"At the beginning of the game, Italy played very proactively. Tonali shot, and Chiesa shot... Alan, I don't know if you noticed, but Chiesa's position is left midfielder or left. The striker, but his shot was completed after inserting in the middle, a bit like what Lampard often did at Chelsea before." Lineker said to Shearer in the commentary box.
"That's true." Shearer nodded: "Chiesa's position seems to be a little further back today. He is not a pure winger, including Insigne on the other side. In this way, Italy's two None of the wing midfielders actually have the responsibility of charging forward, and the offense from the wing is often handed over to DiMarco and De Sciglio who come up from behind."
"In other words, on the surface, the lineup sent by Pan Yi seems weak in wing attack, but in fact, De Sciglio and Di Marco's forward penetration makes up for this shortcoming. At the same time, they can also cover Insigne in the midfield. and Chiesa, so that they can concentrate on crossing and dispatching." Lineker also said, "But if you do this, doesn't the defense on the wing appear very weak? Although Pan Yi's Italy focuses on offense. , but the defense cannot be relaxed."
"Are you English or Italian? Why do you sound like you are helping Italians think about problems?" Alan Shearer said jokingly.
Of course he knows that Lineker is a big fan of Pan Yi. Now that Pan Yi is the head coach of the Italian team, Lineker has of course become a fan of the Italian team. This has nothing to do with whether he is an Englishman or not.
Besides, this game is just a friendly match, and the tendency at this time is not worth mentioning.
It's just that as Southgate's former national team teammate, Shearer naturally had to "speak up" when he saw that Lineker was not on England's side.
After Shearer finished joking, he then analyzed: "Maybe this is why he chose to use Varela + Verratti + Tonali as the starting midfielder. These three people have strong running ability and defensive ability. Shi is also very active, and with the three of them filling in, there won’t be any big problems whether it’s the left or the right.”
Lineker agreed: "What our England team performed better in the qualifiers was the overall attack, not the counterattack. In the positional attack, Harry Kane, a more versatile shooter, and Sterling, the technical player A forward with excellent breakthrough ability will cause more troubles. Pan Yi's layout can effectively inhibit the performance of England's offensive line."
Shearer said: "Well, judging from Pan Yi's formation and personnel selection today, he has indeed studied England and just wants to beat England!"
While the two were talking, England on the field had already organized an attack.
Lingard and Loftus-Cheek played a series of beautiful passes in the midfield and then passed directly to Sterling at the front of the penalty area. Sterling dodged Bastoni's interception and then took a shot from the front of the penalty area. Donaru Ma Fei blocked the ball and DiMarco, who was back on defense, made a big kick.
The ball flew directly to the frontcourt. Scamacca and Tonali rushed to the landing point at the same time, but Smalling, who moved to the center, took the lead to jump and header the ball to clear the ball. With the height advantage not that big, Smolin Kamaka had absolutely no upper hand.
The ball flew towards the Italian half again. Lingard unloaded the ball, but Barrera immediately rushed over from the side and stretched out his foot to intercept the ball.
After stealing the ball, Barrera immediately passed the ball to Verratti, who dribbled the ball forward. At this time, the England players had basically returned to the midfield. Seeing that there was no chance, Verratti returned the ball. It was passed to Chiesa, who again distributed the ball to Insigne.
Seeing Insigne take the ball in his own half, Ashley Young immediately pressed forward. However, Insigne did not stop the ball more. Instead, he turned around while receiving the ball and passed the ball directly to England's half!
This kick was not a cross, but a ground ball.
The ball rolled along the sideline and flew past Chik. Chik turned around to catch up with the ball, but a figure suddenly rushed up from behind Insigne and rushed towards the ball at high speed!
It was De Sciglio!
Chike was much closer to the ball than the advancing De Sciglio. However, his shortcomings in turning slowly due to his height were fully exposed at this time. The distance between him and De Sciglio was rapidly increasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Approaching, still five meters away from the rolling ball, De Sciglio rushed past him!
Loftus-Cheek wanted to block the opponent's progress with a foul, but his collision was endured by De Sciglio without any hesitation, and then he accelerated and left the Chelsea youngster behind.
After catching up with the ball, De Sciglio was already parallel to the line of the penalty area. Amid the crazy shouts of the Italian fans, he did not kick the ball and pass the ball. Instead, he dunked the ball into the penalty area and then forcibly cut into the penalty area. !
His cut-in immediately caused chaos in England's defense. Chik had been thrown away by De Sciglio, and the three central defenders returned to the defense in time. However, Italian forward Scamacca and midfielder Tonali had also rushed forward. Entered the restricted area.
Three on three!
Taking advantage of his height advantage, the 1.95-meter Scamacca blocked Stones behind him with one stride. Stones could not immediately knock Scamaca away. At this moment, De Sciglio passed the ball. Got it!
