freeallnovels Chapter 342 Stop the Top 4
Chapter 342 Stop the Top 4
Chapter 342
At 7:11 on July 2 (10:21 local time on the [-]th in Russia), St. Petersburg will usher in a focus battle in the semi-finals of the World Cup. The two sides are China and Belgium. Compete with the winner of France for the title.
Before the game, the French "Team Daily" predicted the starting lineup of the two sides:
For Belgium, right back Meunier has been suspended for accumulating yellow cards, and for Huaguo, Liu Jianye, who was suspended for accumulating yellow cards in the previous game, has been lifted and returned. Therefore, L'Equipe predicts that he will return to Huaguo's starting lineup.
Except for the above two people, both sides should not change in other positions.
According to the data from Transfer Market.com, the value of the Belgian team is 7.54 million euros, while the Hua Guo team only has the general value of Belgium, of which about 3.2 million euros is the current value of Zhang Mai and Zhang Yulin.
The huge difference in the value of the players on both sides also made this World Cup semi-final more interesting. Can Zhang Mai's personal mighty world restrain the elite soldiers of the Belgian team?
"Team Daily" predicts the starting lineup of Huaguo and Belgium:
Huaguo (4-4-2):
Zeng Cheng/Bi Jinhao, Cai Huikang, Zhang Linfan, Feng Xiaoting/Zheng Zhi, Liu Jianye, Zhang Mai, Wu Xi/Zhang Yulin, Wu Lei.
Belgium (3-4-3):
Courtois/Alderweireld, Kompany, Vermaelen/Chadry, Fellaini, Witsel, Vertonghen/De Bruyne, Lukaku, Hazard.
The semi-final match between Huaguo and Belgium can be described as a match that has attracted worldwide attention. FOX TV station in the United States will broadcast the match live on the big screen in Times Square in New York.
The 23-meter-high and 100-meter-long screen is believed to be the largest TV screen in the world.
In this iconic part of New York, hundreds of passers-by will enjoy a very special viewing experience.
In the final round of the World Cup qualifiers in Central America and the Caribbean, the United States, which ranked third with 12 points, could qualify after a tie, but they lost to Trinidad and Tobago, which ranked bottom, in an away game. Missed the World Cup finals.
Although the US team failed to participate in the World Cup this time, the enthusiasm of American fans has not diminished at all. This time, New York fans can enjoy a very wonderful experience.
The Hua Guo team has never reached the World Cup semi-finals before, and the only team member with experience in the World Cup semi-finals is the coach Lippi.
而比利时已经连续24场不败（19胜5平），最近7场更是保持全胜，成为首支击败5个大洲球队打进世界杯半决赛的球队。
此前唯一的世界杯半决赛经历是1986年0比2负于最终夺冠的阿根廷，仅有一次打进欧洲杯半决赛也被淘汰（1972年在本土1比2不敌西德。
Coach Martinez became the ninth foreign head coach (Spanish) in the history of the World Cup semi-finals, and only two had led the team to the final before.
The official starting lists of the two sides have already been played on the sidelines of the game, which is still slightly different from the prediction of "L'Equipe":
Huaguo (4-2-3-1):
1- Zeng Cheng;
2-Bi Jinhao, 6-Cai Huikang, 5-Zhang Linfan, 3-Feng Xiaoting;
10-Zheng Zhi, 4-Liu Jianye;
13-Zhang Mai, 15-Wu Xi, 7-Wu Lei;
11- Zhang Yulin.
Belgium (3-4-2-1):
1 - Courtois;
2- Aldereveld, 4- Kompany, 5- Vertonghen;
22- Shazli, 8- Fellaini, 6- Witsel, 19- Dembele;
7- De Bruyne, 10- Hazard;
9- Lukaku.
The two teams lined up a single forward lineup in unison, and the three forwards of the Huaguo team seemed to pay more attention to offense than their opponents.
With Belgian right-winger Meunier suspended, Dembele made his first start under Martinez.
In the player channel, Belgian assistant coach Henry and Fa are greeting Zhang Mai, who is chatting with Lukaku, and Zhang Mai also greets many Premier League players in the Belgian team one by one.
