July 15, 2018.
World Cup final day.
In the morning, all the Italian players got up energetically and started preparing for tonight's final!
In the past few days, Pan Yi has been mainly relaxing with these players and has not conducted a lot of training. He even allows the players' wives and girlfriends to enter the hotel so that they can spend some pleasant time with their significant other. night.
This decision caused some disagreements within the Italian coaching staff. Evani and Vialli believed that the war was imminent and the players could not be allowed to relax too much, but Pan Yi insisted on his opinion.
He quoted Conte, a famous Italian coach and former Italian national team player and head coach, as saying:
"I have also been a player, so I have practical experience in this area. We cannot completely restrict or ban it, but my suggestion is that on the eve of the game, players should try to make as little effort during sex as possible and adopt passive positions. , let the other party take the initiative.”
In other words, as long as the players don't use too much force, this kind of thing is actually nothing!
Pan Yi also said: "They are all energetic young men. If they are restrained too hard, it will make them more irritable. Don't forget that it is the finals now. It is impossible for them not to pay attention to such a game. There is a limit to relaxation." It can make them less mentally stressed.”
He also told the assistant coaches that he did the same thing when he was in the Swedish team, and needless to mention the results achieved by the Swedish team.
And when they saw the players who looked full of energy after getting up, Evani and Vialli had to agree with Pan Yi's words.
Sir, times have changed!
The players are certainly very relaxed after getting up.
Everyone was playing around, and after having a sumptuous lunch, they began to rest in the hotel. They waited until 5 pm to eat a small amount to ensure physical fitness, and then prepared to go to the stadium to compete.
At around six o'clock in the evening, almost two hours before the start of the final, the players began to prepare to leave for the competition venue, the Luzhniki Stadium.
This stadium is very familiar to the Italians. They have played almost half of their games here since the start of the season!
Three hours before the Italian players set off, Italian fans resting in various places in Moscow also started heading to the stadium early.
Setting off so early is partly because everyone is in a very excited mood, and everyone wants to go to the stadium as soon as possible to experience the unparalleled atmosphere of the final;
On the other hand, transportation issues are taken into consideration.
Even if there will be a lot of police in Moscow to maintain traffic that day, there will definitely be countless people flocking to the competition venue at this time today. If they start late and cannot see the game, it will be a huge blow to the fans.
In every street, those fans waving Italian flags had confident smiles on their faces.
Although in terms of paper strength, the French team, which has been full of talents in recent years, is indeed above Italy, but Italy has Pan Yi and the omnipotent Pan Yi!
Italian fans firmly believe that under the leadership of Pan Yi, they will be able to win the Hercules Cup again and stand on top of the world!
Among the fans rushing to the Luzhniki Stadium, there are also some special ones. They are neither Italian nor French, but English!
This is a fan from York City!
Of course they also came to support their boss Pan Yi.
And compared to Italy, it is obvious that the English will be more dissatisfied with the French, so it is logical for them to support the Italian team.
Therefore, this group of England fans wore York City jerseys, waved Italian flags, and headed to the stadium in a mighty manner.
Soon, there was a lot of excitement inside and outside the Luzhniki Stadium.
In the Italian locker room, the players had finished their warm-up and were listening carefully to Pan Yi's final instructions.
Well, in fact, there is nothing more to say about tactics. Everyone has practiced and experienced it repeatedly in the past few days.
Therefore, Pan Yi is actually making the final mobilization!
"Perhaps in the eyes of many people, this French team has a neat lineup and strong strength, and we will be at a disadvantage in comparison... However, I don't think so."
"I have told you many times about the weaknesses of their lineup and players, so I won't repeat them today. Historically speaking, we have reached more World Cup finals and won more championships than them. To them!"
"The last time our two teams met in the 2006 World Cup final, we also defeated them! And that time, due to the Calciopoli incident, Italy won under very difficult circumstances. So why can't we win again this time? once?"
"Besides, if we talk about finals experience, we have more experience than them. Among their entire team, no one has participated in the 2006 World Cup finals. And we even have two, Buffon and De Rossi."
"They will bring us experience and the experience of winning the World Cup! So now, let us use our offense in the final to tell them that we are the undoubted champions and we will become five-star Italy!"