The ball flew towards the center of the penalty area. Scamacca, who was leaning on Stones with his body, stretched out his long leg and poked. The ball changed direction, and then flew into the England goal before Pickford fell to the ground!
"boom!"
The moment the ball flew into the goal, Wembley Stadium immediately became a sea of boiling and quiet at the same time!
The English fans suddenly stopped singing, while countless Italian fans cheered, celebrating the arrival of this goal!
On the court, Scamacca also got up from the ground with a smile on his face, ran to De Sciglio, and then hugged De Sciglio.
Other Italian players also rushed forward. At this moment, they were full of confidence in this game.
This kind of confidence was brought to them by Pan Yi with his past achievements, and the goal they scored also strengthened their confidence again. This is a virtuous circle.
Pan Yi on the sidelines also waved his fist to celebrate.
Although it is a friendly match, scoring a goal always makes people happy, not to mention this offense is completely the result of practice during this period.
"Wide attack! Grab points in the middle! Beautiful goal, beautiful ground coordination! I seem to see York City's offense being transplanted to the national team!" Lineker shouted excitedly without distinguishing between friend and foe: "Up In the tenth minute of the half, Italy leads 1-0! What a great start!"
Hiller laughed and said nothing.
This is what crazy fans are like.
But the Italian goal just now was indeed beautiful.
Flexible in the frontcourt, delicate player skills, sufficient movement, and decisive shooting, it can be said that Pan Yi is the master of tactical characteristics.
At this time, Southgate on the other side was holding his chin and looking at the court with a frown.
It's not unusual for a team against Pan Yi to concede first, but he must find a way to stop the Italians from chasing after the victory...
The game restarted and England immediately organized a counterattack.
The two forwards, Lingard, Loftus-Cheek, Ashley Young, plus Kyle Walker, formed England's attacking group, constantly pressing forward.
But England's attack immediately encountered Italy's tenacious blockage in the midfield. Barrera ran back and forth to intercept the opponent's attack. Verratti and Tonali were positioned further forward, but their defense was also quite good.
In addition, Chiesa Jr. and Insigne often participated in the defense, and the five Italians running wildly immediately made England's offense difficult to move.
However, while attacking, England also paid great attention to suppressing the speed of Italy's counterattack. As a result, although England's threatening ball was difficult to develop within 30 meters of the opponent's goal, it did not give Italy the opportunity to launch a quick counterattack after stealing the ball. Chance.
In the next ten minutes, although Italy stole the ball several times in the midfield, they were unable to smoothly launch a fast break, and eventually it became a positional battle.
But now that Italy has a ball in hand, they are not so anxious. Anyway, they can just grind it out slowly. The later it is, the more beneficial it will be for Italy.
Southgate's brows furrowed again.
Italy's intensive defense has indeed made England's offense unfavorable. If it cannot attack for a long time, after its physical fitness declines, the number of passing and shooting errors will inevitably increase, and Italy will have more and more opportunities.
When it comes to physical fitness, England doesn't have many advantages.
The Italian players are younger and have better physical fitness than the English. What's more, England is now more anxious and consumes more energy.
However, when Southgate had not figured out how to solve the current situation, a little accident happened on the field.
In the 25th minute, Gary Cahill passed the ball to Kyle Walker who came up from the right, and the latter encountered DiMarco when he was about to break forward.
Relying on his physical advantage, Kyle Walker slowly pushed forward, but was still unable to completely get rid of DiMarco.
Seeing that there was no way to get rid of the opponent, Kyle Walker had no choice but to make an emergency stop and then passed the ball across to Lingard in the middle.
Lingard took the ball and turned around. Barrera immediately pounced on him. Ashley Young came to respond. Lingard passed the ball to him. Then Ashley Young didn't stop the ball and just shot a long shot. !
Ashley Young also had to do this, because Insigne was only less than half a meter away from him. This was still thrown away by Ashley Young with a sprint. If he stopped the ball, he would probably be hit by the opponent. If you are entangled, you may lose the ball if you are not careful.
In desperation, Professor Yang could only make a hasty kick. This is better than giving the ball to the opponent, right?
But as soon as he took the kick, the English players on the side sighed, this angle is too right!
The ball was heading towards Donnarumma who was standing in front of the goal. According to the opponent's goalkeeper's level, this kind of ball posed no threat at all.
Donnarumma made a move to hold the ball, and everyone's eyes fell on him. However, this was a subconscious action. No one would think that Donnarumma could not catch such a shot.
However, when no one thought he would be unable to catch the ball, Donnarumma made a terrible mistake.
Donnarumma's judgment was wrong when holding the ball. The ball came faster than he expected, and his position was also a little off.
This is because he thinks the ball will go towards his chest, but in fact it is slightly deflected during its flight.
