Chapter 222: Does England have to pay for Liverpool's failure back then?
On the sidelines, Italian head coach Prandelli screamed in horror: "Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Just as the Italian players were amazed at Xia Qi's toughness, Xia Qi had already caught up with the football.
The situation on the field was reversed instantly.
The Italian players retreated like crazy...
The Italian team retreated very quickly, quickly and in an orderly manner.
The three lines of the team still maintained a reasonable distance and did not reveal any obvious flaws.
Paletta reacted quickly in the penalty area.
He rushed towards Xia Qi immediately.
Seeing him rushing towards him, Xia Qi did not rush to pass the ball.
Firstly, the Italian team had no flaws that could kill with one strike, and secondly, the English trident was slow to react and failed to run to the ideal position.
Unable to find a suitable outlet for the ball, Xia Qi decided to break through on his own.
When Paletta rushed to him, he suddenly dribbled the ball sideways, then sent it behind Paletta and rushed past him.
After passing the others,
Xia Qi waved his hand to signal his teammates to press forward.
Just at this moment, Verratti, who was responsible for marking Xia Qi throughout the court, pressed forward.
Xia Qi didn't want to confront him head-on, after all, there was Paletta behind him.
Before Verratti pounced, Xia Qi passed the ball to Rooney at the front point.
Rooney was a little careless when he received the ball and turned around, and was successfully intercepted by De Rossi. After the opponent got the ball, he passed the ball to Verratti.
At this time, Verratti was only four or five meters away from Xia Qi, but Xia Qi did not approach him.
Instead, he ran towards Candreva.
Sure enough, when Verratti got the ball, he thought that Xia Qi, who was close at hand, would snatch the ball away from him, so the moment he received the ball, he passed it without thinking.
Xia Qi predicted his prediction.
He rushed to Candreva first, and the football returned to Xia Qi's feet again.
"Italy made a mistake in passing and cutting the ball, and the ball landed at Xia Qi's feet."
Candreva, who was robbed of the "first soup" by Xia Qi, rushed towards Xia Qi with great momentum.
Xia Qi protected the football on the inside of his ankle, then turned his body to the side, using his back to withstand the impact.
The two of them collided heavily.
Xia Qi staggered and nearly fell to the ground. This shows how fiercely Candreva hit him. It should be noted that Xia Qi's balance was at its maximum in the AI state.
Of course, Candreva was in even worse pain. He was knocked to the ground by the reaction force.
This is an opportunity.
Xia Qi staggered and passed the ball to Sterling who retreated to receive it.
At this time, Sterling had his back to the Italian goal and was facing Xia Qi.
After stabilizing his center of gravity, Xia Qi rushed forward and ran behind Sterling.
After Sterling received the pass from Xia Qi, he did not turn around, but just slightly adjusted the angle of the ball.
When Xia Qi ran behind him, he used his heel to knock the football to Xia Qi.
Marchisio, who was defending Sterling, saw the ball pass to Xia Qi's feet.
He gave up defending Sterling and rushed towards Xia Qi.
Verratti and Candreva chased back, one ran towards Sterling and the other rushed towards Xia Qi, preparing to double-team Xia Qi.
Xia Qi certainly would not let himself be double-teamed, and before the encirclement was formed, he passed the ball to the right side.
Walcott sprinted forward and got the ball.
Damian stood in front of Walcott, and De Rossi stood on Damian's right, forming a 60-degree angle with Damian to prevent Walcott from passing the ball.
Walcott dunked the ball three times while riding a bicycle, as if he was going to go down the crease.
Forcing De Rossi to move closer to Damian, and then passing the ball to Xia Qi.
After passing the ball, Walcott sprinted forward and took Damian away.
Walcott meant for Xia Qi to play wall passes with him, and he would receive the ball behind Damian.
But Xia Qi didn't have that plan!
Instead, he suddenly pushed the ball sideways and ran towards the middle.
De Rossi thought Xia Qi would cooperate with Walcott, so he moved sideways to cut off the connection between Xia and Walcott.
As a result, Xia Qi did not take the usual path. He moved sideways and blocked the lonely one.
After Xia Qi dribbled sideways for a few steps, he pushed the ball diagonally forward, turned, and aimed his body towards the Italian goal.
At this time, Xia Qi was more than 40 meters away from the goal.
The Italian players, including the goalkeeper, did not feel any danger.
De Rossi saw Xia Qi leaving and did not speed up to catch up. In his eyes, Xia Qi would pass the ball as he did before.
De Rossi's thoughts are similar to those of other Italian players.
