

As for the left winger position, Martial and Rashford are two young stars who are enough. Therefore, they copied Hodgson's homework and put Rooney on the right winger position, sacrificing the team's ability to tear the defense line on the wing and the speed of the wing during counterattacks, in order to "place" Rooney, the team's captain and locker room leader.

Perhaps among all the options, this one has the least impact on the team.
Just as Mourinho had just brought his thoughts back to the field, he noticed that Hodgson and the assistant coach in the coaching booth suddenly stood up.

Then he came to the sidelines and waved to the disciples on the field.

The next second, Ling Feng, England's on-field commander, also ran to the sidelines.

Seeing this, Mourinho raised his eyebrows and said to himself:

"It seems that Hodgson is not senile yet."

"Why do you say that?"

"He plans to let Ling Feng pull to the side!"

After seeing Hodgson giving some instructions to his beloved disciple, Ling Feng quickly returned to the field and went straight to captain Rooney.

The two whispered a few words and reached an agreement.

After the next kick-off, Portugal retreated to the half court as expected and continued to park the bus.

At the same time, they also found that England's formation had changed.

First, their entire offense was more forward-pressing and the passing rhythm was faster;

Secondly, the pressing in the frontcourt is even more fierce!
Finally, Ling Feng and Rooney completed the position swap, and Ling Feng became the right winger again!
Seeing this, the bitter face of Portugal coach Santos on the sidelines became even more sad.

He knew very well that this was a signal that England was serious about it!

In the last match against Belgium, it was after Ling Feng came to the right that he completed an pass and a shot in just twenty minutes, helping England defeat Belgium in a short time!

Mourinho and Mendes in the stands naturally saw the changes in England's position on the field.

Mendes couldn't help but jokingly asked, "Did you call Hodgson just now?"

Mourinho, however, had a serious expression:
“It’s not surprising.”

"Although I admire Ling Feng, Portugal is in trouble."

"Guerrero, no, to be more precise, no one in this Portuguese defense line can stop Ling Feng's breakthrough!"

Hearing this, Mendes also restrained the smile on his face and nodded in agreement:
"Yeah, that kid is amazing."

As a Portuguese, both of them certainly hope that their country can win this game and reach the final.

However, the Three Lions led by Ling Feng will definitely not let them succeed!
And just as Hodgson and Mourinho expected, the position swap between Ling Feng and Rooney had an immediate effect!
Just like the previous game against Belgium, Ling Feng, who came to the right side, was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins and could not be restricted at all.

Facing Guerrero, his "defeated opponent" in the European Youth Championship, and the double defense of left winger Adrian Silva, Ling Feng didn't care at all.

He simply used his amazing speed and explosiveness, and by swerving left and right, he cut a bloody path from the wing!
In just five minutes, Ling Feng successfully broke through three times on the right side and made three very high-quality crosses.

When the game reached the 43rd minute, the Portuguese players including Ronaldo and tens of thousands of Portuguese fans in the stands witnessed Ling Feng once again dribbling past Guerrero on the right.

Then he calmly passed the ball to Vardy who was in position in the middle, completing the Fox-Blue connection and scoring!
The whole process went smoothly.

No one on Portugal's entire defense line missed the ball, allowing Vardy to knock it into the net!
After watching Vardy rush towards Ling Feng and jump on him after scoring the goal, Ronaldo, who was standing near the midfield, put his hands on his hips, with a hint of helplessness in his expression and eyes.

"This kid is really strong!"

Although I had heard of Ling Feng's abilities a long time ago.

However, when he actually competed with him, he realized that he had underestimated this passer who he had once admired.
Compared to myself who worked so hard to finally score a goal, the opponent just made a simple move and then combined the wing and middle to equalize the score.

The difficulty of scoring goals for both sides is completely unequal!
Not only that, Ronaldo also saw the shadow of himself when he just debuted at Manchester United in Ling Feng!

When he first transferred to Manchester United, Ferguson arranged for him to play as a right winger.

At that time, his task was to rush towards the opponent's full-back on the right side, and then send one cross after another to help his forward teammates score goals!

Ling Feng at this moment is as young and vigorous as he was back then, and just as fast as lightning!

Thinking that Ling Feng is only 21 years old and I am already 31 years old, I can't help but sigh:
Time is really unforgiving!
However, after his thoughts were distracted for a short time, Ronaldo's tired eyes regained their determination.

Even though he envied Ling Feng's teammates for having such a big cake delivered to their mouths;

Even if the teammates around him are not as strong as Ling Feng, who is obvious to all;

But he will also try his best and find ways to help the team win!
. . .

In the last minute of the first half, thanks to Ling Feng's deadly cross after tearing through the defense on the wing, Vardy got in position and equalized the score!
Soon, with the referee's whistle, the first half of the game ended.

There is definitely a different mentality when returning to the locker room with a one-goal deficit and with a draw.

Back in the locker room, while the players were hydrating and massaging, Hodgson came to the tactical board and began to emphasize again:
"In the second half, we must continue to attack! Keep scoring goals!"

"At the same time, once you see the opponent taking the ball in the midfield area and preparing to launch a counterattack, you must immediately commit a foul!"

"We can't let down our guard until we score the second and third goals!"

Facing the old enemy Portugal, Hodgson also rarely gave orders!

The Three Lions players also felt the unquestionable tone of the old coach and couldn't help but perk up.

At this time, Rooney, the team captain, also stood up, applauded and said:
"Guys, let's take this damn Portugal!"

“Make it to the finals!”

As Rooney raised his right arm, the Three Lions players stood up in unison and roared in unison:

“Make it to the finals!!!”

In the second half, England's attack became more aggressive, and they continued to suppress Portugal in the half and launched wave after wave of offensives.

However, what impressed people most about Portugal in this tournament was not their tenacious defense or the magical goals scored at critical moments.

But it’s their tenacity when defending!
No matter which English player gets the ball, the Portuguese players next to him will immediately rush forward and harass him crazily, just like hyenas eyeing their prey.

Ling Feng, in particular, is the focus of care.

Facing Portugal's zone defense of at least two and at most three players, Ling Feng very wisely chose to avoid their attack, attracting the defense and then sending the ball to his teammates in open positions.

One pass with the outside of the foot diagonally to the back post and one pass with the inside of the foot straight through made the commentator sigh and perfectly interpreted the words "fatal pass".

However, Sterling and Vardy's handling of the goal made English fans and Ling Feng very disappointed.

Either slide out the door or fly into the sky!
Seeing the two of them holding their heads in frustration after missing their shots, Ling Feng cursed in his heart:

"Hou Lixie! Is the happy football virus spreading?!"

(End of this chapter)