Chapter 69 Labor Pains

Chapter 69 Labor Pains

During the national team competition week, the Belgian Football Association contacted the two warm-up matches against Cameroon, an African powerhouse, and the South Korean team from Asia. These two teams are considered giants in their respective continents.

The first opponent is Cameroon. Although there is a lack of big-name players like Eto'o, Cameroon's strength should not be underestimated.

As planned, Antiiennis completely deployed a starting lineup dominated by young players in this game. The goalkeeper is Bailey, who Antiiennis is very optimistic about. The defense line is from left to right. Lombalz, Vertonghen, Vermaelen and captain Van Buyten, Fellaini as a central defender in the midfield, Martens and Witsek on the two wings, Dembele as the midfielder, and two forwards It was De Couler and Dredd.

Except for Van Buyten, the other starting players are representing the Belgian national team for the first time, and their experience is infinitely close to zero.

Although Digan didn't enter the big list, he still sat on the sidelines with Antiiennis. Now the Belgian national team is made by the two of them. If something goes wrong, a big thunderbolt will fall at the same time. On both of their heads.

The stands were also full of Belgian fans, and they all wanted to see how this brand new national team would perform. Of course, they would not be stingy with applause if they played well. It's just scolding.

Problems arose at the very beginning of the game. Cameroon deserves to be a world-class team. Although it lacks the head star Samuel Eto'o, their quick-witted tactical style still made the Belgian youth team scramble. The defense line is not a big problem. After all Van Buyten has rich experience, Vermaelen and Vertonghen are partners in Ajax, and they can still cope with the Cameroon team's raid in the middle.

But the midfield was completely subverted. In the past, the Belgian team's midfielder was characterized by toughness. Against a team with average physical fitness like Cameroon, it can be said to be easy to catch. But today, the Belgian team's midfielder has undergone a major transformation. The main players of the national team were all sitting on the bench before, and these young people on the field seemed at a loss in the face of Cameroon's fast passing and receiving.

Especially the defensive midfielder Fellaini, who has high hopes from Degan and Antiiennis. Under the influence of Degan, Fellaini is characterized by his wide range of running and fierce steals.

Antiiennis sent him as the main force in this game, hoping that his wide-range interception ability in the midfield can prevent the Cameroon team from penetrating the middle.

During the previous training, Fellaini's ability showed that Antiiennis even planned to let him be Gour's successor, but now, after nearly ten minutes of the game, Fellaini's role was completely invisible.

Fellaini was so clumsy on the field that he was like a wooden stake, and the Cameroon players could easily go around him and directly attack the Belgian defense.

There are still two wingers. Martens and Witsek are like headless chickens. After receiving the ball, they just sprint with their heads buried, and the connection with their teammates is equal to zero.

Dembele's performance was not bad, and he also had a few wonderful passes. In the ninth minute of the game, he took a long shot from outside the penalty area of ​​the Cameroon team, which almost caused the Cameroon goalkeeper Kameni to drop his hand.

But Dembele has the biggest problem. Antiiennis gave him the task of connecting the team's frontcourt and organizing the offense. However, Dembele, who represented the national team for the first time, obviously forgot his task. A clean sheet, probably too eager to use a goal to add luster to his first national team match, often rushing, pushing forwards to the sideways, the connection between the center and the front field is completely gone, and we can only rely on Two wingers, and a long pass from the backcourt directly hit the opponent's back.

Although the defenders of the Cameroon team are generally not tall, they are very unique in defending around the front and blocking positions. For a while, the Belgian team's offense also fell into a predicament.

If the central and frontcourt cannot open up the situation, the pressure on the defense line can be imagined. In just a few minutes, Vermaelen and Vertonghen, the pair of Ajax's central defenders, formed the best combination on the field. Busy people, non-stop shoveling, but also always beware of the Cameroon team hitting the ball to the side.

The Belgian fans in the stands were already booing intermittently, and Antiiennis beside Degan gradually frowned. This was obviously not what he planned to happen.

Before the game, Antiiennis' plan was to use the combination of side and center to pull Cameroon's defense, and the two forwards acted as fulcrums to attack Cameroon's frontal defense and create opportunities for Dembele.