However, the next second,
Xia Qi opened his arms, grabbed the ground with his left foot, and raised his right foot...
“He’s going to shoot!”
Italian goalkeeper Sirigu exclaimed!
De Rossi and Barzagli rushed towards Xia Qi one after the other.
But it was too late.
The football whizzed past Barzagli's head. Barzagli jumped high during the sprint but failed to head the ball.
"Xia Qi! Shoot from a very long distance!"
When Sirigu saw Xia Qi taking up his driving stance, he knew that Xia Qi was going to shoot from a distance.
He started to step back, but before he could take a few steps, the football was over his head in the blink of an eye.
It was impossible to retreat any further, so he could only jump up, raise his hands, and try his best to catch the football.
Sirigu made a great leap but failed to catch the ball. He felt very disappointed and turned his head to look at the ball.
The football once again hit the net from the far corner.
Hey!
I didn’t look at the almanac when I went out today!
Sirigu was left with no tears as England sent him back to the bench in just half the game.
If nothing unexpected happens, Italy's starting goalkeeper in the next game should be veteran Buffon.
On the court, Xia Qi is very cool!
After shooting the ball, he did not follow the ball into the net with his eyes and heart like others did.
He turned around early to face the Italian fans' stands, opened his arms and made a "ruling the world" gesture.
Just like the protagonists in European and American blockbusters don’t look at the explosion scene.
Just so confident!
...
...
When Xia Qi started the drive, everyone in the Amazon Stadium except Xia Qi held their breath and watched intently as the football Xia Qi kicked passed over Sirigu's fingertips and hit the inside of the angle post above the far corner of the goal.
Bounce into the net!
"Ah! Super world wave!"
"Hurray! Xia Qi is invincible!"
"3:0! We killed the game!"
England fans shouted various slogans and jumped up from their seats. They opened their arms and hugged Xia Qi in the stadium, as if they could hug him in this way.
The commentators in the live broadcast room were also very excited. They shouted hysterically:
"The Blue Titanic was sunk by the Crusaders!"
"It was so brutal. England only needed half the game to force Italy to book their return tickets in advance."
"After losing the decisive match in the group of death, Italy must win both of the remaining two matches to firmly grasp its own destiny.
After England won this game, their prospects of qualifying are bright.”
Although Xia Qi scored the third goal in the 42nd minute of the first half, no one would doubt England's final victory.
Especially when Xia Qi celebrated in advance, his confidence also infected England's supporters.
No one thought that predicting a win at halftime would be a slap in the face by “pouring champagne at halftime”.
This is the confidence that Xia Qi brings them!
The Internet is also very lively:
"It's fucking beautiful! A world-class shot of over 40 meters!"
"My mother asked me why I was kneeling to watch TV, and I bowed down to her!"
"I used to talk about the four major misconceptions about the World Cup... Italy is bad, England is strong... After tonight, I believe the Chinese national team can qualify with a draw!"
"Xia Qi scored a goal and had two assists, sending Italy home in the first half. He is so strong!"
"The most amazing thing is not the goal, but the early celebration!!!"
...
...
Seeing the ball really fly into the net, Rooney rushed to Xia Qi, grabbed his head and shouted:
"Fark! Either you don't celebrate, or you're super cool if you do! Do you know that your celebration is more beautiful than the goal?"
Gerard also shouted at Xia Qi: "I won't lean on the wall, I only respect you! We can really clock out early."
Seeing Xia Qi score his team's third goal, the England coaching staff rushed out from the coaching seats.
Hodgson hugged the assistant coaches one by one. The bench next to them was already empty.
The players had already run to the sidelines and were yelling at their teammates on the field...
...
...
As the first half of the game was about to end, Italy head coach Prandelli did not make any substitutions.
After restarting the game,
Italy's morale was low, while England's was high.
After Italy kicked off, there was little coordination. After a few simple passes, Marchisio ignored Balotelli's attempt to get the ball.
He returned a world-class goal from the front of England's penalty area. The quality of this world-class goal was quite high, and it was lifted by Joe Hart.
Flying over the crossbar.
Then Pirlo took a corner kick and De Rossi scored from behind the goal.
Push the football into the stands.
Joe Hart takes the goal kick.
England failed to extend the lead.
The referee blew the whistle to end the first half after Walcott shot.
The Italian players lowered their heads and quickly walked back to the player tunnel, while Balotelli deliberately dragged his feet at the end.
Xia Qi, who had released the "one-button hang-up" status, was walking and chatting with his good friend Joe Hart.
Balotelli came over at some point:
"Xia, your early celebration is so cool!"
