Chapter 136 A Calm Opening

Chapter 136 A Calm Opening

Before the quarter-finals between Belgium and Brazil, the other three games also ended one after another. In the end, Germany, Italy and Portugal had the last laugh, while Argentina, Ukraine and England were eliminated.

The first game of the quarter-finals started at the Berlin Olympic Stadium. The German team drew with Argentina 1:1 in 120 minutes, and finally won 4:2 with a penalty shootout, advancing to the semi-finals with a total score of 5:3.

In the first half, the two teams scored a goalless draw. As a result, the situation on the field was broken at the beginning of the second half. Riquelme took a corner kick and Ayala scored with a header, ending Germany's record of 336 minutes without conceding a goal. In the 80th minute, Kroos scored his fifth goal in the World Cup.

The game entered a penalty shootout. In the second round, Lehmann accurately saved Ayala's penalty in front of the goal line, which made the German almost see the hope of victory. In previous penalty shoot-outs in the World Cup, the Germans had kept 12 consecutive free throws. Facing them missed almost meant failure. In the fourth round, Cambiasso became the protagonist of the tragedy. Lehmann pounced to the left side calmly and saved the opponent's half-high ball. 4:2, the German won the penalty shootout!

After the game, the German coach Klinsmann praised Lehmann, the biggest contributor to the promotion: "I used to play as a striker. When I took a penalty kick, I didn't want to meet Lehmann. Where the ball goes, there's a natural feel to it and he showed that again today, he made two saves and that's why we're in the semi-final."

Undefeated on penalties, this is the myth of the German team in the World Cup. Generations of German goalkeepers also have a good tradition of excelling in penalty shootouts in major competitions.

In the 1982 World Cup semi-final, the legendary German goalkeeper Schumacher saved two penalty kicks from the French team, keeping his opponent out of the final; in the 1990 World Cup semi-final, Ilgner blocked Pierce's powerful shot, and Germany will England was eliminated; in the 1996 European Cup, Kopke saved Southgate's low shot and helped the team reach the final.

This time, Lehmann took over the baton, and Germany has a new penalty goalkeeper.

In fact, Lehmann has always been very experienced in saving penalty kicks. As early as the UEFA Cup final in the 1996/97 season, Schalke 04 defeated Inter Milan to win the championship. In the penalty shootout, Lehmann, who played for Schalke at the time, saved With Zamorano's shot, it can be said that he has shown his edge for the first time. ?? Stadium Maniac 136

When he was playing for Arsenal, Lehmann also saved many penalty kicks. Last season, in the second round of the Champions League semi-final against Villarreal, he saved Riquelme's penalty and sent Arsenal to the final. In the 2004/05 season, Arsenal defeated Manchester United in a penalty shootout in the FA Cup final, relying on Lehmann to save Scholes' penalty.

Lehmann, who has become a German hero, also enjoys the festive atmosphere: "It is very important to us to see how the Germans celebrate. I have not lived in Germany for the past two years. This atmosphere allows me to reintegrate Come in, I love Germany and the way they celebrate."

Before the penalty shootout, there was an impressive shot. The German team's substitute goalkeeper Kahn walked towards Lehmann, who was about to play, and put his arm around the latter's shoulder and whispered something. Maybe the main force in 2002 wanted to give Lehmann some help. , or talking about his own experience, and then, Kahn stretched out his hand to strike Lehman, and the two smiled and encouraged each other.

Just a few days ago, some media reported that Kahn was dissatisfied with being Lehmann's substitute. The rumors of the two being at odds were also reported by the German media. , The hands of the two men were tightly held together.

While the Germans were celebrating their victory, Argentina, which was blocked from the semi-finals, could only taste the slightly bitter result. This was the first time that the Argentines lost on penalties in the World Cup.

For the third time on June 30th, the Argentine team appeared in the World Cup penalty shootout. This time, God is German. The substitute goalkeeper Franco, who was replaced by the Argentine team in the middle, failed to repeat the scene of Goyechea, the "magic goalkeeper" who transformed from a substitute to a hero. People's "magic goalkeeper".

Lehmann first easily confiscated the penalty shot by Ayala, who had knocked off his ten fingers in the 48th minute, and then blocked Cambiaso's inevitable penalty, allowing the Argentine to finally win the first place. For the first time, I tasted the bitterness of losing a penalty kick.

