Football: A late bloomer, starting with Leicester City

Chapter 181 The emergence of the top [-] divisions, discussions among fans from all over the world

After this game, the entire group stage journey of the European Cup is over.

In the last two games of Group E, Belgium defeated Sweden [-]-[-] and successfully qualified.

Unexpectedly, Ireland defeated Italy with a score of [-] to [-] and gained three valuable points. With a total of four points, they also qualified for the qualifying round.

The quota for the top [-] of the knockout round was announced, and the divisional grouping of the top [-] was quickly completed.

After just returning to the team's base camp in Bordeaux, all the Belgian players simply washed up and then came to the conference room to watch the grouping of the top [-].

A matchup table quickly appeared on the big screen, with a complete matchup diagram for the players to see very clearly.

"It's good news that we are finally in the top half of the knockout rounds."

Mr. Wilmots immediately told everyone, "We avoided more strong teams, and the path to promotion is relatively clear."

"In the last [-], our opponent is Hungary, and the quarter-final is between Wales and Northern Ireland."

Having said this, he also smiled and said, "Of course, I am talking about the situation where everyone can advance smoothly."

The whole conference room burst into laughter. It can be seen that after the top [-] division came out, all the players were in a relatively relaxed mood.

This is indeed a very good division. They have come to the top half with fewer traditional strong teams.
  "I think the opponent in the quarter-finals will most likely be Wales. Do you have any other opinions?"

Wilmots asked, then placed his hand on the semi-finals area, calculating the possible confrontations, "The opponents in the semi-finals will be more suspenseful."

"Poland, Croatia, and Portugal all have the ability to enter here."

"Judging from the state of this tournament, I am more optimistic about the Polish team."

He kept making guesses and stopped talking on paper after saying all this. "Of course, this is just to give you a general overview. The actual situation may change greatly."

"When we enter the knockout rounds, we must play every game as if it is the last one. If we are not careful, we may be faced with a tragic exit."

"I will send a copy of this form to everyone soon, and you can study it yourself after you go back."

"Next let's summarize the last game."

"..."

Then, Wilmots and his technical and tactical analysis team summarized some issues about the Swedish game and discussed with the players.

This game was actually quite good. Not only did we get a clean sheet, we also scored three goals.

But to be honest, the chance of scoring a goal is relatively high. The offensive routine combination was not played, only free kicks and long shots were scored.

This meeting did not last long. After more than [-] minutes, the players walked towards their rooms.

Chen Yufeng, De Bruyne and others came to Hazard's room to discuss together.

"I also agree with Mr. Wilmots' guess in the top [-] and eight. If we can reach the semi-finals, who do you think our opponent will be?" Lukaku finally began to study the schedule.

Perhaps he discovered that there was great hope in this division, and even reaching the finals was possible.

"Croatia." De Bruyne gave his own opinion.

"I also think it's Croatia." Hazard also nodded, agreeing with this guess.

"I think it's Portugal."

Chen Yufeng was different from them and expressed his opinion.

There was no other reason. He knew that the final champion was Portugal...

This team with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo had a really bad start to this tournament. They stumbled along the way and almost didn't even get out of the group line.

But no matter what, Santos' team did successfully reach the final and sent away the host France through Eder's winning goal.

"It should be impossible for Portugal. This year's state is not very good. I feel that the possibility of them beating Croatia in the top [-] is not too high." Hazard shook his head. He was not very optimistic about this team.

After three consecutive draws in the group stage, you can say that he is relatively stable, or you can say that he really did not play well.

"Stop guessing here, it's meaningless. Just adjust your condition and play one game at a time." De Bruyne said, opened a bottle of soda and drank it.

Everyone chatted for a while and then went back to their rooms to rest.

For them, the first phase of the journey officially ends and the second phase begins.

The moment of relaxation has not really come yet, even if you are very tired, you have to endure it.

The knockout round is not only a time to test ability, but also a time to test willpower.

………   During some peripheral interviews conducted by reporters that night, Ranieri and Mahrez were successfully caught by reporters and stopped directly in the street.

"Mr. Ranieri, congratulations again to Leicester City for their great success last season. Which player's performance is the main purpose of the European Cup?" A reporter quickly put the microphone in Ranieri's mouth.

"You can't say inspection, I'm just here to take a look." Ranieri shook his head and replied simply.

