This day, the Warsaw National Stadium, which can accommodate 58,000 spectators, was extraordinarily lively.
The stadium was divided by Polish fans in red and white jerseys and Greek fans in blue jerseys. Besides these, there was an area with more mixed jersey colors, which was the players' area and the neutral fans' area.
"CCTV!
"CCTV!!"
In the live broadcast booth, CCTV commentator Liu Jiayuan's voice was strong and serious, "The 2012 European Cup is about to begin! You are now watching the opening ceremony of the European Cup!"
"We see a huge blue curtain unfolding, followed by dancers in various Polish and Ukrainian national costumes appearing on the field! And models of the major stadiums hosting this event! Oceana's 'Endless Summer' is playing as the theme song of the event throughout the stadium! It seems to pull us back to the Austria-Switzerland European Cup 4 years ago! Into the football feast!"
On the field, 3 large dance groups and 4 small dance groups began to converge and mix, dancers in different colored clothes, representing different national cultures, danced happily arm in arm.
While expressing themselves, they also expressed the unified world of football language. Anyone with different cultures and languages can feel the same joy and passion in this sport! "Football has many synonyms."
Liu Jiayuan's voice continued, with excitement, "Some say it is the closest sport to war, others say it is a bridge connecting different cultures, a belief, a spiritual sustenance, and a strength for generations!
"But I think no matter what people say, they all point to one thing: this is the well-deserved number one sport in the world!
"So, when the European Cup, a quadrennial intercontinental event representing the highest level in the world, arrives,
"It will definitely attract the attention of the whole world and become the most popular major competition in the near future! No other event can match it!"
"."
"As the camera zooms in, we see dancers of different heights, weights, and builds. Their movements are not entirely uniform, and they look a bit cluttered and chaotic.
"But they are still combined to help us kick off this European Cup! "Isn't this football?
"No matter what your body type is, whether you are tall or short, thin or strong, you can find your place in this sport! Give full play to your value! To pursue excellence! "There are about 800,000 teams on this planet that regularly play games, with more than 40 million registered football players! "If you include enthusiasts from all over the world, that number may be even larger! "And among them, the most outstanding group of people are now gathered in the European Cup arena, preparing to compete for the best of the best!!"
"."
"The enthusiastic Polish female fans rushed into the field, raising their hands and running here, feeling the joy and passionate summer that this event brings to them!
"After the opening ceremony, the match between Poland and Greece will be the opening match! "Their proudest and most beloved striker, Lewandowski, will wear the Polish jersey and play for them!
"Perhaps looking at the entire European Cup arena, Lewandowski is not the most outstanding or the most famous, but he is special to the Polish people! "If you go to Poland and ask their children what they want to be when they grow up, their answer may only be one: Lewandowski!"
"."
"Now appearing in the camera are representatives of Ukrainian fans! They confidently and proudly take photos in front of the mascot! I think these people feel the same as the Polish people!
"As one of the organizers, they also have a star that all Ukrainians are proud of, nicknamed the Nuclear Warhead, the 04 Ballon d'Or Winner, Shevchenko! "He will be the captain and represent Ukraine in this grand event at home!
"We don't know what kind of glory and scenery that is, but we can look forward to it with the Ukrainian people to see where Shevchenko, who is already 36 years old this year, will lead this team.
"His team is in the same group as France, Sweden, and England, which means he will compete with young talents such as Maël and Rooney!
"This is very challenging and difficult. I hope he can overcome his age and lead the Ukrainian team to change their destiny!"
"."
"Well, with the appearance of two very distinctive mascots on the field, the opening ceremony has also entered its final stage!
"Let us look forward to the upcoming war, and hope it will be a wonderful game! I am Liu Jiayuan, and I will be joined by He Wei, Huang Jianxiang, and Su Dong to bring commentary on this event to Chinese fans!"
"."
In the VIP stands of the Warsaw National Stadium, all the members of the French Team stood up and clapped their hands with excited expressions.
Their emotions were all brought into this hot European Cup summer, and many players participating for the first time convulsed with excitement.