At first, Cambiasso didn't quite believe that he would play such a weak and angleless ball. He tugged at his hair, which was not much left, and showed a smile on his face, a helpless wry smile. Then, Tears of sadness and regret flowed from his eyes. June 30, the original lucky day for the Argentine team has become their sad day today.

Prior to this, the title of "Penalty Shootout King" in the World Cup was originally shared by the Germans and the Argentines. The Argentine experienced the cruel penalty shootout eight years later than the German, but it was two consecutive games.

On June 30, 1990, exactly 16 years ago, the Argentine team, which relied on Maradona alone to support the overall situation, dragged the former Yugoslavia team to a penalty 0:0 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Italy. Although Maradona He also failed to make a penalty, but the magical goalkeeper Goyechea saved 2, and the Argentine tasted a penalty kick for the first time 3:2.

After those three days, they ushered in the second time. In the semi-final against Italy, they followed suit and drew 1:1 with their opponents in 120 minutes. With two penalties, they eliminated the hosts 5:4.

Eight years after the first penalty shootout, on June 30, 1998, the Argentine entered the penalty shootout again. As a result, he defeated the Englishman who made 4 of 5 free throws and made 3 of 5 free throws, and advanced 6:5 to 1/2. 4 finals.

Another eight years passed, and this time, Argentina's lucky day turned into a sad one, as their undefeated World Cup penalty shoot-out run was finally ended by the Germans.

After the game, the secret of the "excellent" Lehmann's penalty kick became the focus of the media. The German media revealed the secret. Before the penalty shootout between Germany and Argentina, the German goalkeeper Lehmann had a piece of paper , which records which direction each Argentina penalty kicker might kick the ball.

German team leader Bierhoff said after the game: "Leimann watched all the penalties that the Argentine team had played in the past two years. At that time he studied it with our goalkeeper coach, because in the penalty shootout You never know who is going to take the penalty. Before our knockout games against Sweden and Argentina, we gave Lehmann opponents information on who would take the penalty."??

The strategy was conceived by Siegensaller, who was born in Switzerland and was tasked with observing opponents for the German team. This method also helped the German team stay in the World Cup.

Germany have yet to lose a penalty shoot-out in a major competition, a proven method they have used for years.

After the game, both the German media and the international media were full of praise for the German media, cheering Germany's "fairytale victory". However, Brazil coach Pereira, Germany's most powerful World Cup competitor, believes that the final score of this game is not a fair result. The Argentine team should win the game, and their luck is too bad.

In an interview, the Brazilian coach said: "The performance of the German team on the court is not worthy of their victory. The Argentine team performed far better than them on the court. The Argentine team deserves more. Victory of the game."

Regarding the relatively dull process of the game, Pereira said: "Both teams have fully shown respect for their opponents in the game, so they were too cautious in the game and did not dare to press the offense. Goalkeepers have nothing to do for a long time."

But Pereira believes that the mutual containment between the Argentine and German sides on the field was a major reason why the game went to penalties: "Germany lowered the quality of Argentina's passing and shooting, while Argentina succeeded. Stopped the speed of the German team."

As a result, in the 120-minute game, the shooting success rate that the Argentine team was proud of before could not continue, and the speed football of the German team was also greatly restricted.

However, the champion coach who led the Brazil team to the 1994 World Cup still praised the German team's outstanding performance on the penalty spot: "Their penalty kicks were very good, and they met the expectations of the fans." The tricky and powerful shooting. Lehman became the only hero in the whole game. Except for him, no other player's performance in this game made me satisfied, whether it was in regular time Still in overtime."

Pereira's Brazil team will face Belgium with Digan on the morning of July 2. They want to meet the German team, at least until the final.

The next day, the second match of the quarter-finals of the World Cup started at the AOL Stadium in Hamburg. Italy finally defeated Ukraine 3-0. They entered the semi-finals for the first time in the past three World Cups. They will compete with the German team for the final seat. Jiu Yuan scored a goal. In the second half, Tony, who had not scored in the previous four games, scored twice with a head kick. Lippi's Italian team was unbeaten in 23 consecutive games.

