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

Chapter 366: Number Showdown! I've seen this episode!

"The game is over!"

"The score is 2-2, and there was no winner in regular time!"

"The game will go into overtime!"

After the regular 90-minute match, the game statistics were released:

The number of shots was 17 to 7, and the number of shots on target was 8 to 4;
The ball possession rate was 64% to 36%;

Key passes 7 to 4;
Among them, Ling Feng alone made as many as four key passes!

It's a pity that, apart from Vardy's goal, the other three key passes were wasted by his teammates.
Many media and professional football journalists began to express their opinions on official Twitter and social media.

Among them, Sky Sports directly released a poster of the duel between Ling Feng and Ronaldo on its official Twitter account, with the title:
“This is a great match between the sevens!”

Yes, everyone who has watched the normal game will agree with this title.

In the 90 minutes, England's No.7 Ling Feng scored with a pass and a shot;
Portugal's number seven Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice!

Despite being completely at a disadvantage on the field, Ronaldo still led the team to a tenacious draw against the stronger England team.

This makes many of Ronaldo's followers feel proud.

Of course, under the brilliance of Ronaldo, Ling Feng, who is ten years younger, also performed brilliantly enough!
What no one expected was that Ling Feng, the "rookie" who participated in the European Cup for the first time, was not at all nervous in such a crucial match as the European Cup semi-final.

On the contrary, he was not at all inferior to the Ballon d'Or superstar like Cristiano Ronaldo!
He deserves to be regarded as the next Ballon d'Or winner by the British media!

Yes.

From the "British star" when he debuted, to the "golden boy" when he first appeared in the Premier League and the World Cup, to the "first man of the new generation" who won the season's treble

As Ling Feng's performance gets better and better, his value gets higher and higher, and the level of his nickname also gets higher and higher.

And his recent dominant performance in the European Cup has also caused many British media to spontaneously start to hype up Ling Feng.

If he can help England win the European Cup, then it would not be too much for Ling Feng, who has won the Premier League, Europa League and European Cup, to make it into the top ten of the Ballon d'Or.

He is even eligible to compete for this year's Golden Globe Award!
Thus becoming England's next Ballon d'Or winner after Michael Owen!
Therefore, many media outlets use the nickname "the next Ballon d'Or" to describe Ling Feng when reporting on the European Cup.

European countries are no longer surprised by this.

When it comes to hyping and marketing their country's talented players, the British media is absolutely unique!

It is worth mentioning that as a double star of England and Manchester United, as well as Ronaldo's former teammate, Ferdinand posted a comment on his social media:
He thinks Ronaldo is a very competitive person.

In his opinion, it was Ling Feng's outstanding performance that forced Portugal into deep adversity, thus inspiring the strongest Ronaldo.

Otherwise, Portugal would not be able to drag the game into overtime!

These remarks were also recognized by many fans, who gave thumbs up.

Mendes, who was browsing the news on his phone, turned to look at Mourinho:

"Jose, do you think we can win?"

"It depends on whether our defense can withstand Ling Feng's attack in overtime!"

After a pause, Mourinho made his own prediction:

"If we can maintain the current score and go into a penalty shootout, we will definitely win!"

. . .

After a short break, both sides returned to the floodlit stadium.

Dragging the game into overtime was not in Hodgson's or England's plan.

However, they still believe that the team has a greater chance of winning.

Because the team is mostly composed of young people, they still have advantages in physical fitness.

As long as they keep attacking, Portugal's defense, which can't be called very good, will sooner or later have flaws and collapse!
However, due to Danny Rose's injury in the second half, Hodgson was forced to use his last substitution.

On the contrary, Portugal was well prepared for overtime.

It is worth mentioning that just before Ronaldo equalized the game with a low free kick, Santos was planning to use the last spot and replace the team's center forward Eder.

However, after seeing Ronaldo score twice to equalize the game, the Portuguese coach immediately cancelled the substitution.

In this way, he still has a substitution quota on hand, and can leave a trump card for change.

As for when to use this "trump card" again, it depends on the situation on the field.
At the beginning of the overtime, the situation on the field had basically not changed.

