Football: A late bloomer, starting with Leicester City

Chapter 183 Internal strife in the player tunnel, the top [-] games are finally here (with Taylor)

The knockout rounds of the European Cup finally started on June 6.

The interval for each team is about five days, which does not give them too much time to relax.

Just like in the group stage, the Belgian players started a combination of training and watching football on this day, sitting in the locker room every day to watch other round of [-] games.

The first match is between Switzerland and Poland.

This game was still very exciting, with both sides attacking fiercely and creating many absolute opportunities.

The Polish team relied on Kuba's goal in the first half to maintain its lead, which lasted until the [-]th minute of the game.

At the critical moment, the savior of the Swiss team came.

"Shaqiri!!"

"Barb shot! Oh! World wave! A shocking barb kick! This is outside the penalty area, it can be regarded as a long shot!!"

Hearing the excited voice of the commentator, all the Belgian players saw Shaqiri's world-famous long-range barb, which tied Poland.

But in the conference room at this time, most of the players just applauded slightly, and they were no longer in the same state as before.

In the past few days, whether it was the intensifying internal strife news from the outside world or the tense atmosphere within the team, they were somewhat breathless.

Many people have lost the desire to communicate with others, especially when everyone is together.

This exciting game ended with the Polish team winning a penalty shootout and securing their first place in the quarterfinals.

Next up is the game between Wales and Northern Ireland.

This game was a little dull compared to the previous one. It was not until the [-]th minute of the game that Wales' cross caused an own goal by a Northern Ireland player, and the first goal did not occur.

This was also the only goal in the game, and Northern Ireland sent Wales to the quarterfinals in the most painful way.

This also determines Belgium's opponents in the quarter-finals. If they can eliminate Hungary in the upcoming game, the next opponent they will face will be Wales.

Then, in the game on June 6th.

Portugal relied on tough defense to fight Croatia until the final minutes of overtime.

At the last moment, veteran Cristiano Ronaldo stepped in at high speed and led Portugal to counterattack. After the shot was blocked, Quaresma followed up and scored with a header into the net!

One to zero!

Portugal defeated Croatia!
  Croatia is out of the game!

The team led by Santos finally stumbled to the quarterfinals.

This team can show very strong resilience in every game, and there is a reason why there are absolute superstars in the team.

Perhaps think of it as a souped-up version of Sweden.

Immediately afterwards, the game between France and Ireland started.

This game was a bit unexpected. Ireland won a penalty kick through the attack at the beginning. Brady then made a penalty kick, leading France.

Until the 55th minute of the second half, Ireland still maintained its lead.

It is true to say that superstars look at adversity.

In the few minutes from 57 to 61, French king Griezmann received assists from Sagna and Giroud one after another, scoring twice and lifting France to the quarterfinals!

Griezmann!

This is the soul of the French team in this tournament!
  So far, four teams have entered the quarterfinals.

Poland, Wales, Portugal, France.

There are still no upsets, except that Wales seemed to be even less favored before the game.

Earlier on June 6, the entire Belgian team went to Nice, France, to prepare for their round of sixteen.

Their opponent is the Hungarian team whose ancestors had a glorious period.

The foundation of this team is definitely stronger than that of Belgium, but there is definitely a big gap in current strength.

Even so, the Belgian team is still shrouded in a layer of haze.

This is the weakening of morale caused by internal strife, which cannot be avoided.

Players may even relapse into distrusting their teammates, especially Courtois.

Unless Courtois doesn't play.

On the way, Chen Yufeng once again received a call from Mahrez.

"I just watched the game in France. It was so thrilling. How on earth did you beat Ireland [-]-[-]?" came a voice on the other end of the phone.

"Is something wrong? It's game day, I want to be quiet for a while." Chen Yufeng looked a little tired.

"Of course, there is a very important thing." Mahrez's voice came.

"what?"

"There is a mysterious beauty who asked the media to contact us and asked us to contact you. She wants to ask you to have afternoon tea with you." Mahrez's voice sounded with a smirk.

"I'm not in the mood to make such a joke. The outside world has seen it all in the news these days."

"It's true, guess who it is?" Mahrez laughed.

"Who? Taylor watching the Belgium game?" Chen Yufeng seemed relatively calm, so he could only guess like this.

"How do you know? Fak!" Mahrez's tone was filled with shock and regret at the same time.

"It's really her?"

This time it was Chen Yufeng's turn to be a little surprised. He just said it casually, and Mahrez's tone seemed to be correct.

It was beyond his comprehension.

Taylor Swift, the singer he knew very well in both his previous life and this one, asked him to have afternoon tea? Chen Yufeng didn’t mean anything else, he just felt that all this seemed a bit too coincidental.