This even included Maël and Deschamps. Although they had seen many big scenes, one was playing in an intercontinental event for the first time, and the other was leading a team in an intercontinental event for the first time, so their feelings were definitely slightly different.
What's more, as players who have been winning since the beginning of their careers, and as coaches who have almost won the Grand Slam in their playing careers, their mentality is different from others.
All kinds of expectant eyes were cast on them, bringing great pressure to the two, as well as the motivation to prove themselves in this position.
In general, they only have one way to go: to achieve good results!
Scoring the first goal in the competition is not enough, and qualifying from the group stage is not enough; one of them must launch an attack on the top scorer list, and the other must launch an attack on the top 4! Only in this way can they hand in a satisfactory answer sheet and be able to smoothly spend this summer.
However, as the captain and coach of this team, and as the soul of the team, they both suppressed this tension and excitement very well and were not noticed by others.
Only in a very tacit mutual Observation, they learned from each other's eyes that they had the same mood as themselves, and then smiled knowingly.
"Beep beep!"
On the field, the players from both sides quickly emerged amidst thunderous applause and cheers. Lewandowski and Karagounis, as captains of Poland and Greece respectively, led the way.
The match kicked off immediately, displaying a rapid pace of attack and defense, along with intense competition.
After watching for a while, Maël realized that this was indeed different from club matches. The two teams weren't just playing football; they were fighting for their lives.
But unlike reckless brawling, they were well aware that while giving their all, they had to remain calm and rational, making the best choices in every touch with the fastest mental processing speed!
It could be said that as long as a player stepped onto this field, even one with a skill level of only 65 points could perform at an 80-point level!
This was the difficulty of the European Cup, and this difficulty highlighted the value of the European Cup title! "Sagna, you're the only one among us who's played in major tournaments. Tell us about it?"
Beside Maël, Koscielny nudged Sagna, clearly realizing that this competition was going to be tougher than he had imagined.
"Let me think..." Sagna had played in the World Cup for 10 years. He thought back while organizing his thoughts, which made Maël prick up his ears to listen.
"First of all, the rhythm is different. You've seen it too, everyone is running like crazy, without any thought of conserving Stamina."
He pointed to the field, where everyone could be seen sprinting in the area where the football was, "And their adrenaline is soaring, which will offset their fatigue.
"Maybe after 70 minutes of the match, someone will suddenly cramp up, but no one will stop running.
"They will keep running until they can't get up, until they vomit... This will make the match have a very fast pace from the 1st minute to the 90th minute, never slowing down.
"It's like each team doesn't have 11 players, but 13-15 players are trying to steal the ball from you, putting pressure on you."
Maël nodded slightly, agreeing with his statement. He recalled a statistic: the average running distance in major leagues during the same period was around 10.3 kilometers, while in the European Cup, it should be around 11.5 kilometers.
This was the most obvious data showing the difference in pace between the two competitions. More running and more coverage made each team seem like it really had 1-2 more players.
And when these extra players were all top-notch, the space on the field would become very, very small, and everyone had to complete receiving and passing the ball as quickly as possible, otherwise the opponent would immediately close in.
Maël was mentally prepared, but he wasn't worried about this aspect.
From a Stamina perspective, this was his advantage. He held the record for running distance in a single match.
From a technical perspective, this was also his advantage. Even if he couldn't perform moves as easily as he did in the club, it would still be difficult for the opponent to steal the ball from his feet.
"The second is the margin for error."
Sagna thought for a long time before saying this, his tone very serious, "Continuous, intensive, high-intensity operations will cause injuries and fatigue in every team.
"This is not occasional, but frequent, and even unavoidable for every team, depending on whether it's a key position or an unimportant position, and whether the team has strong replacements.
"Moreover, the cup system is very cruel... Any small variable can affect the final result. You can't predict it, and you can't save it when it happens.
"No matter how strong you are, as long as you encounter a major misjudgment by the referee, unsuitable weather and field conditions, or a suspension due to a red or yellow card in a core position, you can go home at any time.
"So you must have a very high margin for error, and good luck, or the unique strength to ignore all of this, to achieve good results."
