Midfielder Ruler

Chapter 133: A fateful battle?

On June 30th, local time in Russia, what fans around the world were most concerned about should have been the first 1/8 finals of the Russian World Cup between France and Argentina. However, as Tang Zheng tweeted on his personal social networking site, the fans' focus changed. transfer, especially for Chinese fans.

The speed of communication on the modern Internet is quite astonishing. Within five minutes of Tang Zheng's tweet, there were already hundreds of thousands of retweets and comments, and as time went by, more and more fans joined in retweeting and commenting.

Soon, some fans took out a selfie of Aguero with Xi and Cameron when Xi visited the UK three years ago. However, it was obvious that the quality of Aguero’s selfie was not as good as that of Tang Zheng because of his international reputation and toughness. In terms of speed, there is no way Cameron can compare with Putin.

In addition, Tang Zhengfa’s selfies are not as formal as Aguero’s. He stands behind Xi Boss and Putin, and then takes a selfie with his hands around their shoulders, giving people the impression that he has a particularly good relationship with Xi Boss and Putin. Feel.

I would like to ask, is there any professional football player in the world who dares to put his head on the shoulders of the heads of state of the two countries and take pictures like this?

Looking at the entire world of football, there is only one Tang Zheng.

Therefore, before the start of the first World Cup 1/8 finals, Tang Zheng became the player that fans around the world paid most attention to.

Messi, Griezmann, Pogba, Higuain, Mascherano, Mbappe and other stars who were making final preparations were speechless. Logically speaking, they are the ones that fans around the world pay the most attention to. But no one expected that Tang Zheng would steal the limelight, and it would be difficult to steal it back...

In addition to the football world, people who follow political current affairs also have a strong interest in this, allowing Tang Zheng to gain higher exposure.

However, when Tang Zheng's popularity has reached this stage, there is no need to deliberately expose him. With the glory he has won at Real Madrid in recent years, he is the number one person in world football today.

Whether you want to admit it or not, Tang Zheng is the best player in the world!

At five o'clock in the afternoon that day, the first 1/8 finals of the 2018 Russia World Cup kicked off at the Kazan Stadium. This game is considered to be the most noteworthy contest in the 1/8 finals of this World Cup, because France and Argentina are in the World Cup. They have won the World Cup in history, and each World Cup has been rated as the favorite to win by major media. This peak showdown has also been called the World Cup final that started early by the media around the world.

France is the most valuable player in this World Cup. Except for right back Pavard, who plays for Lille in Ligue 1 and is not well-known, the players in the other ten positions are extremely well-known, and they are even outstanding in these positions.

Argentina was the runner-up in the last World Cup in Brazil. The 23-man roster has not changed much compared to four years ago. Apart from the serious aging of the players, the overall strength is still considerable.

Messi was recognized as the number one star in world football before the rise of Tang Zheng. He is top-notch. Stars such as Aguero, Higuain and Dybala are also strong contenders for the top scorer in their respective leagues. Their offensive firepower is superb. powerful.

Only the midfield and backfield lack players with absolute strength, especially a midfielder with excellent footwork and broad vision. Otherwise, Argentina would have been the World Cup champion four years ago.

So much so that many Argentinian media lamented that if Tang Zheng could be naturalized and played for River Plate, why would he be afraid of France now?

It is precisely because Argentina lacks a player like Tang Zheng that Messi becomes both a father and a mother.

After all, human energy is limited. The organization needs Messi, and Messi is also needed to score goals. It is somewhat difficult for Messi who is past his thirties.

The Kazan Stadium, which can accommodate 45,000 fans, was packed. With a long whistle from the Iranian referee Faghani, the first 1/8 final of the Russian World Cup between France and Argentina was officially announced.

Obviously the event has come to the knockout rounds,

Neither France nor Argentina can afford to lose.

Once you lose, it means you are out!

At the beginning of the game, both sides focused on defense, and their offense was tentative.

Compared to the group stage, the beginning of the knockout stages is relatively boring.

After all... this game is the first knockout match of this World Cup in Russia, and it is the focus of fans all over the world.

Messi, who has high hopes from Argentine fans, is closely monitored by French fans. They all know that Messi is the core of Argentina's offense. As long as Messi is guarded, nearly 70% of Argentina's offensive firepower will be resolved.

In order to defend Messi, the French team also paid a lot of money, so that they did not have enough offensive numbers to pose a direct threat to Argentina's defense.