Pan Yi's speech completely boosted the morale of the players.
Winning the World Cup five times is currently only done by Brazil in the world, so it is called "Five-Star Brazil".
Moreover, apart from a big foreign country from the mysterious East, the only country that can embroider five stars on their jerseys is Brazil.
Now, this group of Italian young people have the opportunity to make history for themselves, let Italy equal Brazil, and also become a five-star Italy!
Although this is a kind of pressure, it is also motivation!
Seeing that the players' eyes were beginning to be filled with fanaticism and they were beginning to look forward to the moment of making history, Pan Yi waved his hand violently: "Let's go and use our offensive tactics to tear apart their defense! Let them know that scoring a goal will We have more than them, and we have less than them when we concede the ball!”
Using the most concise words, the players rushed out of the locker room with confidence. Then Pan Yi took a deep breath and waved to the assistant coaches: "Okay, let's go and get the trophy!"
"Okay!" Vialli and Evani looked at each other and rushed out like those young people.
Around a head coach like Pan Yi, who doesn't have confidence in his future? ——
The weather today is very good, with a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 44 percent. It is extremely suitable weather for playing games.
More than 81,000 fans watched the game at the scene, including about 30,000 fans from both sides, and then there were local Russian fans and fans from all over the world.
Of course, such an important game will definitely attract dignitaries from various countries and celebrities from all walks of life to watch the game.
The President of France and the Prime Minister of Italy also came to the scene and sat with senior officials of FIFA.
As for movie stars, singers and other stars, of course there are countless.
The starting lineups of both sides today did not surprise the media.
Although some adjustments have been made on the Italian side, they are all fine-tuning that Pan Yi often makes in some positions.
Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma, defenders De Sciglio, Bonucci, Bastoni and DiMarco, midfielders Tonali, Varela and Verratti, two wingers Chiesa Jr. and Insigne, Center forward Scamaca stepped forward.
The purpose of using Dimarco is to enhance the attack and accuracy of crosses from the wing, while using Scamacca is to gain an advantage in height and hardness during confrontation.
Of course, there is another reason why Balotelli was not used, and that is that Pan Yi was really afraid that Balotelli would suddenly short-circuit his head in the finals. That would be too embarrassing...
In fact, this lineup has been used by Pan Yi since the qualifying stage. Five York City teenagers played at the same time. They are very familiar with and cooperate with each other. At the same time, it also fits Pan Yi's tactical thinking very well.
As for France, its lineup is exactly as predicted by Pan Yi.
Giroud breaks forward alone, Mbappe and Griezmann support him behind him, while Kante, Pogba, and Matuidi form the midfield. The defense line from right to left is Pavard, Umtiti, Varane and Lucas Hernandez, with captain Hugo Lloris as starting goalkeepers.
This game actually set a record, that is, Pan Yi is the youngest head coach to participate in the finals in the history of the World Cup!
However, considering that Pan Yi has set too many records, especially the title of "Youngest Head Coach", basically which event he participates in, the record of which event belongs to him...
Therefore, the media and fans did not pay too much attention to this so-called record.
What they are more concerned about is the collision between the two famous coaches Pan Yi and Deschamps!
Obviously, because of the conflict at the pre-match press conference, there was nothing friendly when the head coaches of both sides met.
The two just walked together expressionlessly, then touched their fingers as if they had shaken hands.
The players also seemed to be infected. When the players on both sides shook hands, they shook hands harder than the other, and sparks seemed to come out of their eyes.
This final seemed to have shown a rather unfriendly attitude from the very beginning!
——
"Beep——" the referee's whistle sounded across the sky, and the 2018 World Cup finals finally began!
From the beginning, the French team created an opportunity.
"Bastoni passed the ball too lightly in the backcourt, and Giroud intercepted the ball! Breakthrough! Entering the penalty area, Italy is in danger!"
Amid Lineker's screams, Giroud dribbled the ball into the penalty area, but a figure immediately wrapped around him.
De Sciglio, who returned to defense in time, caught up with him and made a flying tackle. Giroud dodged De Sciglio's flying shovel with the ball, but the ball went out of the baseline.
"Good job!" Donnarumma ran over and pulled De Sciglio up.
