Mendes' call brought not only good news to Ling Feng, but also good luck.
A few days later, and the day before the match against Costa Rica, England's starting lineup was announced internally.
And Ling Feng, who had performed well as a substitute for two consecutive games, finally got the chance to start!
The starting player he squeezed out was Welbeck, who still had little performance in the last game.
Facing Costa Rica, which was the weakest on paper among the group but suffered successive upsets, Hodgson was also very cautious.
The starting personnel in the midfield and backcourt have basically remained unchanged, but some changes have been made to the frontcourt personnel:
Sturridge moved to the left, Rooney moved forward, Ling Feng served as the attacking midfielder, and Sterling still occupied the right.
Obviously, Hodgson still wants to feed Rooney the ball to the greatest extent through the combination of wing and center, coupled with Ling Feng's through pass, helping him score his first goal in the World Cup and helping the team win.
After all, as England's top player, Rooney has not scored in eleven World Cup games, which is really unjustifiable.
For England, the current qualifying situation is very favorable.
As long as they win Costa Rica, regardless of the result of the match between Italy and Uruguay, they will qualify in second place!
Therefore, they have only one task in this game:
victory!
To win, you must score!
And Ling Feng has already told everyone with his excellent performance as a substitute in two games that he is the player who is best able to create scoring opportunities in the current Three Lions team!
none of them!
. . .
June 25th.
The Three Lions ushered in the most critical battle of this World Cup.
Belo Horizonte, also known as the "City of Beautiful Views", is the fourth largest city in Brazil and the city with the highest quality of life in South America.
The Mineirao Stadium, which can accommodate 62,000 spectators, was already filled with loud songs from both England fans and Costa Rica fans.
This crucial game, which was related to whether England qualified or not, attracted more than 40,000 English fans to watch.
Among them, there are also celebrities from all walks of life and major football stars.
What excited the fans at the scene was that David Beckham, the former England captain who just retired last year and is known as the "heartthrob", also brought his family to the scene!
Facing the live camera, the handsome Beckham just smiled and charmed countless female fans in front of the TV.
Because this game is played at the home ground of Atlético Mineiro.
Therefore, the former Ballon d'Or and "football wizard" Ronaldinho, who is currently playing for Atletico Mineiro, also came to the scene.
Before the game, Beckham and Ronaldinho also had friendly greetings.
After all, when they were playing in La Liga, one of them represented the Galacticos and the other represented the Barcelona Dream Team, and they had many encounters.
Moreover, the two of them had also been teammates in Milan, so they sympathized with each other.
At the same time, in the players tunnel.
Ling Feng was a little nervous when he started for the Three Lions for the first time.
However, the nervousness was quickly replaced by excitement and excitement.
You know, this is the World Cup!
It is a major stage that every professional player dreams of!
Standing in the queue of England players, Ling Feng couldn't help but turn his head and look at his opponent.
It is worth mentioning that this final round of Group D is the first official match between England and Costa Rica!
Therefore, both sides can only make tactical arrangements based on the lineup and status of their opponents and other teams.
Costa Rica's performance in the first two rounds shocked the jaws of all fans and football experts.
Beat Uruguay three to one!
One to zero Italy! !
It is no exaggeration to say that Costa Rica is the biggest dark horse in this World Cup!
In the Costa Rica formation, the biggest contributor to helping the team break out of the "Group of Death" as a dark horse is none other than the Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who averages seven saves per game!
This season, Navas, who plays for Levante in La Liga, has played 37 games in the league and completed an astonishing 17 clean sheets, with a save success rate of 80%!
Such a performance allowed him to defeat Bravo and Courtois and win the best goalkeeper in La Liga this season.
In the original history, it was his amazing performance in the league and the World Cup that allowed Navas to transfer to Real Madrid after the World Cup. Since then, he has helped Real Madrid complete the great cause of three consecutive Champions League titles, as well as obtain the "Naked Wall". Good reputation!
Except for Navas, captain Ruiz, who cannot play as the main force in Fulham in the Premier League, and Campbell, who is loaned out to Greece by Arsenal, other Costa Rican players basically play in leagues far away from the five major leagues.
