The All-Around Center Forward

The first round of the European Cup knockout stage concluded with Germany defeating Czech Republic 5:0.

Germany became the first team to reach the European Cup semifinals.

At the same time, this match also, to some extent, restored some of the Germany's morale and image.

After all, previously, the entire Europe was discussing how strong Germany was, only for them to be defeated 3:0 by Croatia, which was ultimately a loss of face.

In this match, Germany displayed its most skilled style of play, securing victory with a cautious approach and bold offense.

Germany regained some face and also showcased its true level.

However, the match against Croatia could not be erased and was still used by some extreme German fans for constant ridicule.

This, to some extent, also affected the mindset of the German players.

As for Croatia, their various aspects are gradually reaching a climax, whether it's morale, form, or other areas.

On June 23, Croatian fans finally welcomed another day of Croatia's match.

In the past, Croatian fans, during every major tournament, felt more nervous and uneasy than excited.

Croatia's relatively weaker strength placed them in an awkward position in Europe; at that time, advancing from the group stage was considered a symbol of success.

But now, with their rise to fame after winning the 2008 European Cup.

The Croatian players are also all reaching their peak, and it can be said that this Croatia is much more formidable than the 2008 team.

Therefore, in addition to excitement, the fans felt less nervous and apprehensive.

Although there was still some tension, there was more anticipation for Croatia's victory and expectation for an even more exciting match.

Croatia's hotel was located halfway up a mountain.

On this day, from early morning, a large number of Croatian fans gathered there.

Although they might not be able to see the National Team players, they still wanted to be there to let the players feel the support from the fans.

Cheers began in the morning and never stopped, with groups of people replacing one another.

They enthusiastically cheered and shouted, rooting for their National Team.

Meanwhile, in the hotel lobby.

The Croatian players had already assembled.

The National Team logistics staff were busy loading the players' jerseys, equipment, drinking water, and other items onto the bus.

"We're done loading here, we can depart!"

The logistics staff gave Bešić an OK gesture.

Immediately, they shouted to Suker and the others:

"Go for it!"

"Take down Greece!"

"Lead us to the semifinals!"

"And the final!"

"Win the European Cup again!"

"Charge! Charge!"

The cheers from these lovely logistics staff brought a slight smile to the faces of Suker and the others.

They waved in greeting, then, led by Bešić, began to exit the hotel, preparing to board the bus.

When the Croatian players appeared, the large number of reporters gathered nearby began taking photos, and the flashlights lit up in a continuous stream.

As the bus pulled out of the hotel, the Croatian fans on both sides erupted in loud cheers.

"The knockout stage is about to start, I'm so nervous!" Kovacic said, rubbing his hands.

"What are you nervous about? You won't even be playing!" Brozović shrugged.

He knew very well that this European Cup, they were just here to gain experience.

Bešić had no intention of using them as immediate combatants.

Furthermore, they also knew that there was a significant gap between them and absolute key players like Suker.

Both of them are midfielders.

But Croatia's three midfielders, the iron triangle of Rakitić, Modrić, and Vukojević, who could they replace?

Therefore, it was best to simply watch the match and maintain a calm mindset.

Now was not their time to exert themselves.

They were the next generation!

The bus traveled along the main road towards the Kyiv Olympic Stadium.

Along the way, police cars and police escorts led the way, providing protection.

The Kyiv Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium.

Besides the green field in the middle, there is also a track around the perimeter.

This indicates that it is not a specialized football stadium, but it is Ukraine's largest stadium in terms of fan capacity.

Given Croatia's influence and appeal, the match was scheduled here, with a fan capacity of 60,000.

Of course, the Warsaw National Stadium in Poland is also very good.

Moreover, it is a professional football stadium, offering a better viewing experience.

However, as two hosts of the European Cup, it was impossible for Poland to solely monopolize Croatia, a huge draw.

Therefore, most of Croatia's upcoming matches will be scheduled at the Kyiv Olympic Stadium.

Provided, of course, that Croatia can advance.

Naturally, no one doubted this outcome.

While Greece played well, winning against Croatia was almost impossible.

The outside world held a unified opinion on this matter.

Croatia would definitely win; it was just a matter of how many goals they would score.

Currently, the total market value of the Croatia National Team is 830 million.

This is already the market value of a top European team!

This is also Croatia's highest historical market value.

In contrast, their opponent, Greece, is 130 million.

Suker's market value alone is enough to match the entire Greece squad.

Of course, Croatia does not have the highest market value!

In the entire European Cup, the team with the highest overall market value is the 'Great English Stars'.

1.53 billion!

Almost double that of Croatia!

Of course, there's a lot of inflation here, the kind that Transfermaket doesn't even acknowledge!

But England's star-making ability is just strong.

Even if the market value is inflated, they can still hype it up for you.

