Football Feast, Starting From the Acquisition of European Clubs - Chapter 444

It’s Ronaldo!

After heading the ball, it was found that the ball was saved by the goalkeeper of Côte d’Ivoire.

C Ronaldo’s second reaction was extremely fast. He threw his body out without any hesitation after landing, and with a flying shovel, he stabbed the ball into the goal of Côte d’Ivoire.

“Goal!

”

Relying on Ronaldo’s super personal ability, Portugal leads Côte d’Ivoire 1:0.

Seeing that the score was behind, the Ivorian players immediately launched a counterattack under the command of Eriksson.

But because Côte d’Ivoire’s current center Din Dane, under the close pressing of Pepe and the protection of Carvalho’s help defense, he can’t hold the ball at all, let alone threaten Portugal’s goal.

Therefore, Côte d’Ivoire’s offense is always thunderous and rainy, and it can only turn around outside the penalty area, and finally ends hastily with a long-range shot.

On the sidelines, Eriksson, who saw all these situations in his eyes, certainly knew where the problem was.

Looking back at the Ivorian bench, Eriksson shook his head secretly.

Wait a little longer, Drogba’s injury is not completely healed, so try not to let him play if you can.

This wait until the end of the first half of the game.

When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, the score on the court remained at Portugal 1:0 Côte d’Ivoire.

During the intermission, Chen Ran, who was very satisfied with the team’s performance in the first half, did not make any substitution adjustments other than praising the players.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the atmosphere in the locker room was a bit heavy.

“Boss, let me play in the second half of the game.”

Just when Eriksson was hesitating how to speak, Drogba took the initiative to stand up.

“Didier, are you all right?”

Ericsson was a little moved, but also a little worried.

“There should be no major problems.”

Drogba glanced at his arm and said without hesitation.

“Very well, Didier, I leave everything to you.”

As soon as the second half started, Chen Ran saw Drogba replace Din Dane in Côte d’Ivoire.

“Boss, as far as I know, Drogba’s injury is not completely healed. Now that Drogba is allowed to play with an injury, it seems that Eriksson is going to do his best.”

Boas immediately came over to remind Chen Ran.

“Well. Although Drogba is injured now, we must not relax our marking on him because of this. Andre, tell Pepe and Carvalho to be more careful. Do you understand?”

“Understood, boss.”

Soon, Pepe and Carvalho, who received Chen Ran’s latest instructions, immediately stepped up their defense against Drogba.

Drogba’s performance was indeed affected by the injury. At least when competing for position with Pepe, his broken arm dared not exert strength.

In this way, many **** that Drogba could have grabbed were destroyed by Pepe and Carvalho out of the penalty area.

Although Côte d’Ivoire’s offensive has improved compared to when Din Dane was on the court in the first half, it still did not pose too much threat to Portugal’s goal.

In the end, with Ronaldo’s supplementary shot, Portugal beat Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 in the first game of the World Cup in South Africa, and got the key three points to qualify for the group.

…

“After winning Côte d’Ivoire, Portugal will definitely have no problem qualifying for the group stage. The rest depends on whether there is a chance to win the group first.”

“Hehe, are you upstairs looking down on the mysterious teacher North Korea?”

“That’s right, North Korea only lost 1:2 to Brazil. This fighting power should not be underestimated.”

“Ahem, it’s actually not that exaggerated. Portugal should be careful, defeating North Korea is not a big problem.”

Portugal’s second match in the group stage was against the mysterious North Korea, which had just lost to Brazil by one goal.

For this match, Chen Ran wasn’t too worried.

In the previous life, the match between Portugal and North Korea was the game with the most goals in the World Cup in South Africa, so Chen Ran was deeply impressed.

The game was normal in the first half. Portugal scored the first goal and led North Korea 1:0.

But in the second half of the game, North Korea suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons, conceding six goals in a row, and finally lost to Portugal 0:7.

After six days of rest, on June 21, in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, Portugal ushered in the second opponent North Korea in the group stage.

In this match, Portugal went even smoother than in the previous life.

