On November 17, there is no match in England on this day, but there is a match broadcast on English television that will be followed by countless people. Russia travels to Israel and the outcome of this game will determine the fate of England's best qualifiers.

If Russia wins, then both teams will play the same number of games and Russia will have a one-point lead. In the final round, England will face Croatia, the top of the group, and Russia, Andorra, the weakest of the group. No matter how you look at it, Russia will win, in that case, even if England wins at home against Croatia, they will not be able to avoid being eliminated from the competition.

That's why Russia's away game against Israel will be on the radar of all England.

Don also sat in front of the TV on time to watch the game. He wasn't concerned about England qualifying, he had no interest in what the fate of England would be. He just had two players from his own team in the starting lineup in Russia, and anyway, England TV was going to broadcast it, so he stopped by the way to check the performance of the two at home.

Although Akinfeev was temporarily a substitute for Van der Sar at Nottingham Forest, only making appearances in the Carabao Cup, this did not affect his status as the main goalkeeper in Russia in the slightest. Hiddink once euphemistically expressed his displeasure with Donn putting Russia's number one national on the bench, but Donn pretended not to hear it and continued to go his own way. He originally planned to correct Akinfeev this season, who would have thought that Van der Sar's form would be so good, and winning the Champions Cup last season not only did not make him lose his fighting spirit, but instead stimulated his energy and extended his good form to this season. Because goalkeeper is a position that values experience, since Van der Sar is in good shape, then Donn naturally let the more experienced him as the starter.

Another member of the Forest team, Arshavin, is currently the captain of the Russian national team, wearing the number 10 shirt and is the central figure of the team's attacking organisation on the pitch. England lost away to Russia. Arshavin scored a goal of his own and provided an assist for a goal from his team-mates, and was very lively throughout the game, causing a headache for England's star backline.

At Nottingham Forest, Eastwood has always been injured and he has been luckier than his Russian compatriot Akinfeev in that he has had a number of appearances, as well as goals and assists. England fans are getting acquainted with him. In his rookie season in the Premier League, he has been able to play 70 points so far. Prove Tony again. Don has a very good eye for people. In fact, the main thing is that Arshavin's technical characteristics are very much in line with Donn's tactics - speed, wing attack, and back row insertion. Moreover, Arshaving's style of play is also very compatible with the rhythm of the Premier League, and there is no discomfort like Grosso's performance.

With these two Russian players playing in the Premier League, the England commentators are also familiar with the commentary. However, he didn't say anything nice about Russia, and from the beginning of the game he wanted Israel to win.

Although this game is between Israel and Russia, the protagonists seem to be England and Russia.

Before the game, Chelsea manager Roman Abramovich promised to reward each of them with £100,000 if Russia could beat Israel! And before that, after Russia's home win over England. Abramovich once walked into the Russian dressing room after the game and handed out a reward of 500,000 pounds to each international player on the spot!

So in the Mourinho affair and the Donndi foul-mouthing incident, the English media were almost overwhelmingly on the opposite side of the Chelsea owners. It's because of national honor.

The Russians are on the move, and so are the English. Before this game. The England team has launched a multi-faceted public relations campaign up and down: the players of the national team have lobbied their Israeli teammates at the club, hoping that they will not let go for the sake of friendship. Crouch and Gerrard's Liverpool team-mate Benayoun was unavailable for the game due to injury, which must have been a blow to the Englishman. And Chelsea's centre-back Israeli Ben Haim was also influenced by Joe. Kohldi "Temptation". He revealed: "The England team-mates in the dressing room have been putting pressure on me these days. Cole said that as long as I beat Russia, I could choose where I went on vacation, and he paid for it. I don't know if he's joking, but I'd like to give it a try. Hopefully Israel will get a good result, because I also want to save Mr. Abramovich money. And another Israeli midfielder, Tamir. Cohen was also found to have a twist and turn England complex: "My father Avi used to play for Liverpool, he loved Liverpool and England ......"

The English media kept publishing articles urging UEFA to keep a close eye on the game; UEFA official partners, some of the UK's biggest corporations, are also busy. Hope to help Israel win over Russia.

