The All-Around Center Forward

After Suker decided to go all out, his entire training regimen transformed.

Besides some simple basic training, Suker focused more on shooting drills.

Croatia's substitute Goalkeeper Pletikosa acted as the Goalkeeper to help Suker with his shooting practice.

But in just one day, Pletikosa had already been driven to a breakdown three times by Suker.

Swish!

The ball traced a beautiful arc, flying past Pletikosa's fingertips and into the goal.

Mandžukić grinned: "Another one he didn't save?"

Srna: "Even if he's a substitute Goalkeeper, you can't torment him like this, can you?"

"It's coming!" Modrić sighed.

Pletikosa got up from the ground, his expression a mix of three parts annoyance and seven parts grievance.

He pursed his lips, stared at Suker, took off his gloves, and threw them forcefully to the ground.

Crack!

"I'm not guarding anymore!"

Pletikosa huffed and puffed as he ran off.

Four consecutive sets of shooting drills, ten shots per set.

Shooting from different distances, from far to near.

But... he didn't save a single one!

A full forty shots!

I didn't save a single one of them, damn it!

Although Pletikosa's form had declined, causing him to lose his starting position, it wasn't so bad that Suker could mess with him like this.

The Goalkeeper coach quickly ran over, coaxing Pletikosa, who was sitting against the railing.

The two of them occasionally pointed at Suker.

Pletikosa's expression was agitated; he was simply too wronged.

"You're going too far. He's already 33, and his form has declined severely. Can't you let him save one?"

Van Stoyak also sighed.

Suker was a bit embarrassed.

He had gotten into a good rhythm and couldn't stop himself for a moment.

But who would have thought Pletikosa would break so easily?

This was the third time today.

However, the Goalkeeper coach was good at coaxing people. Before long, Pletikosa huffed and puffed, returning to the goal line and putting on his gloves again.

Pletikosa kept a sullen face and didn't speak; he didn't even want to talk to Suker anymore.

Five minutes later.

"I'm not guarding anymore!"

Crack!

The same scene, Pletikosa once again threw his gloves and left.

Let whoever wants to endure this sulking endure it; I'm not doing it anymore.

Van Stoyak: "I told you to let him save one, but you didn't!"

Suker was speechless: "I did! The last shot, the ball speed was so slow, he hesitated himself, what could I do?!"

Van Stoyak covered his forehead.

That's it!

The substitute Goalkeeper's mentality was broken, and it was broken by his own team's striker, damn it.

Suker looked at the empty goal and suddenly turned to shout, "Dani, come guard the goal!"

Subašić, the starting Goalkeeper, who was undergoing save training, was stunned.

"Huh?"

Suker pointed to the goal, and Subašić immediately made a bitter face, walking over reluctantly.

Fortunately, Van Stoyak pushed him away again.

"Stop training. If you keep training, the starting Goalkeeper's form will be ruined by you."

Suker pointed to himself: "Then what do I do?"

"You don't need to train with this form!" Van Stoyak waved his hand.

Suker was maintaining the same crazy shooting performance he showed in the League.

Let alone Subašić, even Casillas could be made to lose all form.

They couldn't let this guy ruin the starting Goalkeeper before the match.

Gulp, gulp!

Suker took a sip of water and slowly exhaled; "I don't feel like I've trained enough!"

Mandžukić grinned: "With your shooting performance, just torment the opponents in the match."

Modrić also grinned.

In the first round of the European Cup, Suker acted as a decoy throughout, which ironically made his desire to score explode.

Modrić didn't know if Bešić intentionally suppressed Suker, leading to his explosive form.

But no matter what, Suker's shooting performance was like a nuclear weapon-level boost for Croatia.

Hiss~~~~~

Davor Šuker gasped at Suker's shooting performance.

"Suker's form is too hot, isn't it?"

Bešić: "His form is never bad!"

In fact, Bešić was also curious how Suker maintained his form.

He always felt that this guy was always in an unusually excited state, exploding whenever he wanted to.

His inherent talent was top-notch, and now with this extraordinary ability, it was like adding wings to a tiger.

Other strikers were slow to warm up!

The fiery state required a transition, but Suker just 'whooshed' and shot up directly.

Davor Šuker was also a forward, and he knew very well how rare such a state was for a forward.

"Strikers born in the same era as him are unlucky!"

Davor Šuker said with emotion.

Bešić also nodded in deep agreement, his heart filled with emotion.

It felt like a stray dog picked up casually had transformed into a beautiful Golden Retriever.

At the hotel where the Denmark National Team was staying, inside the conference room.

Denmark Head Coach Olsen was giving an impassioned speech.

"Nothing is impossible. In the 1992 European Cup, no one was optimistic about us, but we still completed the Danish fairy tale."

Olsen looked proud; this was his proudest achievement.

That year, as Denmark's captain, he led the team to win the 1992 European Cup, writing the Danish fairy tale.

Now, as Head Coach, he also wanted to lead the team to replicate that moment again.

Moreover, in the previous match against Germany, although they lost, the entire match was back and forth.

