At 3:30 p.m. local time on June 16, South Africa, Durban Stadium.

There is still half an hour to go before the first match of the first round of Group H officially starts, but the Durban football stadium is already full, with fans of both teams in red and white jerseys standing in the stands, singing and dancing, and many local South African fans, either waving South African flags or waving flags with World Cup commemorative significance, cheering and shouting excitedly.

The two teams were already on the pitch for the final warm-up and some preparatory activities before the game, with Fan Bizhuang donning his vests and practicing leg lifts and jogging with his teammates.

This is not the first time he has played with the national team, in the previous warm-up match with Belgium, he has a record of national team appearances, and there is a good performance, but it is clear that the performance of the friendly game is not the most direct and important reference, in the talented Matador legion, he can only be a substitute on the bench for the first time. Even if he is the winner of the Golden Boot in La Liga this season, the national team is a place that pays a lot of attention to seniority, especially in front of excellent goalscorers like Torres and Villa, it is obviously unrealistic for him to become the main force in the front line as soon as he enters the national team.

Although he knew this game early on, although his name entered the 18-man squad, but he was not in the starting lineup, Fan Bizhuang's attitude was understandable, but when he stepped on the Durban stadium, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

After all, this is not an ordinary competition, nor is it an ordinary event, the World Cup is undoubtedly the most valuable international competition, and every player dreams of wearing the national team jersey and showing himself on this stage.

Fan Bizhuang is naturally no exception, he is luckier than many people, because he has stood on this land, this stage. In some ways, he was also unlucky, as a very good, even one of the best players in football today, he did not get to start in the first game of the national team, which was inevitably a bit of a flawless start to his World Cup journey.

But everything is predestined, the current structure and main lineup of the national team are the Matador Corps over the years, and they have long been practiced and matured, and the team obviously cannot break the original mature and complete tactical routine for him alone, even if he is excellent.

All Fan Bizhuang can do is try his best to fit into this team, with better form, and after time to find a place in this championship team.

The game has not yet started, but the atmosphere of the scene has gradually warmed up, from time to time there are thunderous mountains and tsunamis into the ears, Fan Bizhuang is also in the warm-up intervals, constantly looking up to observe the stands, to his somewhat surprise, the red and white in the stands is the main theme, but there are also some other colors, after all, many local South African fans, they are not Spanish or Swiss fans, they also have their own favorite and supported players, these players from different clubs in Europe, And these fans are wearing the same colours they wear at the club.

In the stands, Fan Bizhuang saw a number of yellow and white fans wearing the number 23, which belonged to Villarreal and Real Madrid respectively, and the number 23 was his number in these two clubs, and it was clear that these people were his supporters.

In Europe and Asia, as Van Bizhuang's performances in La Liga have become more and more dazzling, his fame and influence have also grown, and his fans have also grown at a rapid pace. But what Fan Bizhuang didn't expect was that in distant Africa, a continent that many people have the impression of representing poverty and backwardness, he would have so many supporters.

"Fan! Fan!! Fan!!! ”

"We are your fans! We are the African Fan Ye Fan Club! Ha, this is our organization, a fan organization just for you! ”

"Will you play? Will you score? This is your first World Cup tour, this is your first World Cup match, and we look forward to your great performance! ”

Although Fan Bizhuang couldn't understand the local language shouted by many fans, there were also some fans who could speak English, and Fan Bizhuang could still hear it vaguely, and he waved his hand to the stands, which immediately caused a burst of excited cheers.

The fans' pursuit and cheers made Fan Bizhuang's sadness of not being able to start somewhat dilute it.

Casillas, wearing the captain's armband, walked over and put his arm around Van Bizhuang's shoulder.

"What are you looking at? Why, still disappointed that you can't start? You don't have to, after all, it's only the first group game, don't worry, you'll have a chance to play. By the way, Sergio's guy is a big mouth, you don't take it personally, you know, he doesn't mean it......"