Koscielny nodded, looking at the field with a solemn expression. Some things they hadn't considered before, and only felt after the match officially started.
"Bang!!"
On the field, in the 17th minute of the match, the Polish right midfielder, who was in hot form, completed a steal in the frontcourt, seized the opportunity to pass the ball to Kuba, who made a Cross.
The Greek team's defense didn't have time to react, and Lewandowski, in an open position in the center, smashed a bouncing header, and the football went into the net.
One to zero!
The host took the lead! "Wow!!" The Warsaw National Stadium gave their Polish hero the warmest cheers. Their favorite player scored the first goal of this European Cup.
Maël and the other players of the French Team couldn't help but clap and cheer twice. As football players, in this atmosphere, they would naturally applaud wonderful goals.
Especially this kind of goal that kicked off the goalscoring feast of the grand event! "Lewandowski will become a hero of Poland tonight, the magnitude of this hero is something we can hardly imagine!"
Sagna looked at Lewandowski, wearing the number 9, and felt that a real man should be like this.
Maël nodded, looking at the other divine forwards shining, he also felt a little itchy, wanting to quickly welcome his first European Cup goal.
After this goal, the second turning point of the match occurred near the end of the first half.
Greek defender Papasthatopoulos tripped Polish number 10 Obraniak, receiving his second yellow card, turning two yellows into one red and being sent off.
When leaving the field, he was clearly somewhat dissatisfied, which also stirred up boos from the Greek fans.
Maël and Sagna quickly took out their phones to watch the replay, and found that the Polish number 10 had clearly slipped and fallen, but in the end, the Greek defender took the blame.
Misjudgment!
"That's what happens."
Sagna, seeing his prediction come true, shrugged triumphantly, "See? The Greek team was about to gain momentum, but they were suddenly harmed by a misjudgment. Appealing after the game is useless.
"I still hope that there can be replays in the football field, so that the referees have the opportunity to open their eyes and watch it again."
Maël smiled. VAR would indeed appear in a few years, but its appearance didn't receive unanimous praise as expected. Instead, it has always been controversial.
Without saying more about this, they waited 15 minutes and watched the second half of the game.
Just when they thought the host would win easily, another change came.
Salpingidis, the Greek forward who came on as a substitute in the second half, played better and better, and scored a goal in the 51st minute through a counterattack.
10-man Greece tied the score!
That wasn't the end of it. Only ten minutes later, just as the Polish team was making substitutions to prepare for a large-scale attack, the Greek team once again created danger through a counterattack, again through Salpingidis.
He formed a One-on-One in the penalty area, which made Szczęsny, who came out to attack, very nervous. In the end, he stretched out his foot and brought him down extremely rashly! "Beep!"
The referee blew his whistle and sent Szczęsny off with a red card, while giving the Greek team a penalty kick opportunity! A red card and penalty combo!
The balance was reversed again, this time leaning towards the Greek team. The drama of the game was unimaginable to everyone! "Ah!"
Maël and the others shook their heads regretfully, mourning for their club teammate Szczęsny for a few minutes, and also mourning for the host.
"Bang!"
The Greek team captain kicked the penalty, but just when people thought he would lead Greece to complete a miraculous comeback, he missed!
The substitute goalkeeper Titon flew to block the ball, and the football was immediately cleared by the Polish defender!
It's not over yet! There are still variables!
Maël and Sagna were all dumbfounded, never expecting this game to be so good, able to drive everyone's mood through several twists and turns.
"Beep! Beep! Beep—!"
The final result of the game was a 1-1 draw, with both sides shaking hands and making peace in the opening match.
After the game, Sagna sighed to the two of them as he left, while also reminding them, "This is the European Cup, this is the intercontinental cup, we have to be prepared to meet all the variables."
Maël looked at him and smiled. Although his heart was already very heavy, he still chose to calm everyone down, "Why so nervous? Come on, we three Gunners should also summarize this day for the cameras."
Sagna and Koscielny stopped instantly, with smiles on their faces. This seemed to have become their essential program.
The two walked to Maël's side and faced the camera.
