Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 521: Euro Cup Kicks Off, Lin Quan's Whereabouts Remain a Mystery

France's coach, Didier Deschamps, was very unhappy with his team's performance. Usually calm, even he couldn't resist shouting from the sidelines this time, urging the players to run more, move faster, and play with more intensity.

"What on earth are you doing?

Get it together, you idiots! This is the Stade de France, not Brazil! The whole country is watching! With this kind of performance, how can you face the fans, the audience?"

Maybe Deschamps' shouts worked, as the French team started to improve. After weathering Romania's initial attacks, they regained control of the game. In the 52nd minute, France executed a smooth play, with Payet breaking through on the left and delivering a precise through ball near the edge of the penalty area. Giroud received it, but his shot to the far post was too weak and easily saved by the Romanian goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, Payet once again made a breakthrough in Romania's half. After cleverly dodging a defender, he calmly passed back to Pogba, who charged forward and unleashed a powerful shot. The strike was perfect—both in terms of power and accuracy. It seemed certain to score, but just as it was about to cross the line, the Romanian goalkeeper pulled off a miraculous save, denying France once again.

Pogba couldn't believe it. He held his head in shock, his mouth wide open, almost big enough to fit an egg.

"Who is this goalkeeper? How is he this good? He's even better than De Gea, my club teammate!"

At this point, the French fans in the stands were getting restless. If France didn't score soon, they started to fear that they might actually lose the match.

At this crucial moment, Giroud stepped up. In the 58th minute, he connected with a cross from Payet, bravely heading the ball into the net before the onrushing Romanian goalkeeper could stop him. The score was finally 1-0 in France's favor.

It was a risky move by Giroud. When he headed the ball, the goalkeeper's fists were already swinging towards him. If he had been just half a second slower, he could have been struck in the head, risking serious injury or even worse.

With the goal, French fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. The weight lifted off their hearts, and it seemed like things were finally going their way.

However, their smiles didn't last long.

Just five minutes later, in the 64th minute, Romania launched a counterattack. French left-back Patrice Evra tripped Stanciu in the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty.

Romanian forward Stancu calmly fooled French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, slotting the ball into the bottom-right corner. The score was now 1-1, and the two teams were back on level terms.

This sent the French crowd into an uproar. Some fans cursed the referee for a "bad call," while others accused the Romanian players of diving. A few angry fans even directed their frustration at their own team for underperforming.

Deschamps was furious with his players' poor performance and quickly made substitutions. He pulled off the underperforming Griezmann and Pogba, bringing on Coman and Martial instead.

Yet, even with the changes, France's play didn't improve much. As the clock ticked on, the score remained 1-1, and the French fans grew increasingly anxious. Some even began leaving the stadium early, disappointed with what they had seen.

Just when it seemed like France would be held to a draw by underdogs Romania, they found a breakthrough.

In the 89th minute, France organized another attack. Payet, receiving a pass from Kanté, looked around and saw that his teammates weren't up to the task. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands. After a quick glance at the goalkeeper's position, he took a shot from outside the box, aiming for the top corner.

The shot was so sudden that neither the defender in front of him nor the goalkeeper had any time to react. The placement was perfect, and by the time the goalkeeper realized what had happened, it was too late to save it.

Swish!

The ball hit the net!

Boom!

The Stade de France erupted in celebration. Even French President François Hollande, who was sitting next to the Romanian Prime Minister, couldn't help but stand up and applaud Payet's goal.

Payet instantly became a national hero, even surpassing the likes of Griezmann and Pogba in the hearts of the French public. Some French Ligue 1 clubs even started considering bringing Payet back from the Premier League to the French league over the summer.

Though the process was a bit bumpy, France ultimately achieved the result they wanted—a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Romania at home. With this win, France had a strong start to the tournament.

Just like in the World Cup group stage, the Euro Cup's group stage involves four teams, each playing three matches. Winning their first game gave France a crucial advantage in advancing from the group. If they could defeat Albania, the weakest team in their group, in their next match, they would secure a spot in the round of 16.

Shortly after France's game, the other match in Group A kicked off. Switzerland, the second-strongest team in the group, secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Albania, thanks to Fabian Schär's goal in the 5th minute.

With this win, Switzerland now had the same points as France and looked set to be France's biggest competition for the top spot in the group. Switzerland's defense was especially solid, and even top teams had struggled to break them down. Back in the 2010 World Cup, tournament favorites Spain had famously lost 1-0 to Switzerland in a major upset.

For France, beating Switzerland would be no easy task.

While Group A had a clear divide between strong and weak teams, the situation in Group B was much more complicated. The four teams in Group B were more evenly matched, and England had often been mocked as "Europe's China" due to underwhelming performances in major tournaments. Despite being one of the top-seeded teams, they were considered the weakest of the six top seeds.

