All-around center

This is an ordinary and extraordinary noon.

In Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, people are still as busy as ever, but if you look closely at their expressions, it is not difficult to see the faint expectation on their faces.

When pedestrians pass by the intersection, they can't help but look up at the large LED screen on the front of the building, where the game is being warmed up.

That's right!

In another hour, Croatia's first game in the 2014 World Cup will begin.

They can't wait to go home or watch this crucial event with their friends.

In order to welcome this crucial game, Croatia is almost on vacation.

All schools have entered holiday mode, and students are picked up by their parents early.

Work is only in the morning, and you can go home to watch the game at noon.

This is not a national regulation, but it is a spontaneous choice of people.

Croatia is small, so small that it has a weak presence in the entire global village.

But Croatia is big, so big that it can affect the hearts of fans around the world.

At this moment, in various countries and regions on this planet, everyone is waiting for this super feast to unfold.

This is also Suker's second World Cup, and they are also looking forward to how Suker will perform.

Osasuk's youth training camp.

Bilic sat in his office and watched the World Cup warm-up on TV.

Familiar faces such as Suker and Modric passed by, which made his expression extremely complicated.

As a head coach, Bilic believes that he has no talent.

This may also be the reason for their defeat in the World Cup. He always believes that those children can go further. If it were not for their limited ability, they would not fall in the semi-finals.

This is Bilic's inner pain, and it is also the reason why he took the initiative to resign as the head coach of the national team.

One incompetent general is exhausting the whole army!

Compared with Bilic, the current national team coach Besic has done a much better job.

Moreover, those guys are willing to listen to Besic.

"Ha~~~~"

Bilic couldn't help sighing, and at this time there was a knock on the door.

"Supervisor!"

A young man led two children in.

The two children were about 13 years old, but they were strong.

The two children were obviously a little nervous and didn't dare to look up and look at Bilic.

"You performed very well in the trial today, and we are willing to give you a youth training contract!"

Bilic stood up and walked over, gently patting the shoulders of the two children: "Relax!"

Perhaps it was Bilic's gentle words that made the two children relax a little.

After relaxing, their eyes couldn't help but look at the TV.

Seeing this scene, Bilic's mouth curled up slightly.

For any Croatian youth training player, the national team is their goal.

Especially in the era when Suker and others shined, these children yearned for the national team very much.

This is a good thing for Croatia's football career.

And according to statistics, since 2008, the scale of Croatia's youth training has been expanding. In just six years, it has doubled.

These are all good news!

Since Bilic gave up the idea of ​​coaching the team, he has been at ease at the grassroots level, focusing on training youth training players.

He may not be a qualified head coach, but there is no problem in leading the youth training.

Seeing the two children's eyes go straight, Bilic couldn't help but smile and said: "Do you want to go?"

The two children looked up at the same time and expressed their true thoughts in their childish voices.

"Yes!"

"Then you have to work hard!" Bilic continued: "Your competitive environment is more intense, and you need to put more effort into training."

"And I hope you don't aim too high, just do the training in front of you well."

At this point, Bilic turned his head to look at the TV, and the voice of Suker being interviewed just appeared in the camera.

His words became more moderate.

"Then. Try to catch up with their footsteps!"

Bilic didn't dare to say surpass, he thought it was too difficult to surpass this Croatian team.

It's not impossible!

But it's not an easy thing!

"Here! Here!"

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Oripe and others hurried to the entrance of the stadium.

They were late for a while, and their entire plan was delayed due to the delay of the plane.

They were planning to eat here before entering the stadium, but from the current time, there was no chance to eat.

They could only hurry and jog all the way, and finally entered the famous Maracanã Stadium at the tail of the large group.

Maracanã Stadium is undoubtedly the world's number one football stadium.

The entire stadium can accommodate 200,000 people to watch the game at the same time, which is absolutely the world's number one in terms of scale and capacity.

The Jules Rimet Cup (formerly the World Cup trophy) that the Brazilian team has permanently reserved is stored here.

Entering the stadium, compared with other stadiums, this stadium is a circle larger. In the hot weather, the influx of 200,000 people made the whole stadium like a furnace.

Oripe drank the iced beer in his hand in one gulp, and then ran over to buy a few more cups, and then he felt a little better.

The entire stadium was basically occupied by British and Croatian fans.

There were also many Brazilian fans among them.

Football is the number one sport in Brazil, and the people here also like football very much.

This also led to an extremely high atmosphere.

Unlike Europe, there is no such utilitarianism here, it is purely for enjoyment.

