Midfielder Ruler

"Beep~beep~beep~~"

With the three long whistles of the referee Cakir, the overtime of the last semi-final of the 2018 Russia World Cup came to an end. However, as both sides scored a goal in overtime, the score was 2:2. , so it had to enter a brutal penalty shootout.

"What a game with ups and downs!" German Sky commentator Marcel Leif said passionately: "England got a dream start early, and the lead continued until the end of the first half. In the second half, the Chinese team struggled in a relatively difficult situation. The situation equalized the score, and then neither side scored a goal. The Chinese team and the England team had to enter overtime. The first half of the overtime was lackluster. Until the end of the second half of the overtime, Tang's world wave helped China The team almost beat England, but the English did not surrender, relying on Ashley Young's subconscious shot in front of the goal to tie the score..."

British Sky commentator Andy Gray was in high spirits: "This is definitely a game that can be recorded in history! The English people who never admit defeat were fully reflected in this game! We lacked superstars and we were united enough to finally break out with a huge Energy, rebirth from despair! The penalty kick against Colombia in the 1/8 final broke the curse, and the same will be true for the penalty shootout in the near future!"

Martin Taylor did not discuss England’s penalty kicks with Andy Gray, but joked: “I wonder if Tang, who had an amazing performance in the quarter-final penalty shootout, will serve as the goalkeeper of the Chinese team in the penalty shootout. …”

The close-up shot of the on-site director just showed Tang Zheng. German Sky commentator Marcel Leif laughed and said: "This picture has a profound meaning. As we all know, Tang Zheng, as the Chinese team, scored a penalty kick at the end of overtime in the quarter-finals. As a goalkeeper in the battle, his performance was extremely amazing. In addition to consecutively saving the Portuguese team's must-goals, he also saved Portugal's three penalty kicks in the penalty shootout, and finally led the record-breaking team to the semi-finals of the World Cup."

At this point, Marcel Leif changed his words: "Of course... this game is unlikely to happen. After all, Tang has not received professional goalkeeper training. His amazing performance is unlikely to continue into this game. Ma Cello Lippi won’t gamble either, what if... Don doesn’t perform well?”

as expected!

The goalkeeper coach of the Chinese team, Lampula, is pulling the goalkeeper Zeng Cheng to make final preparations. At the same time, he explains the characteristics of some English players' penalty kicks to increase the success rate of saves.

Tang Zheng and England captain Harry Kane went directly to the referee Cakir to prepare for the final penalty shootout.

In the guessing game, referee Cakir decided the direction of the goal by drawing lots, which was the goal on the left side of the broadcast screen.

There is the area where die-hard England fans live.

But Tang Zheng doesn't care, he believes in his teammates!

The second round was to decide which team would take the penalty kick. In the draw, Tang Zheng won over Harry Kane.

Tang Zheng's choice this time was different from the quarter-finals. He did not choose to throw the pressure to England, because the goal where the penalty kick was taken was an area where England fans gathered, and the impact was very low, so it was better to take the penalty kick first. , putting great psychological pressure on the English players who took the penalty kick later.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

As the penalty shootout approached, the fanatical atmosphere at the Luzhniki Stadium reached the most fanatical moment of the game, one wave after another.

Chinese fans, English fans and neutral fans all spared no effort to send loud shouts to both sides of the game, creating a fast and frenetic atmosphere for the upcoming penalty shootout.

※※※

After completing the draw on behalf of the Chinese team, Tang Zheng returned to the area where his teammates were and received a massage from physiotherapist Coty.

Two consecutive overtime games also made Tang Zheng a little bit overwhelmed. Although England's equalizing goal had little to do with Tang Zheng, it was his lack of physical strength caused by his decline in physical fitness that prevented him from jumping in front of Stones. , otherwise Stones would not have assisted Ashley Young by mistake while leaning back.

The referee Cakir will give the players of both sides sufficient rest time if allowed by the rules.

After all, the subsequent penalty shootout will determine the fate of both teams.

Is it the Chinese team that sets a record in team history and advances to the World Cup finals, or... England advances to the World Cup finals after 52 years?

All require relatively abundant physical energy as support.

Maybe he can't regain much physical fitness in just a few minutes, but it is more than enough to deal with the penalty shootout.

Of course, the most important thing in a penalty shootout is player psychology.