In this game, both sides played very fast, and both entered the game with an aggressive attitude. The scene looked very good, and they contributed a lot of goals. Generally speaking, Italy has a technical advantage, and Ukraine's sideline offense also poses a considerable threat to Italy, but the Italians are more successful in seizing opportunities.

After the start, the Italian team was very aggressive in the frontcourt. Camoranesi stepped up to the forward position, a bit like a three-forward style of play, pressing on the opponent's half for continuous pressing. After Ukraine got the ball, it also accelerated its offense, and the two sides launched a confrontation. In this rapidity, it was the Italian's ability to seize opportunities that showed its power. In the fifth minute, Zambrotta took the lead in breaking the opponent's goal.

Eight minutes later, Ukraine seemed to feel that this kind of fast attack might suffer, so it slowed down and used more long passes to the frontcourt to organize some counterattacks, while Italy still insisted on siege in the frontcourt, stealing the ball and then attacking. fast break.

Of course, this style of play consumes a lot of energy, but overall, Italy's physical strength and overall state are very good. But after attacking the opponent's penalty area, the effect is not particularly good due to the speed.

In the first half, Camoranesi on the Italian right was very active, and he organized more offenses. In addition, he was also very active in defense on the right. Therefore, the center of gravity of Italy as a whole is to the right.

After the start of the second half, Ukraine aggressively pressed forward and made multiple crosses from the two wings, or crosses from the bottom, or diagonal crosses, using the height of the frontcourt to compete for the top, posing a considerable threat to the Italian team .

Especially in the first ten minutes, Ukraine might have scored a goal if it weren't for Buffon's heroic save and the help of the goal beam.

At this time, Italy was still grabbing the ball in the frontcourt, and did not recover the defense. It was still in a confrontational posture. In the thirteenth minute of the second half, Italy scored a goal with a left corner kick from Toni.

Strictly speaking, the ball was offside by Tony first, but the referee didn't notice it. Since then, the Italian team gradually controlled the situation, and their interceptions in the midfield were quite effective.

Afterwards, Ukraine's offensive momentum has been affected to a certain extent, but the few attacks still pose a threat, especially the cross from the wing and the header from the center.

Italy replaced Barone and Odoi in the 23rd minute of the second half, replacing Camoranesi and Pirlo, and moved Zambrotta to the left, playing left midfielder and Ododo at right back. Turned the center of gravity to the left. This substitution should be said to be very effective.

Just 20 seconds later, Zambrotta broke through from the left and made a cross. The Italian scored the third goal. It should be said that Lippi's idea of ​​substitution is indeed very skillful.

After that, Lippi replaced Zacardo again, which strengthened the interception of the midfielder and made Ukraine no longer have a good chance. The overall physical performance of Italy in this game is very good, but there are still some problems .

The cooperation in the fast attack is not smooth enough, not tacit enough, Totti is still not very good, at least not to his best level, at most it reached 70%, so after the Italians attack the frontcourt, there are always some problems. too smooth. In addition, on the defensive line, the Italian team's ability to defend against high balls is still worrying, and it has made Ukraine's header a few times a threat.

At the same time, there is also news from Italy that the final trial of the ugly "Phonegate" incident will be announced in a few days, and the deadline is likely to be set on July 9, the day when the World Cup ends in Berlin.

The four clubs involved in the scandal are likely to be punished, and 13 of the 23 Italian internationals currently playing in Germany are from these four teams.

Italian coach Lippi believes that such negative news will not be an obstacle to Italy's campaign, and everything will wait until after the World Cup is over before being put on the table.

Before the start of the World Cup, the incident related to "Phonegate" has been heated up, and many media predicted that this will lead to the premature "death" of the Italian national team in the World Cup.

However, Italy's performance surprised many people. They passed all the way and now sit in the top four. This gives Lippi reason to believe that the Italian army has the ability to resist any interference from the outside world and concentrate on playing every game.

Perhaps it was the pressure brought by the "Callgate" incident that inspired the potential of the Italian players to break the boat. They showed unprecedented fighting spirit and proved their courage in the World Cup. At least Lippi thinks this emotion is reflected in him. It is very obvious that the goal of the World Cup is far more than that in the hearts of all the players of the Italian team.

Although they have good intentions, it is impossible for the "telephone gate" incident that broke out in Serie A on the eve of the World Cup not to have an impact on their journey. This incident made Serie A Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio all involved, and these four clubs are also the main sources of Italian international football.