As a goalkeeper, Donnarumma must of course express his appreciation and gratitude to his teammates who sacrificed their lives to save the ball, otherwise he would have to face the test of a single shot again!
De Sciglio stood up and patted the grass clippings on his body, nodded to Donnarumma, then got up and ran out of the penalty area.
Giroud also walked back from the bottom line helplessly.
De Sciglio's return to defense was too timely, and the tackle was also hard and fast, forcing him to overshoot the ball and miss the baseline.
After the game started, France began to press in the frontcourt, while Italy moved back and forth in the backcourt to look for opportunities. Obviously, France's press just now played a big role in making Italy's penalty area instantly full of danger.
Pan Yi immediately shouted from the audience: "Press up! Beat them back!"
Momentum at the start is very important. If France gains momentum, it will not be a good sign for the rest of the game.
So Pan Yi must quickly encourage the players and let them suppress the French's momentum!
The Italian players on the field obviously thought so too.
Donnarumma took a goal kick to the wing, and DiMarco dribbled the ball forward. Under Pogba's pressure, he still forced the ball to break forward, and then distributed the ball to Barrera who came up to respond. Barrera A direct pass was passed to Scamacca who was cruising in front. Scamaca took the ball and turned around, facing the oncoming Umtiti and forcing a breakthrough!
Umtiti was dodged, but he is also very experienced in defense. After moving a step, Umtiti blocked Scamaka's path.
Seeing that there was no hope of a breakthrough, Scamacca quickly dunked the ball back, raised his foot and passed the ball sideways.
Insigne, who followed, picked up the ball at the front of the penalty area and was immediately caught in the double-team of Kante and Varane. Insigne did not force the goal, but turned around and passed the ball back.
Verratti stepped in and took a long shot immediately despite Kanter's interference. The shot was quite decisive, and Lori made a beautiful side dive to save the ball.
"Continue to attack like this, hit them on the wing and behind them!" Pan Yi clapped his hands and shouted loudly.
He had no regard for others knowing his tactical intentions.
Because Italy has only one tactic in this game, and that is to use offense to tear apart the opponent's defense!
Deschamps raised his eyebrows when he heard his shout, and stood on the sidelines and shouted: "Go up, go up!"
France immediately launched a counterattack.
There is no friendship at all in this game. Since Italy arrogantly wants to attack them, they have only one response, and that is to use offense to beat the opponent back!
Lucas Hernandez drives forward from the left with the ball.
Today, the left wing where Lucas Hernandez is located is the focus of France's wing attack, however. On this side, he has to face a defense line composed of Chiesa Jr., Tonali and De Sciglio.
After breaking through to the thirty-meter area, Lucas Hernandez had to choose to pass the ball, and the ball fell to Mbappe's feet.
Mbappe planned to make a two-on-one with Giroud to enter the penalty area, but his pass was directly intercepted by Bonucci who went around to steal the ball.
After stealing the ball, Bonucci did not kick the ball, but handed the ball to Tonali who was returning to defend. Tonali immediately distributed the ball to Chiesa on the right, taking advantage of Lu Before Cas Hernandez could go back, Chiesa started a wild run on the right.
Matuidi, who came across to defend him, was instantly thrown away by Chiesa. With enough space, Chiesa's speed can play its greatest role.
Lucas Hernandez was desperately chasing back, but Chiesa was dribbling the ball very quickly, especially when he kept his head down and rushed forward...
"This guy, please don't look back until you reach the bottom line." Pan Yi muttered in his heart.
However, Chiesa seemed to have figured it out this time. After rushing forward to a place parallel to the penalty area line, Chiesa moved the ball into the penalty area and forced a cut!
Varane very cautiously stuck Chiesa directly facing the goal. He knew that he might be forced to accelerate away by the opponent.
Chiesa was moving so fast that basically none of the Italian players came forward, so it was enough to hold him back.
However, after the ball entered the penalty area, Chiesa took a few strides to catch up with the ball, and then suddenly took off his foot and shot directly at a bad angle!
This shot was beyond the expectations of Varane and Lori. Lori almost subconsciously used a very awkward posture to block the ball with his body. Fortunately, Varane reacted faster and got ahead of Quiet. Sa made a big-footed clearance in front and avoided a follow-up shot.