The Hua Guo team had never played against Belgium in the World Series before, but Zhang Mai secretly smiled bitterly, because this time Belgium is the strongest European Red Devils team in history.
The game started quickly. The two teams did not dare to be careless in defense after the opening.
Belgium won the first real chance to shoot until the 15th minute. Zeng Cheng was not far from the siege and was pushed back to the frontcourt by Dembele. De Bruyne made a pass from the outside of his left rib. Hazard shot wide with his left foot from 12 meters in front of the goal. far post.
In the 18th minute, the Huaguo team also got a chance. Wu Lei's right sideline ball was pushed out of the penalty area by the Belgian defender. Zhang Mai gave it to Zhang Yulin. Watts confiscated.
Then Belgium played a wave of quick counterattacks, but failed to grasp them.
In the 22nd minute, Shazli broke through from the right and made a cross from Bi Jinhao. Hazard then scored the ball and cut into the penalty area 12 meters away from the goal. Zhang Linfan pushed the crossbar with a diagonal shot.
In the 26th minute, Shazli took a corner kick from the right, and Fellaini stopped the ball with his back. Alderweireld turned around 13 meters in front of the goal and shot with his left foot, but Zeng Cheng flew to the left post!
In order to get rid of the passive situation on the field, Hua Guo began to bypass the Belgian midfielder to organize an attack. In the 29th minute, Zheng Zhi made a long pass from the backcourt, and Zhang Yulin flew in the penalty area to reach the ball. The ball hit his left foot and missed the right post.
In the 32nd minute, Zhang Mai took a free kick from the middle and Wu Lei picked a pass from the right to the penalty area. Zhang Yulin leaned over 12 meters in front of the goal and missed the right post.
In the 35th minute, Wu Xi made a cross from the left and hit Shazli on the back to change the line. Zhang Mai dunked the ball past Witsel and hit it 19 meters in front of the goal.
The Chinese team's tactics of restricting Hazard began to work. Hazard, who had no one to respond to, fell into the predicament of going it alone in the positional battle, but the "ball king" also showed his superstar demeanor.
In the 39th minute of the first half, Belgium launched an offensive, and the ball was naturally passed to the team's ace Hazard.
Hua Guo was also aware of Hazard's power, so he hurriedly dispatched Liu Jianye and Wu Xi to grab it. Hazard had very little space on the left side.
Just when people thought that Hazard, who had limited space to hold the ball, would choose to pass back, the Belgian king showed his superstar strength.
I saw Hazard making a fake move on the spot to break through the middle of the field, tricking Liu Jianye to move to the middle to block, then suddenly turned to the right and rushed towards the goal along the sideline, shaking Wu Xi's center of gravity, Ah Zall directly left the two of them behind.
With just a whimsical turn, Hazard completed the wonderful operations of "creating something out of nothing" and "reincarnation from a dead end".
Hazard, who gained the space to sprint, rushed towards the goal with lightning speed.Wu Xi, who was behind him, was relentless, trying to stop Hazard...
But Hazard is like a fired cannonball, it doesn't mean that it is pulled when it is said to be pulled.Seeing that Azar stopped for a while, he knocked the embarrassed Wu Xihuang to the ground, accelerated and rushed forward to encircle Zheng Zhi.
In front of Hazard, Zheng Zhi was not a one-on-one enemy either. Hazard only used one speed to get past Zheng Zhi. Afterwards, Wu Xi chased him back, and Hazard was caught between lightning and flint. Subconsciously flicking and buttoning, he passed directly between Wu Xi and Zheng Zhi, passing them clean.
Fortunately, the Huaguo team's defensive position has been set up at this time. Although Hazard's attack did not result in a shot in the end, Hazard's series of super operations are really slippery.
After Hazard's performance was terminated, Hua Guo counterattacked again. Zhang Mai made a long pass to the right side of the penalty area. Wu Lei swept across the air directly. Zhang Yulin, who responded from the back point, shoveled with his left foot 9 meters away from the goal under the interference of Alderweireld. The shot misses the right post.