Before Xia Qi could answer, Joe Hart yelled, "Mario, are you guys going to do this? I don't even have any shots!"
Xia Qi scolded angrily: "You two are really amazing! Are you guys a team of traitors? Birds of a feather flock together!"
It is not surprising that Balotelli would say this. When he was at Inter Milan, Balotelli once wore an AC Milan jersey in front of the media.
Being able to make friends with Balotelli, Joe Hart's thinking is also different...
The two of them were not angry when they heard Xia Qi scolding them, they just laughed.
At the fork in the passage, Balotelli patted Xia Qi on the shoulder and said, "It's great to be your teammate."
Xia Qi waved his hand: "You're thinking of my goodness now? It's too late. I only kill the familiar!"
...
...
In the Italian locker room, Prandelli is inspiring the team.
With the experience of his predecessor Ancelotti's "half-time champagne", Prandelli still wants to struggle.
First of all, goalkeeper Sirigu can no longer be used. He has been traumatized by being kicked out by Xia Qi. If he cannot get over this psychological trauma, his life will be destroyed by Xia Qi.
The second thing is the defense against Xia Qi. A single person defending him all over the court has no effect, so we can only use double defense and the black hand...
"When defending against Xia Qi, one of you must stay 100% close to him. You can use some fouls, as long as they don't result in a red card. Of course, be careful to avoid dangerous areas..."
"The other side is popping champagne. Last time it was us, but the English had the last laugh. Same score, same half-time popping champagne. This time it's our turn to come back and have the last laugh."
The miracle night in Istanbul was still very convincing, and the fighting spirit and confidence of the Italian players were restored to full capacity in an instant.
In particular, the person involved, Pirlo, excitedly clenched his fists and shouted: Revenge!
He firmly believed that he would score in the second half, because nine years ago it was Gerrard who scored a header from 10 meters in front of AC Milan's goal.
Sound the clarion call for Liverpool's counterattack!
Isn’t it amazing that there is also a person involved in the current England team, and that is Gerrard.
Pirlo believes that things will change over time, and it will be his turn sooner or later...
There was no champagne in the England dressing room but it was almost the same.
Players are talking about what time to clock out.
Is it 60 minutes, 70 minutes, or 80 minutes?
Joe Hart was even more miserable: "I will be the only goalkeeper who is frozen in the summer World Cup..."
The players were joking happily, not realizing that Italy was already sharpening its knives.
...
...
Before the start of the second half, Italy made a substitution, with the ageless goalkeeper Buffon replacing Sirigu, who had conceded three goals in the first half.
In the player tunnel, Balotelli asked Xia Qi mysteriously: "Do you believe in fate?"
Xia Qi didn't know that he was talking about "Istanbul Reincarnation".
So he nodded.
With the recognition of his good friend, Balotelli rushed onto the court with a red face and a roar, leaving Xia Qi, who was confused, slowly walking out of the player tunnel.
In the second half of the game, England kicked off.
Xia Qi had just got the ball and before he turned around, he was pushed to the ground from behind by Verratti.
After the referee blew the whistle, he judged Verratti to have committed a foul but did not give him a card, just a verbal warning.
This caused dissatisfaction among the England team and they protested to the referee, but it did not arouse their vigilance.
Then, in the more than ten minutes of the game, Xia Qi was targeted four times.
Sometimes when I am defending Xia Qi alone, I have to use my hands to make up for my lack of skills.
Sometimes when it comes to double or even triple defense, Lu Bu is not allowed to fight three heroes.
Xia Qi was frequently attacked by villains, which was extremely helpful to Italy.
In these ten minutes, they completed three attacks that hit the basket. Although they failed in the end, at least they saw hope.
In this way, in the 58th minute of the game, the Italian team launched another counterattack.
This time, Pirlo made a fake shot near the penalty area and suddenly sent a diagonal pass.
Marchisio cut in from the left to the side of the penalty area and made a pass that looked like a shot.
The ball went under the armpit of Joe Hart as he dived...
A red alert was immediately sounded in the England penalty area!
"Danger!"
screamed the England fans in the stands.
In their vision, Balotelli had already moved forward to the path of the football.
Draw your bow and arrow and wait for the football to roll over.
The English fans were anxious and booed with all their might.
But, what's the use of this?
Balotelli kicked the ball and it changed direction and rolled into the England goal.
"Balotelli!"
"The ball is in!"
"The score is now 1:3! This plot is inexplicably familiar, just like the night in Istanbul nine years ago. Is England going to pay for Liverpool's defeat back then?"
"England aren't really going to pop champagne at half-time, are they?"