Once the game started, as is customary, both teams did not go all out, but tried their own way.

Although England and Italy played each other in the semi-finals of the World Cup six years ago, that England team is completely different from the current England, and that Italy is not the current Italy. Especially for the team led by Donn, it is necessary to test it out. Who knows what traps await you?

After five minutes of probing, Italy began to put on a solid counter-attack. He was not in a hurry to attack, but first stabilized the defense and stationed troops in the midfield. This did not come as a surprise. Rie led the Italian team three times, and his favorite tactic has long been figured out by everyone, and he himself knows that it is difficult to surprise people in this regard, so it is better to take a tactic to the extreme.

He also didn't try to make Italy look better and more aggressive, such as when he used the aggressive 433, which ended in a three-goal humiliation by Brazil in the Confederations Cup. That game also made him completely break the idea of playing beautiful football, and he thought that it was safer to win the game by defending football.

In this respect, he and Don belong to the same category.

Everybody clearly sees it that way. Therefore, they also believe that in the final, Don will not hesitate to choose conservative tactics, strive not to make mistakes or make fewer mistakes, and strive to win the game on the premise of not conceding a goal.

Then this final will be a dull duel between conservatives, who will compete not with the ability to score the other goal, but with the least mistakes. Playing 120 minutes is not a surprise, and there is a more than 50 per cent chance that the winner or runner-up will be decided on penalties...... In short, it's best to prepare for a protracted battle. Those non-European fans who stayed up late to watch the game were out of luck, getting up in the middle of the night, yawning and sleepy-eyed in anticipation of a shocking matchup, not expecting to see a game that made them even more sleepy. I wonder how many people will stare at a pair of "panda eyes" during the day and curse these two conservative head coaches?

Donn looked at his watch in the dugout, five minutes had passed and the tentative phase was basically over. It's time to start implementing his tactics.

So he got up from his seat and slowly walked to the sidelines. No gestures were made, no whistles were blown to shout a player's name, and the England players on the pitch just saw him on the sidelines and knew what to do.

Everyone still remembers what Donn told them at the tactical meeting the day before the game, in fact, even if the leader didn't say anything, they could guess what tactics the team would use in the game, because the three days of training have been revealing such and such information.

During last night's tactical meeting, Donn told his players not to be too conservative in the first half and to attack aggressively. Try to score first so that the game will work in your favor. If you can't score in the first half, it's never too late to be conservative in the second half.

“…… They'll think we're going to take a more conservative approach to dealing with them, and if they do, we'll have the upper hand and take that by surprise! ”

As the Italians wanted to shrink their defence and not give England too many chances close to goal, they had a slightly weaker control over the midfield. Wood was comfortable with the ball in the back of the pitch and didn't have anyone up to steal and interfere.

After his team-mates passed the ball to him, England's attack was up to him.

As England's metronome, he controls the tempo of the team's attack, and he has the final say on when to go fast and when to slow down. If he gets the rhythm wrong, not only will he not score goals, but he will put the team in a very dangerous situation. How well a team plays depends on the metronome.

After Wood got the ball, he wanted to make a long pass directly to Rooney in front. He had seen the vacancy before he received the ball. But when the football came, the situation on the field changed again, and the empty space that had been seen before was filled by the defenders of the Italian team. Rooney was also re-noticed by Crischato. If the pass had been as planned, there was a good chance that the ball would have gone to the Italians and they would have played a counter-attack. This wasn't what Wood wanted.

He dangled a shot and kept the soccer ball behind. Looking back on the left, he saw that his teammates were a little far away from him, which was not good...... He made a gesture to pick up.

Gerrard saw Wood running back in front of him, followed by Italian midfielder Aquilani.

Wood saw Aquilani following Gerrard's butt and didn't really pass the ball over, but suddenly dribbled forward!

