Chapter 42 Opening Battle

Chapter 42 Opening Battle

The opening game of this European Cup will be played by the host Poland against the unavoidable champion Greece at the Warsaw Stadium. Originally, the two teams should be the same seeded teams and cannot be placed in the same group. However, because this European Cup is It was co-hosted by two countries, so Ukraine, which ranked higher by nationality, became the seeded team, while Poland naturally suffered a tragedy.

However, although it is recognized as an underdog, Poland, as one of the hosts of this year, is in the right place at the right time, and the other three teams in Group A are not impeccable. The Czech Republic has already declined, and Russia is a crazy knife. Who knows what they are? When will they perform well and when will they suddenly fall apart? As for the defending champion Belgium, due to the conflict between head coach Wilmots and core player Deegan, it is still unclear how much combat effectiveness the European Red Devils can exert. Poland The hope of qualifying as first in the group is high.

After years of hard work by the Polish Football Association, the level of Polish football has been greatly improved in recent years. The success of Piszczek, Blaszczykovski, Lewandowski, Szczesny and others, It represents the rise of Poland's new golden generation.

But on the other hand, although the team has many generals who have played overseas, the lineup is relatively young and easy to be impatient when playing against the wind, and these players lack experience in international competitions.

Moreover, none of this group of overseas players can play the role of absolute spiritual leader in the team like Zidane. Perhaps, when the Polish team is in adversity, they can only hope for a certain player to have a flash of inspiration.

After Belgium won the European Cup, Intercontinental Cup and World Cup in succession, the meritorious coach Antiennis resigned. After Wilmots took office, he also had a brief honeymoon period with Deegan, but then the two had an affair due to tactical issues. There was a huge contradiction. Before the start of this European Cup, Deegan had not represented Belgium for more than a year. This time he was selected at the last moment. It was also because the Belgian Football Association and head coach Wilmots were under tremendous pressure that they were slightly disappointed. A helpless compromise.

Coupled with the previous European Cup qualifiers, Belgium advanced through the play-offs in a thrilling manner. In the few warm-up matches before the start, the performance was also sluggish. How it will perform in the European Cup is completely unknown.

Polish coach Smuda and captain Blaszczykowski expressed confidence at the press conference before the opening game that the Polish team will go all out to win in the first game. A draw can Accept it, but losing is definitely not okay.

Polish coach Smuda and captain Blaszczykowski both expressed caution about the strong strength of the Belgian team at the press conference, especially the ability of the Belgian team's defense. They gave extremely high evaluations and expressed the need to Breaking down the Belgian defense requires flexible tactics.

Coach Smuda said that he will strive to win the match against Belgium, but if the result is a draw, it also means that the Polish team is still in the competition in the group.

Captain Blaszczykovski believes that the game against Belgium must not be lost, otherwise it will be in a desperate situation from the beginning.

Smuda said that he should be able to sleep well tonight before the game because he now has great trust in his players and believes that they have the ability to achieve their goals: "I also hope that we can meet people's expectations. Won first place in the group and became the dark horse of the tournament."

Captain Blaszczykowski also said that he felt tremendous pressure from the moment he entered the press conference room. The opening game will be very critical, and Poland must prove its strength on the court.

The right midfielder, who has enjoyed great success with Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund this season, said that the Polish team now has players who can change the result at any time in the game, which is a big difference between them and before.

The European Cup is about to kick off. Szczesny, the Polish goalkeeper who plays for Arsenal, said in an interview that Poland has improved its strength in the past two years and is in excellent form. He is confident that he can help the team reach the finals.

Szczesny said: "We have been in good form recently and have achieved good results in a series of warm-up matches. Now the team is even more eager to compete. We can't wait. Let's hurry up for the opening game! I hope to help the team Keep going, keep winning, never lose any game, any team wants to win the championship, why not us, the enthusiastic fans at home are our strong backing, although there is a little pressure, but it will also strengthen Our confidence, after all, people without pressure will not succeed, and I feel very happy to be able to play in the European Cup in my home country."

Polish football, which has been away from glory for thirty years, has the best chance of revival. Not only because it is the host of the 2012 European Championship, but also because the Polish "Three Musketeers" from the Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund are the weapons they rely on.

After experiencing the glory of third place in the World Cup in 1974 and 1982, Polish football fell into a 30-year slump, but in the summer of 2012, Polish fans may be happy that they are the host! They have the Bundesliga Three Musketeers!

In the past two seasons, three young players, Lewandowski, Blaszczykovski and Piszczek, have caused a "Polish storm" in the Bundesliga.

In the season that just ended, the 24-year-old Lewandowski played in 34 Bundesliga games, scoring 22 goals and providing 8 assists. In the recently concluded German Cup final, Lewandowski's "hat trick" severely damaged the defense of the "Bundesliga giant" Bayern Munich.

At present, giants such as Bayern and Manchester United have extended an olive branch to the Poles, which is enough to make fans in their homeland excited. After all, after Ponic, they have been looking forward to Polish football for 30 years. A good shooter.

Behind Lewandowski, the super right wing composed of forward Blaszczykovsky and defender Piszczek is even more terrifying. One-on-one breakthroughs and high-speed assists are their trump cards.

In addition, Szczesny continues Poland's tradition of producing excellent goalkeepers. Although he is only 22 years old, he has already established himself in the Premier League giant Arsenal.

The current average age of the Polish team is 25 years old. Youth and aggressiveness are their biggest advantages. As the star Lewandowski said before the game: "We are all looking forward to holding the European Championship in our own country this time."

