Chapter 124 Knockout Begins

Chapter 124 Knockout Begins

On the second day after the end of the group stage, the first round of the knockout round of the World Cup in South Africa started immediately. The first game was Uruguay, the first in the group, faced the second Argentina in the b group, a direct dialogue between the former South American World Cup champions.

Although in this World Cup, Uruguay has emerged a lot of young people worth looking forward to, but this game is not as intense as people imagined. The Argentine team established a two-goal lead in the first half. Carlos Tevez and Higuain They made contributions respectively, and it was Messi who sent the assists. Uruguay scored a consolation goal by Suarez at the last moment of the game in the second half.

Messi's first World Cup goal still has not appeared. Although Messi performed very well in this game and was selected as the best player by FIFA after the game, he is still far away from his first World Cup goal. very small distance.

Maradona's team was able to move forward after defeating its South American neighbors. People even began to expect that Maradona would become the second person to win the World Cup as a player and coach after Beckenbauer.

Of course, the road to promotion before the Argentines is still not smooth. If they want to finally win the Hercules Cup, the Argentine team needs to show more things.

In the second knockout match that followed, the United States played against Ghana. Before the game, people were unanimously optimistic that the Americans, who performed well in the group stage, would have the last laugh. The Americans, who went farther, finally fell. They lost to the African black star Ghana 1:2 and missed the quarterfinals.

Donovan looked very irritable and very angry. He returned to the bench and didn't speak to anyone. He failed to advance to the quarterfinals. The team stopped abruptly.

When the reporter handed the microphone in front of Donovan a little ignorantly, Donovan only said one sentence: "Football is a cruel sport."

Then he bowed his head and went straight to the player tunnel, he didn't want to stay here for another second.

The players of the US team have different expressions, and it is certain that they are all uncomfortable. The mature and prudent Demerit walked to the sidelines and applauded all the American fans at the scene. Later, Bernstein and captain Bocanegra also joined him. Unable to forgive my mistake in overtime, I sat quietly on the bench and savored the tragic life. The saddest thing was Edu, who was substituted in the first half. He fell on the field and cried into tears.

For the U.S. team, the World Cup is over like this. The players feel unwilling, but this is life, and no one can do anything about it. However, all Americans and even fans in some other parts of the world have reasons to thank them , because the spirit of the Bradley team interprets the charm of sports, and because of their efforts, the World Cup has become suspenseful.

Because of the World Cup, football surpassed other sports in the United States for the first time and became the mainstream. Former President Clinton came, nb superstar Kobe came, and rock star Jer also came. Because of football, the United States has become the focus without using the military.

Because of the World Cup, more stars and superstars came to South Africa, attracting more people's attention. The day before the game, South Africans "sieged" the American bus. They did not attack the players because of the United States itself, but It is the first time that American athletes have felt this kind of treatment because they like these guys rather than getting close to them.

Because of football, people fell in love with the US team, at least not as annoying as before. Because of the World Cup, the US team also made Americans fall in love with football. This is their biggest contribution to this tournament. how?

What Team USA has given so far has been enough.

The Ghana team, which defeated the US team, has become a legend in the World Cup in South Africa after the game.

Relying on the goals of Boateng and Gyan Asamoah, the Ghana team defeated the United States in overtime and advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in South Africa. 18 years ago, the Cameroon team also reached the quarter-finals in the World Cup in Italy. Eight years ago Previously, the Senegal team also broke into the top 8 in the World Cup in Korea and Japan. This time it is Ghana's turn.

As the only team in Africa to qualify for the group stage, as long as it can go one step further and beat Argentina in the next game, it means that a new history is about to be born. For the first time, an African team has a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup. This is something that African strong teams such as Cameroon and Nigeria have not been able to do before.

Technical superiority is the basis for the Ghanaian team to win. Their two goals made the Americans, who are good at Jedi counterattacks, helpless. Their easy passing and elegant escape showed the beauty and charm of football.

Especially striker Gian Asamoah, he scored another goal in this game against the US team. He has scored four goals in the World Cup. As long as he scores one more goal, he will be able to tie Cameroon's legendary Mira and become the goal scorer in the World Cup. Most African players.

But why did Ghana reach the quarter-finals instead of the more prestigious Cameroon or hosts South Africa?

Outstanding personal skills and physical fitness, but loose nature, lack of tactical discipline and weak will have always been the impression of African football from the outside world.

However, the performance of the Ghana team is different from the traditional African football. Its tactical organization has reached a very high level. The Ghana team is the youngest team among the top 32 teams in the World Cup. The team is not stage-frightened when facing big-name teams, and has an advantage in physical strength. More importantly, the strength of each position of the team is very average. This is why they can finally surpass Cameroon, South Africa and other teams to reach the top 8 reason.

After the game, striker Ayew said in an interview: "We are very disappointed because no other African teams have reached the top 16, so we have to fight, not just for Ghana, we have to fight for the whole of Africa, which is why we will The reason to win this game."

In the next game, the Ghana team will compete with Argentina for a seat in the semi-finals. In any case, the quarter-finals of the African team and the South American team are worth looking forward to, because a new history may be produced here.

The next day, another knockout match started, with Germany and England playing against each other. The Mars hit the earth that people were expecting did not happen. People only saw the unilateral massacre of England by the Germans, and a game that was destined to become an indelible event in this World Cup. An unsolved case of memory.