Without catching the ball, the ball hit Donnarumma's left upper arm, then flew out diagonally and slowly flew into the Italian gate...
There was silence at first.
All the Italian fans stared dumbfoundedly at the ball falling into the goal. It took a long time before they collectively let out a painful groan!
Then, the larger number of England fans finally burst into cheers. They scored! ! !
Ashley Young on the court was also stunned for a moment before turning around and celebrating the goal.
What luck!
After the England players reacted, they cheered and pounced on Ashley Young. They also thought they were lucky. The opponent's goalkeeper actually gave a gift when there was no way to attack...
"Gift crab!" Pan Yi scratched his hair and cursed.
The goalkeeper made a huge mistake. What can be done about it?
As for Donnarumma, he is usually quite stable and can withstand pressure at critical moments in competitions. He can be said to be a competition-type player.
But sometimes, he does make some low-level mistakes.
What is more famous is that in Pan Yi's previous life, Donnarumma, who was already playing for Paris Saint-Germain, made a fatal mistake in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid.
When the team led 2:0 with a total score, he made a clearance error when Benzema was pressing him while receiving a pass. Vinicius got the ball in the penalty area and assisted Benzema to score easily.
Such a situation is almost unforgivable for a goalkeeper with an annual salary of 10 million euros.
To make matters worse, this mistake also ignited Real Madrid's hopes, and they followed up with a vigorous offensive and scored two goals in the 76th and 78th minutes, pulling the score to 3:1 and 3:2. The total score reversed Paris and advanced to the quarterfinals.
When he was in the national team, he sometimes made positioning errors like today, which led to goals.
It’s not that Pan Yi doesn’t know this, but this is the price of youth!
How can children become stronger if they are not allowed to exercise and grow in such friendly competitions?
How can you see a rainbow without going through wind and rain?
"Forget it if the ball is lost! It's just a draw! And it's just a friendly match!" Pan Yi shouted to the court, especially Donnarumma's side, "Go on and play well! There is still a long time in the game. !”
This is to relieve pressure on the players.
However, on the football field, teammates' mistakes are often the most demoralizing.
If there's anything more demoralizing than this, it's the goalkeeper's mistake.
The game restarted, and the attitude of the Italian players was obviously much worse than before.
Although Varela is still running wildly in the midfield, Tonali is still constantly dispatching in the midfield, and Scamacca is also constantly roaming up front - in fact, York City's five players still maintained their position on the court. Quite a standard.
But other players are different. They are either a little weak or impatient...
Tonali dribbled the ball from left to right in the frontcourt but was unable to break through the opponent's defense. Scamacca could not stand alone. If Italy's midfield performance had not been outstanding, I am afraid they would have appeared more passive on the scene.
Before the end of the first half, England's attack once again ignited the entire Wembley Stadium.
Sterling, who was pulled into the midfield, received Lingard's pass and beautifully got rid of Barrera who was diving too hard, and then advanced the ball to the edge of the penalty area.
Italy's two central defenders made a mistake in their cooperation. They both rushed forward at the same time, leaving the two full-backs who were returning behind.
Sterling sent a beautiful through pass, the ball flew between the two, and Harry Kane got the ball behind them.
The top scorer in the Premier League who plays for Chelsea was completely unguarded. He dunked the ball into the penalty area. Then facing the attacking Donnarumma, he just made a fake shot and dunked the opponent and got rid of the opponent. Then Easily pushed the ball into the empty net...
"Two to one! England overtook the score! This goal occurred in the 44th minute. The goal was scored by Chelsea forward Harry Kane... This Pan Yi's favorite player gave Pan Yi's team a fatal blow. hit!"
Lineker said in a low tone, and it was hard to tell which country he was from.
Alan Shearer seems much happier. After all, in his eyes, Harry Kane is his best successor in England!
On the field, amid the cheers and celebrations of the England players, Southgate stood up and waved his fist vigorously.
Although the current situation is more due to luck, Donnarumma's mistake turned the situation around instantly, but this is still England's victory!
It was Southgate's victory over Pan Yi!
When people talk about this game before the game, they will more often mention that England led by Southgate defeated Italy led by Pan Yi!
Don't forget, Pan Yi has never even lost a ball seriously in his national team career!
And if you add in his games at Chelsea...
I guess no one remembers the last time Pan Yi lost!
And he, Southgate, will break Pan Yi's undefeated myth and become the man who defeated God!
——
During halftime, Pan Yi sat motionless on a chair in the locker room, his eyes gloomy.
He would not blame the players for the failure of a friendly match, but after accidentally conceding a goal, the players' performance really disappointed him.
The atmosphere in the Italian dressing room was also horribly dull.
The less Pan Yi said anything, the more terrifying the players felt.
What on earth is going on in his mind?