When the French team targeted Messi, Argentina also closely guarded Griezmann, Mbappe and Pogba, not giving them much time to think. Therefore, after ten minutes of the game, both sides contributed very few shots. Not much.

※※※

In addition to the players from Uruguay and Spain who are making final preparations, almost all fans following the World Cup in Russia are paying attention to the first 1/8 finals of the World Cup at the Kazan Stadium.

The same goes for Tang Zheng and his teammates. After finishing the morning training session, they returned to their hotel.

The players temporarily forgot about Boss Xi's praise in the morning and focused on the over 60-inch LCD TV in front of them.

In the first ten minutes of the first half, both sides focused on defense, so there were almost no attacks that directly threatened the opponent's goal. It was not until the 12th minute of the first half that Mbappe's long-distance run caused Rojo to be in the penalty area. After the foul, the referee Fagani on duty immediately whistled a penalty kick.

The Argentine players believed that Mbappe had flopped and were naturally not satisfied with referee Fagani's decision. Fagani had to run to the sidelines to watch the slow-motion replay.

After multiple slow-motion reviews, Fagani insisted on the penalty, and there was no doubt that there was a penalty!

Griezmann, who took the penalty kick, successfully deceived Armani and kicked the ball to the left side of the goal on the broadcast screen.

The French team, which had taken the lead, gradually gave up possession of the ball and focused on counterattacks.

However, Argentina's midfield organization ability is poor, and Messi needs to frequently return to the midfield to assist Banega and Perez in organizing attacks.

In addition, in order to bring out all the abilities of Messi, Sampaoli did not send Aguero or Higuain in this game, so Messi, who is far away from the goal, has no way to directly pose a threat to Lloris' goal.

The stalemate continued until the 41st minute, when Di Maria received Banega's ball and hit a world wave to help Argentina equalize the score!

At the end of the first half, the score of the two sides was tied at 1:1. Naturally, they would not rely on scoring another goal before the end of the first half, so the 1:1 score continued until the end of the first half.

Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV, shook his head and sighed. Messi worked very hard in the first half, but he was already 31 years old after all. Facing the defensive turns of Matuidi, Kante and Umtiti, he seemed more and more tired. It's becoming increasingly overwhelming.

If nothing else happens, Argentina is likely to lose to France.

The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly. Before the start of the second half, Argentina took the lead in making substitution adjustments, replacing Rojo, who was carrying a yellow card, with Fazio.

Changing sides and fighting again, no one thought that Argentina would take the lead in the fourth minute of the second half!

In the 49th minute, Di Maria's breakthrough helped Argentina win a free kick on the left side of the penalty area near the baseline. Banega drove the ball to the back point. Pogba made a clearance not far away. Messi got the ball and faced Argentina. Due to Tuidi's defense, Messi swayed left and right in the right rib of the penalty area to find a chance to shoot with his left foot.

The football passed between Matuidi, Varane and Pogba. Mercado, the right back who was standing in the path of Messi's shot and had not had time to go back, subconsciously blocked the ball. The football changed its trajectory and rolled in against the turf. Right side of goal.

1:2!

But the good times did not last long. Pavard, who was responsible for the second goal conceded by the French team, received a cross from left back Lucas Hernandez outside the penalty area and completed a very high-quality volley. Football Directly to the upper left corner of the goal.

2:2! !

The on-site director gave Messi a close-up shot of his face. As in most of the past half-time, Messi had a sullen face and was very serious.

However, it is more helpless.

What made Messi even more helpless was that eight minutes later, Mbappe dunked the ball to the left side of the penalty area during a melee in the penalty area, and fired a low shot with his left foot to help the French team take the lead!

In the past four minutes of the game, Argentina was chasing hard. The French team took advantage of a quick counterattack and Mbappé extended the score with a low shot from the right side of the penalty area.

4:2!

Argentina, two goals behind, had no choice but to attack.

France, which is leading by two goals, naturally does not need to expend effort to score goals. They only need to maintain the existing score until the end of the game.

Argentina, led by Messi, increased its offensive intensity, but faced the retracted French team's defense and still had no good solution. Until the injury time, Aguero received a pass from Messi in the middle of the attack in the penalty area. He scored with a header and tied the score at 3:4.

However, the time came to the third minute of injury time, and there was no time left for Argentina...