It doesn't make sense and is very abrupt.

His mentality now is definitely different from before. He doesn't have any special filter for these singers, he just feels surprised.

"It's her. Do you know how envious they were after I told Vardy and Kante the news? That's the Grammy Queen, and now, she takes the initiative to contact you!" Mahrez's voice revealed jealousy.

"Time is a bit tight these two days, so let's forget it for now. I have to prepare for the game against Hungary."

Chen Yufeng was not in a good mood, so he hung up the phone not long after and closed his eyes to rest.

Rather than having afternoon tea with this flirtatious beauty, he was more concerned about how to change the atmosphere within the team and go further.

He was also a little afraid that Mr. Wilmots did not have the courage to demote Courtois from the main position, which would create more hidden dangers.

It wasn't that he was pretending or anything, it was just that he really didn't have the intention to put it into consideration.

…………

At [-]:[-] pm, Nice Stadium, in the Belgian locker room.

The players changed their equipment and prepared to go to the court to warm up.

At this time, head coach Wilmots came in and posted the starting list for this game on the door of the locker room.

Many players went up to take a look, and then looked at Mignolet and Courtois in shock.

There were so many people like this that Courtois finally noticed something was wrong and took a glance when he went out to warm up.

Just this glance made him angry and he walked quickly towards the door, as if he had seen something terrible.

"Mignolet is the starter here."

Someone shouted in the locker room, and all the players stopped what they were doing, hesitated for a moment, and then chased out the door.

If Courtois and Wilmots, who were out of control, were to fight in the tunnel at this time, it would be a shame and would directly lead to the biggest joke in the European Cup.

Everyone ran out quickly, their sneakers hitting the ground quickly and making a squeaking sound.

When the large force arrived not far from the door, they saw Courtois and Wilmots confronting each other.

"Why are you doing this? Don't you want to win? Or do you think I will cheat the team and betray the team?!"

Courtois looked very angry and forced Wilmots into the corner, "You make me feel sick!"

"Courtois, I hope you understand your position. As long as you are not the chairman of the Belgian Football Association, just stay where you are!"

Of course, Wilmots didn't give in. He stepped forward and put forehead to forehead with Courtois. The situation gradually became out of control.

The Belgian team players quickly ran over and pulled the two apart.

Inevitably, this scene was photographed and recorded by countless reporters outside.

It seems that a bigger scandal is inevitable.

Not long after, there was a pre-match press conference.

Wilmots sits here, being interviewed by reporters.

Sitting next to him is Chen Yufeng.

Because of their wonderful positions, the two stood on the same side after talking that night.

Chen Yufeng has never been afraid of these. For him, he only hopes to see a united team that can continue to win and strive for honors.

As for the others?
  Then go aside.

"We just received news that Mr. Wilmots seems to have abandoned Courtois and sent Mignolet out?"

A reporter showed an expression of disbelief, "Including the big news we just got, it seems that you two have some personal friction? Is there a personal reason for this choice?"

"I can't say there's no personal reasons for this, but I'm just doing it for the better of the team."

Mr. Wilmots replied that he actually couldn't tell a lot of the inside story, so he could only express what he meant as much as possible.

But often, this is not trusted by the media and outside fans.

"In this case, are the rumors of internal strife in the Belgian team true? Has it even risen to the level of the head coach?" Someone continued to get up and ask.

"Obviously I have some unpleasantness with the players, but the team as a whole does not, and this matter will not escalate to the team."

In order to reduce the pressure on the players, Wilmots can only draw all the attention to himself.

This is the responsibility he must bear, and it is also the only way for him to break the situation.

Only by reducing the pressure on the team as much as possible, enhancing the team's combat effectiveness, and defeating more strong teams to go further can his words convince others and win the trust of fans.

Otherwise, the public opinion that Courtois has aroused, including the media's smear campaign, may directly lead to him never being able to turn around.

"Chen, what do you think about this matter?" A reporter turned to look at Chen Yufeng.

"There was an unpleasant scene in the team and someone wanted to undermine the group."

Chen Yufeng had long been waiting for the opportunity to express himself, and said: "But it is definitely not the cause of Mr. Wilmots, nor is he the cause of the incident."

"We will prove with our performance that no one in this team is indispensable."

The meaning of his words was already obvious. Courtois was the rat that ruined the pot of soup.

This is a direct name for Courtois, who did not appear in this game.

Chen Yufeng will not take the initiative to stir up trouble, but when he finds that the team is in difficulty, he can also stand up and take some responsibilities.

As soon as these words came out, the reporters in the audience were in an uproar, and Wilmots next to him felt a little tearful.

He's never had that kind of support, especially against big-name stars.

(End of this chapter)