The Italian fans sighed in the stands. Chiesa scratched his head and ran back regretfully.
"Just play like this and keep attacking!" Pan Yi shouted. His arrangement before the game was to let the players shoot when they had the chance.
Because Lori is standing in front of the French national team. Although he is the captain, to be honest, Pan Yi has always felt that he is the weakest link in the French team.
In the 2018 World Cup final in his previous life, Lori made a low-level mistake. He dribbled in the penalty area. As a result, the ball was blocked directly into the goal by Mandzukic, allowing Croatia to tie the score at 2-4.
Fortunately, France won the game in the end, otherwise Lori would have been nailed to the pillar of shame.
And even if he didn't make low-level mistakes, he actually seemed unstable in many cases and felt a bit lacking in confidence.
So Pan Yi wants the players to put more pressure on the captain's goalkeeper, and maybe he can open up a breakthrough.
At this time, Varane's clearance ball flew out of the sideline. De Sciglio threw the ball to Chiesa, and Lucas Hernandez, who had already returned to defense, caught up with him.
Chiesa did not choose to break through this time but passed the ball back to De Sciglio. De Sciglio then handed the ball to Tonali. Tonali directly sent a cross and Umtiti headed the ball to clear the ball.
"Direct crosses still won't work. They are still very tight on Scamacca." Pan Yi thought, rubbing his chin.
France launched a counterattack. Giroud took the ball to attract the defense and then knocked back. Kante and Matuidi passed the ball continuously to attract the defense of the Italian midfielders. Griezmann, who inserted in the back row, directly took a long shot. Unfortunately, This shot was a little more accurate, and Donnarumma bent down and knelt down steadily to hold the ball firmly in his arms.
In this series of back and forth, both sides got a lot of opportunities. However, after fifteen minutes, Italy gradually began to gain an offensive advantage.
In the 12th minute, Chiesa knocked back from the right, and Insigne, who followed, directly distributed the ball to the left. Barrera, who came in, rarely passed the ball past Pavard's defense and passed to the center. Varane, who was on guard, almost scored an own goal with a header. Fortunately, Lori reacted quickly and lifted the ball over the crossbar with both hands.
Tonali took a corner kick but was cleared by Varane again!
Today, the French team seems to have done a good job in defending set pieces, and it seems difficult for the Italian team to take advantage of this.
The ball flew out and was intercepted by Verratti outside the penalty area. When he tried to dribble the ball past Matuidi, he was brought down by Matuidi and took a free kick.
Tonali's direct free kick bypassed the wall, but Lori, who performed well during this period, held the ball tightly in his arms.
To say that Lori is France's weakest link, of course, does not mean that Lori's level is so bad.
As long as his mentality remains normal, his level can also be maintained at a relatively top level in the world.
However, the free kick was missed this time, but it did not affect Italy's offense.
In the 20th minute, Italy launched its most threatening attack.
Verratti got the ball at the front of the penalty area and then responded. De Sciglio, who assisted, passed the penalty area from the corner of the penalty area. Insigne jumped high from the back point and actually overpowered Um who was nearly 20 centimeters taller than him. Titi headed the ball towards the goal, and the ball hit the bottom of the near post and bounced into the penalty area!
Varane made a hasty clearance and was not far away. DiMarco intercepted the ball outside the penalty area and shot a long shot. The ball missed the far post.
The huge sighs of the Italian fans and the fear of the French fans were heard in the stands again.
Italy has been going crazy during this period. The various offensive routines and the fact that almost everyone in the frontcourt has the ability to score have made the French defense lose sight of one thing.
France, which had been continuously suppressed by Italy, finally completed a counterattack three minutes later.
Pogba made a pass from the right, and Kante from the back point shot a direct volley, but Bastoni blocked the ball with his body.
Pan Yi had already sat back at this time. He was eager for France to open up its posture and attack Italy.
If France is suppressed, the French team is likely to habitually engage in shrinking defensive counterattacks. In this way, the Italian team's space will be restricted, and France's fast characteristics will be brought into play.
But if they are pulled out to play, the weaknesses of the French defenders will be completely exposed.
And soon, the scene Pan Yi expected finally arrived...