In the end, the French team defeated Argentina 4:3 with two goals from Griezmann, Pavard and Mbappe, taking the lead in advancing to the quarterfinals.

After the game, Tang Zheng was helpless sitting in front of the TV.

Messi did not work hard during the 90 minutes of the game. He could even be said to be the hardest working player in the team. His two assists are the best evidence. However, many times individual efforts cannot make up for the team's deficiencies.

The back view of Messi shown by the on-site director looked particularly lonely. Four years later, Messi will be 35 years old. Whether he can be selected for the national team again is unknown. His dream of winning the World Cup may...can only be forever. regret.

Thinking of this, Tang Zheng shook his head and pushed away the negative emotions. Tomorrow night in the 1/8 finals at the Nizhny Novgorod Arena, he must be at his best, inspire his teammates, and then defeat the stronger Croatia. , advanced to the quarterfinals!

※※※

France defeated Argentina and advanced to the quarterfinals. The outcome has been announced. Everyone's attention began to shift to Sochi. Uruguay and Spain will play the second World Cup 1/8 finals of this World Cup at the Fisht Olympic Stadium.

The last time Uruguay won the World Cup was in 1950, which was 68 years ago. There is not much reference value, but Uruguay's overall style of play is very interesting, coupled with the twin guns Suarez and Cavani, There is still a high possibility of winning the game.

The last time Spain won the World Cup was in South Africa in 2010, but Spain suffered a waterloo in the World Cup in Brazil four years ago and failed to qualify from the group.

But after four years of keeping a low profile, Spain, the former World Cup champion, still cannot be underestimated.

Therefore, this 1/8 final between Uruguay and Spain is full of highlights. It is really difficult to predict who will win and lose.

However, in the seventh minute of the game, Uruguay took the lead. Suarez broke through Alba on the left side of the attack and sent a wonderful cross. Carvajal was not marking closely, and Cavani scored with a nod from behind.

Spain, which was lagging behind in the subsequent game time, strengthened its attack, but the leading Uruguay defended very well, so the score did not change until the end of the first half.

The relatively dominant Spain equalized the score in the ninth minute of the second half. David Silva took a tactical corner kick from the left, and Isco sent a very precise pass. Diego Costa was in the middle. A feint shot took away Godin's defense, and Ramos, who was lying behind, scored with a header to equalize the score.

When the game returned to the starting line, both sides became cautious, but Spain, who equalized the score, gained momentum and launched an indiscriminate bombardment around Uruguay's defensive half. However, Spain's continuous attacks failed to get a goal, and instead were defeated by Uruguay's A high-quality quick counterattack and another goal.

The scorer was still Cavani. He received the ball from Suarez in the left rib of the penalty area and directly shot into the far corner to score, once again taking the lead!

This goal was also the last goal of the game. In the end, Uruguay defeated Spain 2:1 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Five days later, Uruguay competed with the French team, which had previously defeated Argentina, for a place in the semifinals.

Argentina and Spain were eliminated one after another, and the fans felt regretful, especially the Argentine fans.

Although Argentina's elimination was expected, it was somewhat emotional when it was actually eliminated.

Mbappe scored two goals and created a penalty kick, which is very similar to Messi who shocked the world 13 years ago, and Messi's lonely back makes people sigh.

But...this is football, cruel modern war.

The 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and Croatia were held in the evening session of the next day, which was the nine o'clock session.

Half a day before the start of the game, a large number of Chinese fans gathered in the square around the Nizhny Novgorod Arena and near the hotel where the Chinese team stayed. They gathered in small groups and sang the national anthem and the motherland, which made the Russian fans The land is filled with Chinese colors.

There is no doubt that the number of Chinese fans in Russia far exceeds the number of Croatian fans, so the number of Chinese fans in the 1/8 finals stand at the Nizhny Novgorod Arena perfectly suppressed the number of Croatian fans.

Who made China have more people?

Before the start of the match between China and Croatia, the 1/8 finals between Russia and Portugal kicked off at the Luzhniki Stadium.

With goals from Andre Silva and Pepe, Portugal defeated Russia 2:0.

In other words, Portugal's opponent in the quarter-finals was the winner between the Chinese team and Croatia. Tang Zheng, who was paying attention to the result, silently encouraged himself.

We must lead the national team to the quarterfinals and defeat Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo!

With Argentina eliminated, the fateful battle between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo was fascinating.

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