Football: The Strongest Hexagon Warrior

The Luzhniki Stadium welcomes the penultimate hosting match of the World Cup for the Fighting Nations.

Portugal vs England.

The last World Cup semi-final.

There are still more than two hours before the start of the game, and the square outside the stadium with the largest capacity in the fighting country is already overcrowded.

As the tournament reaches the semi-finals, the level of enthusiasm is much greater than in the past.

In addition to the large number of fans queuing up to enter the stadium, there are also many fans holding high slogans asking for votes. They hope to see if they can meet any fans who have an emergency at the last moment before the game starts, even if the premium is many times higher.

It's just that the number of game tickets is limited, and everything that needs to be transferred has been transferred, so what else can happen temporarily?

However, in order to satisfy the tens of thousands of fans who did not have tickets to watch the game, the organizers built two huge LCD TVs in the outer square of the Luzhniki Stadium.

At 6:50 in the evening, Portugal's crimson bus arrived at the main road outside the stadium.

The overwhelming roar spread from the outside to the stadium.

Everyone knows that the competition team has arrived!

Martin had already taken off his expensive headphones to fully experience the fanatical atmosphere created by the fans.

Wave after wave of huge shouts, lasting for a long time.

About ten minutes later, England's white bus also arrived at the Luzhniki Stadium.

It's just that the cheers and cheers from the fans were obviously not as powerful as the momentum created when Portugal arrived.

It can easily be seen that Portugal is more popular than England.

Differential treatment is also reflected in the players from both sides entering the court to warm up.

Martin has few friends in England, except teammate Welbeck and Vardy.

After a few simple exchanges, the Portuguese players started an important warm-up before the game.

About an hour before the start of the game, both sides submitted their starting lists.

Portugal naturally fielded the strongest lineup, and the formation still used 4231.

Goalkeeper: Patricio

Defenders: Guerrero, Pepe, Font, Cedric

Midfielder: William Carvalho, Moutinho

Midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo, Martin, Seat B

Forward: Guedes

England is one of the few national teams in this World Cup to adopt a three-centre-back system. The formation is a variant of 352, 3142.

Goalkeeper: Pickford

Three central defenders: Kyle Walker, Stones, Maguire

Midfielder: Henderson

Four forwards: Ashley Young, Lingard, Alli, Trippier

Forwards: Harry Kane, Sterling

……

As the starting lineups for both teams emerge, fans waiting for the World Cup semifinals know...it's very close to the start of the game.

For this game, the outside world is fully optimistic about Portugal.

In addition to having Martin in charge, it also has something to do with the results of Portugal and England in the World Cup.

The two teams have met three times at the World Cup level, with Portugal winning two and losing one.

最早要追溯到1966年世界杯半决赛，东道主英格兰2：1击败尤西比奥率领的葡萄牙，随后是1986年世界杯的小组赛，时隔20年重返世界杯的葡萄牙1：0复仇成功。

最近一次的世界杯交锋是2006年德国世界杯，1/4决赛在120分钟战成平局，葡萄牙3：1淘汰英格兰。

In addition, since the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Portugal has won the direct matches between the two teams in the continental competitions World Cup and European Cup.

Moreover, England has been eliminated in all the last three semi-finals.

1968 European Cup, 1990 World Cup and 1996 European Cup.

Naturally, the British media will not use data that is beneficial to Portugal. They will use their total results from historical confrontations.

In this case, England has the absolute upper hand...

After all, the real symbol of Portugal's rise is still the golden generation led by Figo and Rui Costa.

In Eusebio's day, it was obviously not comparable to England.

However, data can often only be used as a reference. What really affects the game is the player's performance and the coach's on-the-spot command.

The warm-up time, which lasted about forty minutes, was over, and players from both sides went to the tunnel one after another to make final preparations for the upcoming World Cup semi-finals.

The Luzhniki Stadium, which can accommodate 81000 fans, is already packed.

England fans and Portuguese players each occupied the north and south stands, and what separated them were mainly neutral fans.

Of course, there are also some Portuguese and English fans in these neutral fan zones.

Tickets for the die-hard fan zone are limited and demand exceeds supply.

In order to increase the probability of buying a ticket, purchasing tickets in a neutral fan zone is the best solution.

The frenzied atmosphere dropped significantly as both sides returned to their respective locker rooms.

Fans of both teams need to recuperate and prepare for the next ninety or even one hundred and twenty minutes.

The players in the Portuguese locker room behaved very calmly and did not feel nervous because it was the World Cup semi-finals. On the contrary, they were quite relaxed and even danced funny under the leadership of 'Luo Sansui'.

Head coach Santos did not stop this behavior. He knew that the players were not looking down on their opponents, but were relaxing in this way.

Looking back at the England dressing room, the players all had solemn expressions, obviously feeling the huge pressure from Portugal.

In fact, if they simply face Portugal, they will not have much psychological burden. The problem is that Martin has integrated very well into Portugal and is in great shape. He has 10 goals and 4 assists, and is directly involved in nearly % of Portugal's goals.

It is certainly a huge shortcoming for an individual to account for a high proportion of the team's overall goals, but no team has ever been able to completely stop Martin's performance throughout the game.

To put it bluntly, a popular saying in world football is: a football match is a sport that ultimately ends with the victory of Martin's team.

Harry Kane scored six goals in this World Cup, ranking second on the scorer list, but five of them came in the group stage against Tunisia and Panama. They have little gold content and are commonly known as lousy goals.

On the other hand, Martin's goals are very average, averaging two goals per game.

He made great contributions in the group stage and knockout rounds.

Head coach Southgate knows what to say to give his players some confidence.

"Cough cough~"

"Guys, advancing to the semi-finals is indeed a very big breakthrough for us, and it has even fulfilled everyone's expectations for us. But we have advanced to the semi-finals, and the next step is the final. We can definitely give it a try. Martin is indeed very strong. Don’t forget… we are also very strong and we are fully capable of fighting!”

He moistened his throat, coughed slightly, and said loudly when everyone was paying attention: "You are the best in the Premier League, the main force of the giants, and you are united. I firmly believe that victory belongs to England! It may even be like 52 years ago. That way, standing on top of the world!”

Captain Harry Kane plays for Tottenham and is a mortal enemy of Martin's team Arsenal. He really wants to win the first championship of his career, so defeating Portugal led by Martin in the semi-finals is particularly important.