"Then...we all saw that you watched the Belgian team's game today. Can you tell us about Chen Yufeng's national team performance?" The reporter was still persistent.

"Very good, what else can I say about the performance of leading the scorer list?" Ranieri asked with a smile, and stopped with Mahrez next to him.

"How many teams do you think Belgium will be in this year's European Cup?" the reporter continued to ask.

"It's too difficult to guess. I just hope Yufeng can follow them further."

Ranieri shook his head, hesitated for a moment and then said: "Anyway, hasn't it been proven now that they are at least a top [-] team?"

reporter:"……"

What is the difference between this and the Leicester City period, when we talked about Leicester City being relegated every day?
  "Hahahaha..." Mahrez laughed next to him, seemingly unable to help laughing.

The reporter quickly pointed the microphone at him, trying to pry his mouth.

"After looking at the groupings, I am more optimistic about the Belgian team entering the quarterfinals." Mahrez said directly without any hesitation.

"Where are the top four?"

"It's hard to say the top four."

"All right……"

The reporter had no choice but to return home, feeling helpless and leaving.

This also made Ranieri and Mahrez want to laugh very much along the way. They still kept their mouths shut this time and did not give these people a chance to discover any news.

However, they certainly did not expect that it would be easy for reporters to fake such street interviews without multi-camera live broadcasts.

In some reports released by major media that night, the names of Ranieri and Mahrez successfully appeared in them, and the pictures were pictures of them on the street.

"The dead half appears. Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and England gather in the lower half to compete for a spot in the finals!" - Paris Evening News

"Ireland defeated Italy [-]-[-] and qualified unexpectedly, but their opponent in the round of [-] was the host France." - British Football Association
  "Taylor Swift appeared at the Belgium team game, and her high-profile trip attracted attention. Is she preparing to start or make a new relationship public, or is it a coincidence?" - French Entertainment News
  "Ranieri and Mahrez appeared in Bordeaux to cheer for Chen Yufeng and threatened that the Belgian team could at least reach the finals, saying that they had no opponents in the top half." - Nice Daily News

"A new wave of predictions has begun. France, Germany, and Portugal have become the biggest favorites to win this tournament. However, Portugal's state is obviously worrying. Whether they can overcome Belgium's pursuit in the same half is still a matter of suspense." - British Guardian newspaper

"Chen Yufeng scored a world-famous free kick, helping Belgium defeat Sweden [-]-[-] and advance to the knockout rounds. Currently, he continues to lead the scorer list with a two-goal advantage." - Bordeaux Fans Club

…………

Not long after these reports were issued, they aroused discussions among fans across Europe.

Everyone here is paying attention to the European Cup, and no clues can escape their sight in the past few days.

Naturally, the more extreme remarks between Ranieri and Mahrez were put up and became a vent for fans of the top half of the team.

"Belgium was sent to the finals? Does this team have any decent results? Ranieri and Mahrez still won two championships and then lost. They felt that their team's Chen Yufeng was invincible." Some Welsh fans seemed quite angry. .

"If there is a walk in the top half, it should also be a walk for the Portuguese team with Ronaldo. The Portuguese team will definitely strive to win the championship in this kind of intercontinental event and help Ronaldo compete for the Golden Globe Award at the end of the year." A Portuguese fan said.

"Come on, I think Portugal is even more hopeless. Belgium at least has a more luxurious lineup and was in good shape after the two group games. Portugal played like shit from the beginning." A Polish fan posted.

"I don't know if it was fabricated by the media. This kind of statement is not something that can be expressed by the characters of these two people, right?" A Belgian fan came out to speak.

"How could it be fabricated? Aren't the pictures all above? They were interviewed on the streets of Bordeaux. If Belgium fails to advance to the finals, you will see if they will be trolled." A Welsh fan said.

"After a rational analysis, Belgium is indeed strong, but it is also unstable. This instability will cause them to be at risk against anyone, whether it is Hungary or Wales, who may encounter them." A Croatian fan said rationally .

"Wait a minute, anyway, the schedule is going very fast. The media will interview Ranieri and Mahrez later to see how they react." A Welsh fan said.

These discussions became louder and louder, and eventually everyone knew about it and began to speak ill of Ranieri and Mahrez.

This also made the two people who were still wandering on the street a little confused after receiving the news.

Is this how crazy the media went during the European Cup?

…………

ps: Please vote, I will try my best to write.

(End of this chapter)