England still firmly controlled the ball and suppressed Portugal in the half.

Portugal still parked the bus, with all players retreating, leaving only Ronaldo in the frontcourt.

The game entered overtime, and most of the starting players on both sides had almost reached their limit in terms of physical strength.

Especially the Portuguese players, their breathing began to become disordered and their panting became more and more obvious.

After all, this was their third overtime match in ten days!

So, at this time, they just relied on their willpower to support their bodies to keep running.

They didn't even dare to stop to rest.

Because they know that once they stop, their opponents will most likely take advantage!
The Three Lions, who have the advantage in physical fitness, naturally do not want the game to be dragged into a penalty shootout.

Entering the extra time, England's offensive tactics were very simple and rough.

It was by relying on Ling Feng's explosive ability on the right side that he broke through Portugal's dense defense, thus creating space and opportunities for his teammates to shoot!
Unfortunately, as the game progressed, Ling Feng's breakthrough tactics were also figured out.

Everyone knows that his left foot is not very good, he can only play on the outside and pass the ball after making a breakthrough.

As long as their passing route is blocked and they are prevented from connecting with other teammates, the chances of them cutting inside and shooting are almost zero!

In addition, the two Portuguese central defenders have a certain understanding of Vardy's running and shooting habits.

So, they adopted a defensive position of one in front and one behind.

One stands in front, responsible for blocking Ling Feng's passing route;
One stood at the back post, closely guarding Vardy.

Moreover, the five players in the midfield maintained a very close distance with the back line, which was almost airtight!

Even if Ling Feng can use his personal ability to tear through the defense and pass the ball, he cannot ensure that the ball will reach Vardy's feet and complete the shot.

However, in addition to Vardy in the penalty area, Rooney, who was cruising outside the penalty area, was also a contact point. Unfortunately, with the decline of physical strength, Rooney's reaction and movement connection became much slower.

Even if Ling Feng broke through and passed the ball to Rooney who was in an open space at the front of the penalty area, the latter's shot would not pose much threat.

Either you use too much force and the ball flies away, or you are blocked by the opponent's defensive players.

Watching Rooney waste opportunities time and again, not only the England fans in the stands and in front of the TV held their heads in their hands with masks of pain on their faces.

Even Ling Feng frowned, and his calm heart gradually began to ripple:
"I suddenly have a bad feeling. Are we really going to have to take a penalty kick?!"

If the game goes to a penalty shootout, all the advantages England currently has will be wiped out.

As the culprit who had eliminated England twice in penalty shootouts in international competitions, England naturally felt trembling in front of Portugal.

Although Ling Feng himself does not have this feeling, he will not be affected by the "penalty curse".

However, he could not ensure that other teammates could withstand the huge pressure and score the penalty.
Thinking of this, Ling Feng's eyes changed, and he couldn't help but make a decision in his heart:
"We must defeat our opponent before the overtime ends!"

. . .

However, football is always a team sport.

Even though he passed Guerrero over and over again on the wing, almost forming a hornet's nest, he was still able to pass the ball from time to time.

However, his teammates' inability to give him the ball and their crazy missed shots made the shooting opportunities he had created with great difficulty become speechless.
Just like that, amid the anxiety of countless Portuguese fans and the endless cheers of English fans, the fifteen minutes of the first half of extra time passed in a flash.

England controlled nearly 70% of the ball possession and fired six shots, but was still unable to get the ball into the goal guarded by Patricio!

After the first half of extra time, during a short water break, Portugal coach Santos finally used his last trump card!
The exhausted Joao Mario was replaced by a new force, Andre Gomes.

After Gomez came on the pitch, he actively ran and pressed with Moutinho in the midfield, continuing to maintain the running and interception strength in the midfield.

At this point, almost all players on both sides could no longer run.

Except for a few players with outstanding physical fitness and those who come on as substitutes!
As an offensive player who only came on in the second half, Sturridge has the best physical fitness among the four frontcourt players except Ling Feng.

Therefore, Ling Feng passed the ball to him many times, intending to use his personal physical advantages and footwork to play some small-scale passing and cutting cooperation, so as to tear open the opponent's defense line.