This time, they didn't shout anything, just danced and sang with lively expressions, "Dang dang dang dang... I have a friend!"
In the trio's unrestrained dance steps, everyone could see that they had really entered a new chapter, writing a new story that belonged to them.
"Poland drew 1-1 with Greece! Lewandowski scored, Salpingidis was named the best player after the match!" - Polish Sports Daily
"Russia defeated Czech Republic 4-1! They are the first team to win in this European Cup, Pavlyuchenko with 1 goal and 2 assists, Arshavin with a Brace of assists!" - Russian Daily
"The first round of Group A has been completed, and the two games of the first round of Group B will be held on June 10, Group C on June 11, and Group D on June 12!" - British Daily Mail
The next day, the scorching sun shone on Warsaw, Poland, and the matches of the Group B, the group of death, officially began.
In the match between Netherlands and Denmark in the afternoon, Denmark defeated Netherlands 1-0 thanks to Krohn-Dehli's goal in the opening stage, causing the first upset of the tournament.
This made the qualification situation in Group B unpredictable, putting a lot of pressure on Germany and Portugal, who were playing in the evening.
Krohn-Dehli's name also appeared in the headlines today, with his popularity even catching up with Ronaldo, who was about to make his debut in this tournament.
At 7:30 p.m., the battle between Portugal and Germany in Group B officially kicked off in Ukraine.
This game was a seesaw battle, a battle of entanglement. Both sides received 4 yellow cards in just one half, but neither could break through the opponent's goal.
Ronaldo's state was slightly average. Under the German team's iron-blooded defense, he couldn't get too much support from his teammates. He only got 2 shots in the whole game, both of which were Long Shots.
"Bang!!"
In the 72nd minute of the match, Mario Gomez, who had been in hot form recently, helped Germany score a goal, which also became the winning goal of this match.
The German team finally defeated Portugal 1-0, and gained the initiative to qualify with surprise and without danger.
And the Portugal team led by Ronaldo could only start their European Cup journey with a defeat, making their chances of qualifying extremely difficult.
The Group B matches concluded on this day. Football fans around the world were at their most enthusiastic, discussing the matches of the past few days on various platforms.
"Ronaldo, Maël, Mario Gomez, Lewandowski, Van Persie, Shevchenko, who do you favor among these top strikers from major powerhouses?" – 442, UK
"Definitely Ronaldo. Although he didn't play well in the first game, I believe he will lead Portugal to qualify."
"Lewandowski, definitely. Poland is fighting on their home turf, his motivation and ambition are unmatched by other players. I'm betting on him to win the Golden Boot!"
"Maël and Van Persie, as Arsenal fans, we all know what kind of season they had!"
"There have been frequent upsets in the European Cup. It's too early to say who can go further and score more goals. Many top strikers haven't even made their debut yet, let's wait and see!"
"..."
"Ronaldo VS Maël? Fabregas VS Maël? Which of these PKs do you think is the highlight of this tournament?" – Marca, Spain
"I think it's Xiaofa and the Arsenal striker. Their feud has been widely publicized before, and this is finally an opportunity to settle it."
"The clash with Fabregas is a personal grudge, it's not a big deal. How can Fabregas's stats compare to his?"
"Xiaofa's stats can't compare to his, but can Xiaofa representing Spain compare to him representing France? The midfield of the 'Ceremony Six' will definitely prevent the French Team's midfield from even touching the ball!"
"Yes, as long as Spain defeats France, won't Xiaofa win?"
"The top scorer battle is more interesting. Maël scored 50+ goals last season, he is qualified to challenge Ronaldo and Messi, this tournament is a good opportunity."
"As for the French Team and the Portugal Team, I think they are evenly matched, neither strong nor weak, it depends on whether they can meet."
"..."
It can be noted that even though Maël has not yet made his debut, he has still aroused the expectations of many fans. He can be said to be the most anticipated rising star in this tournament, without a doubt.
Time passed, and everyone eagerly awaited the 11th, when the two major battles of Group C began.
The match between Spain and Italy, which took place first, became the most-watched match since the start of the tournament.
