Chapter 408: Semifinal matchup results revealed (everyday transition)

Post-match press conference.

Bosque, who was originally drowsy, now looked spirited.

He stroked his little mustache and began answering reporters' questions.

"We must remain humble and have a sense of awe."

"The key to winning is Li and the pitch."

"The pitch at Kazan Arena was once the world's most famous vegetable field."

"Mexico played great; they showed excellent competitive spirit tonight, with the number of fouls in the match being few."

"Is tiki-taka dead or not? This question has been discussed since 2014 and still has no answer."

"Li's injury is recovering well; of course we will consider letting him continue to rest."

Moments later.

Mexico's coach Osorio also lavished praise on the Spanish team.

"Our opponent could be the World Cup champions; Li restored the fearsome control of the Bullfighter Fleet, and Mexico losing two goals is no disgrace."

"Although Li didn't directly score or assist, he can boost the whole team's strength, rendering our pre-match deployment plans completely ineffective."

"Mexico's most important task now is to secure second place in the group to advance."

"We might even meet Spain again in the Confederations Cup final."

This guy is a scholar-type coach; after his playing career ended, he sold his car and watch and went to England to study.

He also took a peek at Liverpool and Manchester United's training details.

He also learned Ferguson's "high-frequency rotation strategy".

After obtaining his degree, he drifted to the United States and became a "professional" national team head coach.

Meanwhile.

The fax machine at Kazan Training Center kept going "beep beep beep".

The content was roughly: Arsenal club strongly condemned the Spanish coaching staff for letting Li Kang play while injured.

As soon as Li Kang returned to the training base, he was surrounded by team doctors and walked to the medical room.

After a while.

Miniano held the report and exclaimed:

"Everything is normal! This trip to Russia was truly wonderful."

"The boss said to let Li rest; how could we let Li take a risk against an opponent like New Zealand?"

New Zealand was the 2016 Oceania Nations Cup champion.

The team's biggest star is Chris Wood, who plays for Leeds United.

The majority of the other players compete in the Australian A-League.

That's right; most of New Zealand's main players play in the Australian A-League.

For example, the A-League top scorer Barbaroses always scores in the last few minutes of A-League matches, lowering the opposing goalkeeper and defenders' IQ, staring blankly at the ball as it flies into the net.

The training base is located in the suburbs of Kazan, with no entertainment venues nearby.

The Spanish players could only stay in the dorms playing games.

"The combination of De Bruyne and van Basten is awesome!"

"He scored again."

"Who made your goalkeeper Courtois!"

"Keep it down, Li is going to sleep."

"There are five walls between us..."

Li Kang lives alone in a single dorm; he was holding a tablet, watching the group stage match footage of Germany versus Chile.

The match content wasn't exciting.

The German team, in transition between old and new, launched wave after wave of complete attacks under the combined play of Kroos and Rodrigo... unfortunately, the Leverkusen forward Werner repeatedly missed chances.

The Chilean team didn't need to think to adjust their defense; relying on Sanchez's charge, the Andean Condor almost destroyed the German Panzer.

Löw brought on Havertz and Brandt in the second half.

The pharmacy twins failed to produce exquisite coordination.

Havertz, however, had a wonderful chemical reaction with Werner.

The two fed each other bites.

Finally.

Germany 2:1 Chile.

Beep beep beep.

The phone rang.

Li Kang unlocked the screen and saw that all the messages were concerned about his injury.

Aside from the Mexican players, everyone in the world thought his injury hadn't healed?

Wo Le Er forwarded and shared several articles of iron-blooded will chicken soup, and also mentioned a few classic battles he experienced in his youth.

Tuopu Laotou kept cursing the person who caused Li Kang's injury.

Dino said his new girlfriend... is the niece of former Bayern team doctor Volkert, letting Li Kang find time to go to Munich.

Ms. Skaya advised Li Kang to return early to the Cobham training base to rest.

Havertz and Brandt said: "If Li doesn't play, we two will lift the first international tournament trophy."

Li Kang simply replied to a few messages, then put his phone aside.

The Confederations Cup schedule is very short.

After the group stage comes the semi-final.

The coaching staff might let him play again only in the final.

Spain's opponent in the final round of the group stage is New Zealand.

Li Kang was not selected for the squad.

Bosque arranged for many staff to accompany him out for a stroll.

Besides the Kazan Kremlin and the Local Gazette Museum, this city doesn't have many sights suitable for strolling.

Li Kang didn't go to any churches, lama temples, etc., religious places.

He just went to the bustling area to buy some specialty handicrafts, then returned to the training base.

The transportation used for the round trip was provided by the car sponsor SEAT, so it didn't attract attention from locals and media reporters.

At the same time.

Moscow Spartak Stadium.

A sea of people, every seat filled.

Spain VS New Zealand.

The Oceania champions didn't adopt a counter-attacking stance; the A-League stars' dictionary has no word "turtle shrink".

Head Coach Hodgson said: We must cherish the opportunity to clash with strong teams; the Confederations Cup is a precious learning journey for New Zealand.

The clash wasn't intense.

A-League stars were restrained; New Zealand continued with "gentle" foul actions.

They didn't get a single yellow card in the entire Confederations Cup.

8th minute of the match.

Carvajal continuously broke through on the right flank, crossed from the byline!

Morata outjumped the two opposing centre-backs, headed to score.

1:0.

15th minute of the match.

Koke delivered a 45-degree cross from the flank.

Morata headed to score!

2:0.

Finally.

The group stage is completely over.

Morata scored a haul of four goals.

Spain 6:0 New Zealand, advancing as group leaders.

The semi-final matchup results of the 2017 Confederations Cup also came out.

Spain VS Chile.

Germany VS Mexico.

Fans flooded online forums to make predictions.

- 【Chile last year 7:0 with half-strength Mexico, Spain 2:0 with full-strength Mexico, conclusion: Chile 5:0 Spain.】

- 【If that's the case, how many goals must Germany beat Mexico by? They beat Chile, and lost to Spain in last year's Euro.】

- 【I don't want Spain and Germany to reach the final; the Confederations Cup champion's curse is a bit scary: the champion cannot achieve next year's World Cup title.】

- 【After the Confederations Cup come the Club World Cup and European Super Cup; if Li Mingdeng transfers early from Arsenal, missing these two honors might cause problems in the Ballon d'Or voting.】

- 【What problems could there be? Triple crown midfield core, Premier League Golden Boot, Champions League final wearing a bandage to secure victory... how could one not win the Ballon d'Or?】

- 【The Ballon d'Or award ceremony is at year-end, still early.】