Bab 93: Chapter 295 The knockout round is announced
After Spain defeated Australia to advance to the top of the group, the hopes of the Netherlands and Chile to compete for the top spot in the group were completely shattered.
Now the two teams can only fight to the end for the last promotion spot!
As opponents in Group A, the match between Netherlands and Chile not only attracted the attention of fans from both countries, but fans of the host Brazil team were also particularly concerned about the outcome of this match.
As the top team in Group A, Brazil's opponent in the round of 16 is the winner of this game.
In terms of strength, the uncrowned Dutch team is definitely stronger, and because of this, the Brazilians are reluctant to meet them in the top 16.
Relatively speaking, the Brazilian team knows more about Chile, its old rival in South America.
Brazil and Chile have played against each other 68 times in history. Brazil has 48 wins, 13 draws and 7 losses, scoring 158 goals and conceding 58 goals.
In addition, the Brazilian team's home record is 15 wins and 4 draws and remains unbeaten. In the past 12 meetings between the two sides, Brazil has 10 wins and 2 draws and remains unbeaten.
Judging from these data, the Brazilian team has an advantage in all aspects. If they meet Chile in the top 16, they have a very high probability of advancing to the quarterfinals.
But if the opponent is the Netherlands, Brazil's chances of advancing will be much smaller.
Brazil and the Netherlands have fought 11 times in history. The Brazilian team has 3 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses, scoring 15 goals and conceding 15 goals, and has not taken advantage at all.
The most recent match between the two teams was a friendly match in June 2011. Brazil and the Netherlands tied 0:0. Going back further, it was the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals. The Netherlands defeated Brazil 2:1. Sent back to my hometown.
Therefore, almost all the Brazilian fans who came to watch the game changed their identities and temporarily became fans of the Chilean team.
The euphemistic name is cheering for the compatriots in South America, but in fact, they have their own little plans in mind.
The match between the Netherlands and Chile was very anxious. It can be seen that the Dutch team has not yet adjusted to its best condition.
On the opposite side, Chile learned the lessons of being bloodbathed by Spain in the previous game and made many targeted defensive adjustments in this game.
These adjustments have effectively curbed the Dutch team's offense!
Until the 75th minute, the score on the field was still 0:0.
The Chilean team's goalkeeper Bravo really seemed to be cheating, catching high and low blocks, and saved the Dutch team's threatening shots one by one.
This outstanding performance has completely conquered the scouts of those wealthy clubs. The scouts from Barcelona have submitted a report to the club, suggesting that the club recruit this outstanding Chilean goalkeeper after the World Cup!
If the game ends with this score, the Chilean team will advance to the top 16 with a goal difference of -2.
However, in the 77th minute, the first goal of the game finally came.
The Netherlands took advantage of a corner kick and Robben passed the ball to Janmaat outside the penalty area.
The Dutch full-back, who was almost beaten by Lin Quan in the last game, succeeded in this corner kick tactic.
He did not pass the ball immediately after stopping the ball. Instead, he waited for the defensive player to rush out and then passed the ball into the penalty area. He assisted Feier, who replaced Sneijder, to score the Dutch team's first goal of the game!
The score became 1:0!
This goal saved the Dutch team from the brink of elimination, and now it was the Chilean team that fell into the abyss.
The Chilean team had to give up defensive counterattacks and go full attack!
In the final stage of the game, the situation on the field turned into a situation where the Chilean team came out in full force to besiege the Dutch team.
However, such a siege not only failed to score a goal, but gave the Dutch team an opportunity to counterattack quickly.
In the 92nd minute, the 20-year-old Depay scored his first goal in the World Cup, helping the Dutch team seal the victory.
In the end, the Chilean team was eliminated by the Netherlands and fell in the final round of the group stage, even though they could qualify with a draw.
With the elimination of the Chilean team, all the qualifying teams from Group A and Group B have been announced.
Brazil, ranked first in Group A, and Mexico, ranked second in Group A, will face the Netherlands, ranked second in Group B, and Spain, ranked first in Group B, in the quarterfinals.
Except for the Spanish fans who were aloof and indifferent to this matchup situation, the fans of the remaining three teams were very dissatisfied.
Mexican fans were already wailing, feeling that their team could be carried away.
The fans of the host Brazil team and the uncrowned Dutch team are very nervous. Their opponents are very strong. This game is bound to be very fierce. Neither team is absolutely sure to advance.
However, there is not no good news for the Netherlands and Brazil. After missing Spain, neither team will encounter Spain before the finals.
