On the 3rd day of the knockout round of the European Cup, France played against Belgium, a world second, a world third, in the past, when France met Belgium, we were always full of regrets, we didn't want them to meet too soon, it seemed that the game was not perfect without them, and this European Cup, when France met Belgium, I smiled, and finally there was an ugly team to go home.
Isn't it? So far, at least, the two so-called favourites have not deserved to stand on the stage of the European Championship compared to Spain, with France underperforming and Belgium underwhelming, and their performances as world powerhouses on their heads for the European Championship are a taste of wax.
There is no worst, only worse, the dignified world champion French team, only scored a goal by penalty kick opportunity in the group stage, mixed with an own goal, how ironic, even the ability to score goals in sports battles, this is the so-called favorite team to win the championship? Belgium are also embarrassed, after 3 group games, 7 shots on target 6 missed opportunities, 3 goals were denied by VAR, Lukaku has completely become a comedy star, this guy has celebrated three times in the European Cup, but all three goals were spared, all were blown away.
What kind of sparks will be sparked when two teams meet in such an awkward way? Is it a collision of passions or a mutual pecking of rookies? After 90 minutes of fierce battle, we saw the answer, the world No. 2 and the world No. 3 teamed up to present an own goal for the audience, and ugliness and utilitarianism can be called the theme of this European Cup.
Isn't it, so far, there have been too many 0:0, 1:0 in this European Cup, and the kind of heart-wrenching big score matches that people expect are rare, too many dull games to make fans drowsy, and the only ones who can do it are the host Germany and the matador Spain.
High ticket prices, falling asleep on the spot, this is the sadness of the fans or the sadness of the European Cup, why this European Cup is so boring, I think there are two reasons, one is that the gap between European countries is narrowing after the football level continues to improve, and the other reason is that football is becoming more and more utilitarian.
First of all, let's talk about the narrowing of the football gap in European countries, the improvement of football in many countries is quietly changing our perception of football, there is no weak team in Europe, just take a simple example, how many people know Slovenia? How many fans know Slovenian football?
If in the past, a team like Slovenia in the European Championship could only have one result, that is, it was ruthlessly crushed, and now, the 57th ranked team in the world can be on an equal footing with the so-called world powerhouses, don't think that Slovenia's draw with England was an accident, can you imagine? Slovenia are unbeaten in 90 minutes in four games in the European Championship, and last night, it was Slovenia who made Cristiano Ronaldo cry in extra time.
Seeing this, some people may say, why can the host Germany and the matador Spain play a big game? Well, that's the crux of the matter, the rise of the underdogs is one thing, the decline of the strong teams is also the other, at least there are not many teams that can play as clearly and executingly as Germany and Spain so far.
Take the matchup between France and Belgium, for example, don't the French, with the halo of world champions, want to win the match? Don't they want to have a good time? No, the heart is more than enough, in the first half of the game, the French were yellow in 24 minutes, and the French were also anxious, but in the face of Belgium, which chose to defend and counterattack, the French did not have too good ideas and methods.
The reason why Spain can walk smoothly and pleasing to the eye is that it has a group of talented and talented players, Yamal on the wing not only has the world's top dribbling breakthrough ability, but also can provide high-quality passing, Pedri in the middle is imaginative and creative, can deliver cannonballs to the front, and the front line has Morata with strong finishing ability, and more importantly, Spain is not only Morata, Yamal and Pedri, Nico Williams can also pass the world, Rodri can also break the earth.
On the other hand, this French team, in the face of the Belgians' iron bucket formation, they do not have a very good way, except for the stalking Kante, and Mbappe, who is trying to create opportunities by himself, the most active in the French team is probably Griezmann, the organizer of the French team found that there is only one way to let Tchouameni shoot from a distance. When Tchouameni forgot his shooting boots, the Frenchman was left to sigh to the sky.
The world's No. 2 French team played stumbling, and the world's No. 3 Belgium played even more speechless, facing the Gallic Roosters Belgium coach has a plan, can we follow the La Liga giants Real Madrid? If Real Madrid can reach the top of European football through counter-attacking tactics, can we Belgium too?
It's a pity that Lukaku slapped the Belgian coach in the face with facts, the reason why Real Madrid was able to achieve success through defensive counterattacks is that there are two key elements, the first is that the backfield pass must be accurate enough, and secondly, the forward line needs to have a fast horse, and has the ability to seal the throat with a sword, Real Madrid has Vinicius and Rodrygo, what about Belgium? We looked around and saw a pitch black Lu outside.
A few years ago, Belgium's style of play was no problem, this Lukaku did have some ability to go straight to the goal, and now, with the increase of age, Lukaku's classmates are only left with the door and not entering, catching the ball, protecting the ball, and what's worse is that after this mistake, he always chooses to look at it, so to speak, now you don't expect Lukaku to score, it's better to wait to see his jokes come to fruition.
When Lukaku, the star, was completely reduced to a comedy star, and we were presented with an extremely aggrieved and embarrassed Belgian Red Devils, it was really not so easy to imitate the former Italy, and the helpless Doku and the lonely De Bruyne were almost all Belgium's net worth.
When the camera captured De Brauine more than once, I think every fan who likes De Brauine will complain about God's injustice, God gave De Brauine talent and talent, but quietly took away De Blaune's luck, for many years, De Brauine was either knocked down by injury, or encountered a pig-like teammate, blinding De Brauine's creativity. Isn't it? If De Bruyne were French, he and Mbappe would be a win-win, but unfortunately, there is only one black and hard in front of him.
In the 85th minute, the happiness belonging to the French suddenly came, Kante went straight to the penalty area, Muani turned and swept, the ball hit Vertonghen's leg and flew into the net, when the camera captured De Braunet's lonely back, when the French won with another own goal, we must admit that Deschamps and British coach Southgate have a fight, you add a WeChat, talk about the shit luck that belongs to you.