But let's not forget, it's Israel and Russia that really go up in this game.

In an interview before the game, Israeli coach Kashtan said: "I don't care what the English and the Russian say. I just want my team to do well. ”

Obviously, he is a little unhappy that the real protagonist has become a supporting role.

But his words reassured England.

Sure enough, ten minutes into the game, the Israelis took the lead on their home turf, and the British commentator was as excited as if England had scored a goal, constantly chanting the name of the scorer.

Don shrugged.

In the 60th minute, Russia finally equalized. There was silence on the TV. It took a while for the narrator's voice to reappear, and the narrator could be heard to be very frustrated.

What will happen if Russia and Israel are tied? England must win against Croatia to secure qualification. If Russia loses to Israel. Life will be better for England, who only need a draw against Croatia to qualify.

If you tie, you'll qualify......

Don looked away from the TV screen, and he thought about a lot of the past......

On TV, thousands of miles away at the Ramat Gan National Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, the game continues. Russia stepped up their attack after the equaliser, and they could not rely on the sportsmanship of Croatia, who qualified early in the final round, and only an away win over Israel could take their fate firmly into their own hands.

The Israelis, on the other hand, seem somewhat satisfied with the results of the Russian equalizer. The attack is not fierce, and it is still gradually recovering, intending to hold this point. was so anxious that the England commentator shouted: "If you start defending so early, you will definitely not be able to hold it!" Conservatism usually doesn't end well! ”

Unfortunately, the Israelis could not hear his shouts and still reclaimed the penalty area and played with the Russians, as if they did not want to win the game. Donn has already begun to imagine that there will be a lot of over-drinking England fans scolding the Israelis for not being sportsmanlike......

Who knows, the game changed dramatically at the last minute. In the ninety-second minute, the score was still 1:1. The England commentator gave up and began to give the crowd a listless start to explain the form England faced in this situation - "We have to win at home to Croatia in the last game. In this way, even if Russia and Andorra play a basketball score, it will not affect our qualification...... Yes, that's ......"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the Israelites suddenly raise their arms and shout.

"What? This is...... Omer. Golan!! The narrator who saw the replay of the footage also roared excitedly. Golan! Golan, I love you! He works miracles! It was a last-minute goal! The Israelites' lore! Lore - the Russians are finished!! The Israelis beat Russia at home! They live up to the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play! They are the pride of professional football! ”

The narrator almost shouted, "At this moment they are possessed."

Seeing the narrator's excited look, Don was a little pantothenic. He didn't want to see such a comedic scene again, so he raised his hand and turned off the TV.

Shania was upstairs when she heard a loud roar coming from the TV. Curiously walked down, only to see a pitch-black screen.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. Donn shrugged, "I was watching a movie that was said to be comparable to "Flying Over the Asylum", but I was disappointed to watch it a little, and I didn't make a leap at all. It's completely "Madhouse", so it's closed. ”

Shania looked at Don and became even more strange: "Aren't you watching a football game?" ”

"yes, it's over. ”

"What is the result?"

"The English won. Don said angrily.

Shania thought for a moment. Laughing: "So it's Israel's victory over Russia?" England have a chance of qualifying, but why don't I think you're happy at all? ”

Donn stood in the living room, looking up at Shania on the stairs, he spread his hand and waved, "The FA won't pay me a salary, so why should I be happy about their victory?" ”

Shania only thought that there was a very deep conflict between Don and the FA, so she didn't continue to ask. In fact, how did she know that she was unhappy because Donn had never been an England fan, nor was he an Englishman. Naturally, there is no need to follow other people's affairs.

The next day, almost every newspaper that Donn could see in the market devoted a lot of space on the front page to the game that was played yesterday. Golan became an overnight hero in England, and some people even seriously suggested that Premier League club owners and coaches buy him. Donn was amused every time he saw something like that – in fact, most of the time, he did take a lot of the English media as a joke.