Especially British players, they have a nationality market value bonus, and this has been scorned by media from many other countries many times, but England just won't change its ways.

Moreover, this time, England defeated France in the group stage.

Two wins and one draw, entering the European Cup knockout stage undefeated, which made these Englishmen incredibly arrogant.

They were all clamoring to punch Croatia, kick Spain, and incidentally take down Germany in between.

After reading the British media reports, Suker finally understood what 'inflated' meant.

With this kind of media promotion, it would be strange if the England players weren't arrogant!

But according to the original timeline, they wouldn't be arrogant for too long; they would soon be smashed against Italy's steel defense and then kicked out of the European Cup.

Compared to England, Croatia remained cautious.

Perhaps it was because they had been suppressed for too long in the past, or their previous strength was insufficient to reach the peak.

Therefore, when they suddenly realized that Croatia seemed very strong!

This strength not only meant being able to compete at the top European level but also being able to dominate opponents.

For a moment, they found it difficult to process this news.

It was like suddenly telling a pauper that he was a super-rich person.

The pauper taking out a thousand yuan to buy a burger he previously dared not buy is the same principle.

We are strong!

But we don't know how to express that we are strong!

Naturally, they couldn't become arrogant either.

The locker room of the Kyiv Olympic Stadium.

To allow fans from all over the world to watch the match, the match time would be relatively late.

This match would take place at 9 PM.

Both teams' players arrived at the stadium an hour early.

While they were still warming up, the match footage was already being broadcast worldwide.

And as Croatia's opponents.

Spain, Germany, Italy, England, and other teams were all watching this match.

For any team aiming for the European Cup championship, Croatia, the defending champion, was the biggest obstacle in their path.

"Croatia hasn't made any mistakes so far!"

"Not enough pressure! They won't make mistakes if there's no pressure!"

"Germany made a foolish mistake in the first half; otherwise, they definitely could have forced something out."

At the hotel where the Spain National Team was staying, everyone was discussing the match.

Head coach Vicente del Bosque, who was at the forefront, also looked at the screen and said, "Croatia's defense definitely has problems, but so far, those problems haven't been forced out."

"They are running very actively, and there are no obvious mistakes!"

Listening to Ramos, Vicente del Bosque replied, "That's why no one is putting pressure on them, so the defense has been very well protected!"

"Germany had a chance to expose these problems, but they couldn't play a good game."

"Why are you so sure that Croatia's defense has problems?" Xavi asked.

Vicente del Bosque: "The result of combining some data is like this, of course, it cannot be clearly stated, but I don't believe Bešić can complete the integration of the defense line within a year, relying on limited European Cup Qualifiers!"

"This requires a lot of matches, but compared to these processes, Croatia has played too few matches!"

Kyiv Olympic Stadium.

After completing the final preparations, Bešić led the Croatia substitute players to the coaching bench.

Soon, players from both teams walked out one after another.

The starting lineups for both sides are as follows:

Croatia (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Subašić.

Defenders: Srna, Vida, Lovren, Strinić.

Midfielders: Perisic, Vukojević, Rakitić, Modrić, Suker.

Forward: Mandžukić.

Greece (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Sifakis.

Defenders: Torosidis, Papasthatopoulos, Kyriakos, Tzavellas.

Midfielders: Ninis, Marquez, Katsouranis, Maniatis, Samaras.

Forward: Salpingidis.

Seeing Greece's lineup, Bešić raised his eyebrows slightly.

Van Stoyak, who was beside him, also frowned slightly.

"They abandoned the big center-forward Liberopoulos, who wears number nine, and chose the faster Salpingidis; they want to play through central penetration!"

Bešić nodded; "During the qualifiers, their big center-forward couldn't break through our defense, which gave them a headache for a time. Compared to other teams, we had played against them in the qualifiers, and Greece had a more comprehensive understanding of information about us. They knew that aerial combat couldn't tear open our defense, so they would use penetration."

"Lovren is slow to turn around and prone to losing his man, his positioning is a bit vague, of course, this is also why he needs to actively press forward, leading to some problems."

"In most cases, Vida will stay behind, but Vida is too stable and won't risk pressing forward, and his defending isn't decisive enough. Therefore, they want to use this penetration to attack our space behind the defense!"

Van Stoyak sighed; "It's going to be exposed after all!"

"Exposed?" Bešić couldn't help but smile: "I never thought of hiding it. What if they know? Can they execute it?"

"Who in the entire football world dares to pat their chest and guarantee that their defense line has no problems? As long as enough pressure is applied, even the once invincible Milan will make mistakes. It's normal to have problems. There are only four defenders, asking them to defend completely is difficult, which is why team football exists!"

"If there are problems with the defense line, then play to our strengths and avoid weaknesses, and compensate through other positions!"

"And for us, there are many ways to compensate, but I chose a way that others cannot replicate!"

Van Stoyak turned his head to look.

