Chapter 190: The Eastern European Cavalry's Iron Barrel Formation?

Riviera Stadium.

Sea breeze blew the corner flagpole.

Turkish fans left early.

After experiencing the tragedy, the Star-Moon Tyrant-Trim took a deep breath, slightly adjusted his emotions, and gracefully walked to the Spanish coaching bench and shook hands with Bosque.

Can't pick it up, but must let it go.

Another heavy stroke was added to the history of grudges between the two nations.

For the head coach and players, victory and defeat are commonplace in military affairs... There are too many factors that can influence the outcome of this sport called football; who knows when Turkey might slaughter Spain to achieve revenge.

At the player tunnel.

Mininiano whispered: "Boss, do we need to control our group stage ranking in the final round? Also need to monitor the players' physical condition..."

Bosque waved his hand, full of confidence: "Not needed! A victorious army never needs to worry about who the opponent is! Controlling rankings and points is merely an opportunistic tactic, and will ultimately be punished!"

The Spanish assistant coach gave a wry smile: "Germany's team suffered an upset and Poland drew, making the qualification situation in Italy and Belgium's group even more chaotic... plus the new rule for third-place group qualification..."

Bosque scratched his head, fell silent for a moment, then said: "Hmm? Then we still need to watch out for Italy!"

When playing against the Italian team, using possession rate, pressing time, etc., as technical reference is an absolute mistake.

The only reference when facing the Italians is: can you score?

Combined with Conte's disgusting, life‑not‑worth‑it three‑center‑back system, who knows if the Blue Army's current back line... is even tougher than Juventus.

On the green field.

Li Kang and his teammates gathered together, thanking the Spanish fans who had come from afar only to be violently beaten.

De Gea hardly touched the ball at all; he felt that playing like this could save the national team a lot of money on latex gloves.

Ramos and San Jose continued discussing the unresolved topics from the match.

Only the three Atlético players—Saul, Koke, and Juanfran—were covered head to toe in mud, sweat soaking their jerseys.

"Li, you are very likely to break the European Cup assist record."

"Czech Republic is a tough nut to crack."

"Even if we draw with them in the final round, we will still be group first; the coaching staff should carry out a large-scale rotation."

Saint-Denis Stadium.

Germany VS Poland.

The head referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match; both sides ended 0:0.

Many fans in front of the TV wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves.

A huge upset!

The takeout market encountered a cold winter tonight.

The camera moved to the sidelines.

Löw patted his pants, then brought his hand to his nose to sniff, and in the same motion warmly shook hands with passing Laiwan.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries.

The Polish forward smiled, scratched his butt, and left.

The German head coach's thoughts had already drifted away; this guy had already started considering the knockout stage... even the quarter‑finals.

As the World Cup champions two years prior, the German team at that time remained dominant.

The coaching staff is not Guardiola, and will not conduct tactical experiments in crucial matches.

The only regret is: Klose.

Since winning the 2014 World Cup, after he retired from the national team, Germany has had to seek a replacement.

The result of the draw affected the team's morale to some extent.

Only Muller that guy was gesticulating wildly while interacting with the fans.

"Little guy, don't be nervous! Where the hell did the vigor you showed when playing for Bayern go?"

Boateng threw a bottle of water to Havertz, loudly encouraging him.

He doesn't understand why the national team would bring this Lewokusen youngster to the European Cup.

Too bad.

That guy Royce always gets injured in major tournaments.

Gotze's combat power is limited.

Laiwan isn't even German.

Havertz muttered softly: "The German team doesn't have Li again..."

Upon first being called up to the national team, he followed the older brothers and learned nothing... only learned how to play cards.

Schweinsteiger laughed while scratching his head: "We have Kroos."

Yes.

Modrić's Croatia couldn't cause trouble for Spain.

But the German team is different.

Kroos can control the dispatching resources, which are overly abundant.

Almost all teammates come from the German youth training system, seamlessly connected.