They are recognized as the two teams most likely to win the championship, and they are also the teams that have brought the two universal tactics of possession and counter-attack to their peak, representing the ultimate in two football philosophies.
Meeting in the first round of the group stage has a bit of a feeling of the final being played early.
"Beep!"
At 3:30, when the match officially started, Spain's six-midfielder, striker-less formation once again demonstrated its strength. They firmly controlled the ball, tearing apart Italy's defense through possession.
Italy did not panic either, maintaining a tight distance to conduct a chain defense, making Spain's possession mostly helpless against their defense.
In the 60th minute of the match, a long pass from Pirlo tore apart Spain's defense, and Di Natale, who followed up, scored.
One to zero!
Italy took the lead!
But their lead did not last long. Only 4 minutes passed, and while they were still in joy, Spain seized the opportunity, with David Silva assisting Fabregas to score a goal.
One to one!
In the time that followed, neither side was able to score again, and they ultimately had to settle for a draw.
At 7:30 in the evening, the match between Ireland and Croatia officially began, and this match had a somewhat one-sided trend.
Mandžukić took the lead early, and although Saint Ledger quickly equalized, he was immediately scored on twice by Jelavic and Mandžukić.
Three to one!
Croatia defeated Ireland, winning a glimmer of hope for themselves to qualify in this difficult group.
Thus, all six matches of the first three groups were completed. Two matches ended 1-0, and two matches ended 1-1. Most teams only scored one goal against opponents of similar strength.
Now, all eyes are focused on the first round of Group D matches at 3:30 PM on the 12th.
Because Arsenal striker Maël is about to represent the French Team and usher in his debut in the main competition!
"With all four teams only scoring one goal, can Maël lead the French Team to a wonderful goalscoring battle against the evenly matched England Team?" – News Agency, France
"With Fabregas taking the lead, can this person, who has been rated by fans as Xiaofa's imaginary enemy, score a stunning debut with a goal?" – AS, Spain
"The 18-year-old captain of the French Team may find it difficult to support the team's momentum. I am optimistic that the England Team will achieve a complete victory!" – The Guardian, UK
"So, what do Arsenal fans in England think now? Who are you supporting?"
"Of course, it's the England team. In this situation, would I wear a Maël jersey to support the French Team? That would be a complete betrayal!"
"I hope Gilbert can represent the England team on the field. If he does, it means he has a chance to help Arsenal next year."
"Don't put too much hope on Maël. Even great strikers like Ronaldo and Van Persie failed to score. He needs to adapt to the European Cup. It would be good if he could score 2-3 goals later on."
"Go for it!!"
"."
As time slowly entered the 4th match day of the European Cup, all eyes were focused on the captain of the French Team.
The England-France battle is about to begin!
On the morning of June 12th, the press conference for this match was held in the Media Room of the Warsaw National Stadium.
Throughout the press conference, both coaches were essentially saying nonsense, and the news points that the media could extract were very few.
"We have hidden some things and are preparing to give the England team a surprise." - French Team coach Didier Deschamps
"We have also hidden some things, and we are looking forward to seeing what surprises the French Team can give us." - England team coach Pearce. These were basically the only two sentences with talking points at the press conference. There was no way around it, as the coaches of both teams were unwilling to reveal too much about the players' conditions and other aspects.
As a result, the two were ridiculed by fans and given the title of 'Great Hiders'.
"CCTV!! CCTV!!"
At 3 p.m., at the Warsaw National Stadium in Poland, flags were flying, and the England white army and the Gallic Rooster army entered the field, waiting for a great battle to arrive.
In modern times, the relationship between these two countries is already different from the past, but in the Middle Ages, they had a Hundred Years' War that lasted for 116 years!
Perhaps this history is not often brought up now, but when the football teams of the two countries face each other, the tension will still be revealed, and people will remember the origins that span hundreds of years.
If there is a Derby match between national teams, England VS France is one! Inside the commentary booth, Liu Jiayuan sat at the top, overlooking the huge stadium, and his mood also became bold, "The England-France battle is about to begin! The starting lineups of both sides have been released, let's take a look together.