Croatia, also a seeded team, might not be as powerful as rumored.

And their form was indeed very good.

Most importantly, Croatia's top striker, the superstar Suker, was silent in the first round.

Although many believed that Suker didn't need to exert himself in that match, the possibility of Suker's form suddenly declining could not be ruled out.

After all, Suker had maintained an explosive state for too long; everyone gets tired sometimes.

In his understanding, the peak period for stars of their era was already remarkable if it lasted 3-4 years.

But Suker, starting from age 20, had already maintained it for six full years.

After his explosion this season, it was time for a period of weakness.

Therefore, Olsen decided to take a gamble.

He bet that Suker's form had declined, and Croatia's statements were just a smokescreen.

And facing a Croatia with a weakened Suker, they still had a chance to win.

He was already eager to stage the 'Danish fairy tale' again as a coach.

Listening to Olsen's tactical explanation, the Danish players below had varied expressions.

Some listened intently, some felt refreshed, and some frowned deeply.

Among them, Eriksen was the one with a deep frown.

He felt that Olsen was too optimistic; many of his ideas were subjective, without any basis, and all his guesses were skewed towards Denmark's advantage.

Of course, saying this could certainly boost morale, but once any part went wrong, it would be a huge problem.

For example, Olsen's judgment that Suker's form had declined was completely baseless.

Just one match was not convincing at all.

In that match, Suker indeed didn't exert himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't a threat.

After all, Suker also provided an assist; he just didn't score.

Olsen was betting that Suker's form had declined, so there was no need to spend too many defensive resources on him.

But in this situation, if the guess was wrong, an explosive Suker would kill them!

Eriksen had his own thoughts, but Olsen's prestige in the National Team was too great, and he couldn't refute him.

He planned to find Olsen for a private chat after the tactical class ended.

Soon, the tactical class ended.

The players started leaving in groups of three or five.

When most people had left, Eriksen proactively approached Olsen.

Head Coach Olsen's face was still flushed from excitement, and he looked at Eriksen, gently asking, "Cris, is something wrong?"

Eriksen pursed his lips and said, "Coach, I believe we cannot relax our defense against Suker!"

Olsen was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "I know what you're thinking, but I also hope you trust my judgment!"

"This isn't about judgment; we're underestimating Croatia too much!"

Eriksen was a bit anxious.

Compared to the current Croatia, Denmark was nothing!

Strategically, they couldn't underestimate them, even if they could tactically dismiss and belittle them!

That was Suker!

Olsen looked at Eriksen and suddenly said, "But is there any other way? Should we defend? Portugal's result has already shown the problem; once we play passively, we can hardly find any chance to counterattack."

Eriksen was stunned for a moment.

Olsen continued, "Do you think I'm an egomaniac? That I would ignore Suker's importance? But we have no choice. I can only pray that Suker's form has indeed declined. Only then do we have a chance to defeat or draw with Croatia!"

"And it's not just me who needs to believe this; I also need to make the players believe it. Suker's reputation is too big, his performance too good. One Suker can scare our defense half to death, so I can only 'encourage' them this way, even if it means deceiving them!"

"Cris, you play for Ajax, you've played in the Champions League, so you and I both know the strength of Croatia's squad. I won't lie to you; realistically, we have almost no chance of winning!"

"But we've already lost to Germany. If we lose to Croatia again, we'll have no hope of advancing!"

"Therefore, to preserve this hope, whether it's deception or underestimation, I must encourage the players to play confidently, so they aren't too scared by Suker to perform!"

Olsen sighed and patted Eriksen's shoulder: "Don't tell the players these things. I believe you can handle the pressure. Your performance is crucial to whether we can resist Croatia!"

Eriksen grinned slightly upon hearing this.

"Coach, you're already putting pressure on me!"

Olsen couldn't help but smile, "You are our number one star; some pressure is inevitable."

Looking at Eriksen's departing back, Olsen couldn't help but sigh.

Unlike the 1992 European Cup, Denmark's grouping in this European Cup was terrible; they were placed in the group of death.

Facing title contenders in two consecutive matches gave them no chance to adjust.

Before their form could even heat up, it was extinguished by a bucket of ice water.

But there was no choice!

Luck is also part of football!

On June 13th, the second round of the European Cup began.

But on this day, there was a major upset in the European Cup.

After 90 minutes of fierce battle between Netherlands and Greece, Greece surprisingly defeated Netherlands 2:1.

Netherlands, having already lost to Czech Republic and now to Greece, with two consecutive losses, had no chance of qualifying from this European Cup.

Netherlands became the first team to be eliminated from this European Cup.

The reigning World Cup runner-up was eliminated in the European Cup group stage, and was even the first to be eliminated.

They were immediately etched onto the pillar of shame!

Furthermore, there were reports that after the match between Netherlands and Greece, an ambulance took the injured Huntelaar away.

It's worth noting that Huntelaar came on as a substitute for 20 minutes in this match and was suddenly taken away without any apparent injury during that time.