In the first half, with the goals of Meireles and Ronaldo, Portugal led North Korea 2:0 early.

Not long after the start of the second half, Thiago and Nani scored another goal.

Seeing that Portugal had already led North Korea 4-0, Chen Ran immediately replaced the main players such as Ronaldo and Deco.

According to past rules, teams that break out prematurely in the group stage usually don’t go far.

Chen Ran is still preparing to recharge his batteries and fight for the first place in the group with the Brazilian team.

Because, if Portugal advances to the top 16 as the second in the group, then the opponent they will face is Spain, the champion of the World Cup in South Africa in the previous life.

And Portugal, after losing 0:1 to Spain, packed their bags and went home early.

Now, Chen Ran doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of Portugal’s previous life.

He must strive to get the first place in the group, and then sit back and watch the tigers fight, watching Brazil and Spain die.

In the end, Portugal, which obviously stopped after a four-goal lead, beat North Korea with a score of 4:0. After winning two consecutive victories in the group stage, they advanced to the round of sixteen ahead of schedule.

On the Brazilian side, they defeated Côte d’Ivoire 3:1 as in the previous life. After two consecutive victories, they won the top sixteen places in advance together with Portugal.

Now, who is the number one in this group depends on the result of the direct match between Portugal and Brazil.

June 25, Durban, South Africa, Portugal vs Brazil.

As a perennial favorite to win the championship, Brazil’s strength is beyond doubt. With the support of Chen Ran, Portugal is now regarded as a very competitive team.

Although both teams have already qualified ahead of schedule, this game still attracted many fans.

“Do you think Portugal can beat Brazil to win the group first?”

“It’s very difficult, this is five-star Brazil after all.”

“So what about Brazil? This year’s Brazilian team is average, especially the forward line, which is quite weak.”

…

“Ahem, the one upstairs is a bit exaggerated, right? Robinho, Fabiano, Grafitte, and Nierma’s striker combination is not as star-studded as before, but its strength is still very strong.”

“Hehe, Robinho can’t stay in Manchester City, and players who are loaned back to Brazil can be selected. Are you ashamed to say that he is strong?”

“Exactly. Without using stars like Ronaldinho and Pato, but recruiting a group of unknown civilian players, the head coach Dunga is simply trying to die.”

“Haha, isn’t this just right. If Dunga recruits all these stars into the Brazilian team, it will be really difficult for Portugal to win.”

Chen Ran is no stranger to this Brazilian team.

No way, although Dunga’s coaching style is very different from those of the previous Brazilian coaches, he relies heavily on these Brazilian players who played for Crystal Palace.

Whether it is Thiago Silva, Maicon and Alves on the defensive line, or Kaka in the midfield, they are the absolute main force in Dunga’s lineup.

This time against Portugal, Dunga still used these players as expected.

Forward Fabiano, Forward Nierma

Front midfielder Kaka

Left midfielder Melo, right midfielder Alves

Defender Gilberto Silva

Left back Bastos, center back Thiago Silva, center back Lucio, right back Maicon

Goalkeeper Cesar

On the Portuguese side, in order to compete for the first place in the group, Chen Ran made some adjustments to some players who were not in good condition, and continued to deploy the strongest lineup.

Left forward Simao, center Ronaldo, right forward Nani

Central midfielder Meireles, Central midfielder Deco, Central midfielder Thiago

Left back Coentrao, center back Pepe, center back Carvalho, right back Miguel.

Goalkeeper Eduardo

Although the striker of this Brazilian team is not strong, the strength of the midfield is still very strong.

In addition, Dunga is different from previous Brazilian coaches. He always pays attention to defense and focuses on defensive counterattacks.

This makes it difficult for Brazil to break through Portugal’s goal, but it is also difficult for Portugal to penetrate Brazil’s defense.

Especially on the defense line of the Brazilian team, Thiago Silva and Maicon have been teammates of Ronaldo for many years, and they really know Ronaldo’s technical characteristics too well.

Under the command of Thiago Silva, Lucio is responsible for marking Ronaldo closely. And Thiago Silva himself is always on the sidelines, ready to check for gaps and make up for gaps.