In this game, Germany's young teenager Muller is undoubtedly the most dazzling star. His two goals completely destroyed England's will to resist, but Klose's somersault after scoring was obviously better than Muller's. Goals are more memorable.

After scoring the first goal in the match with England, Klose has scored 12 goals in the World Cup finals. If Klose's red card is not counted against Serbia, Klose will play in this World Cup In the two games, two goals have been scored.

Although it is almost impossible to surpass Degan's scoring record, because Degan continues to score goals, Klose very much hopes to catch up with Ronaldo, the second in the overall scorer list.

Moreover, after scoring a goal, Klose is now comparable to the achievements of the two celebrities. Before this game, "Golden Bomber" Klinsmann originally scored 11 goals with Klose, tied for the top scorer list in the World Cup. The sixth place, while the Brazilian football king Pele is slightly better with 12 goals. And eclipsed.

Although Klose's goal has a lot of luck, it also shows his keen forward awareness and excellent physical fitness.

At that time, the German goalkeeper Neuer kicked the goal kick to the front court with a big foot. After the ball bounced, it hit the front of the penalty area. The advantage is very obvious, he forced it open, facing James calmly shoveled the lower right corner of the goal and succeeded. This goal was also Klose's 50th goal in his 99th appearance on behalf of the German national team.

Klose's goal surpassing his predecessors is indeed worthy of special mention, but what is destined to be controversial in this game is the unsolved goal line case. England stopped the World Cup 1/8 finals and lost 1:4 to Germany. The biggest watershed is undoubtedly the misjudged goal in the 39th minute of the first half, which changed the "momentum" on the field.

Lampard's lob shot hit the crossbar and bounced off the gate, hitting the gate nearly half a meter, but the referee and the linesman made a wrong decision, which made the celebration of Lampard and Capello instantly freeze in the air middle.

This ball immediately reminds people of the classic suspense in the 1966 World Cup final between England and Germany. Hurst's goal in overtime was also hit by a crossbar. There is no accurate conclusion so far, and this has become one of the biggest suspense in the history of the World Cup.

Compared with the ball in 1966, the nature of the misjudged ball in this battle between England and Germany is completely different. The former is a "controversial ball", while the latter is an obvious "misjudged ball". The grievance of the English is obviously heavier than that of the Germans. , If the Germans have been worried about the ball 44 years ago, then it will be the turn of the English to talk about the crossbar and the goal line for a long time to come.

It can be predicted that this goal line kick will become one of the focal topics of this World Cup, it will be discussed for a long time, and it will even be recorded in history as one of the biggest misjudgments in the history of the World Cup.

The ball crossed the goal line so much that it was not counted. Judging from the severity of the mistake, among the misjudgments "comparable" in the history of England's participation in the World Cup, people will immediately think of Maradona's "God" in the 1986 World Cup. Hands", all World Cup knockouts, all misjudged goals that changed the trend of the game. After a lapse of 24 years, the Englishman became a victim again.

If this goal is counted, the score will be tied at 2:2. England scored two goals in three minutes, which will have a huge impact on the momentum and style of play in the second half. The results had an impact.

Except for the referee, almost everyone saw the football crossing the line. Capello waved and celebrated for a long time on the sidelines, and then was surprised to find that the goal was "missed". Lampard raised his arms to celebrate, but helplessly saw The referee said nothing.

Beckham, who was on the bench, could see it clearly. He was unbelievable to the referee's penalty. During the half-time break, he stood on the sidelines and encouraged his teammates to go to the waiting room. When the referee came over, Beckham naturally didn't will be idle.

Beckham put his hands together and made a "half a meter" gesture. His meaning was obvious. The ball crossed the goal line by nearly half a meter. Are you blind? !

Facing Beckham's protest, the referee and the linesman were expressionless, wondering how they would feel after watching the video.

At the last moment of the game, although Capello replaced Beckham, the England team launched a mad attack, but helplessly, the trend of the game had been determined in the first half, and the Three Lions could only do nothing.

A rout, many people need to take responsibility for it, and coach Fabio Capello, who has an annual salary of 6 million pounds, inevitably stands on the cusp.

England has been sluggish since the start of the World Cup, and barely broke through the group stage. Now, the stubborn Capello finally led England to wave goodbye to the World Cup. At the moment when the Three Lions left, the question of Capello's fate became the hottest topic. one of the topics.

At the press conference after the game, when asked by reporters whether he would resign voluntarily, Capello gave a clear answer: "About my future? I have to talk to Mr. Chairman in detail before I can decide on the future. , I need to know if the FA will continue to trust me."

In the course of the interview that followed, Capello still refused to take responsibility for England's rout: "When the team loses, it is natural to blame the coach. Our performance in the first game against the United States was not bad, we just made some mistakes. A small mistake, and then we also qualified from the group, but in today's game, if the referee hadn't misjudged, the result would have been completely different, this is a very serious misjudgment."

However, some previous remarks by the FA suggested that despite England's poor record in this World Cup, Capello will continue to serve. It is reported that many senior officials of the FA have expressed their support for Capello. He is the most suitable person to lead the Three Lions.

Capello may continue to lead the England team, but Beckham can only say goodbye to the national team with helplessness. He obviously cannot wait until the next World Cup, but this time, Beckham did not shed tears. He even showed his iconic smile in front of fans all over the world, comforting his teammates one by one.

Beckham's performance on the World Cup stage was worthy of the time he got. This time, Beckham did not lose!