However, this guy wanted to prove himself so badly and wanted to become the hero who killed the game.

Often after Ling Feng passes the ball to him, the ball will not be passed back.

Witnessing Sturridge's failed breakthrough and being intercepted, he looked up at the time displayed on the stadium screen and saw that there were only ten minutes left.

At this moment, Ling Feng finally realized belatedly:

Mudd!

Instead of continuing to feed the cake to unreliable teammates, it is better to make the cake yourself and eat it yourself!

So, he simply started working on his own!

Next, no matter he gets the ball in the middle or on the right, no matter who is in front of him, it's just a matter of making soup!
However, under the iron wall of Portugal's united defense, even if Ling Feng could get past his opponent, he would not be able to find the space to shoot.

Because after one, the second and third will follow!
After the second one, the third and fourth will come after you!
The space is too narrow and the defensive distance is too tight, so it’s impossible to make soup!
When it comes to dribbling skills in a small area, Ling Feng is still a little immature.

What's more, his weak foot is not enough to support him to cut in from the right and then complete a high-quality shot.

For a while, Ling Feng was trapped in a lonely battle.
The photographer at the scene even captured a wonderful photo of Ling Feng getting the ball in the middle and being surrounded by five Portuguese players!

This photo was later considered to be comparable to the classic scene in which Iniesta was surrounded by five Italian players during the 2012 European Cup group match between Spain and Italy!
As Ling Feng made breakthroughs again and again, the English fans in the stands and the fans in front of the TV couldn't help but be moved.

"Come on!"

"Three Lions, forward!"

"Ling Feng, please."

But time waits for no one.

117 minutes, 25 seconds, 26 seconds, 27 seconds.
118 minutes 37 seconds. 38 seconds. 39 seconds

When it came to the last minute of extra time, England actually had a chance to win the game.

At that time, Ling Feng dribbled the ball inward on the right, then made a move with his left foot on the right side in front of the penalty area and prepared to shoot with his right foot.

Then he suddenly moved his feet and sent a curved cross ball to the far back point.

"Shoot. No, pass the ball!"

"Later point!"

This sudden pass caught everyone off guard.

No one could have imagined that Ling Feng, who had been concentrating on breaking through for the past seven or eight minutes, would suddenly pass the ball.

No one, including Ling Feng's teammates, expected him to pass the ball.

Faced with the sudden pass, Sturridge, who was slow to react, still relied on his physical strength and explosive power to head the ball towards the goal with a diving header before the Portuguese right-back Cedric cleared the ball.

The next second, there was a crisp "duang" sound, and the ball hit the outside of the goal post and flew out of the bottom line.

Seeing this, not only did the Three Lions players hold their heads in disbelief, but the English fans in the stands also suddenly wailed.
Ling Feng just curled his lips and shook his head helplessly.

"I can't carry it. I can't carry it."

With this pass, he has done the best he could.

After attracting the attention of all defensive players through dribbling, pass the ball to an unmarked space, allowing the unmarked teammate to complete the header.

Unfortunately, Sturridge's header failed to penetrate Portugal's goal.
Immediately afterwards, the referee looked at his watch and blew the whistle to end the overtime!
Beep~beep~~beep~~~
As the whistle sounded, players from both teams were so tired that they sat down on the grass, gasping for breath.

After 120 minutes of fierce battle, England and Portugal shook hands and made peace, and had to enter a brutal penalty shootout!
This game was not beautiful at all, it was even very ugly.

However, the individual performances of the two new and old superstars, Ling Feng and Ronaldo, are destined to be recorded in the history of the European Cup and become one of the famous superstar duels that future generations will talk about with relish!

At this time, many people realized something very important.

England vs. Portugal, the two sides tied 2-2 in regular time plus extra time, and the winner was decided by a penalty shootout.
The combination of these familiar elements made many old English and Portuguese fans surprised to find that:
I've watched this episode!
Twelve years ago in the quarter-finals of the European Cup in Portugal, England and Portugal were tied 2-2 and eventually went into a penalty shootout.

How strikingly similar history is!

And this time, is history repeating itself or changing history?

The result will be revealed after a brutal penalty shootout!

(End of this chapter)