In this way, several times Ronaldo has already thrown off Lucio’s marking, and when he was about to hit the goal, Thiago Silva appeared in the most critical position in time, killing the threat in the cradle inside.

Seeing that Portugal’s repeated attacks failed, the game was deadlocked, but Chen Ran was not in a hurry.

Brazil beat North Korea 2:1 and Côte d’Ivoire 3:1; Portugal beat North Korea 4:0 and Côte d’Ivoire 1:0.

Therefore, even if Portugal draws with Brazil, it can still take the first place in the group by virtue of its goal difference advantage.

With this condition, Chen Ran naturally calmed down.

But on the Brazilian team, Dunga, who is also aware of the current situation, is a little anxious.

…

After all, the difference between first and second in the World Cup group is too great, and it can even directly affect how far the team can go in the end.

Until the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, the score on the field remained at 0:0 without any change.

During the halftime break, Chen Ran did not make any substitutions and adjustments except for giving the players a bloodbath as usual.

On the Brazilian side, Dunga had to change the defensive counterattack tactics he had always insisted on and began to take the initiative.

Moreover, he also replaced Nierma with Robinho and Melo with Baptista, ready to give it a go.

At the beginning of the second half of the game, seeing the substitution adjustment of the Brazilian team, Boas immediately moved to Chen Ran’s side again.

“Boss, Dunga is going to put all his eggs in one basket. Shall we increase our defensive strength?”

“Andre, don’t worry, take a look first. Dunga is not good at offensive tactics. He is now actively pressing the attack, and the effect may not be as good as before.”

“Besides, the Brazilian team doesn’t have a strong center right now, so it doesn’t put too much pressure on our defense. Go and remind the midfielders, as long as Kaka is marked to death.”

“Okay, boss.”

As expected by Chen Ran, when the Brazilian team played defensive counterattacks, Kaka was often able to dribble long distances, posing a big threat to Portugal’s goal.

But now that the Brazilian team has moved forward in formation and the overall pressure is on the offense, the midfield is full of people, which greatly reduces the space for Kaka to play his strengths. His threat to Portugal’s defense was not as good as in the first half of the game.

Soon, Dunga also discovered this problem.

But he can’t let the team go back to play defensive counterattacks in order to make full use of Kaka’s strengths, because this runs counter to his current goal of rushing to score.

Then, Dunga was reluctant to replace Kaka and put on a midfielder who was better at organizing attacks. He had been expecting Kaka to create miracles.

Thus, time passed by every minute amidst Dunga’s hesitation.

In the end, the two teams of Portugal and Brazil handed in a goalless draw and ended this boring game with a score of 0:0.

And Portugal, as Chen Ran wished, overwhelmed Brazil with the advantage of goal difference, and successfully advanced to the top 16 as the first place in this group.

Their opponent in the next round is Chile, the second place in Group H.

As for the Brazilian team, it was very sad to meet Spain, the first place in Group H and the last champion of this World Cup in the previous life.

For this reason, Chen Ran secretly opened a bottle of red wine in the room, and celebrated a little.

Of course, only Chen Ran knew that Spain was the champion of this World Cup in the previous life.

So, although the Brazilian team was a little disappointed when they met Spain, they didn’t care too much.

After all, before the World Cup in South Africa, although Spain was considered a traditional strong team, the best results in many World Cups in the past were nothing more than the quarterfinals.

“Chen Ran is really amazing! He was able to lead Portugal to push Brazil to second place in the group.”

“Of course. In terms of coaching ability, there are not many coaches in today’s football who dare to say that they are better than Chen Ran.”

“Portugal’s opponent in the next round is Chile. If there is no accident, it should not be a big problem for Portugal to reach the quarterfinals, but I don’t know how far it can go.”

“Upstairs, why think so much? If you can play a game, it’s a game. Maybe you can make it to the final.”

“Hahahaha, did you drink too much upstairs? Still in the finals? I think it would be pretty good to make it to the semifinals.”

“The layout is small. With the chicken thief, everything is possible.”

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