734 George’s Maiden Appearance (1/2)

George Wood still vividly remembered the words his mother told him when he was chosen to be a member of the England national team competing in the World Cup. It felt like he had only just heard those words the day before. In truth, four years had gone by since then.

Back then, he could only watch as others competed on the pitch. He sat on the bench for five matches and did not get a single minute of game time. Four years later, he was well aware of the fact that there were many media outlets expressing their desire to see him start in the World Cup matches.

Wood was once a player the previous manager did not think highly of. Ever since Capello took over, he had managed to earn the favor of the tough Italian manager through his professionalism and willingness to work hard without complaints.

England's midfield defense would become significantly better whenever Wood played on the pitch. The opponents would only run into an iron plate if they tried to go down the middle.

Capello no longer had to consider whether or not Wood should play. Now, he was concerned with who Wood should play with. George Wood might have improved his chances of becoming a regular starting player for the England national team, but he did not improve his relationship with his team mates due to his reticent personality. He was like a drop of oil in a glass of water.

There were not many people on the England national team whom he could have a chat with besides Leighton Baines and Aaron Lennon, who were both from Nottingham Forest. Like Capello, he always put on a long face, which made it hard for others to approach him.

During the last few days of training for the World Cup in South Africa, Wood could not think of what else to do other than to train. Everyone else besides him had all gone out together to go shopping. Their entire shopping trip had been zealously photographed by the paparazzi, who were constantly on their trail. However, there was never a shot of George Wood in any of those photographs.

That was because he would rather make an overseas call to chat with his mother. Some of his team mates secretly gave him the nickname ”Mama's Boy.” His nickname certainly contrasted with his tough personality on the pitch.

The George Wood off the pitch was definitely not someone who captured the interest of others, nor was he someone who would get on the news. Every single time his name was mentioned in the media, it would only have something to do with tactics or the match. He was never involved in any gossip. He would make an appearance during training and practice matches, but besides those, it was as if he had vanished from the eyes of the public.

However, those days of Wood going unnoticed would not continue for much longer because the World Cup was about to commence. When it did, it would be the time for George Wood to shine on the stage.

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The opening match for the World Cup was between the host South Africa and Uruguay. There were not a lot of well-known football stars playing in the match. South Africa held the home advantage, whereas Uruguay was slightly stronger in terms of abilities. In the end, both teams were evenly matched. The game finished with a score of 1:1. The match could be considered an exciting one, but there were no specific scenes that lingered in the spectators' memories.

It might have been the opening match, but to the British fans, it was not a match they particularly cared about. Everyone was waiting for the D group match between England and Costa Rica.

England, being a Pot 2 team, got very lucky during the allocation of groups and was put in the same group as Costa Rica from North America, Korea from Asia, and Brazil from South America. Brazil was a strong team. As for the other two teams in the group…

Media from all over the world believed that it would be Brazil and England progressing to the next stage. They did not think that either Costa Rica or Korea would pose a threat to those two teams.

The Koreans and Korean media were still living in the 2002 dream in which they managed to make their way to the semifinals of the World Cup. They began fantasizing about the numerous ways they would be able to make their way into the knockout stages.

One of the ways was that they would draw with Brazil, marginally win over England, and completely triumph over Costa Rica. Another way was to lose to Brazil and draw with England. They would then progress to the next stage by scoring numerous goals in the match against Costa Rica and beat England to second place on goal difference. They could also win against Brazil, England and Costa Rica and progress to the next stage by winning in all three of the group stage matches.

However, no one else besides the Koreans believed that Korea would be able to make it to the next stage of the World Cup.

The day before the match against Costa Rica, news about England's starting lineup was already widely reported.

During his pre-match show, Tony Twain talked about his predicted lineup for England. George Wood was the player he believed would start as a midfielder. Everyone believed George Wood would make his maiden appearance in the World Cup the next day.

However, Wood was informed that he was not in the starting lineup at lunchtime. Capello, the manager who ruled with an iron fist, did not explain the details of his decision to Wood. All he told him was that he was going to start Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield due to tactical needs.

After he made his announcement, Capello looked at Wood. He realized that the lad remained emotionless and simply nodded his head to acknowledge his decision. It was only then that he was able to leave feeling relieved.