Looking at it now, except for Fellaini, the other areas of the Belgian team are actually playing fairly well, but the problem is that these areas cannot be connected together. There is an advantage in some areas, but the overall situation has fallen into a passive state.

Antiiennis had never encountered such a strange scene, and at this moment he could only ponder over how to break this situation.

The game on the field is still going on, and the Cameroon players have discovered the problems of the Belgian team. Before the start of the game, their coach kept telling them to slow down the rhythm of attack after the opening. After all, the Belgian team is World Cup runner-up, the strength is still very strong.

But now looking at this brand-new Belgian national team again, the Cameroon players found that their opponents today are a bunch of broilers, and it is not worth being so careful at all.

Although it is only a friendly match, no one wants to lose, especially for the World Cup runner-up team, it is also a big challenge for Cameroon players.

Soon, the Cameroonian players began to speed up their offensive rhythm, and the passing and receiving of the ball became faster and faster, which made the Belgian team even more flustered.

Fellaini has become the most tormented person on the field. He is the team's first line of defense, but the current situation is true. His first line of defense has completely become a display. In the face of confrontation, it only takes one pass to easily bypass his defense and hit him behind.

Fellaini began to become impatient. He knew that this main position was hard-won. As a young man, he was even more eager to represent Belgium in competitions such as the European Cup. , It is impossible to take him to the European Cup.

The impetuous mood also made Fellaini's mentality gradually unbalanced. When the game progressed to the 20th minute, the Cameroon team directly blocked Fellaini's pass in the midfield, and it was still a small-scale pass-and-receive cooperation.

The Cameroon player who blocked Fellaini's pass was probably playing too high. He actually dribbled the ball and rushed towards Fellaini. He stepped on his bicycle twice in a row and was about to steal the ball In an instant, the Cameroon player swung his arch and passed the ball to his teammate beside him. Then, taking advantage of Fellaini's dazed effort, he rushed past him, and was about to kill when he received the return pass. Belgium's penalty area.

Embarrassed, Fellaini didn't care so much, turned around directly, and threw a shovel.

The referee's whistle sounded immediately, and Fellaini, who was surrounded by angry Cameroon players, was pulled out, and then a red card was given directly.

In an instant, Fellaini woke up and knew that he had done a stupid thing, but things could not be changed. He was sent off for a malicious foul after playing only 20 minutes. It is conceivable that Fellaini's national team career in the future It will be bleak, maybe from now on, international competitions will be completely insulated from him.

The young Fellaini did not expect that the first time he played for the national team would be like this. This was completely different from his imagination. Before the game started, he was still fantasizing that he would be on the court. To be a gate to the Belgian national team, to be a hero of Belgian football, as his idol Degan was and is doing.

But now everything is ruined by his stupidity.

At the end of the field, the stands were full of curses. With the resurgence of Belgian football, the results are getting better and better, and the appetite of the Belgian fans is gradually increasing. They are really unbearable.

Fellaini kept his head down all the time. If there was a crack in the ground at this moment, he would definitely plunge his head into it and never come out again for the rest of his life.

Although Antiiennis was also angry at Fellaini's foul, he was his disciple after all. He was about to step forward to comfort him, but Digan stopped him.

"Coach! No one can help him at this time. If he can't stand up again, it will only prove that I am blind and have taken a fancy to a soft guy!"

Antiiennis hesitated for a moment, but still accepted Digan's suggestion. Digan was right. He couldn't protect Fellaini like a nanny. Sometimes, people need to stand up by themselves.

The game continued, Fellaini's foul gave the Cameroonians a free kick, and it was with this opportunity that they scored the first goal of the game.

The Belgian fans in the stands cursed one more target this time. The young goalkeeper Bailly, it was because of his positioning error that the Cameroonian scored easily.

The young and handsome Bailey also looked a little dazed. He knew very well that he had to pay a lot of responsibility for the conceded goal just now.

As a result, before the end of the first half, the Belgian team conceded another goal, and the Cameroon team took a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, causing Bailey to drop the ball. The Cameroon forward, who had been ambushing in front of the goal, seized the opportunity to make another victory .