Chapter 42 Opening Battle

The opening match of this European Cup will be played by the host Poland against the champion Greek team at the Warsaw Stadium. Originally, the two teams should have been seeded and could not be divided into the same group, but because this European Cup is jointly hosted by two countries, Ukraine, which has a higher nationality, has become The seed team, and Poland is naturally tragic.

However, although it is a recognized weak team, Poland, as one of the host players this year, can be said to have occupied the right time and place, and the other three teams in Group A are not impeccable. The Czech Republic has fallen. Russia is a nerve knife. Who knows when they will play well and when they will suddenly fall off the chain. In Belgium, the defending champion, due to the contradiction between head coach Wilmots and core player Degan, the European Red Devils can play a few points of their combat effectiveness. It is still unknown that Poland has great hope of even being the first in the group.

After years of painstaking operation of the Polish Football Association, the level of Polish football has been greatly improved in recent years. The success of Pishchek, Braszczkowski, Lewandowski, Szesni and others represents the rise of the new golden generation in Poland.

But on the other hand, although there are many players playing overseas, the lineup is relatively young and easy to be impatient when playing against the wind, and these players lack experience in international competitions.

And none of this group of overseas players can play an absolute spiritual leader in the team like Zidane. Perhaps, the Polish team can only expect a player to shine in times of adversity.

After Belgium won the European Cup, the Intercal Cup and the World Cup in a row, the meritorious leader Antienis left. After Wilmot took office, he also had a short honeymoon with Degan, but then there was a huge conflict between the two because of tactical problems. Before the start of the European Cup, Degan had been a year ago. Many did not represent Belgium in the competition. This last moment, he was selected, and it was also a slightly helpless compromise between the Belgian Football Association and head coach Wilmots under great pressure.

In addition to the previous European Cup qualifiers, Belgium advanced thrillingly through the play-offs. In several warm-up games before the start of the match, its performance was also sluggish. How did it perform in the European Cup is completely unknown.

Polish coach Smuda and captain Blashchkowski said confidently at the press conference before the opening match that Poland should go all out to win in the first game. A draw is acceptable, but it is absolutely not allowed to lose.

Polish coach Smuda and captain Blashchkowski both expressed caution about the strong strength of the Belgian team at the press conference, especially the ability of the Belgian team's defense line, and gave a very high evaluation, saying that flexible tactics are needed to break the Belgian defense.

coach Smuda said that he will try his best to win the match with Belgium, but if the result is a draw, it also means that Poland is still competing in the group.

And captain Blashchkowski believes that he must not lose the game against Belgium, otherwise he will be in a desperate situation from the beginning.

Smuda said that he should be able to sleep well tonight before the game, because he now trusts his players very much and believes that they have the ability to achieve their goals: "I also hope that we can meet people's expectations, win the first place in the group and become the dark horse of the competition."

Captain Blashchkowski also said that he felt great pressure from the moment he entered the press conference hall. The opening match will be very critical, and Poland will prove its strength on the court.

The glorious right-back of Dortmund, the Bundesliga champion this season, said that Poland now has players who can change the result at any time of the game, which is very different from before.

The European Cup is about to be unveiled. Polish goalkeeper Szezni, who plays for Arsenal, said in an interview that Poland has improved and is in excellent shape in the past two years, and he is confident to help the team reach the final.

Szezny said: "We have been in good shape recently and have achieved good results in a series of warm-up matches. Now the whole team is looking for a stronger battle. We can't wait for it. Come on to the opening game!" I hope to help the team keep going, win, and won't lose any game. Any team wants to win the championship. Why not? Enthusiastic fans at home are our strong backing. Although there is a little pressure, it will also enhance our self-confidence. After all, people without pressure will not succeed. At the same time, I feel very happy to play the European Cup in my motherland.

Polish football, which has been away from glory for 30 years, has ushered in the best opportunity for rejuvenation, not only because it is the host of the 2012 European Championship, but also the Polish "three Musketeers" from the Bundesliga champion Dortmund team.

After the glory of the second place in the World Cup in 1974 and 1982, Polish football fell into a 30-year downturn, but in the summer of 2012, Polish fans may be happy that they are the hosts! They have three swordsmen in the Bundesliga!

In the past two seasons, three young people, Lewandowski, Blashchkowski and Pishchek, have set off a "Polish storm" in the Bundesliga.

In the season just ended, 24-year-old Lewandowski played in 34 Bundesliga games, scoring 22 goals and sending 8 assists. In the final of the German Cup that ended not long ago, Lewandowski's "hat trick" hit the defense of the "German giant" Bayern Munich.

At present, Bayern, Manchester United and other giants have thrown olive branches to the Poles, which is enough to excite the fans of their motherland. After all, after 30 years of hardship after Pognek, Polish football is finally looking forward to a good shooter.

Behind Lewandowski, the super-right wing composed of forward Brashkowski and defender Pišcek is even more horrible. One-on-one breakthroughs and high-speed assists are their killers.

In addition, Szezny continues the tradition of producing excellent goalkeepers in Poland. Although he is only 22 years old, he has established himself in Arsenal, a Premier League giant.

The average age of the current Polish team is 25 years old, and young and enterprising is their greatest advantage. As the star Lewandowski said before the game: "We are all looking forward to holding the European Championship in our own country."

