Center

Chapter 260 European Unification

Like the coaching staff of the China Youth Team, Pierce and his coaching staff are also discussing how to defend the China Youth Team’s offense. Pierce also knows the China Youth Team very well. He knows that the strength of the China Youth Team is not their defense, but their offense. The defense of the youth team can only be regarded as mediocre, and at most they cooperate tacitly. In terms of personal ability, except for Wu Bufan and Li Jie who play in Europe, the strength of the other defenders can only be regarded as mediocre. Each has its own flaws and is not considered an outstanding defender.

Pierce believes that Sturridge alone is enough to prevent Li Jie from being distracted from other things, not to mention that he has Walcott, Wilshere, Delphi, and Welbeck in his hands who are good enough to be regarded as first-class players in the top European leagues!So Pierce is not worried about not being able to break through the gate of the China Youth Team. Instead, he is worried about how to fight against players who also have strong offensive capabilities such as Long Bisheng, Dai Guangming, Zhou Zhou, and Zhang Yi.

For himself, Pierce has never lacked understanding. His evaluation of the U-20 youth team under him is very pertinent-close to the world-class offensive line, the most second-rate defense, especially in the midfielder position, he has never found a suitable candidate.

"To deal with Long, we can only use Martin. No other defender can compare with Long Bisheng in terms of height, and even in terms of jumping ability, he can't fight against such a monster-level center." Pierce thought in his heart.

Martin Kelly, a young central defender who plays for Liverpool, although he is not the main force, he has become the most reassuring substitute for Carragher, Liverpool's second captain. He is 1.9 meters tall and weighs 77 kg.

Using him to guard Long Bisheng, Pierce still felt that it was not enough - he knew that Long Bisheng's biggest advantage on the court was that he had an enviable height, but he had the athletic ability that most big men didn't have!

His running ability, confrontation ability, and jumping ability are almost enough to play in the NBA—in fact, there is no shortage of big men over [-] meters tall in English football—but those with such impressive heights are not particularly outstanding in terms of athletic ability.

The theoretically optimal height of a football player should be about 1.8 meters, so that his confrontation ability and speed can be maximized. The central defender and center forward are slightly taller, but they should not exceed 1.9 meters. Technical ability, while confrontation and agility are also quite good.But after all, it's not too outrageous, but Long Bisheng is a typical freak. He is as strong as his body, but still agile. If it weren't for his not-so-perfect technique and slightly poor experience, Pierce really doesn't know any defender who can defend him in a one-on-one confrontation with him.

"I hope that Martin can contain him. If it doesn't work, David Levine can also help him. Both of them are Liverpool players, and there is no problem in tacit understanding." Pierce thought in his heart.

************************************
On October [-]th, the quarter-finals of the World Youth Championship kicked off. Among the quarter-finals, four European teams, England, Spain, Germany, and Italy, and two African teams, the African youth champion Ghana and the host Egypt, the South American team Brazil and the Asian team China.

The matchup of the quarter-finals was also quite interesting. The four European teams did not fight each other but each met a team from another continent. In addition to England playing against China, the Italian youth team met the African champion Ghana. The German youth team played against the host Egypt. Spain was the most unlucky one. The United States prevented them from meeting Brazil, but in the Under-20 World Cup, the two teams met fatefully.

Europe vs. the world - that's the headline in the European sports media ahead of the World Youth Championship quarter-finals.

In the two games on October [-]th, two European teams played against two African teams. In the history of the World Youth Championship, European teams have won seven championships in total, which is only one more than Argentina's six times. Another South American powerhouse, Brazil, won four championships. It can be regarded as evenly divided.

Therefore, after the collective performance of the European teams in this World Youth Championship, the European media placed high hopes on the European team to win the World Youth Championship after four years. You must know that ten years ago, Spain, the last European team to win the World Youth Championship so far, won the cup in Nigeria in Africa. Africa has been regarded as a blessed land by the European media.

But for the representatives of African teams - the Ghana youth team and the Egyptian youth team, they don't want to see European teams stepping over their corpses to the championship road. You must know that although African teams have never won the World Youth Championship, their performance in the World Youth Championship has always been good. Egypt won the No.01 in the Argentina World Youth Championship in 3.
The Cairo International Stadium, which can accommodate 17 fans, witnessed how the Egyptian youth team fought bravely and tenaciously against the German youth team that swept across the entire European continent within one year and achieved the unprecedented Grand Slam of European youth championships at all levels (including U-19, U-21, and U-203 European Championship champions were all won by the German youth team within one year, which is an unprecedented honor and honor). However, the Egyptian youth team once evened the score amidst the shouts of more than 7 Egyptian fans in the audience, and they played inextricably with the German youth team in the next game. If the German goalkeeper Mikel hadn't performed well and blocked the Egyptian team's threatening shots in a row, the Egyptian team might have the biggest upset since the beginning of the World Youth Championship!

It's a pity that the German youth team's ability to win three European Youth Championships is definitely not luck-they were beaten by the Egyptian team, but the Germans have never lacked the courage to stand up in adversity-"They thought everything was over, but the Germans stood up again!"

Kennett Wolstenholm’s exclamation is the best interpretation of German courage—just when the Egyptian youth team bravely gained the upper hand, Marco Marin, another monster besides Toni Kroos, stepped forward. He made a great breakthrough in the 805th minute of the game, dribbling the ball past three Egyptian players in a row, and then when other Egyptian defenders surrounded him desperately, he accurately passed the ball to the unattended Brescia striker Nseleko in the penalty area, the latter’s lore Shut the mouths of [-] Egyptian fans...

Two to one, the German youth team proved their strength, and the Egyptian youth team also left the Cairo International Stadium with their heads held high. Their performance was worthy of the cheers of more than 7 Egyptian fans.

Three hours later, Alexander Bog El Salvador Arab Stadium, the Ghanaian youth team also had the upper hand on the scene, but unfortunately they faced the Italian youth team whose defense was even better than the Germans!
Although the younger generation in Italy is a bit of a trend, it has not been reflected in this year's Italian youth team. It goes without saying that David Thornton and Mario Balotelli, who have already played the main force in Inter Milan for four consecutive championships, and other players such as AC Milan's Parowski are also favored by ball critics. Tuya, Albertacci, Damian, May...

Typical Italian game, typical Italian goal, typical Italian result!
No.607 minutes, Zalini made a long pass from the backcourt, Parowski passed in the middle, and Balotelli completed a lore!

Italy let Ghana "suffocate"!
European teams have already occupied half of the top four in the World Youth Championship!

The next day, the European media was full of jubilation. After breaking through the host and the strongest youth team in Africa, Ghana, in the eyes of the European media, the only obstacle left for a European team to win the World Youth Championship for the first time in ten years is Brazil!
"All of Europe wants Spain to beat Brazil!"

The large headline of the Spanish "Marca" spoke out the aspirations of the vast majority of European fans!

As long as Spain can defeat Brazil, then the European teams will definitely be able to win the semi-finals of the World Youth Championship. The next game will be a repeat of the European Youth Championship...

Under such circumstances, the Chinese youth team was almost ignored. No European fans and media thought that the Chinese youth team could pass the English youth team, even though among the surviving teams, the Chinese youth team's performance was almost the best!

Almost all European fans are immersed in the dream of "European unity"...

(End of this chapter)