In the 42nd minute, Feng Xiao stopped instigated a counterattack from the backcourt, Zhang Mai dribbled the ball 65 meters, and 25 meters away from the goal, a low shot with his left foot missed the right post.
In the 44th minute, Wu Xi scored the ball from the right rib, Zhang Mai dribbled the ball inside and outside the instep and put it straight into the penalty area. Wu Lei pushed from a small angle 6 meters in front of the goal and was blocked by Courtois' right foot!
At the last moment of the first half, Dembele put Wu Xi down behind his back, and Zhang Mai hit the wall with his left foot 26 meters from the right side of the goal.
At the end of the first half, the two teams drew 0-0. In the first half, the two teams had 3 shots on target and all of them were resolved by the goalkeeper. In the last 12 World Cup semi-finals, 3 games were 0-0 in the first half.
Throughout the game, the Hua Guo team and the Belgian team jointly contributed a wonderful 45-minute performance. Although no goals were scored, behind this was the mutual suppression of the tactics and scenes of the two sides.
Under the strong dialogue, if any party in any position does not handle the details carefully, problems will occur first.
The Huaguo team chose a safe defensive counterattack strategy, intentionally reducing ball possession and based on the defense of the midfield, and giving full play to Zhang Mai's impact when switching from defense to offense.
Lippi is very clear about the team's disadvantages (positional offensive ability) and advantages (assault speed). Liu Jianye, who was suspended in the last game, returns to the starting lineup, which is very important for the Huaguo team.
However, due to the suspension of Meunier, the Belgian team is not smooth on the right. Shazli has a poor sense of defensive position, and Alderweireld has a poor awareness of filling positions. Kompany is basically alone. Holding the line of defense.
In addition, with the double defensive midfielders restricted by Zhang Mai and Wu Xi, the Belgian team's offense must be scattered on the wing. Without the speed of the wingbacks in the past, the overall formation of the Belgian team is difficult to truly complete. The premise is to oppress the Chinese defense line.
The Belgian team's three- and four-back formation can be switched freely, and the use of Fellaini is a bright spot, but the Hua Guo team resolutely defended their defense in the first half.
The overall formation of the Belgian team for this campaign is still based on the configuration of three central defenders + double defensive midfielders. In addition to the fixed Witsel, his partners have been De Bruyne, Fellaini and Dembele.
From the group stage to the knockout stage, Martinez continued to liberate the "hidden attack ability" of De Bruyne (creating a threatening ball) and Fellaini (later inserting a shot), and continued to support the frontcourt offense by keeping the position of the two constantly premised .
Hazard is a strong point for holding the ball on the left, and De Bruyne also cooperates with Hazard to advance, while Fellaini and Lukaku get together in the penalty area to grab points.
It is the main idea of the Belgian team to create local advantages by stacking people in the frontcourt.
De Bruyne sent a pick pass at the front of the opponent's penalty area. Fellaini understood it and then stepped in to catch up. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Zeng Cheng saw through it in advance.
Obviously, the Hua Guo team's defensive concentration in the first half was very high. It can be said that no matter how significant the Belgian team's local advantage is, the Hua Guo team remains unmoved and has always maintained a high degree of focus on defense. .
The Huaguo team is based on defense, and the offense is basically launched from the side, and it has achieved good results.
Just like the games against Argentina and Uruguay, the Hua Guo team organized some positional attacks at certain times in the game, but most of the time, the Hua Guo team chose to give up the ball and shrink back to their own half-court defense as a whole.
When the Huaguo team organized an attack in the midfield, the two full-backs Bi Jinhao and Feng Xiaoting moved forward a lot, basically pressing down to the midfield line to respond.
The retreating player is Zheng Zhi, who is between the two central defenders to assist the ball. The Hua Guo team relies on the strong attack from the side to push the Belgian team back to their own half, and can form an impact on the side at any time.
Now in front of the Huaguo team and Lippi is that the Huaguo players who "play the world with a lineup" are exhausted after repeated fierce battles. Can they continue to persevere in the high-speed offensive and defensive transitions in the second half?
(End of this chapter)