Of course, the weak psychology caused by 30 years of downturn will be a big trouble for the Polish team. In the past 10 years, although Polish football has slightly increased, it is still far from the top of Europe. Although the Polish team has participated in the Korea-Japan World Cup and the German World Cup, it has not rushed out of the group stage. Their calendar of the European Championship Shi was even more ashamed to meet people. It was not until 2008 that he entered the final stage for the first time, with one draw and two losses, and was out after the group stage.

Finally, 64-year-old head coach Smuda will be at the helm of this young team. Although Smuda, who has been coaching in the Polish domestic league for a long time, is familiar with his players, lacks on-the-spot command experience of the World Series, or will become one of himself and the young Polish team. Great hidden danger.

The opening ceremony of the European Cup was held at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, announcing the opening of the Polish-Ukrainian football event. The first part of the opening ceremony was "Welcome". Polish traditional dancers surrounded a slowly falling football. After the football was opened, a piano was exposed.

Polish pianist Jorge played Chopin's practice in E major. Electronic DJ Karmatronic wore a dazzling golden costume to cheer up piano music with modern music. Jorge also performed football juggling afterwards.

Then entered the "Gift to Europe" session. The fans in the stands held colorful flags and spelled out the flags of 16 participating countries. UEFA President Platini was also shocked by this scene, and the actors on the court gathered into a colorful football.

Poland is the hometown of music, Chopin is the pride of Poland, and the pianist plays Chopin's classic song "Farewell". During the national anthem singing session, a choir of teenage girls was specially arranged to lead the dance of 800 volunteers from more than 60 countries. In just 12 minutes, it has created a strong artistic atmosphere, which is very impressive and deeply felt that football, as a sport, has evolved into a culture and art beyond the concept of sports.

After the opening ceremony, the opening match of the European Cup will be held immediately. The two sides are the host Poland and the defending champion Belgium, which is the first combination in the history of the European Cup.

Degan, who was supposed to play the leading role, was thrown on the bench by head coach Wilmotz this time. The camera at the scene aimed at Degan with a gloomy face at the first time. Obviously, Degan was not satisfied with such an arrangement at all.

After the game began, the Polish team, which occupied the advantage of the home court, immediately launched a fierce attack. Even in the face of the defending champion, they were not conservative, but a little radical, especially the right corridor of the Polish team, which made the Belgian team a little passive.

However, the Belgian team's midfield control was very good, and it did not appear chaotic. However, Wilmot's high-playing tactics soon showed the drawbacks. He only cared about fighting in the middle, but neglected the importance of the sideline, which made the Belgian team pay the price in the 17th minute of the opening.

In a cross after Polish captain Braszczkowski's breakthrough from the right side, the Belgian team made a serious mistake in staring in the middle. Compani took the top, and Vermallen behind him did not stare at Lewandowski and was hit by the latter near the penalty spot.

Such a close attack madecourt unable to respond in time. Although he raised his leg to block the ball, the speed of the ball was so fast that he was caught off guard.

For a while, the stadium seemed to explode. Countless fans cheered presumptuously, and the whole stadium became a sea of Polish joy.

"Daw! The Poles scored first, which is their best right attack. What is puzzling is that they know the killer of the Poles, but Coach Wilmotz did not make targeted arrangements!"

Wilmots's face also changed in an instant. Seeing the team conceded the ball, he looked very angry and roared together on the court, especially Simmons, the veteran who had just been responsible for keeping an eye on Brašchkovsky, became his target.

Degan is still expressionless. In his opinion, the loss of the ball just now is that the Belgian team is not paying attention. Such a mistake is simply unforgivable.

There are loopholes in the defense. During the attack, the tridents of Lukaku, Azar and Denbele, which were relied on by Wilmotz, could not open the situation at all, which is fatal.

Throughout the first half, it can be said that Poland was in control of the situation, and Belgium could only threaten Poland's goal through sporadic counterattacks.

"Wilmods must be regretting now, because of his stubbornness and selfishness, he threw Belgium's most threatening weapon on the bench. If Degan was on the field at this time, the situation would certainly not be like this!"

The Belgian fans at the scene also seemed to hear the complaints of the Belgian commentator and began to shout Degan's name: "Rod! Rod! Rod! Rod! Rod!"

When Wilmot heard the sound, his face became worse and stared at Degan fiercely. In his opinion, it was Degan's intimidating the fans.

The conscience of heaven and earth, no matter how loud Degan's voice is, his voice may not be transmitted to the commentary table, not to mention that since the opening, Degan has always sat without saying a word.

At the end of the half, the Poles happily entered the locker room with a ball lead, while the Belgian players walked off the court with a gloomy face. They all knew that the next thing to face was Wilmot's hairdryer.

Degan also got up at this time, walked to the court and began to warm up. When he entered the court, the Belgian fans at the scene suddenly cheered, which made Wilmots almost vomit blood.

Degan could feel that when Compani passed him, his eyes flashed a little, but the two did not speak. Degan just patted him on the shoulder and left.

In the second half, Wilmot finally made an adjustment, but it was not Digan, but Miralas, who seemed to want to threaten the Polish team's goal by increasing the high point of the front line.

However, the effect was not obvious at the scene. Seeing that Belgium, the defending champion, was about to usher in the opening of the European Cup, Fellaini stood up and headed the goal through a corner kick tactic to help Belgium equalize the score.

Degan could notice that Wilmots breathed a sigh of relief when Fellaini scored, but is a draw really enough?

After Fellaini scored, he rushed straight to the bench on the sidelines and hugged Degan.

This scene made Wilmot's face darker!