Capello was more detailed in his explanation to the media than to Wood. He told them that Costa Rica was not a particularly strong team, so he needed a team that could score more goals against such a team. Wood was a player that did not contribute much to the offense. There was no need for him to waste a spot on the team just to bolster the team's defense when that same spot could be used to boost the team's offense. Hence, the decision was to let Wood rest for the upcoming match.

His explanation made sense, but that still did not stop Wood's supporters from being disappointed that they were not going to see him wear the England's national jersey in his maiden appearance for the World Cup the next day.

The England national team without George Wood was pressured by Costa Rica in the starting 20 minutes of the match. Beyond that, England was generally able to control the flow of the match and did not give Costa Rica any other opportunities to score a goal. As per Capello's wishes, England was able to clinch a 3:1 victory over the Pot 4 team.

Lampard, who took over George Wood's position in the match, scored one goal and provided one assist. He was named man of the match.

Twain was slightly concerned at the fact that Lampard had been named man of the match. There was not a single manager who would drop his best player in the next match. Moreover, the next match was against Korea, which was not a strong side. Capello had even less reason to put Wood on the pitch.

Before the World Cup commenced, Twain had published an article about how George Wood would become one of the leading actors on the World Cup stage. Now, it seemed like Wood had merely become a substitute player.

Even if he was featured in the match against Brazil, it would just give people the impression that he only played because England had already progressed onto the next stage of the World Cup, and they needed to rest their starting players and preserve their energy against Brazil.

During his commentary, Twain made some veiled criticisms of Capello's decision to not play Wood. At the same time, he suddenly hoped that the Koreans would be able to create a little trouble for the England side and force the England team to make some changes.

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Just as Twain expected, Lampard, who performed brilliantly in the previous match, continued to start in the match against Korea. George Wood continued to sit on the bench.

The British were all looking forward to the match. They were all hoping to see Capello's team triumph over Korea and make it to the next stage of the World Cup in advance with two wins under their belt.

Twain did not think it would be an easy match to win for England. ”The Koreans have already lost to Brazil. This match is critical in deciding whether or not they have a chance to progress onto the next stage of the World Cup. I don't think this match will be as easy as some people might think. If anyone on the England side looks down on their opponents, then they might be in for a tough time, even if they are only up against the Koreans!”

Twain did not like the Koreans, but he still approved of their strong willpower. If the Koreans were to really go crazy during the game, and should the England team show arrogance and belittle their opponents, there really was a possibility for England to meet with unexpected failure and potentially lose the game.

Twain had hit the nail on the head once again. England met fierce resistance from the Korean side right from the outset of the match.

The strategy employed by the Korean team in the match was an all-out offense and defense. They used their outstanding stamina to run all over the pitch and began snatching the balls from the England players' feet during the first half of the match. Their actions forced England to commit more errors as a result of their frenzy. The number of unforced errors made by England kept rising as the game progressed.

The England players were clearly unprepared to deal with the Koreans' treacherous playing style. They went into a panic every time the Koreans snatched the ball from them and were unable to play at even half of their usual standard.

Lampard's remarkable performance from the last match turned out to be a disaster in disguise. His outstanding performance had caused the Koreans to ”take really good care of him.” It was normal for Lampard to find himself in situations in which he was marked by two players. He would also get kicked at the ankle, hit on the thigh, or have his shirt pulled, among many other gestures.

The referee would constantly blow his whistle every time the Koreans did that, but his whistles did little to deter the crazy Koreans. What were fouls compared to the possibility of missing out on entering the next stage of the World Cup?

Lampard would fall to the ground time after time, and he would raise both his arms helplessly. His gesture almost looked like he was surrendering to the Koreans. In actuality, he was protesting against them. However, it was useless for him to protest.

The Koreans were clever with the way they were committing the fouls. They rarely made fouls from behind because those were offences the referee would definitely give a card for. Sometimes, a red card might even be given in those situations. They also only let one or two players commit fouls.

At halftime, when all the commentators began to discuss the match, John Motson angrily commented that the Koreans were too shameless. Twain only smiled in response. He actually longed for the Koreans to be even more shameless than they had been.

Capello was not a fool like Steve McClaren. The current situation was that Lampard had been so tightly marked by the Koreans that he had almost vanished from the game in the latter part of the first half and had no chance of scoring. He also made very little contribution to the team's defense.

If Twain was Capello, he would take Lampard off the pitch without hesitation and put George Wood in. He would make use of Wood's ability to fight and snatch the ball to help the England team regain control in the midfield.