Before the game started, Brazilian fans had already started singing spontaneously. Infected by this atmosphere, the atmosphere of the entire stadium became extremely high.

The climax of the atmosphere was like waves of waves constantly hitting, even without the deliberate guidance of the DJ, the atmosphere had reached its peak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!"

"This is the Maracana Stadium. In an hour, the first match of Group D of the 2014 World Cup will be held here, with Croatia facing England!"

Wow! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ——

The violent sound waves surged.

Both British and Croatian local fans welcomed the game with the greatest enthusiasm.

This also infected Oripe and others, and they cheered and shouted together.

"The atmosphere here is simply great!"

Oripe shouted to the side.

"Of course! This is the focus of the World Cup group stage, Croatia vs. England!"

Bakichi also laughed and said.

Mlinar on the side raised his glass and shouted loudly: "Croatia must win!"

The next second, the surrounding Croatian fans were infected, and waves of "must win" slogans began to surge and swept across the stadium.

At this time, there was another wave of intense cheers.

The cheers started from the fans' stands at the player's tunnel and spread to the stadium.

The player's tunnel was also switched immediately on the big screen.

I saw that the players from both sides had begun to enter the field.

"Here! Here!"

Oripe shouted excitedly.

The camera directly locked Suker's figure and gave a long close-up.

And when Suker's voice appeared, the cheers of the whole audience reached the peak.

With Suker's popularity, the whole atmosphere has reached its peak.

Even the local fans in Brazil, many of them were shouting Suker's name.

"Suker! He is definitely the most watched star in this game. As Croatia's top star and also a world-class player, his performance will directly affect the outcome of the game!"

"It is not difficult to see from the camera that Suker seems relaxed. He does not have the tension of others. He is very relaxed. Perhaps it is a manifestation of his own confidence. We also look forward to Suker's wonderful performance in this game!"

"Modric! The captain of the European giant Manchester United and also Manchester United's No. 10 player. He is Croatia's midfield commander. He and Suker walked here from Bosnia and Herzegovina together. The two have supported each other for ten years."

"From Bosnia and Herzegovina to Europe, from Europe to the World Cup, they walked here hand in hand and wrote their own legendary story!"

"We are very much looking forward to how well they can cooperate in this World Cup!"

"Mario Mandzukic! Croatia's center forward and also Bayern Munich's starting center forward."

"Rakitic! Spanish giant Ba The midfield brain of Serona!"

"Vukojevic, he is a world-class defensive midfielder!"

"Perisic, this is a player with a similar style to Rivaldo, and now plays for the Italian giants Inter Milan!"

"Srna on the back line, the captain of Croatia, is also Suker's teammate in Real Madrid. In his most peak years, he is undoubtedly the world's number one full-back!"

"This Croatian lineup is still so gorgeous, let's take a look at England!"

"The midfield is still a combination of Gerrard and Lampard, but it has absorbed new forces such as Henderson and Wilshere!"

"Rooney is still as good as ever on the front line, and Sterling is a key player in England's vertical breakthrough."

"Sturridge is at the forefront and has become their offensive figure!"

"The back line is a partnership of Cahill + Jagielka. This game is a big test for England's back line. Can they withstand the impact from Suker?"

In the introduction stage, the warm-up session is also over.

The players of both sides began to return to the player channel and make the best preparations.

At this moment, the entire stadium began to spread a tense atmosphere.

In the Croatian locker room, the starting players changed their uniforms and were preparing for the game.

Besic stood in the middle and kept emphasizing the key points of the tactics.

"Don't press too hard in the first 10 minutes of the test phase, observe for a while."

"We must be careful of Sterling's breakthrough, Vukojevic must always pay attention to the movements of this player!"

"The back line is commanded by Srna. This is our first game. Don't play too aggressively, focus on stability!"

At this point, Besic looked at the players who were ready and looked at him one by one.

For a moment, Besic didn't know what to say.

Speaking of which, here, except for a few players, he is also a newcomer to the World Cup.

After a pause, Besic closed the notebook in his hand.

These remarks prepared before the game seemed to have no effect.

He exhaled slowly, opened his arms, and said in a deep voice: "Kids! Gather around!"

The players looked at each other and came over.

They formed a circle and put their arms around each other's shoulders.

Besic looked around and said seriously: "The World Cup schedule is very tight. Any game will affect the subsequent games, so we must win every game as much as possible!"

"Van Styak and I will make tactical arrangements for you so that you will not be in a passive situation tactically, but how the game plays depends on you!"

"My suggestions are just suggestions. If you see opportunities in the game, or you have your own ideas, you can take action! As long as you think you can, then don't hesitate!"