In the same group, Wales, Slovakia, and Russia were all formidable opponents. Wales, in particular, boasted stars like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, and they were capable of challenging England for the top spot in the group.

However, as long as England avoided finishing at the bottom of their group, they had a good chance of advancing. Unlike the World Cup, the Euro Cup featured 24 teams, and aside from the top two teams in each group advancing, the four best third-placed teams also qualified for the knockout stages.

With this in mind, only eight teams would be eliminated after the group stage. England knew that if they could win just one match, they had a good chance of advancing.

Yet, in their opening match against the weakest team in the group, Russia, England squandered their advantage, conceding a late goal in stoppage time and drawing 1-1.

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, things got even worse when the fans clashed. English supporters started provoking Russian fans after their team took the lead, only to be humiliated when Russia equalized. Chaos broke out as the Russian fans retaliated, and the two groups of supporters clashed violently.

Outnumbered English fans, despite having a numerical advantage, were beaten into retreat by the Russians.

The violence wasn't confined to the stadium—it spilled onto the streets of Marseille, where large-scale brawls erupted, drawing international attention as media outlets worldwide rushed to report on the chaos.

The French authorities were furious and deployed over 10,000 police officers to arrest troublemakers, detaining thousands in a massive crackdown.

But the most shocking detail? Of the thousands arrested, 2,000 were English fans, while only 200 were Russian.

This statistic caused a huge uproar. How could the notorious English hooligans lose so badly despite having a tenfold advantage? Was this really the feared "English football hooligans" people had heard about?

The organizers were determined to crack down on such hooliganism. If brawls broke out at every match, the tournament would be impossible to run smoothly.

UEFA issued stern warnings to both countries, banning the troublemakers from attending future matches and threatening legal action against those responsible for the violence.

While the English and Russian fans fought, Wales and Slovakia had a fiercely contested match on the field. The two teams were closely matched in the FIFA rankings—21st and 23rd, respectively.

Wales struck first, with Gareth Bale scoring in the 10th minute to give his team a 1-0 lead. Slovakia, however, fought back and equalized in the 61st minute of the second half.

After being pegged back, Wales quickly made a substitution, bringing on another forward to keep up the pressure. This substitution paid off, as substitute Hal Robson-Kanu scored in the 81st minute to secure a 2-1 victory for Wales, giving them the perfect start to the tournament.

"Looks like Wales could top Group B!"

"Yeah, Wales may not have as many star players as England, but their tactics are clear. They know who their key player is, and as long as they rely on Bale's incredible wing play, they'll keep winning!"

"England, on the other hand, seem totally disorganized. No clear strategy at all!"

Fans weren't optimistic about England's chances in this Euro Cup. Many felt that reaching the quarterfinals would be the best they could hope for. If they didn't top the group, they might even face a strong opponent in the round of 16 and be knocked out early.

A truly strong team wouldn't struggle so much against weaker opposition. Germany's performance, for instance, gave the English team a clear example to follow.

On June 13th, Group C matches began, with Germany comfortably defeating Ukraine 2-0. Germany dominated the game, enjoying 69% possession and taking 22 shots on goal.

Germany won so easily that they didn't even receive a single card. As the German fans put it, the team didn't even have time to break a sweat before dispatching their opponents.

"No wonder Germany is the World Cup runner-up and one of the top three teams in the world. Watching them play is a real treat!"

"Absolutely. Under Joachim Löw's guidance, this German team is a joy to watch!"

"Look at that—it's what a real top team looks like. France and England, step aside. You guys aren't real contenders—you're just pretenders!"

The difference between teams was clear, and fans couldn't help but lavish praise on Germany while criticizing England and France. To them, top teams should dominate weaker opponents like Germany did. Anything less wasn't worthy of being called a "top team."

Speaking of top teams, with the World Cup runners-up having played, fans eagerly awaited the performance of the reigning world champions—Spain.

Spain was set to play in Group D, immediately following Germany's game. With the German match over, it was Spain's turn to take the stage.

"So, do you think Lin Quan will play?"

"Hard to say. It doesn't seem likely. Reporters haven't seen him training with the Spanish squad, which means he hasn't joined the team yet. He might not even be in France!"

"If that's the case, could Spain be in trouble for this match?"

"Maybe not. Their opponent is the Czech Republic, and while the Czechs aren't highly ranked, Spain should have enough talent to win. Without Lin Quan, their attack might not be as sharp, but they should still manage to beat the Czechs."

In the last World Cup, Spain averaged three goals per match, often thrashing their opponents. Most of those goals were connected to Lin Quan, so without him, it remained to be seen whether Spain's attack could be as efficient.

Still, as fans had pointed out, the Czech Republic wasn't the strongest team, and it was unlikely they could seriously threaten Spain. That is, unless they parked the bus and focused entirely on defense, in which case Spain's scoring problems might become more evident.

(End of Chapter)

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