"The England team is fielding a 4-4-1-1 formation today, which can also be said to be a 4-4-2.
"The goalkeeper is Joe Hart, the left back is Ashley Cole, the right back is Glen Johnson, and the center backs are Lescott and Terry! The two midfielders are Scott Parker and Gerrard, with Chamberlain and Milner on their sides! The attacking midfielder is Ashley Young, and the center forward is Welbeck! This is a combination that no one expected.
"On the bench, they also have Defoe, Henderson, Walcott, Andy Carroll, Gilbert and other good players waiting for orders!"
He took a sip of water and pulled out the French Team's list, "The French Team's starting lineup today is a 4-3-3, with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and center backs Koscielny and Mexès!
"Left back Clichy, right back Sagna, defensive midfielder Matuidi, and the two midfielders are Cabaye and veteran Malouda.
"On the front line, Benzema is in the center, Nasri is on the right, and Maël, who everyone is most looking forward to, is still playing in his best position!
"This will definitely be a wonderful contest, and it may also become a classic contest. Let's wait and see, the players from both sides are about to step onto the field!"
"."
Inside the player tunnel, the starting players of the two teams walked over one after another, and the substitute players followed behind them, preparing to sit on the bench after they entered the field.
"OhEiEi!!"
Maël, wearing the green captain's armband, stood at the front, holding a girl in a French jersey, and to his left was England captain Gerrard.
Listening to the waves of shouts from outside the field, his emotions were brought to a climax before he even entered the field, which made him squeeze the little girl's hand a little tighter.
Starting in his first major competition, and starting as captain, he couldn't stop the excitement surging in his heart.
"Maël."
A shout came, and he saw Walcott walking over in a substitute vest, reaching out his right hand to him, seemingly coming up to say hello.
"Pa!"
He high-fived the other party, and heard the other party look at the armband on his arm and joke: "Not bad, should we let Wenger give you the Arsenal captaincy next season?"
"Haha..." The two laughed together, and Maël pointed at him and said: "If you meet the Netherlands in the European Cup, be sure to pass on your expectations to Van Persie."
Walcott shrank his neck, turned and left after seeing Gerrard's warning gaze.
Gilbert quickly followed, and he looked at Maël's position and raised his eyebrows excitedly: "What's going on with you? You're really the captain? I thought it was a smokescreen."
Seeing him here, Maël had some different emotions in his heart.
If their meeting in the Premier League doesn't count as a meeting at the peak, then meeting in the European Cup must count!
Two people who came from Sheffield United of the EFL Championship, who judged goals by the shouts from Bramall Lane stadium in the small apartment building on Cherry Street, are standing on the highest stage in Europe today, representing two strong teams!
Maël released the little ball boy's hand with mixed emotions and embraced the other party. "Will you have a chance to go up today? I didn't get a chance to feel your intensity when we were in the Premier League before."
Gilbert exchanged a glance with England captain Gerrard and shrugged, "I can't tell you that. Don't worry, you'll have a chance to feel it when you go back next season."
After saying that, he left, and the players from both sides were about to step onto the field.
"Maël." A timid voice came again, this time from the little ball girl. Her eyes sparkled with longing, and she smiled as she said in French, "Will you score today?"
Maël smiled, touched her head, and also said in French, "Yes, don't worry, watch your brother smash these guys today, they're all paper tigers."
As soon as he finished speaking, many of the French Team pursed their lips and tried to hold back their laughter, looking elsewhere and pretending to be busy.
Many of the England team members cast doubtful glances. Their starting lineup was all produced by the native English league, and no one had studied abroad.
Maël looked up ahead as if nothing had happened, pretending he was just chatting.
"Beep beep!"
The referee blew the whistle for the players to enter the field. All the players regained their thoughts, took a few deep breaths, and followed the referee.
"Aaahhh!!" As soon as they entered the field, the fans erupted in deafening cheers. Everyone stood up and applauded the players, including some neutral fans who were traveling.
Maël stepped onto the field under the spotlight, attracting many people to take pictures and scream. The first position for the French Team had never been occupied by such a handsome young man.