Of course, the weak mentality formed by thirty years of downturn will be a big trouble for the Polish team. Although Polish football has improved slightly in the past 10 years, it is still far away from the top of Europe. Although the Polish team has participated in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan and the World Cup in Germany. , but they did not break out of the group stage. Their history in the European Championships was even more embarrassing. It was not until 2008 that they entered the finals for the first time, with one draw and two losses, and they were eliminated after the group stage.

Finally, the 64-year-old head coach Smuda will be the helmsman of this young team. Although Smuda, who has coached in the Polish domestic league for a long time, is familiar with the strengths of his players, he lacks on-field command experience in the World Series and may Becoming a major risk for himself and the young Polish team.

The opening ceremony of the European Cup was held at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, announcing the unveiling of this Polish and Ukrainian football event. The first link of the opening ceremony was "Welcome". Polish traditional dancers surrounded a slowly falling football. The football opened Finally, a piano is revealed.

Polish pianist Giorgi played Chopin's Etude in E major. Electronic music DJ Karl Matronic wore a golden dazzling costume and used modern music to cheer up the piano music. Giorgi also performed football acrobatics afterwards.

Then entered the "Gift to Europe" segment. Fans in the stands held colorful flags to spell out the national flags of the 16 participating countries. UEFA President Platini was also shocked by this scene. The actors on the court gathered into a colorful football.

Poland is the home of music, and Chopin is the pride of Poland. The pianist played Chopin's classic piece "Farewell". During the national anthem singing session when the athletes entered the venue, a choir composed of teenage girls was specially arranged to lead the singing. , the highly contagious dance of 800 volunteers from more than 60 countries, in just 12 minutes, created a strong artistic atmosphere, which was very impressive and made people deeply feel that football As a sport that has developed to this day, it has transcended the concept of sports and evolved into a culture and art.

After the opening ceremony, the next thing to be done is the opening game of this European Cup. The two sides are the host Poland and the defending champion Belgium. This is the first time in the history of the European Cup that such a combination is happening.

Deegan, who was supposed to play the leading role, was thrown to the bench by head coach Wilmots this time. The cameras at the scene immediately focused on Deegan, who looked gloomy. Obviously, Deegan was not satisfied with this arrangement at all. satisfy.

After the game started, the Polish team, which had the home advantage, immediately launched a fierce attack. Even when facing the defending champion, they did not behave conservatively, but rather aggressively, especially in the right corridor of the Polish team. The rising water made the Belgian team appear somewhat passive.

However, the Belgian team's midfield control was very good, and it did not appear chaotic. However, Wilmots' high-flying tactics soon revealed its shortcomings. He only focused on fighting in the middle, but neglected the side. The importance made the Belgian team pay the price in the 17th minute.

The Polish team captain Blaszczykowsky passed the ball after breaking through from the right. The Belgian team made a serious mistake in marking in the middle. Kompany went up, and Vermaelen behind him failed to mark Lewandov. Ski, who hit the goal with a header near the penalty spot.

Courtois was unable to react in time to such a close attack. Although he raised his leg to block the ball, the speed of the ball was so fast that he was caught off guard.

For a moment, the stadium seemed to explode. Countless fans cheered wildly, and the entire stadium turned into a sea of ​​Polish joy.

"Damn it! The Poles scored first, and they are best at attacking from the right. What's puzzling is that although they clearly know the Poles' trump card, coach Wilmots didn't make any targeted arrangements!"

Wilmots's face also changed instantly. When he saw the team conceding a goal, he looked very angry and roared at the crowd, especially the veteran Simmons who was responsible for marking Blaszczykovsky just now. became the object of his venting.

Deegan remained expressionless. In his opinion, the ball conceded just now was due to the Belgian team's lack of concentration. Such a mistake was simply unforgivable.

There were loopholes in the defense. In the offense, the trident of Lukaku, Hazard and Dembélé, who Wilmots relied on, was completely unable to open up the situation. This was fatal.

Throughout the first half, it can be said that the Polish team was completely in control of the situation. The Belgian team could only threaten the Polish team's goal through sporadic counterattack opportunities.

"Wilmots must be regretting it now. Because of his stubbornness and selfishness, he threw Belgium's most threatening weapon on the bench. If Deegan was on the court at this time, the situation would definitely not be the same as it is now. This is what it looks like!"

The Belgian fans at the scene seemed to have heard the Belgian commentator's complaints and began to shout Deegan's name loudly: "Rod! Rod! Rod! Rod! Rod! Rod!"

When Wilmots heard this voice, his expression became even worse, and he glared at Deegan fiercely. In his opinion, this was Deegan instigating the fans.

In all conscience, no matter how loud Deegan's voice is, his voice probably won't reach the commentary box, not to mention that Deegan has been sitting silently since the beginning.

At halftime, the Poles happily entered the locker room with a one-goal lead, while the Belgian players walked off the court with sad faces. They all knew that the next thing they had to face was Wilmots' Hair dryer.

Deegan also got up at this time and walked onto the court to start warming up. When he entered the court, the Belgian fans at the scene suddenly burst into cheers, which made Wilmots almost vomit blood from anger.

Deegan could feel that when Kompany passed by him, his eyes flickered, but the two people did not speak. Deegan just patted him on the shoulder and left.

In the second half, Wilmots finally made adjustments, but it was not Deegan who came on, but Miralas. He seemed to want to threaten the Polish team's goal by increasing the height of the striker.

However, the effect was not obvious at the scene. Seeing that Belgium, the defending champion, was about to usher in the start of the European Cup, at this time, Fellaini stood up and through a corner kick tactic, he headed the goal and helped Belgium equalize. score.

Deegan could notice that Wilmots let out a sigh of relief when Fellaini scored, but is a draw really enough?

After Fellaini scored, he rushed directly to the bench on the sidelines and hugged Deegan.

This scene made Wilmots' face even darker!