Chapter 80

The focus of Group E of the 2008 European Championship qualifiers is about to be staged at Wembley Stadium.

"In the first round, the Croatian team defeated England 2-0 at home. In today's second round, which is the round of Group E, England will face Croatia at home." "

Russia They lost to the underdog Israel in the last round and gave up the initiative to England. So far, the Russian team has 21 points, while the Croatian team has 26 points

. That is to say, as long as the England team draws or beats the Croatian team in this game, they will advance together with the Croatian team!"

At 19:30 local time in the UK, many English fans who did not go to the scene turned on the TV on time.

"Good evening, dear viewers! Welcome everyone to watch the last leg of the European Cup qualifying match, England vs. Croatia at home! We can now clearly see that it is raining heavily outside, and we sincerely pray that the rain will stop soon. Otherwise the players will be playing in the rain after fifteen minutes! "

"This may be a bit disadvantageous for the Croatian players, because most of the players in the England team are used to playing in the rain, and this rain is very heavy. Very timely, he greatly increased the probability of England winning. "

Croatia coach Bilic arranged a 532 formation for this game, with goalkeeper Pletiksa, defenders Srna, Joel Luka, Simic, Simunic, R. Kovac, midfielder Modric, Kranjca, N. Kovac, forward Eduardo, Olic. "

"And England coach McClaren ranked him out for this game. Favorite 451 formation, goalkeeper Endritt, defenders Campbell, Bridge, Letesco, Richardson, midfielders Gerrard, Barry, Lampard, Hargreaves, Bentley, forward Crouch "

Although many fans and England coaches in England were blinded by the defense lineup when they saw the national team's roster announced yesterday, they took a deep breath when they saw the shining name of goalkeeper "Endrit". In the end, he was able to reluctantly accept such a lineup.

Due to the generosity of the Russians, their English team can qualify as long as they tie, so it is not a big problem. With Endritt, they can successfully advance even if they are 0:0.

But at this moment, seeing the starting list officially submitted by McLaren before the start of the game, many bishops who gave McLaren a lot of suggestions before the start of the game suddenly blacked out: Why is this guy McLaren like this? So stubborn! Didn’t I say that with regard to the current situation of the England team, judging from all the performances of the England team this year, they are obviously not adaptable to tactical formations other than 442?

Do you have to take out your 451 formation? Wasn't it okay when we made the roster for the game yesterday? Why did it change when we were about to play today? You old man, kill first and then show off, right?

"A draw will lead to qualifying, so we must be steady in this game! Steady! You know?" After McLaren said this in the locker room, he turned to look at Endrit, "Ritter, I hope you can Save every goal. Please remember, every time you save a ball, we will be closer to promotion."

Endritt nodded without saying a word, and McLaren turned around and called Ke again. Rauch's name, "Shoot when you have the chance, don't hesitate. It's raining today. Try to kick high-altitude balls when it rains. Do you understand?"

After being taught by McLaren, all the players of the England team walked in despite the rain. Wembley Stadium. After standing on the court and enjoying the songs sung by black singers, the game was officially announced.

"Irving, Rooney, Terry and other stars missed this game due to injuries. Beckham was also placed on the bench, and Crouch took on the position of single center."

"This crucial battle will be in It will be played in the rain. If the heavy rain does not stop, it means that there will be many surprises in this game. Our referee Frogfidet is obviously ready to blow the whistle at any time."

Frogfidet. Put the whistle to your mouth and blow it hard, the game begins and England has the ball.

After a period of constant testing of the striker, Gerrard found an opportunity in the seventh minute after the start of the game. He passed the ball from the wing and Hargreaves received the ball and jumped forward.

The England fans at the scene couldn't sit still and stood up and looked at the shot with wide eyes and nervousness.

"Hargreaves! Diving to the top! This ball can go in... Oops!" The England commentator slapped his thigh with great regret, "What a pity! The angle of this ball is too right! Croatian goalkeeper Pletiksa is very Easily put the football in your arms!"

But the English players on the field had no time to be sad, because less than a minute after the restart, Croatian midfielder Kranica, who currently plays for Portsmouth, made a 25-yard penalty in the penalty area. With sudden cold shots, the football flew in the rain for a while and then hit the lawn.

Endrit stared at the football that hit the ground and stopped immediately, subconsciously stopping. The commentator's voice also sounded simultaneously.

"This cold shot from Kranjcar did not grasp the timing well...the football bounced again! Ritter!!!"

At this moment, the commentator sitting in the studio could not say his own words as quickly as possible. Endrit, who was speaking from his heart but was being expected, was like a fish swimming in the water at this moment. He pushed his feet hard and jumped directly towards the football.

With a muffled "bang" sound, Endritt's whole body hit the lawn directly. The football was pressed under his body, and the splash completely wet his jersey. When Endritt kicked the football to defender Campbell, Then I looked down and saw that there were several mud spots on the white home jersey, which were very obvious.

But this was obviously not the time to dwell on this kind of thing. Endrit still remembered that England lost to Croatia in this game in history, so he didn't dare to be distracted at all. He immediately raised his head and blinked hard a few times to see through Rain Curtain looks ahead.

A minute later, the football was passed to the midfield. Hargreaves received the ball and passed it to Crouch. Crouch quickly judged the situation in front of the Croatian goal and chose to fall to the ground to tackle the football. The football was given to Richardson.

But Richardson obviously failed to get teammate Crouch's thoughts in time. He delayed for a few seconds and failed to stop the ball. After being double-teamed by the opponent's defender, Richardson hurriedly took a shot and was easily saved by Pletiksa.

Regretful sighs sounded again from the stands.

In the 11th minute of the game, midfielder Barry made a cross pass from the baseline. Crouch chose to directly tackle the ball after receiving the ball, but unfortunately the shot missed.

The football was taken over by the Croatian players, and the initiative on the field returned to the Croatian side.

Four minutes later, Croatia organized an attack.

Croatian forward Eduardo, who currently plays for Arsenal, faced three English defenders in front of the penalty area and successfully passed the football to Olic, who successfully countered offside.

After facing Endrit directly, Olic moved to the left first. Without passing Endrit, he raised his foot and faked a shot to the left. When he bent his leg and retracted it, he found that Endrit was still standing firmly. The ground was not shaken, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the England defender closest to him was already close at hand. Olic did not dare to shake anymore and tried to face the empty goal. He found the most tricky angle he could kick and then raised his foot and kicked it. Remember the shot.

Endrit jumped up and reached out to hold the football in his arms. When Olic turned around and ran back with a dark face, he met the eyes of his teammate Eduardo, and saw each other's helplessness in each other's eyes: He just let go Why didn't a wonderful pass/shot go in? !

The England team, which relied on the goalkeeper to gain possession of the ball again, launched a counterattack three minutes later. Gerrard dribbled the ball directly into the opponent's penalty area, but before he could go further, Gerrard was directly tackled by the opponent's player.

England gets a free kick!

The English fans at the scene were very excited. Endrit also craned his neck to look at his teammate Barry, who was taking the penalty. He silently cheered for the player of his own club's competitor Villa team in his heart.

'You must come in, please! '

Endrit prayed silently in his heart. Barry accelerated and kicked the football hard. Under Endrit's eager gaze, the football hit the wall directly without even seeing the opposite goal.

Endrit: ...

Endrit sighed silently in his heart, raised his forearm and wiped his face before cheering up again.

The forwards couldn't score and the defenders were completely unreliable. Endritt felt like he was dreaming back to his first game in the Champions League - no, it was obviously even worse now.

Endrit wiped his face again, secretly despising this damn rainy day in England.