The commentator of Central 5 looked at the Chinese players who were working hard to recover their physical fitness and spoke confidently: "The penalty shootout victory in the quarter-finals gave this Chinese team great confidence, and the same was true for the penalty shootout a few minutes later. No one He is a born winner, but... we have to get used to winning, Tang Zheng is like this, and so is the Chinese team."

"It is undeniable that Tang's ability is the best of the two teams, but no one's luck will last that long. The semi-finals are already the farthest the Chinese team can go."

The broadcast screen switched to England players, and British Sky commentator Andy Gray changed his voice: "England players are confident and united, and they give everything in pursuit of victory. The goal in the final stage of overtime told everyone in the world that the Chinese team's The good luck ends here, the team that advances to the final is definitely England!"

"The penalty shootout is about to begin. Are the fans in front of the TV impatient to wait for it to start? Sorry, me too. Before the penalty shootout begins, you might as well guess which team will advance to the World Cup finals. "

"The advancement of England and China to the semi-finals of this World Cup can be said to be far beyond our expectations. It is also true that the ups and downs of the two teams gave us a lot of room for imagination. China went from lagging to overtaking, and England went from leading. To equalize, everyone is qualified to advance to the finals, but the knockout rounds are cruel, and only the winners will go one step further, come on!"

"To be honest, the match between the Chinese team and England was not exciting. Most of the game gave people a lethargic feeling, but the four goals were exciting, and I believe the penalty shootout was the same... "

…

When the Chinese team and the England team were making final preparations for the penalty shootout, the commentators in the on-site commentary box expressed their views and opinions one after another.

Not long after, the referee team of the on-duty referee Cakir prepared a penalty shootout at the same time.

A total of twenty-two people from the two teams formed a circle in the two halves of the court. The teammates put their arms around each other's waists and encouraged each other.

Immediately, except for the goalkeeper, the remaining ten players from both teams stood shoulder to shoulder with the arc of the center circle as the boundary, standing on the midline.

"Uuuuuu——"

The first player of the Chinese team to take a penalty kick was Sun Jingbo, who was very successful in studying abroad. Facing the huge boos from the English fans, he did not have any psychological fluctuations, but bravely waited for the penalty kick to explode. come out.

In addition to the huge boos caused by the English fans, the Chinese fans were holding their breath for fear that making a little noise would affect Sun Jingbo.

Sun Jingbo bent down and placed the football, ignoring the growing boos and not paying attention to Pickford's exaggerated body movements. He was waiting for the referee's whistle.

"Beep~"

Following the whistle from the referee Cakir, Sun Jingbo did not make any fake moves and kicked the football directly to the lower right corner of the goal.

Pickford guessed the right direction, but was powerless against Sun Jingbo's tricky angle penalty.

Sun Jingbo scored a penalty kick, and the Chinese fans excitedly shouted: "Ouch, ouch—"

The Chinese players standing on the midline high-fived and hugged to celebrate Sun Jingbo's penalty kick.

However, the excitement of the Chinese players did not last long. Vardy scored a penalty kick and the penalty shootout was 1:1.

The second player to take a penalty kick on behalf of the Chinese team was veteran Hao Junmin. The English fans in the stands began to show their personal presence again, and the overwhelming boos poured down.

I don’t know if it was because of nervousness. Facing Pickford who was dancing happily, Hao Junmin, who took the penalty kick, kicked a half-high ball that the goalkeeper likes to hit. The angle was not tricky enough, so Pickford took the ball with the palm of his left hand. With a push outside, the football missed the goal post.

"Ouch-ouch——"

After saving the penalty, Pickford stood up and shouted, and the Luzhniki Stadium began to be filled with the joy of the English people.

If the player who took the penalty kick in England's second round scores a penalty kick, they will go ahead!

Hao Junmin was very disappointed after missing the penalty kick. As the captain, Tang Zheng immediately comforted Hao Junmin.

After all, penalty shootouts have a huge impact on players’ psychological fluctuations...

It was Trippier who took the penalty kick in the second round on behalf of England. Facing Zeng Cheng, he easily hit the penalty kick.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—"

The English fans burst into loud cheers because they knew what this goal might mean!

1:2

England takes the lead!

Central 5 commentator He Wei felt obviously nervous in his words: "Hao Junmin's penalty lacked angle and power. It is normal for Pickford to be guessed in the wrong direction, but..."

At this point, He Wei's voice rose twice: "There are still three rounds of penalty kicks. Everything is possible. As long as Zeng Cheng plays well, we will definitely reverse the defeat."