"Finally, I want to say."

Besic took a deep breath: "Kids, you are all players I have discovered. No one in the world knows how great you are better than me!"

"Believe in yourself! Believe in your teammates! Let's win!"

Hearing this, everyone, including Suk, smiled.

Srna took a breath and shouted: "Win the game!"

Everyone shouted:

"Win the game!"

Led by Srna, the Croatian players walked out of the locker room.

Van Styak turned his head and looked at Besic.

He found a calm Besic, who was looking at the background of his teammates walking out, with his right hand clenched into a fist and his left hand wrapped around his right hand, but was shaking slightly.

Obviously, he was really nervous, but he just didn't show it.

At this moment, Besic's shoulder was patted.

Besic turned his head and saw Suk standing next to him, looking down at Besic's trembling hands.

Besic then awkwardly took it back and put it in his trouser pocket.

Suk smiled, he turned his head to look at Besic, and raised his thumb with his right hand.

"You are the best too!" Suk pointed at himself again; "I said it!"

Besic was stunned for a moment, but Suk had already followed the team out of the locker room.

The next second, a smile appeared on Besic's face.

His trembling hands were also comforted.

The player tunnel, also known as the corridor to honor.

Every team goes to the top from here, and the most lacking thing here is the smell of gunpowder.

The players of both sides stood on both sides, they did not look at each other, but an atmosphere of tit-for-tat still permeated.

England's performance in the previous World Cups was not good, and the record in the European Cup was not particularly outstanding.

For this reason, they are all holding back.

What's more, in the world competitions in recent years, their record with Croatia is very poor, which makes them more stressed.

Even for this game, the two Germans who were originally at odds with each other made compromises.

Before the game, Gerrard and Lampard met and made advance negotiations.

Gerrard was willing to sacrifice and give more offensive opportunities to Lampard, and he was more responsible for defensive work.

The two Germans were not tolerated, which was a big problem for England's midfield.

Facing today's strong enemies, they had to make compromises and adjustments.

Group D of the World Cup is the real death group!

Croatia, Uruguay and England are squeezed together, which can be called a big fight.

There is also a Costa Rica ready to go.

It can be said that England's qualifying situation is very severe. They must play well in every game. If they are not careful, they will be eliminated.

In this environment, they can only make compromises and adjustments.

Compared with England, Croatia's morale is more sufficient.

Because it is the first game, Croatia did not send newcomers, and they are mainly veterans.

Even in the starting list, you can see Simunic.

After returning to the national team, Simunic's condition has become very good. Although he is a veteran, he is full of experience.

There is also Vukojevic sweeping in front, and his problem is not big.

And the veteran Planic was chosen as the right back.

It feels like a dream back to 2010!

The entire lineup is missing a retired Kovac!

The starting lineups of both sides are as follows:

Croatia (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Subasic

Defenders: Srna, Lovren, Simunic, Planic.

Midfielders: Perisic, Rakitic, Vukojevic, Modric, Suker.

Forward: Mandzukic.

England (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Joe Hart.

Defenders: Johnson, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines.

Midfielders: Welbeck, Gerrard, Sterling, Lampard, Rooney.

Forward: Sturridge.

"Sterling, Rooney, Welbeck, Sturridge! These are all attacking forwards!"

Besic said with his eyes narrowed slightly.

Van Styak nodded on the side; "There is no problem in sending Lovren to start!"

Lovren is a central defender who likes to rush forward, and he is very active and aggressive, but because of this, it is easy to have defensive leaks.

This is also the reason why he is criticized as "Leaky Lovren".

However, at the national team level, this problem has been well solved.

The reason is very simple. A stable central defender and Srna's replacement, as well as Vukojevic's barrier in front, all make Lovren perform well in the national team.

On the other hand, when he returned to the club, he did not have these guarantees, which led to frequent mistakes.

Some players are very good at playing in the club, but they are out of the game when they come to the national team.

But Lovren is the opposite. He is very brave in the national team, but he makes frequent mistakes in the club.

But no matter what, Lovren's scramble in this game is very important on the defensive end, allowing Croatia to counterattack in an instant.

This is also the reason why Besic gave up the more stable Vida and chose Lovren.

As for the midfield, Besic is very confident.

Whether it is Suker or Modric, they can do their job well, or even exceed it.

He believes that they can suppress England's midfield and gain more initiative.

That's right!

In this game, Besic never thought about being passive.

They just want to take the initiative to get the ball and attack.

The morale was completely boosted in the first game, making subsequent games easier.