The entire Costa Rica team is worth less than 30 million euros in total.
The combined worth of the entire England team exceeds 300 million euros!
The difference in worth between the two teams is ten times!
Of course, the high value of a player does not determine the outcome of the game.
Otherwise, in every football match, it would be enough to simply compare one's worth, why would one even play football?
Although the team does not have any stars.
However, the reason why Costa Rica was able to defeat Uruguay and keep a clean sheet against Italy was due to their united fighting spirit and united defense!
As the weakest team in the group on paper, being able to enter the World Cup finals is already exciting and exciting for all Costa Rican fans.
As for how far they can go in this World Cup, they haven't thought too much at all.
No expectations, no pressure.
From the first game on, the Costa Rica team has no pressure and can relax and perform on the court!
For Costa Rica's players, the World Cup is a performance opportunity they may only have once in a lifetime, and enjoying the game is the most important thing!
Therefore, most of them burst out with amazing energy!
Football has always been a team sport.
There are eleven people on both sides playing on the field.
There is a gap in strength, but factors such as fighting spirit, tactics, and spirit will all affect the final result.
Until the last second of the game, no one can tell who will win.
And this is the charm of football! ! !
. . .
"Welcome to the Mineirao Stadium, we are about to welcome a match in Group D."
"England vs. Costa Rica."
"Let's take a look at both sides' starting lineups first."
Following the introduction by the stadium DJ, players from both sides lined up to enter the stadium.
Holding the little caddy in hand, Ling Feng felt the enthusiasm of the fans from both sides as soon as he stepped onto the court.
Cheers suddenly resounded throughout the entire stadium!
In this game, Costa Rica still deployed a 541 defensive formation to deal with England's fierce offensive.
Thanks to two wins in advance, they have already qualified for the top spot in the group.
Therefore, Costa Rica coach Pinto chose to perform a certain range of rotations.
In addition to the five main players including goalkeeper Navas, team captain Ruiz, and forward Campbell, the remaining six positions have undergone personnel adjustments.
This is definitely good news for England.
Compared to Italy and Uruguay, who have to fight each other to qualify, England can qualify with Costa Rica as long as they win this victory.
The Three Lions have firmly grasped their destiny in their own hands!
During the playing of the national anthem, the stadium's camera was focused on every player of the Three Lions.
When they saw Ling Feng appearing on the big screen in the stadium, a burst of warm cheers suddenly erupted in the stadium stands.
This is Ling Feng's first start on behalf of the Three Lions in the World Cup.
In the eyes of many English fans and football professionals, this 19-year-old British star will be the key figure in determining the outcome of this game!
And with the referee's long whistle, this crucial battle, which attracted tens of millions of English people to watch, officially started!
England kicked off first.
As Rooney knocked back, the ball came to Ling Feng's feet.
Ling Feng stepped on the ball, but unexpectedly found that Costa Rica's frontcourt players did not step forward to press or press, but instead shrank directly to their own half and set up a bus!
Obviously, Costa Rica has already qualified and has also rotated its lineup.
However, this does not mean that they intend to surrender and give England a victory.
Their attitude is very clear:
If you want to qualify, then show your true skills!
Of course, the Three Lions also anticipated Costa Rica's strategy and were not polite. They launched a tentative attack from the beginning:
In the third minute, Ling Feng and Rooney hit the wall and cooperated in the middle. The latter rushed to the outside of the penalty area and hit a powerful and heavy long-range shot without hesitation!
The ball is very fast, but the angle is slightly positive.
Navas did not dare to be careless, so he had to take a step sideways and knock the ball away with both fists.
Immediately afterwards, the Costa Rican defender kicked the ball forward immediately, and it fell to the feet of England center back Cahill.
Although he did not score a goal, this long-range shot that knocked Shan Zhenhu still received a burst of cheers from the fans at the scene.
Rooney did not forget to give Ling Feng his first like today.
As the game progressed, as England's field commander, Ling Feng soon discovered that Costa Rica had accumulated enough troops in the middle.
The center is too densely populated and there is not much space for Rooney to pass the ball through.
Ever since, he began to split the ball, allowing the two wingers to break through and tear apart Costa Rica's defense.