He and Gerrard staggered by, and Aquilani was taken aback and hurriedly threw Gerald down to pounce on Wood. Wood waited for him, and after watching Aquilani leave Gerrard, he used the outside instep to play the ball to Gerrard diagonally behind, and he took Aquilani away.

Gerrard received the ball and turned forward, and when Lanzaffell pressed at him, he didn't stick to the ball, but passed the ball to Downing on Lanzafammet's wing.

This is a special request from Donne, who wants the team to try to stick the ball as little as possible when passing through midfield, and to mobilize the opposition defence through quick passes. This is especially important against a well-organized team like Italy, where it is difficult to find a breakthrough in a chain defence with individual skill alone, and only quick passes can tear open a gap.

Downing had just received the ball behind him in Joe. Mattok suddenly crossed the halfway line.

This scene surprised the commentators from all over the world in the broadcast box - the full-backs' assist is very "symbolic" in football, which shows that the team's tactical thinking is not conservative, but actively seeking attacking opportunities. Otherwise, the manager would not have allowed the full-backs to be so bold in providing assists. For example, in today's game, the two full-backs have not crossed the halfway line once.

"Joe. Mattok suddenly stepped forward and joined the attack! Would this be a positive sign? ”

Lippi's eyebrows raised, and he noticed that as well. It was clear that Downing did not break down the wing after receiving the ball, but suddenly cut inside and seemed to want to go in the middle. Italy's De Rossi soon came up to block his path, but it seems that his real purpose was not there...... Sure enough, in the next second, Lippi saw Mattok pass behind Downing at high speed. His move caught the attention of both De Rossi and Italian right wing-back Thornton – an assist at full-back? Although this trick is old-fashioned, it works very well, and it can be described as a classic routine.

Now Thornton is in a dilemma. Rooney had been pulled to the flanks before, and considering the stability of the overall defensive line, Crischitto did not follow, but let Sando take care of the opponent. Now there's another Joe on the side. Matok, three people came in at once, which suddenly made him a little confused. In fact, Thornton is characterized by attack, he is fast, agile, explosive, excellent in crossing, and his performance in defence is average, mainly relying on a strong whole. It's unrealistic to have him face three people by himself right now. De Rossi also noticed this, and he decided to go and help Thornton.

These thoughts are just flashes of light.

Just as Mattok plugged in from behind Downing, after Downing made a passing pose, he suddenly rushed diagonally to the penalty area!

De Rossi, who changed his center of gravity, didn't expect Downing to break through so resolutely, and there was no way to watch his opponent break through from his side.

Before he could break through, Abang Lajo pulled out and headed it on the line of the penalty area to get on the line. The Italian defence is also very tacit in pressing forward and keeping a line with him, they know that this man is fast, and an effective way to deal with the speed striker is to put him in an offside trap.

Downing saw Abonlaho staring at Chiellini and passed the ball over.

The individual level of the Italian defender is quite high, even more so as captain. Chiellini's defense was watertight. Abang Laho felt that he could not guarantee that he would complete the turn with the football, and he was afraid that he would only be broken. Fortunately, he saw that Downing was continuing to cut forward after passing the ball, and he knew what to do.

Pass the soccer ball right away!

"Nice wall-to-wall fit!" Mortenson shouted.

But he called early.

Crischato, the main defender of Juventus, had apparently expected England to play such a combination, and he was in early position to shovel the football out before Downing!

"Aha! Wonderful defense! This time it was the Italian commentator's turn to cheer.

But he also called early...... The ball that was shoveled out by Crischitto did not fall at the feet of other Italian players such as Aquilani, but was tackled by Giorgio Brown. Wood picked up ...... Wood did not stop the ball and then seek to continue the attack, but took advantage of the fact that the Italian defense had not yet reacted, and directly met the ball with a powerful volley!

"George. Woo-De!! ”

The ball flew off the goalpost and hit the billboard behind it with a muffled sound. As if struck the Italians in the heart, it startled them.