Overall strength is off the charts.

The World Cup squad hasn't undergone large‑scale aging, and the strict coaching staff won't play 'experiment for fun' like Guardiola.

Apart from lacking a true center forward, they hardly have any weaknesses.

They remain that unstoppable invincible army.

However.

German tanks and the Bullfighters Legion may not meet in this year's European Cup.

Italy's base.

Inside the tactics room, the lighting is dim.

Conte and the coaching staff members are having a heated discussion.

"What's going on! Spain has turned into Atletico Madrid!"

"In the match where they slaughtered Turkey, Bosque didn't field any Barcelona players."

"No problem, let's carefully review the match between Atletico Madrid and Juventus; we are very likely to encounter Spain in the knockout stage."

"In the past two group matches, Li hasn't given his all..."

Clairefontaine.

"The filming crew of Le Figaro, after obtaining consent from the French Football Association, arrived at the national team's base."

Deschamps furrowed his brow.

"To avoid affecting other stars' training, he let the outstanding Pogba, as a player representative, accept the interview."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Pogba nodded seriously.

A moment later.

The reporters began asking: "Paul, your hairstyle looks cool today."

Pogba naturally nodded and said:

"Seize the time—I know what you want to ask. The French team will be champions; Messi can never defeat me in the European Cup!"

"That Spanish kid? Since the Champions League started, you've been comparing me to him... uh..."

The national team's assistant coach beside him quickly covered his mouth.

"Don't record this part! Cut it!"

The next day.

One piece of European Cup news after another rose to the top of the online hot search list.

"Assist Quadruple on the European Cup!"

"He's not the new Xavi! A genius midfielder who controls the whole game, leading efficient tactics to a six-goal slaughter of the Star and Moon Legion."

"Simeone: Li Kang is the player who understands Atletico Madrid best in the world."

"Seeing Spain's big victory, the Barcelona head coach became overly excited and fell into a coma!"

"French genius-Pogba: Even during the Champions League stage, I already admired Li Kang."

Children all over the world hug footballs, gathering to play and scrambling to take the midfield position.

"Marseille Turn!"

"Stepover Turn!"

"Fierce Tiger Through Pass!"

"Marseilleroulette!"

"Ruletamarsellesa!"

The last person to cause such a sensation... was Balotelli at the 2012 European Cup.

-【Spain's championship odds have surged wildly! Is it still timely to act now?】

-【Don't hesitate; the national team version of Li Mingdeng has a group of cheat assists, nearly invincible!】

-【What's there to brag about slaughtering weak Turkey? Spain hasn't met a real strong team yet; if they encounter Italy, Germany, or France in the knockout stage, they'll surely win easily!】

-【Pogba is not bad; this generation of young midfielders truly sympathize with each other.】

-【Atletico Madrid's system is awesome; Little Li has revitalized the regional connections among Saúl, Koke, Diego Costa, and Juanfran.】

-【Hey hey hey, haven't you forgotten De Gea? He also came from Atletico Madrid!】

Ré Island

Yin Si Ke dragged his big and small bags of luggage, arriving at the training base.

He ignored the concerned greetings of Carvajal and Ramos, and with his short legs ran straight to Li Kang's front.

His tone somewhat excited: "Li, I'm fine, just a minor injury! We can finally fight side by side!"

Li Kang nodded seriously.

He has recently been studying the videos of Mourinho and Ancelotti coaching Real Madrid, but he cannot fully copy them; the two famous coaches give players a very high degree of freedom.

In the distance.

Busquets frowned and said: "Bosque can pull together a squad from the roster that has eight players bearing the Real Madrid mark."

Yinniesita shook his head: "Don't worry about these details; if we remain immersed in Barcelona's possession system, we cannot win the European Cup."

Bosque's coaching staff's training intensity is not high.

Most of the time and energy are spent on squad integration.

Li Kang will rent a few bicycles with his teammates and start cycling around the island.

