Germany's surprise defeat hurt Donn, but it made the media as excited as if they had been beaten with blood.

Originally, after England and Germany defeated their respective opponents with an absolute advantage, everyone felt that the pattern of this group had been set, England and Germany were the two strongest teams, and the top two teams that qualified were likely to be them, and the only suspense was who was first and who was second.

As supporters of England and Germany, this is a good thing. But for the media who are afraid that the world will not be chaotic, this is the worst situation. They lamented from their respective positions that the "Group of Death" was not worthy of its name.

Well, now there's no such thing as a misnomer. All of a sudden, the group of deaths lived up to its name and became interesting.

Both teams that had previously lost in the first round had won, while both teams that had previously won had lost. After two rounds of group play, all four teams have three points, which is a rare occurrence in international competitions.

The situation now is that Germany are top of the group on goal difference, scoring four goals and conceding two, with two clean sheets. England are second with four goals scored, three conceded and one goal difference. Portugal scored four goals and conceded five, with a goal difference of one in third place. Finally, Wales scored one goal and conceded three with a minus two goal difference.

In the final round, England and Germany will go head-to-head, while Portugal will face Wales. Any team could qualify, and any team could be eliminated.

"It's really the most death-like 'Death Group' in this competition!" In Sky TV's European Cup special program, the invited guests sighed. "Such a complex qualifying situation is the most of all six groups. You don't have to analyze the situation of their four teams for you, you just have to look at the score rankings and guess for yourself what will happen next - it's chaos! ”

"Before the second round, the probability of losing both first and second in the group at the same time was one in nine. When England lost to Wales at Camp Nou, the Germans were probably already looking forward to their prospects of qualifying early. Who would have thought that after a good battle against the enemy, the Germans also lost! Spanish national television summed it up.

"For England, Germany's loss is definitely not good news. Although we have a forty-year feud with them. Because of Tony. Donn's side will face Germany in the final round, and only a win against Germany will ensure qualification, and a loss or draw will leave fate to someone else. "In the BBC TV special project, experts are analysing England's qualifying situation for England fans as it has become dire overnight." But England are missing George. Wood, the German team is a very strong opponent again......"

"One thing proved to be true – there was no George. Wood's England is second-rate in Europe. They couldn't even win against Wales, and without Wood's playmaking and defending in midfield, England simply didn't know how to function. The 4-2 win over Portugal was nothing more than a surprise, and we also have to note that Portugal dominated the whole game. "It's a Deutsche TV 2 show, and they're using it to cheer up worried German fans." We were just unlucky to lose to Portugal and England were a complete failure against Wales, who had twice as many shots as Wales, but most of them were deflected wide and all from blind distance...... In terms of team form, we are better than England. ”

"Wales beat England and Portugal beat Germany. That's what we're the most hopeful outcome for those of us who are neutral fans. Because the final round of the group stage will be very, very exciting! China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 5 is neutral, but German and English fans make up a significant proportion of Chinese fans, and they "gloat" in the program, and there must be no shortage of curses on the Internet.

In fact, the evaluation of these media is fair and objective. Donn is now under tremendous pressure – a beautiful win in the first game of the tournament that raised the expectations of the English people, only to lose the second game in an embarrassing way, throwing the English fans flying in the clouds into the mud, such a huge psychological gap is unacceptable to many. The print and online media directed this anger at Don. Someone has to be responsible for this, doesn't they?

Countless tabloids don't care about the objective conditions and subjective factors, anyway, it is the most convenient to blame the head coach for all the reasons for the loss. Who let Don leave them a handle? After the game, he said in an interview, "I underestimated the enemy", which became the biggest reason for many tabloids to attack him.

"Tony. Donn's arrogance finally cost him, but he also dragged the fate of the whole of England to his funeral! It's nothing short of a scandal! ”

“…… I can't understand England like this, and it's like a team that beat Portugal 4-2. Why? ”

"Simply underestimating the enemy doesn't explain the loss. I think England has a major tactical flaw. It turns out that it is not enough to fight back on defense alone! He wanted to move Nottingham Forest's suit to England, but found that he couldn't adapt to it......"