"Of course I knew he was a big mouth, so I didn't take his jokes to heart." Fan Bizhuang replied with a smile, his eyes still looking in the direction of the stands, and said with some emotion, "We have so many fans." Even though we're in Africa right now, if you don't know it, you think it's our home turf. ”

Casillas was stunned for a moment, glanced at the large red in the stands, and nodded with the same smile: "It's a lot." It's something we've earned back with hard work and championships, and now we're the kings of Europe, and we're all stars, so there's no shortage of supporters anywhere in the world. ”

Fan Bizhuang nodded.

As Casillas said, although this is not the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Switzerland are not only not opponents in the same class in terms of overall strength, but also not in the same class of fame and influence. The reason is very simple, Spain is the champion of the European Cup, Switzerland is only a second- or third-rate team, which is very advantageous, especially in the case of the Spanish team with a very large number of outstanding stars, neutral fans will largely prefer Spain, the reason is very simple, Spain is a giant, the squad is luxurious, there are many stars, fans are chasing stars, and obviously, the more famous Spanish stars are more popular with fans.

So, although it was not the home of the Spanish team, most of the fans at the scene were more inclined to the Matadors, and the atmosphere was not too different from the home stadium.

"There are so many fans who support them, so you can't let them down." Fan Bizhuang nodded again, and the coach of the team was already waving to this side, signaling that the game was about to start, so that they could hurry up and get ready, Fan Bizhuang turned around and hugged Casillas, "Good luck, Igor, I will cheer for you below." ”

Casillas smiled and corrected the error in his words: "Good luck to us, you are the same as us." Don't worry, we're going to try to win, but of course, you have to be ready at all times because maybe you'll be able to play in the second half. ”

Van Bizhuang understood what Casillas meant, and if all went well, Spain would try to establish victory in the first half and let the second half go into "garbage" time early, so Bosque would have brought on the substitutes for various reasons.

"I hope so."

Fan Bizhuang smiled faintly.

……

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon local time in South Africa, all the pre-match preparations were over, and with the whistle of the referee on duty, Pierre, the first game of the first round of the group of Group H officially began.

Spain lined up 4-5-1 for this game, and in the past, the two players in the Matadors front line were Fernando. Torres and David. Villa, but before the World Cup, Torres experienced a major injury, although he returned in time, but the injury somewhat affected his competitive state, so after weighing many aspects, Bosque arranged the starting lineup with only one single arrow for Villa.

Thanks to Spain's strong midfield control, even if there is only one striker, the strength of the offensive side will not be weakened too much, Villa is an excellent scorer with both speed and technique, and the terrifying central axis led by Xavi and Iniesta can not only ensure a steady stream of cannonballs to the front line, but also play an important role in the super individual ability of these stars when necessary, and insert the attack can also create a huge threat to the opponent's defense.

"It's game on! It's game on! The first leg of the final group of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Group H, was officially played against the Matadors Spain and the same European team, Switzerland ......"

"Let's take a look at the starting line-up of both sides, Switzerland have a 4-4-parallel formation, biased towards defense, the goalkeeper is No. 1 Benagrio, and the four defenders are Ejman, Senderos ......"

"The one wearing the red shirt is the Spanish team, and the one standing on the goal line is the No. 1 Igor. Casillas, who is the third captain of La Liga giants Real Madrid and the captain of this year's Matadors, stands in front of him Sergio. Sergio Ramos, the striking right-wing-back, also hails from Real Madrid, and is joined at the back by two Barcelona players, Puyol and Gerard Pique...... Up front, it's David. Villa! ”

"It's a super team with top players in every position and there's no doubt about their quality! Two years ago, Spain won the European Championship and became the king of Europe, and now, the curtain of the World Cup has been opened. ”

As soon as the opening whistle sounded, the cheers and shouts of the scene went up to a new level, and the commentators also started their work, but judging from their introduction, it is obvious that they are more favored by the star-studded Spanish national team, no way, the Spanish team has countless big-name stars, and it is also the champion of the European Cup, such a strong team, you can't want to favor it or not.

In contrast, the starting lineup of the Swiss national team, apart from a few familiar names, really does not have many influential players. And even those players who are still somewhat famous are just characters in the middle of Europe's top leagues, and compared to the luxurious Matador army, it is very appropriate to describe it as bleak.