This led to media speculation, with wild theories about infighting in the Netherlands locker room and other issues beginning to emerge.

Although the Netherlands National Team vehemently denied it, claiming Huntelaar accidentally fell while showering, it was not convincing at all.

Soon, these paparazzi reporters got photos from who knows where.

In the photo, Huntelaar, lying in the ambulance, had a huge bump on his forehead. Could a fall cause something like that?

It was clearly caused by being hit by something!

Suker also saw this photo and immediately thought of the 'Three Stick Gang'!

"It must have been Van Persie and Robben who did it!"

Suker grinned.

He didn't expect to witness the famous scene of the 'Three Stick Gang' emerging.

Of course, as of now, the term 'Three Stick Gang' has not yet appeared.

It would only circulate after Netherlands captain Van Bommel gave an interview.

Actually, Huntelaar was quite unlucky.

First, he was beaten by Van Persie and Robben in a tag team.

In the 2014 World Cup, he was also brutally beaten by Van Persie, Robben, and Sneijder.

There were even rumors that Van Persie and Robben had an argument over the beating.

The reason was that Robben knocked Huntelaar unconscious with one direct hit, preventing Van Persie from continuing.

"Alright, it's time for us to depart!"

At this moment, Van Stoyak suddenly called out, signaling the Croatia players to get ready.

Today is June 14th, the second round of European Cup group b.

Croatia versus Denmark!

If they win this match, Croatia will secure their qualification spot early.

Therefore, this match is still very crucial for Croatia.

This is also why Suker plans to start making an effort.

And it's not just about qualification.

The next match against Germany is also a problem!

At this moment, Suker noticed Modrić talking to Bešić and Van Stoyak.

A moment later, even Davor Suker joined them.

Everyone seemed to be discussing something.

Suker looked left and right, then immediately went over.

"What's wrong?"

Suker's sudden voice startled the four of them.

"You scared the life out of me!" Modrić shivered.

Suker raised an eyebrow, looked at the four people's expressions, and suddenly said excitedly, "Is there work to do?"

Bešić cleared his throat and said, "Let's get on the bus first!"

On the bus, Suker, Modrić, Srna, Bešić, and Van Stoyak sat together.

Modrić recounted what happened earlier.

The cause was Cristiano Ronaldo's health manager approaching Modrić under the pretense of returning a jacket.

But honestly, what kind of jacket needs to be returned now?

The truth was, this health manager was simply a messenger for the Portugal National Team.

The message from Portugal was simple.

They would fight Germany to the death in the second round, but they also hoped Croatia would fight Germany to the death in the third round!

In short, it was to team up and eliminate Germany!

Suker stroked his chin; "To eliminate Germany, Portugal must at least draw with Germany in this round, then we will defeat Germany in the third round, and Portugal will defeat Denmark in the third round, and they also need to improve their goal difference!"

"Exactly!" Van Stoyak nodded; "However, can Portugal really draw with Germany?"

"Hard to say!" Suker pursed his lips.

For Portugal to advance now, they absolutely cannot lose in the second round.

Either defeat Germany or draw with Germany.

And if it's the latter, then it depends on Croatia's performance.

Now that Portugal suddenly sent this message, it could be considered leaving themselves a fallback option.

In a situation where they cannot defeat Germany, a goalless draw with Germany would depend on Croatia's performance.

Moreover, Portugal was confident that Croatia shared their idea.

A strong team like Germany needs to be eliminated directly in the group stage, leaving no future troubles.

"Let's see!" Bešić suddenly said; "We'll talk after the second round. For now, we still need to play our own game well!"

Anyway, for Bešić, his goal in the group stage was to advance with a perfect record.

Regardless of whether it was Portugal's request, Bešić was determined to fight Germany to the death.

If they suppressed them in the group stage, they would have a psychological advantage if they met again in the semifinals or final.

Besides, Croatia would not be satisfied with finishing second in the group.

Portugal's preemptive warning was purely a bit redundant.

However, by conveying the message, they probably found some solace in their hearts.

Soon, the bus arrived at the stadium.

Poznań Municipal Stadium, compared to Warsaw National Stadium, is slightly smaller, but it also has a capacity of 40,000 people.

In the third round, Croatia's match against Germany will return to Warsaw National Stadium.

After all, it's a high-profile match, so the bigger the stadium, the better.

As for Croatia playing Denmark, the stakes are not as high.

Croatia and Denmark fans have also arrived at the stadium.

The Croatian fans were still excited and thrilled; they genuinely enjoyed the fun of the game in these two matches.

They didn't believe Denmark could pose much of a threat to them.

The key was still Germany in the third round!

However, for Denmark, this match would be a life-or-death battle, so they had to give it their all.

Even the Danish fans, their expressions were incredibly solemn.

Once they lost this match, they would bid farewell to the European Cup stage.

And at this critical juncture, their opponent was the strong team Croatia, so it would be strange if they were relaxed.

Although the chances of winning were not high, they still had to give their best and fight desperately.

They believed that football is round.

The strong don't necessarily stay strong!

The weak also have a chance to turn things around!