However, in addition to Spain, there are many strong teams in this World Cup, and it is not easy to reach the finals.
After the matches of Group A and Group B, the final rounds of matches of other groups also began.
In Group C, the Japanese team lost miserably to Colombia 1:4 in the last round, ending their World Cup journey with a poor result of 1 draw, 2 losses, scoring 2 goals and conceding 6 goals.
The Japanese team is not a traditional strong team. Their best result in the World Cup was only the top 16, so this result can only be said to be no surprise.
However, the Japanese team's elimination still made fans in Asia, especially those in East Asia, wail.
The Japanese team is considered the strongest men's football team in East Asia. Even they were beaten so badly in the World Cup. If they were played by another team, the result would be even worse.
Compared with the Japanese team, the Greek team, which suffered a tragic defeat to Colombia in the first game, performed a miracle.
After a disastrous defeat in the first round and a draw with the weak Japanese team in the second round, the Greek team defeated Cote d'Ivoire in the final round.
Côte d'Ivoire also became the second team in this World Cup to qualify with a draw, only to be eliminated.
In Group D, Italy lost to Uruguay 0:1 in the last round, and they were also eliminated even though they could qualify with a draw.
As for England, another European team, they tied with Costa Rica 0:0 and were eliminated at the bottom of the group with a record of 1 draw and 2 losses.
In the end, the teams that qualified in Group D were Costa Rica and Uruguay. The two South American teams had the last laugh, and the two European teams went home.
With the qualifying teams of the CD two groups confirmed, their matches in the knockout round were also announced.
In the quarter-finals, Colombia, first in Group C, will face Uruguay, second in Group D.
Greece, second in Group C, will face Costa Rica, first in Group D.
It is worth mentioning that if Spain defeats Mexico and advances to the top 8, their quarter-final opponents will be Costa Rica and Greece.
In Group E, the two qualifying teams were France and Switzerland, while two teams from the Americas, Honduras and Ecuador, were eliminated.
In Group F, Argentina defeated Nigeria 3:2 with difficulty in the last round, winning all three games to qualify first in the group.
This game was very dramatic. Messi scored in just 3 minutes.
As a result, Musa on the opposite side equalized the score in the 4th minute. Boss Mei scored another goal in the 45th minute, and Musa also equalized again in the 47th minute.
Messi is a little doubtful about life. Who is this guy? He is so fierce?
Fortunately, Argentina's third goal was not scored by Messi. Musa on the opposite side seemed to have lost his magic and failed to equalize the score again.
Although Argentina has won all three games, the outside world looks down on them even more.
Before Rojo scored this goal, all Argentina goals were scored by Messi.
If Spain only relies a little on Lin Quan, then Argentina would have been eliminated long ago without Messi!
They have a lot of shooters in the frontcourt, but the performance of these shooters is really disappointing.
Higuain, Aguero, Di Maria and others have not scored a single goal in three games. This poor performance is completely different from their outstanding performance in their respective clubs!
Fortunately, Argentina's opponent in the top 16 is Switzerland. Switzerland is not very strong and Argentina has time to adjust its state.
Iran, another Asian team in Group E, had a similar final record to Japan, with 1 draw and 2 losses, and was eliminated at the bottom of the group.
Moreover, they scored one fewer goal than Japan, scoring only 1 goal and conceding 4 goals in 3 games.
This huge gap has once again made Asian fans feel extremely frustrated and pessimistic.
Counting Australia as a transfer, three of the four teams in Asia have been eliminated, leaving only South Korea.
The South Korean team, which has 1 draw and 1 loss in the 2 rounds, theoretically still has some hope of qualifying, as long as they beat Belgium, which is first in the group, in the last round.
Before the game, fans of the Korean team clamored on the Internet.
It is said that Japan and Iran are scum.
Only the Korean team can defend the dignity of Asia, and the Korean team is Asia's last hope.
They seemed to really regard themselves as the savior and firmly believed that the Korean team would be able to create a miracle in the final round and become the only Asian team to advance out of the group stage.
However, the South Korean team failed to create a miracle. Instead, they lost 0:3 when their opponent was sent off with a red card.
This caused their crotch to become a boomerang before the game, attracting criticism from countless Asian fans.
"Koreans, stop pretending to be dead and come out and take a few steps!"
"What about the guys who clamored to look down on Japan and Iran before the game? They don't dare to show up anymore?"
"Haha, you used your exaggerated acting skills to get a red card. You spent most of the game with more and less, and you were beaten so badly. How can this be the light of Asia? This is clearly the shame of Asia!"