Goalkeeper Amelia struggled to save but couldn't reach the ball, and Wood shot the ball quickly and he was a little late. If the ball was shot in the woodwork, the result would be hard to say...... Despite not scoring, Donn stood on the sidelines and applauded England's attack.

He hadn't forgotten to glance at Lippi next door, who was sitting in a chair, but looking at him, it seemed that he had the intention of getting up. Apparently Lippi couldn't sit still.

This is a welcome gift from me, and I hope you like it, old man Silver Fox.

※※※ In the subsequent game, England did not mean to converge at all, but attacked more and more, not only Joe. Mattok plugged in frequently. Even right-back Richards, who is stronger defensively than attacking, is starting to try to rush up and link up with Theo Walcott.

Wood in the middle is in charge of splitting the ball, while Steven Gerrard is more of a shadow striker, threatening Amelia's goal with his long-range shots.

Wayne Rooney also used his strong body to look for opportunities in front of goal on several occasions and grab shots.

Only Abang Laho's performance was more mediocre. On the one hand, he was marked by Chiellini, and on the other hand, he was characterized by his speed and attack, rather than standing in the center, and Italy shrank the defensive line and compressed the space in front of goal, leaving him little room to play...... Seeing his performance, the commentators said that they couldn't understand why Donn didn't let Vaughn start, and went to such a mediocre and inactive Abang Lajo, is it because he is a player from Nottingham Forest?

"If England end up losing the final, I think the starters in this position will have a lot of responsibility, Tony. Don pushed himself and Abang Laho into the fire pit. ”

"Abang Laho's performance made England on the pitch as if there were only ten men fighting!"

"His best performance so far was just a wall for Downing and a pass. Tsk, that's a 'outstanding' performance......"

Commentators from all over the world used their linguistic talents to ridicule Abang Raho's performance.

In fact, the pressure on Abang Laho is really high. Although he would love to play in the final, he didn't expect to get his chance to play in this way. Vaughn is more qualified than he is, but he can only sit on the bench. Is he really stained with the light of the identity of "Nottingham Forest player"? It made him feel like a thief, stealing the final's starting qualification from Vaughn.

With this thought in his head, how could he possibly perform well?

Maybe Donn really did a mistake in letting him start.

※※※ Over there Abang Laho is like sleepwalking, this side of the box James. Vaughn sat on the bench staring at Donn's back with his eyes blazing. He was already thinking in his heart that if he failed in the final, he would definitely bombard this stubborn man in front of the media.

He was so aggrieved, he didn't get any decent opportunities in the previous game, and he unexpectedly started in the semi-finals, scoring two goals alone to turn the tide. I thought that with such a good performance, I could continue to start in the final and leave my name in the history of English football. Unexpectedly, the head coach's completely unreliable adjustment continued to press him on the cold bench, and no matter how hot his ass was, he couldn't make this cold bench seat.

He couldn't figure out why Don had made such a decision. Now watching Abonlaho's poor performance on the pitch, he doesn't know whether he should worry about England or show a little bit of the thrill of revenge.

Don didn't have the heart to guess what Vaughn was thinking at this time, he was taking advantage of a dead ball on the field to shout Abonlaho's name.

"You're acting like a pro for me! Do you want me to replace you?! It's the final! The final of the European Cup! Do you know how many people want to be in your place, bastard! ”

Abang Laho's performance was somewhat unexpected by Donn, and he was very angry. If he doesn't play properly, England's attack will inevitably be hindered in the first half, and he will probably be forced to defend with Italy in the second half until the penalty shootout.

Don's words woke up Abang Laho. He suddenly understood where he was – yes, how could he still think about whether he should be here in a match like this? The important thing is that he is already standing here, then the task here should be considered.

All right.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

Even if I stole this starting qualification, so what? Am I not part of the England team? Am I not eligible to start? Can't I score?

If you think I'm a trivial character, it's just James. Vaughn can save the team. That's good, I'd love to let you know where your mistakes are.

(To be continued)