On July 4th, Italy will compete with the host Germany for a ticket to the final in Dortmund. Although Germany has the right time, place and people, Lippi does not think this will become a factor for Italy to surrender. Pi showed a strong self-confidence: "We have the support of the people of the whole country behind us. This will be a difficult game, but it will also be a game with a lot of shots. The German team can take advantage of the home court, but Italy has a strong team Their greater strength creates problems for them."

At the same time, the German team leader Bierhoff said that the Italian team, the opponent in the semi-finals, will have a fear of the host team. Bierhoff is convinced that their next opponents are starting to worry about the future of the game.

Bierhoff pointed out at the press conference: "It is wonderful to win five games in a row, but winning the championship is the most important thing. The fans of the German team and people all over the world have seen the German team. At their best, Italy are a tough opponent, but they will be afraid of this German team."

The most recent confrontation between the two teams was a friendly match held in March this year. The Italian team beat the German team 4:1 at home, which led to serious doubts about Klinsmann's coaching.

However, this time the German team has home court advantage. Bierhoff revealed that Klinsmann and him will show what they have learned in the 4:1 fiasco.

The third match of the quarter-finals of the World Cup started at the Schalke Stadium in Gelsenkirchen. Portugal drew 0:0 with England in 120 minutes and finally won 3:1 in the penalty shootout. After the World Cup, the Portuguese hit England again, and Scolari completed a "hat-trick" that eliminated England in three consecutive majors.

In the penalty shootout, Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo saved three penalties from Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher. England has lost five of the last six penalty shootouts and has missed the World Cup semi-finals since 1990.

In the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 European Cup, Eriksson encountered Brazil and Portugal coached by Scolari successively, and was eliminated with the first goal.

The game was tense and fierce, and the two sides were in a balance, but shortly after entering the second half, the red card shown by the referee completely changed the trend of the game.

In the 62nd minute, England striker Rooney was caught in the siege of the opponent's players in the midfield. Portugal's Petit and Carvalho collided with Rooney. In the collision, Carvalho fell to the ground first, and Rooney He also lost his balance while staggering. His left foot stretched out backwards and stepped on Carvalho who fell to the ground behind him. The latter immediately rolled on the ground, looking very painful.

At this time, many Portuguese players rushed to the scene of the incident and questioned Rooney. Several English players also surrounded him. At this time, Argentine referee Elizondo called Rooney out of the crowd and directly showed him a red card. Seeing this penalty, the England players and the coaches on the sidelines were all surprised. They didn't expect the referee to send Rooney off directly.

What happened when you fell down?

Judging from the slow-motion playback, Rooney lost his balance under the squeeze of several Portuguese players, and he seemed a little angry. After Carvalho fell to the ground, his foot stepped backwards, just in time for Carvalho** However, at that time, Rooney was facing away from Carvalho and was walking backwards. It was difficult to judge whether he stepped on the foot intentionally. It is more likely that Rooney subconsciously stretched back in anger. The foot was just a counterattack against the opponent's entanglement, but I didn't expect to step on Carvalho's vital point impartially.

The penalty of this red card reminds people of the situation when Beckham was sent off in the 1998 World Cup. At that time, after being hit by the Argentine player Simeone from behind, Beckham, who fell to the ground, swung his right leg and touched Simeone's calf. The latter staggered and fell to the ground. The referee Nelson immediately showed Beckham a red card. This time, the Argentine referee Elizondo did not show mercy to Rooney.

There was another controversial penalty in the second half, when a David Beckham cross hit the outstretched right hand of Portuguese defender Valente inside the penalty area.

The England team led by Eriksson finally failed to realize their desire to advance. The England team with a luxurious lineup failed to break through the fate of the penalty nightmare.

The latter advanced to the semi-finals with his head held high, and will compete with the winners of Brazil and Belgium in the final, while the Swede and his disciples had to go home.

After the three quarter-finals, some people are happy and others are sad. At this time, people's eyes are all focused on the final quarter-finals, the contest between Brazil and Belgium.

Some media directly used such a title to mark the game: The Brazilians will decide the final outcome!

On one side is the five-star Brazil led by Pereira, and on the other side is Belgium led by Digan, a Brazilian.