"I think the loss in this game says a lot about George. An important surname for Wood. Donn's insistence on taking Wood to Spain makes sense, but what's the point of taking him if we just go home in the group stage? Now that there is one last game left, is there anything he can do? ”

"Tony. Donn is stubborn, if we choose to continue to trust him, one day it will be the whole of English football that suffers! ”

……

There have been so many such attacks that it is rare for a journalist covering England to go without Tony. Tang En had a conflict, and this time they finally seized the opportunity to take revenge.

The more they attacked Donne, the more the fans felt that it would be difficult for England to qualify, so before the match against Germany, the expectations of the fans and the criticism of the media were converging on Valencia City from all directions, forming a huge invisible pressure that enveloped the entire England team.

Donn apparently noticed the pressure, too, and he did something against the media again – canceling his regular press conference and not trying to dig up any valuable news from him except before the game. The fifteen-minute public shooting time each day does not contain anything but a warm-up or a warm-up. He also asked the security guards of the hotel where he was staying to clear the reporters who were wandering nearby, and the reporters who did not get permission were not allowed to enter the hotel lobby.

This open confrontation with the media obviously made the media even more dissatisfied, and I don't know how many more words to scold him.

The tension was felt within the England squad. After the match against Portugal, there was no shortage of laughter and laughter in the training, and there were also many games and interesting events arranged in the training for everyone to relax. But after the match against Wales, all of these games were cancelled. Everyone could clearly feel the amount of training, and although the leader still had a smile on his face, everyone knew that it was just made to show them. When it comes to pressure, there's no one here who is bigger than the head.

There are only three days between the second and final round of the group stage, which adds to the tension. What can be changed in three days?

※※※

After the defeat to Wales, England's good fortune seemed to run out overnight.

The day after they arrived in Valencia, less than ten minutes into training, and during the free time of the media. David in the warm-up. Bentley was suddenly injured.

The scene was chaotic, and reporters desperately tried to squeeze in to get pictures of Bentley's injuries. The security guards at the scene were busy intercepting the reporters under Donn's loud scolding. While Donn was guarding against the reporters, he also had to go to see what Bentley's injuries were, and the scene was so noisy that his head was almost dizzy.

"What's going on?" Don finally squeezed into the crowd and saw Derek, the national team's team doctor. White (derek_right) is doing a preliminary check on Bentley.

"Thigh muscle strain." White replied. "It's a recurrence of an old injury."

Don frowned, this is not an injury that can be healed in a day or two.

Bentley, who was sitting on the ground, also looked depressed. He has not started this European Championship yet, and he was thinking of fighting for a chance in the next game, but now he has a thigh muscle strain, and he will almost certainly not be able to play in the last game of the group stage. And will England have a game after the match against Germany?

Donn casually pointed to the two players: "You guys take David down." ”

White followed Bentley to the sideline, sat him on the floor, and massaged his thighs.

The reporters outside the venue were still arguing and wanted to come in for interviews and shooting. They even got into a confrontation with the security guards. Even the swear words came out.

Don was distraught when he heard this. He turned and walked up to the group of reporters and pointed to the watch on his wrist: "It's time, free time is over!" Please come back, ladies and gentlemen! Then he said to the guards, "Get them all out!" ”

"Mr. Donn! Is Bentley injured? ”

"Mr. Donn, is Bentley's injury serious?"

"Tony. Mr. Donne...... Could he miss the game against Germany? ”

"Bentley is injured, will that affect the morale of the team?"