While passing antique shops and markets, he incidentally bought many distinctive handicraft trinkets.

The native residents of Lei Island never follow the celebrity craze; this place is a tourist destination, and they see many "big figures" each year, but they may not immediately recognize the ballplayers in casual clothes.

The thugs encountered along the way are also very friendly; a little money can send them packing.

Days passed one by one.

Li Kang felt like he was on vacation.

Looking back at the past two group matches: he didn't need to bear too much advancing and defensive duties; the real tough battles might only be encountered in the knockout stage.

Lewokusen's teammates often send messages over.

Tuopu Laotou's greeting was sent by Dino on his behalf: the old man doesn't really know how to use social media accounts.

Wo Le Er will forward some "German version" chicken soup for the soul each day.

He didn't pay attention to how the outside world's news evaluated him.

Balotelli's ups and downs provide the clearest example: a player's value is always demonstrated on the field.

June 22.

Bordeaux, Atlantic Stadium.

Pure white columns poured down like fine rain.

This is a distinctive building constructed from 644 round steel pipe columns, one of the products of structural engineers' pursuit of the limits of mechanics.

"CTV5! CTV5! Good evening, viewers!"

"Welcome to watch the third round of the 2016 European Cup Group D group stage!"

"Spain versus Czech Republic!"

"The matadors encounter the Eastern European iron cavalry!"

"A contest of speed and rhythm!"

"Below we introduce the starting lineups of both sides."

"Spain's formation here is: 4-3-3!"

"Goalkeeper:..."

"We can see that Bosque's formation changes greatly in each match; given the assurance of advancing, to cope with the upcoming knockout stage, midfield core Li Kang did not appear in the starting lineup."

"Czech Republic's formation is: 4-2-3-1!"

"Goalkeeper: Cech!"

"Defenders: Limbersky, Hubník, Svitek, Kadlec!"

"Double defensive midfielders: Plašil, Darida!"

"Central midfielders: Krejčí, Rosický, Šural!"

"Forward: Necid!"

"Live broadcast room."

"After the starting lineup was announced, the number of viewers quickly dropped."

"-【Without Li Mingdeng, can Spain still beat Czech Republic?】"

"-【Hard to say; if the opponent doesn't park the bus, and Spain can't control the tempo and rhythm, they'll suffer.】"

"-【Look, who's the goalkeeper? It's Cech!】"

"-【What about Cech? He doesn't have Chelsea's backline protecting him... wait, that's Arsenal's backline.】"

"-【Spain could thrash Turkey, but might not be able to handle these Eastern Europeans... this Czech team is really tough.】"

"Li Kang and Diego Costa sat on the bench."

"In the coaching staff's seating arrangement, the chance of the two coming on as substitutes is very low."

"Mininiano looks a bit nervous, he constantly monitors the scores of the other groups."

"Bosque sat upright on the coach's bench, still looking half-asleep."

"In the distance."

"The face of Czech Republic's head coach Freba showed little change in expression."

"Beep!"

"Accompanied by the referee's whistle."

"The match officially began!"

"Spain in possession."

"Morata kicked the ball back with his left foot."

"Yin Si Ke touched the ball once and passed it to Busquets."

"He's a Barça fan."

"The team he dreamed of joining as a child was Barça."

"His footwork also fits Barça's passing-and-control style."

"This is different from what everyone expected."

"The always aggressive Czech Republic didn't commit too many players to press high up."

"They steadily withdrew."

"The Spanish team easily took control of the situation."

"Time passed."

"The four stands of the Atlantic Stadium gradually fell silent."

"The scene was really dull."

"«The rhythm is a bit slow! »"

"«Spain's attack lacks variation in speed and rhythm. »"

"«Czech Republic has set up a wall of iron in front of the penalty area. »"

"«Oh dear, the Italian team is falling behind over there! »"

"In the lower left corner of the screen, the situation of the other groups suddenly appeared."