"Léon!!"
"We believe in you!"
"Go for it!!"
Amidst the shouts, Maël puffed out his chest and raised his head, feeling a surge of pressure and motivation injected into his body, causing his hands to clench again.
"Ouch!" The cute ball girl next to him quickly grimaced in pain, looking at him pleadingly.
Maël forgot about this and quickly apologized, letting go of her hand and patting her head twice. "Sorry, it's too noisy here, I forgot about you."
"Since you asked me if I could score just now, how about I let you choose a celebration move for me?"
"Okay!" The ball girl's eyes lit up. After thinking for a moment, she stopped briefly, put her right hand on top of her head, her left hand on her lower abdomen, and then shook and jumped, "Follala!"
Maël laughed and nodded in agreement. He patted her little head again.
Their actions caused a burst of laughter from the audience, but others certainly didn't know what it meant, and thought the ball girl was teasing Maël.
"Okay, as the players from both sides walk onto the field, this focus battle of the first round of this European Cup is about to begin! "At the same time, we have also witnessed a history. At the age of 18 years and 316 days, Maël has become the youngest captain in the recorded national team main competition! "I have to say that this is a bold move by Deschamps. Before this, captains aged 24-5 would be suspected of being too young! "Letting someone who is not yet 20 years old in such a key position, if they ultimately fail to achieve good results, may make him the target of media criticism!"
"..."
On the field, the coin toss ceremony began. Maël and Gerrard stood next to the referee, tossing a coin.
"You choose the side." The referee pointed to Maël, indicating that he could choose first.
Under Gerrard's nervous gaze, Maël unhesitatingly pointed to the place where the England team was standing at this time, not hesitating to use the troublesome switch to grab that field.
The reason is very simple, that is the side facing away from the sun, which is helpful for their goalkeeper to save and defend high-altitude balls.
Although they will switch sides in the second half... but the second half will start after 4:30, the sun is not so dazzling, and it will not affect them.
Don't underestimate this kind of detail, sometimes, it is enough to affect the game.
"Fuck." Gerrard complained in a low voice, holding the football and walking towards his own half, signaling the England team players to switch sides.
Maël smiled slightly. It could only be said that he was lucky, and he could get the right to choose sides every time.
After coming to his position and standing still, his face became serious, and he shook his head a few times to make himself more awake.
He could feel that he was a little dazed. There was no way, after all, he had never experienced this kind of game. He could only remind himself again and again that this was the opportunity he had been waiting for, the best battlefield to compete for the best! The documentary had already started filming, Sagna also promised to give him a new Maël's Song, and Wenger and Isabella and others were looking at him with expectant eyes from the stands.
All of this was hinting to him that he must have a wonderful start!
He was confident in this. The lv5 Heavy Cannon will make its debut today, and he was fully confident in catching England goalkeeper Joe Hart by surprise! He was very clear about the level of this skill after a period of trying it out.
Although football is a complex sport, he cannot confirm how many meters this Heavy Cannon has a hit rate at... but a very strong premonition is telling him that he will definitely be able to break through Joe Hart's goal today.
This is a feeling of holding the truth, a kind of composure and confidence from the inside out!
"Beep!!"
A whistle blew, kicking off the match, with Welbeck helping the England team take the center circle kick.
Maël had no time to worry about anything else; he threw himself wholeheartedly into the game, his brain directing his legs to rush past England's half of the field.
He stopped thinking about Deschamps, stopped thinking about who was in the stands, his ears even blocked out the cheers from the audience, his mind forgot what arena he was in, focusing only on the match in front of him.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
He could only hear the sound of the opponent's passes and his own panting, as if he had entered a true flow state.
At this moment, watching the constantly rolling football, he was absolutely certain that he would score a goal today.
ps: This volume will be about 200,000 words, writing about the European Cup is something I'm quite good at.
It's just that more groundwork is laid in the early stages, so that the later stages can reach even greater heights, and the group stage will definitely be more exciting than the Premier League, and the knockout stage will be more exciting than the group stage.
Trust Mu Yao!
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