"Double defensive midfielders?"

Bešić smiled; "You're still so sharp!"

Van Stoyak nodded; "Vukojević has played as a single defensive midfielder at Bayern Munich, and at Lyon, he also served as a defensive beast midfielder for a long time. I was previously a bit confused as to why we had to sacrifice some of Modrić's attacking attributes and instead play a central midfield triangle formation!"

"Now I understand. Modrić and Vukojević are the two fittest players in the entire Croatia team, besides Suker. I have no doubt they can run for 90 minutes in a match, and if necessary, they will do so!"

"And your arrangement, is it perhaps to compensate for the defense line's slow turn-around problem?"

Bešić nodded and smiled: "That's right, using the defensive midfielders to create a buffer space for the defense line, just like we used to provide help to Šimunić, they will continue to do so!"

"If Greece wants to play central penetration against us!"

Bešić sneered; "We will constantly tackle, constantly intercept, and constantly counterattack! Until they completely collapse!"

After a pause, Bešić said with some regret; "I really hope it was Spain or Germany that fell into this trap. Exposing this tactic against Greece is a bit of a shame!"

Van Stoyak grinned.

He suddenly felt that Bešić was also a bit devious.

This guy has been digging this pit, waiting for someone to fall into it.

In the group stage, even if it wasn't Suker's explosion, Germany might have been ruined by this pit.

Even Spain would be stunned by the comprehensive sweeping defense of the double defensive midfielders.

Thinking about it this way, using it on Greece was indeed a bit of a shame.

On the field, players from both teams had already taken their positions.

Greece's coach, Santos, turned his head to look in the direction of the Croatia coaching bench, especially at Bešić, this pretentious guy in a suit, hands clasped behind his back, acting as if he was dictating the world.

"I'll show you later!"

Santos said hatefully.

Once they beat Croatia, Greece would become famous.

He would make good use of Croatia's weakness and give them a good lesson.

The match was about to begin.

The Greece players were all invigorated.

Before the match, they had made detailed tactical arrangements. They knew exactly how to play and how to break through Croatia's defense.

Modrić looked at the opposing forward combination and made a cautious gesture towards Vukojević.

Greece suddenly withdrew their tall center-forward and replaced him with a faster forward, clearly coming prepared.

They needed to play more cautiously.

Beep!

The whistle sounded.

Accompanying the whistle for the start of the match, the cheers from the entire stadium surged violently.

Amidst the almost deafening shouts, Greece kicked off first.

"Charge!"

"Charge forward!"

"Suppress them!"

Croatia was also full of momentum, pressing forward.

The Greece players passed the ball back step by step, and using wing passes and intelligent runs, successfully brought the ball out of their backfield, while also advancing forward.

"Samaras!"

Maniatis yelled, kicking the ball over.

Samaras, who was in Croatia's half-space, received the ball. As he was about to turn, he was met with a fierce physical challenge from Vukojević.

"Shake him off!"

Samaras dragged the ball horizontally, trying to get past, but Vukojević stuck tightly to his side, not allowing him to advance.

And on the wing, the overlapping full-back was also marked by Srna.

"Damn it!"

Samaras dragged the ball again, creating some distance.

This time, Vukojević did not follow, but held his position, not giving the opponent space to pass the ball through.

"Damn it!"

Samaras could only switch the play.

He felt something was wrong, but it should be like this.

When he was in the half-space, on both his left and right sides.

A full-back and a central midfielder could both create space for forward runs.

But Croatia had Srna on the wing, and Modrić immediately rushed to the center to stick to their central midfielder.

Samaras could only switch the play!

And when the ball was switched to the other side, the situation remained the same.

Can't get through!

The Greece players were a bit confused. They had planned everything so well before the match, why did Croatia's response suddenly change after the game started?

At the same time, at the hotel where Spain was staying.

Vicente del Bosque looked at Croatia's midfield and defensive line runs on the screen, and couldn't help but clench his fists.

"I almost fell for it!"

It wasn't just the issue of the defensive midfielders shifting horizontally to cover, but also the response of the defensive line.

When the ball was passed into their half-space, Croatia's defensive line immediately compressed.

This forced Greece to spread the ball to the wings, and on the forward running routes, no space for runs or through balls was given at all.

Of course, this was something the Greece players couldn't see; he could only perceive this from a bird's-eye view.

And all of this was telling him that Croatia had no intention of concealing this defensive line problem at all.

No!

This was a trap!

A trap that could kill people!

"Treacherous Croatians!"

Vicente del Bosque couldn't help but exhale, still feeling lingering fear.

Fortunately, Greece stepped on the mine. If they had stepped on this mine, it would have been like the match between Croatia and Germany, being passive throughout.

At the same time, on the screen, Greece was still frantically trying to penetrate like headless chickens.

Little did they know, Croatia's defense line already stood there, ready to trap and kill these invaders.