The reporters who were unwilling to be kicked out like this threw their questions at Don En one after another, but Tang En ignored them, he turned around and walked back to the training ground, shouting to the stunned and overwhelmed players: "Keep training!" ”

The reporters finally dispersed, and calm returned to the training ground. Bentley's injury didn't affect the quality of the team's training, the amount of work was not lacking, and the players' attention was focused on training. After all, injuries are a common thing, not to mention that Bentley is not the main player, even if he is injured and can't catch up with the German team, it will not have much impact on the strength of the team.

It's just that Donne's brow is getting tighter and tighter.

George. Wood walked to the sidelines to rest after completing his own training program, and he sat next to Bentley.

"Hey, George......" Bentley was a little frustrated, with an ice pack on his lap filled with ice. I'm unlucky......"

Wood glanced at his thigh. "It's just a muscle strain, and it'll get better soon." He comforted his team-mates at Nottingham Forest.

"No matter how fast it is, I won't be able to play against Germany......" Bentley rubbed his strained right thigh. If it's a strain on his left thigh, it's better, he can grit his teeth and persevere. With a strain on his right thigh, he couldn't do anything. "When the time comes, let's cheer them on the bench together."

Unexpectedly, Wood shook his head: "No, I want to play." ”

Bentley thought he had misheard, and he turned to look at Wood, his eyes wide. "If I'm not mistaken, the doctors said you were going to miss all three group games......"

"I feel fine."

Bentley stared at Wood's right big toe and asked, "Does it hurt?" ”

Wood shook his head, "No, not at all. ”

Bentley looked at Tony in the distance. Donn: "I don't think the boss will let you play." ”

"If you can't win against Germany, you will."

"Are you kidding your career, George?"

"I'm serious." Wood rested, walked back onto the pitch and continued his solo workout.

Bentley looked at his back and pouted.

"You haven't practiced with us before, so how could you possibly let you play? Don't be delusional, George......" he muttered.

※※※

'Just lost to Wales, David. Bentley was injured again. England have had a bad year, it's really worrying......" BBC5's European Championship report is broadcasting the news they have just received. It was the chaotic scene on the training ground on television. If you listen closely, you can hear Tony. Donn's voice - "What the is going on...... Hell, get them out! Stop shooting! ”

"Although Tony. Donn canceled the regular press conference, but Draco. White was interviewed by us. He told us that Bentley suffered a muscle strain in his right thigh and will miss the game against Germany...... As far as we know, this is not the first time Bentley has suffered a right thigh muscle strain, in George. With Wood out injured, Bentley is also on the injury list, and luck doesn't seem to be on our side......

It is probably not appropriate to describe the mood of England fans as gloomy and bleak. Could it be that this "strongest England team in history" can't even qualify for the group stage?

※※※

"It's not that it hurts the main force, look at the arguments of those media...... That's why I hate the media. They always deliver ice when you need charcoal to keep warm, and dry bread when you need water to quench your thirst – in short, it only adds to the mess. "Donn was unhappy with the tension created by the media's hype about Bentley's injury, this group of English tabloids is so annoying!

"No way, Tony. After our defeat to Wales, pessimism prevailed...... The slightest accident can be magnified infinitely. Walker put down the newspapers in England, and they were almost all bad stories.

The two men were chatting when there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

The man who pushed the door in was George. Wood. This took Donn and Walker a little by surprise.

Wood didn't expect there to be anyone else in Donn's room either, and he glanced at assistant coach Dees. Walker, standing in the doorway, didn't speak.

Walker knew Wood had something to say to Donn, but he didn't want outsiders to be there. It must have been a conversation that belonged only to the two of them.

"So...... I'll take my leave. Walker stood up playfully and prepared to leave.

"Goodbye, Des. Call me at dinner time. Don waved at him.

"Goodbye, Mr. Walker." Wood watched Walker leave from the door.

"Goodbye, George."

When Walker was gone, Donn said, "Close the door, George." Do you have anything to do with me? ”

Wood obediently closed the door, but he still stood in the doorway and said to Donn, "Tomorrow's game against Germany...... I hope you can put me on the field. ”

(To be continued)