However, it is understandable that the English were so excited, as the Israelis beat Russia in an upset, although Croatia lost to Macedonia. However, due to the second place, England and Croatia still have a three-point gap. In addition, the win-loss relationship between the two teams is beneficial to Croatia, so it has been announced that Croatia will qualify ahead of schedule.

So. England only need a draw against Croatia at the new Wembley Stadium to qualify for the European Championship finals as group runners-up. In that case, even if Russia wins Andorra and the two teams are on the same points, according to the results of the two teams, England will still be ranked ahead of Russia.

Now it's the turn of the Russians in a panic.

Don watched this drama coldly, he was an outsider. England's absence from the Euros, he has nothing to lose, and his England internationals will be able to enjoy a holiday next summer.

Before this game, England organized a warm-up match against Austria, and before the game, the media said sourly: "If Russia wins against Israel." Then this warm-up game is likely to be the closest England has come to the European Championship. "It's the closest place geographically......

The warm-up match was played on the 16th, and after the warm-up match, the England team flew back to the UK and disbanded on the spot, and all the players watched the game at home.

McLaren was unbelievably lucky, one foot was still on the cliff, but after this game, he was back on the ground and temporarily safe.

Now the pressure is on the Russian side. England only need a draw to qualify. The English media were jubilant, as if they had already qualified.

When Don saw this scene, he really wanted to remind them: a tie is the most terrible and terrible curse in the world, and the sweetest and sweetest trap. He can also give these Britons examples of Chinese football, of course, these conceited Britons will not listen, because the level of Chinese football and the level of English football are completely different. But in Donn's eyes, in addition to the strength of the team itself, there are many things about English football that are completely different from Chinese football. Like the media and the FA.

Now, of course, Don is too lazy to do that thankless task.

There are also media who came to interview Donn, and many people in the English football circle have come out for interviews in the past few days, talking about how wonderful the prospects of the England team are, and qualifying for a draw is almost equivalent to qualifying. Croatia will not do its best, or advocate friendship between the two countries......

Even the Frenchman Arsene Wenger came out to say that he favored England to win, and in order to prove that he was not casually perfunctory, he also analysed the reasons for England's victory in detail from a tactical level. This has strengthened the confidence of many England fans and media that a bright future is coming.

When asked Donn. Don said: "If you go against the tune at this time, will you become the enemy of the whole people?" Then without waiting for the stunned reporter to come back to his senses, he raised two fingers: "England can score at least two goals!" ”

He didn't say it later, and reporters can use their imagination on their own. What does it mean to score two goals on your home turf? The game is basically won! The crowd left Wilford with good intentions.

On the last day before the game on the 20th, Donn couldn't help but express his concern in his column, and he tactfully said how terrible the idea of "a draw is qualifying", which is the same as Wenger, but Wenger then said that he had confidence in England, and Donn said that he thought England could capsize in the gutter if he was so optimistic. What's more, Croatia is not a "gutter".

If that's all he says, the rhetoric might still be marketable. But then he went on to say that a draw is not impossible, but England's midfield lacks a good defensive midfielder, and if McClaren really wants to defend, he can't rely on those big stars. Hargreaves had already picked up an injury in pre-match training and was unavailable in important games, leaving England largely without a defensive midfield. Do you want to hope for a draw with such a lineup? Is Croatia's forward line that scored 25 goals really an ornament?

So, he thinks that since McLaren didn't plan to recruit George. Wood. So if he still wants to keep. It's a dead end. As for talking about good luck, "when the Israelis defeated Russia." McLaren ran out of his good fortune. ”

When he said this, he gave people the idea of taking the opportunity to take revenge and sell his own players. Naturally not flattering. There are already voices saying that it is inappropriate for Don to pour cold water at this time, and he is venting the players. Donn didn't bother to fight with the ignorant, and after he had finished his opinion, he closed his mouth and quietly waited for the fate that belonged to England and McClaren.

He can't predict the future, but there are some futures that can be guessed without prediction, such as the break between Mourinho and Roman Abramovich, and the fate of England, led by a mediocre man like McLaren, who was spoiled by the media and the public......