"What do you know? In a parallel universe, the Korean team has already punched Germany, kicked Spain, and reached the top of the world!"
"Haha, it is indeed the country of origin of the universe!"
With the disastrous defeat of the South Korean team, all Asian teams participating in this World Cup were wiped out, becoming the first continent to be wiped out.
Moreover, in all 12 games, they struggled to win, with only 3 draws and 9 losses, scoring 6 goals and conceding 27 goals.
This is definitely the darkest moment for Asian teams in the World Cup!
With the disastrous defeat of Asian teams in the World Cup, many Asian countries were awakened and realized the gap between them and football powers. As a result, more and more young Asian players began to study abroad.
And their choice of studying abroad is no longer limited to the five major leagues. Asian players have begun to appear in the Portuguese Super League, Russian Super League, Eredivisie, and Belgium.
It is worth mentioning that De Bruyne performed very well in this game. He scored one goal and provided two assists. He scored all the goals by himself!
De Bruyne also won the MVP of this game, and was praised by the Belgian national team coach Mark Wilmots after the game.
"Kevin is a very good player. I am amazed by his creativity on the field. At his feet, football seems to have countless possibilities!"
Mark Wilmots himself is a coach who plays as an attacking midfielder, so he has a strong preference for players like De Bruyne who play the same position as him.
After training in the Bundesliga and the Premier League, De Bruyne grew rapidly and became the core of Belgium's midfield early on.
With him here, the European Red Devils look strong and they seem to be able to compete with other favorites for the World Cup crown!
Moreover, Belgium's opponent in the top 16 is the United States team, which is not very strong. They have a high probability of advancing to the quarterfinals.
As for the semi-finals, it depends on whether they can get past Argentina!
If they can get past Argentina, Belgium will meet Spain in the semi-finals.
Lin Quan and De Bruyne are likely to appear on the court as opponents for the first time!
…
After playing against Australia, Spain began preparations for the knockout stages.
Although the outside world generally believes that Mexico cannot cause much hindrance to Spain, Spain itself does not dare to be so careless.
After all, there are three games in the group stage. If you lose one game, you can just catch up in the next two games.
But the knockout round is a game that determines the outcome. If it overturns, it will really be doomed.
You are the number one favorite to win this World Cup. If they capsize against Mexico, they will be scolded by the fans.
"Mexico is not weak. We cannot face them with the mentality of looking down on our opponents because their world rankings are not as good as ours!"
In the pre-match preparations, Del Bosque gathered the players and did a lot of ideological work.
He felt that the team's consecutive big wins could easily lead to the players becoming arrogant and underestimating the enemy, so it was necessary to crack them down.
Especially the main center back Ramos. As a defender, this guy actually has a dream of being a forward.
Every time he attacks, he runs forward boldly, and his desire to score is almost written on his face.
Del Bosque could see that Ramos was very excited.
This guy has scored 2 goals so far and is the second-leading scorer in the Spanish team, second only to Lin Quan in terms of goals.
For a defender, being able to score so many goals is indeed a reason to be excited.
However, the defender's job is to defend, and the forwards are responsible for scoring goals. If everyone goes to attack, then who will guard the goal?
After being scolded, Ramos was a little embarrassed.
The mood seemed to be quite low. Fortunately, Del Bosque did not rush to kill everything. He allowed Ramos to leave his own half and go to the opponent's penalty area to participate in the attack when the team implemented set-piece tactics.
Although Ramos is not very tall, his heading ability is very abnormal. Such excellent heading ability must be put to good use.
After all, there are not many tall players in the Spanish team. Although Pique is very tall, his header level is average and is far less powerful than Ramos.
Therefore, when implementing set-piece tactics, allowing Ramos to participate in the top challenge can effectively improve the Spanish team's header threat.
Lin Quan did not participate in heading training. With his height, it is too difficult to compete for the top in the penalty area.
Bosque arranged for him to conduct special penalty kick training with several shooters.
Because of conservative tactics and strong defensive intensity, penalty shootouts often occur in the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
If you don't practice penalty kick tactics in a targeted manner, if you are dragged into a penalty shootout, it will really just depend on luck.
The forwards have no objections to Bosque's arrangement, but they have strong objections to the goalkeeper arranged to train with them.
"David, is your habit of shooting penalty kicks in only one direction?"
After scoring 10 consecutive penalty kicks, Lin Quan stopped the ball and asked De Gea in confusion.
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