After a while, Pan Yi stood up and walked slowly around the locker room. His leather shoes made a "pop" sound on the smooth floor, but none of the players dared to speak.
"I'm very disappointed with the first half."
Pan Yi's voice finally sounded faintly in the locker room, but it was like a voice coming from hell:
"Of course, I am not disappointed with Donnarumma. Although his mistake caused us to concede a goal, there is no goalkeeper in this world who does not make mistakes. Even Neuer, Casillas, including our Buffon , will all make mistakes. I am disappointed in all of you."
"After losing that ball, did you lose your souls? Did you lose your memories? Were you the ones playing football on the field? No! They were just a bunch of muddle-headed guys running around on the field who had lost their minds!"
Pan Yi's voice suddenly rose, and his voice echoed throughout the locker room.
All the players raised their heads and looked at Pan Yi in bewilderment as he got angry.
Pan Yi has never shouted like this since he took office.
Not to mention those players from the Italian national team, after all, they have only experienced a few training camps;
Even the players at York City, including De Sciglio, who followed him for a season at AC Milan, had never seen him lose such a temper.
"Some people may be muttering in their hearts that this is just a friendly match." Pan Yi continued, "But in my opinion, as long as it is a game, we must find a way to win!"
"If you can't give it your all in a friendly match, are you really going to be able to handle that kind of pressure in a real match?"
"Today's dilemma is a test for you! Only through such a test can we truly compete for the World Cup championship! Have you forgotten that our goal is the world championship, and to win the world championship, we are not allowed to You lose easily!"
In fact, the friendly matches of the national team are different from those of the club.
The club usually plays a lot of games, whether it is pre-season games or some friendly matches played in the middle of the season to maintain form, the focus is often on rehearsing the lineup and maintaining physical and competitive condition. The outcome is really not important.
However, there are few games for the national team, and friendly matches are rare opportunities for training. In fact, many times they are real.
Many national teams have been dismissed because of losses in friendly matches. For example, in Pan Yi's previous life, in 2023, the Japanese team defeated Germany and Turkey in friendly matches consecutively, and the head coaches of these two national teams were dismissed.
And when the Dragon Country team lost 1:5 to Thailand, didn't it also lead to Camacho's dismissal?
But it is very rare for a club team to be dismissed because of poor performance in a friendly match.
This is because clubs sometimes even give up cup matches, let alone friendly matches, while the national team takes it much more seriously!
Pan Yi even thought that Southgate once asked Jones to play a closed friendly match...
It's just that this is really too much, and paying attention is not such a way to pay attention-this is also an important reason why many people criticize Southgate.
Of course Pan Yi would not make fun of the players' careers like this. He is scolding the players now just to make them pay attention to this game and get them back on their feet!
Now the players dare not move. Only Buffon is still comforting Donnarumma, who feels like crying.
Although Pan Yi doesn't blame him, the team's lagging behind was ultimately caused by him, and of course Donnarumma would feel very uncomfortable.
At this time, the role of Buffon's big brother came into play - well, he is old enough to be Donnarumma's father - and with Buffon's explanation, Donnarumma's mood gradually calmed down.
"The second goal conceded, Barrera, why did you throw it so fiercely? Also, Bonucci, why didn't you communicate with Bastoni instead of the two of you playing together? And..."
Pan Yi almost scolded the players. While scolding, he also pointed out the mistakes made by the players in the melee after conceding the first ball.
He did scold harshly, but he scolded reasonably! With this in mind, the players who really didn't perform well could only listen obediently.
"I don't know if any of you still remember the 2014 World Cup, when we were eliminated in the group with England."
"But such a bad team still beat England! I don't want to see us lose to them today."
"Tell me, do you want this to happen?"
"No!" the Italian players collectively shouted through gritted teeth.
"If you don't want to, just do what I say! Forget that this is a friendly match, treat it like a World Cup final! Remember, only by constantly defeating such strong teams can we truly be qualified to compete for the world championship! "
After shouting, Pan Yi quickly started the battle deployment for the second half:
"First of all, you have to recall the training we did during this period, the pressing attack! Tonali, the scheduling and organization are all handed over to you, control the rhythm of the entire team, just like you did at York City !”
"Insigne! Run! Run out of the gap! Everyone must pay attention to his running position. When he runs out of the gap, there will be a chance to pass the ball directly. Give the ball to him immediately. I understand. ?"
"De Sciglio, DiMarco! Move forward. In the second half, you will act as wingers, but you must also pay attention to their counterattack. Barrera and Verratti pay attention to the protection on both sides."
"Scamaca, your task is the same as in the first half, run, contain, ferry when you have the chance, and make the ball when you don't have the chance..."
Pan Yi named most of the players in quick succession.
There is actually only one core of his tactics, which is to enhance running, press the offense, use layered offense, and use a large number of offenses to overwhelm the opponent's defense!
(End of chapter)