Because Hao Junmin missed the penalty kick, Ye Erfan, who took the penalty in the third round, seemed particularly stressed.

Therefore, captain Tang Zheng hugged Ye Erfan forcefully and said in a relaxed tone: "Don't put any pressure on me, I believe you can do it, come on!"

Ye Erfan nodded lightly and said confidently: "I can do it, I will definitely enter!"

The handsome Yerfan strolled towards the penalty area, facing Pickford with quite a lot of body movements and overwhelming boos without any psychological fluctuations.

At this moment, the Chinese fans in front of the TV had their hearts in their throats.

If Ye Erfan misses another penalty kick, the Chinese team's hope of advancing to the finals will be infinitely close to zero...

However, the 19-year-old Yerfan was not affected in any way. He used the changes in his body rhythm to score the ball in the opposite direction of Pickford's save!

The score becomes 2:2!

"The ball went in! Young player Yerfan's penalty kick was very smart. He used the rhythm changes at his feet to force Pickford to make the first save. He was very calm! The future is absolutely limitless!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei praised.

Ye Erfan, who returned to the team, was warmly welcomed by his teammates and hugged them one by one.

Ye Erfan's goal increased the Chinese team's hope of reversing the defeat!

Unfortunately, Zeng Cheng made a misjudgment again. England's third penalty kick player, Dale, easily hit the penalty and the score became 2:3 again.

The fourth penalty kicker of the Chinese team is Zhang Linpeng. Watching the broadcast, British Sky commentator Andy Gray was in high spirits: "The fourth round of penalty kicks is coming. As long as Jordan Pickford saves Zhang's penalty kick, And if an English player hits the fourth penalty, then... the penalty shootout will end early!"

Guest commentator Martin Taylor opened his mouth but did not answer for a long time, forcing Andy Gray to perform a one-man show.

"Uuuuuu——"

The English fans at the Luzhniki Stadium knew that as long as Pickford saved Zhang Linpeng's penalty kick, it would help the team win the match point, so they booed Zhang Linpeng loudly.

Zhang Linpeng, who was physically fit, felt a little nervous at this time. Although he showed full confidence in front of his teammates, due to the criticality of this penalty kick, it was inevitable that he would not have some unnecessary thoughts mentally.

If... there were no free throws, then... the World Cup final would be completely missed.

"Beep~"

At this moment, the referee Cakir blew his whistle.

Zhang Linpeng, who was thinking a little too much, suddenly felt that his mind went blank. When he started to run, he didn't know where to kick.

A second later, British Sky commentator Andy Gray suddenly shouted: "Jordan Pickford has done a great job! He saved Zhang's penalty! As long as the fourth England player scores a penalty, the penalty will be saved." The ball war will end early!”

Zhang Linpeng, who missed the penalty kick, held his head in his hands and was stunned.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

The England fans in the stands were as excited as children, waving flags, banners or fan scarves crazily.

They know that as long as the fourth player who takes the penalty kick scores, England will return to the World Cup finals after 52 years!

After almost losing the opportunity, they were resurrected from a desperate situation, and now with victory in sight, the excitement of the English people is beyond words.

As the captain, Tang Zheng sighed helplessly at first, with mixed emotions.

Had a fourth England player scored a penalty, his fifth round would have been unnecessary.

Again...missed the final round of the penalty shootout again?

In the quarter-final penalty shootout four years ago, in the fifth round, he watched the Dutch players shout and celebrate the victory.

Although the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals four years later did not take place in the fifth round, fortunately, the Chinese team secured the victory in advance and advanced to the semi-finals.

But... in the fifth round penalty kick of the semi-finals, it seems... very likely that he will miss the penalty kick again.

Tang Zheng, who sighed, had no extra time to sigh. He had to comfort Zhang Linpeng who was lost...

England's fourth player to take a penalty kick was Loftus-Cheek, who was substituted in overtime.

All eyes were focused on Loftus-Cheek, who was about to take the penalty kick, and goalkeeper Zeng Cheng, including Tang Zheng who appeased Zhang Linpeng and a group of Chinese team players.

If Chik scores a penalty kick, the Chinese team will... lose a good game and be eliminated!

The suspense will be decided in five seconds.

Maybe the ending is not very satisfactory, and I am not satisfied either, but life is like this, nothing can be predicted in advance, plans cannot keep up with changes, and... it will definitely be completed at the beginning of next month, thank you all, this is what I owed yesterday, and I forgot to eat and sleep today Added, thank you all for your support!