And he is roaming the rib space of the opponent's defense to provide support.
In the eighth minute, Ling Feng came to the left and played a one-two with Sturridge.
The latter made a series of swings outside the penalty area on the left side, which was not done by the full-back. After freeing up space, he directly kicked off and passed a low ball to the center.
However, the quality of this pass is very average and it is very close to the small penalty area.
Moreover, Rooney was marked like a sandwich biscuit by two central defenders and could not catch the ball at all.
Navas made a small attack and easily confiscated the ball.
Five minutes later, England made a comeback on the left.
Seeing Sturridge reaching for the ball, Ling Feng in the middle distributed the ball to the left again.
After Sturridge got the ball, he was very confident and immediately dribbled along the left side to face Costa Rica's right back Gamboa.
With two bicycles under his feet, Sturridge cut directly inside and reached the line of the penalty area.
"Daniel!"
However, facing Ling Feng in the middle, Sturridge turned a deaf ear.
In his eyes, there is only the goal.
Under the interference of Gamboa on the right, he faked a shot with his right foot and made a real dunk. After slightly swaying the central defender who stepped forward to block the ball, he directly fired a long shot with his left foot!
And this kick did not even hit the goal range, but flew directly from the goal post and flew out of the baseline.
Sturridge has had the most brilliant season of his career in Liverpool this season, winning the Premier League Silver Boot.
Therefore, Hodgson has high hopes for Sturridge among the Three Lions.
He naturally believes that he is the frontline answer for the Three Lions.
Sturridge has speed, good foot skills and superb shooting skills. He is currently one of the best forwards in England.
But his playing style is a bit unique and he has a strong desire for personal performance.
However, as a forward, it is normal to have a strong desire to shoot.
Moreover, when facing dense defense, long-range shooting is also one of the effective offensive methods.
However, in Ling Feng's view, long-range shooting is the last thing they should do in this game!
Unless it is a world wave or fairy ball with a very tricky angle, it is still very difficult to penetrate Navas's ten fingers with a long shot.
If a goal cannot be scored, blind long shots will only give the ball to the opponent.
Of course, he will not tell Sturridge not to take long shots and cooperate with as many passes as possible.
He does not have the qualifications and does not want to teach Sturridge to play.
What's more, even if he says it, Sturridge may not listen.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Ling Feng, as the midfield commander, decided to reduce the number of attacks from the left.
Compared with Sturridge, who has a strong desire to shoot, Sterling has stronger explosive ability and is more team-oriented.
It is worth mentioning that since coming on as a substitute in the first game against Italy, Ling Feng has completed a total of three World Cup-related achievements.
[World Cup debut] [First World Cup assist] [World Cup first goal]
Three achievements gave him three free attribute points.
And after tasting the incomparable joy of making soup, Ling Feng added all three points to [speed] without hesitation!
Just like that, his [Speed] attribute also changed from 72 to 75!
The speed of 75 is enough for him to avoid being caught up by the opponent who is chasing after him after making a soup.
With Ling Feng's current [Explosion] and [Speed], coupled with the "little blasting expert" Sterling, he can completely form a speed advantage in a local area.
Soon, the two played a very threatening offensive cooperation on the right!
In the 18th minute of the game, Ling Feng came to the right side of the midfield and cooperated with Sterling with short passes.
"Rahim, let's switch places!"
Then, amid Ling Feng's shouts, Sterling and Ling Feng made a cross move and completed the change of positions.
As Sterling ran to the center and took away a midfielder, Ling Feng came to the right and got a precious opportunity to challenge Costa Rica left back Diaz.
Facing the serious left back in front of him, Ling Feng showed a mysterious smile without any hesitation.
Just when Dias was still wondering what the English player was laughing about, a sudden change occurred:
I saw Ling Feng push the ball forward with his right foot, make soup with the flow, and get rid of his defense!
In the blink of an eye, Dias only felt a white shadow passing by, and Ling Feng, who was still in front of him, disappeared from his eyes!
"So fast!"
After the breakthrough, Ling Feng even had time to look up and observe Rooney's movement, and then directly started to pass!
(End of chapter)
