932 The First Step Towards Conquering Europe (2/2)

The England players stood stupefied on the pitch and felt incredulous about the score. There were a number of them who probably had not regained their composure.

It was those people in the stands who were ”here to watch the show” started to show smiles on their faces. The game was really interesting...

”... Tony Twain's team, like his own temper, is a little erratic and shows inconsistencies in its performance. It clearly illustrates a problem under the circumstances of actually allowing the Portugal team to score two goals in four minutes when they have a three-goal lead before...” The German manager added another line in the notebook.

※※※

On the podium, Madaíl cheered from the heart. His current mood was very different from what it was four minutes earlier. Quite simply, he saw the hope of winning. It was right in front of his eyes... He could catch it as soon as he reached his hand out. He no longer cared what that Englishman, Harvey would think of his crazy celebration. He just wanted to show off!

Come on, Portugal!

He roared in his heart.

※※※

Twain dropped the ”I want to see how you wrap this up” remark, he sat down in his seat in a huff and waited to see what the overwhelmed players on the field would do. But his stance did not last long. He quickly got up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines to yell, ”What are you doing? Now's the time to buck up! Gentlemen! We're only one goal ahead. If you still don't do something, all of us will be the laughingstock of the world tomorrow!!”

”To lose a game with a three-goal lead! We'll be the first! Do you feel honored by it!?”

He did not make any tactical adjustments because the tactics were not the problem at all. The problem laid with the attitude of those carrying them out. As long as they could adjust their mentality, the tactics would still work.

And he knew that as long as the mentality of the players could be adjusted, the initiative of the game was actually in his hands.

The Portuguese players could not accept the result of a 2:3 defeat. They would continue to attack and fully press on, hoping to take advantage of the England team's collective distraction to equalize the score, or even overtake...

It was a dangerous moment for the England team. But it was also a time of opportunity... It depended on who could seize it. So, he had to yell at the England players to wake up right away.

Not all England players could hear Twain's words, but they knew the boss was furious.

He did indeed have reason to be angry. A three-goal lead was reduced to a one-goal lead... It was truly a shame!

※※※

The game resumed and the Portugal team did launch a tidal wave of offensive against England, one wave more powerful than the other. England could only shrink its defense, looking extremely pathetic.

But behind the pathetic scenes, Twain saw what he wanted - his players got their game form back. As long as they maintained their form, England's defense would be fine.

Portugal also quickly found that their opponent had returned to its normal state and had not been impacted by the previous two goal concede. After weighing the pros and cons, they dialed down the siege against England because they must start to reconsider their defense against England's counterattack...

Following which, England then organized several counterattacks that were intercepted by the Portugal team's defense led by Pepe. The game was back in a stalemate after a brief high.

The two managers also kept changing their postures on the sidelines.

At first, Twain was standing on the sidelines, watching the field nervously. Queiroz, on the other hand, sat in his seat, seemingly had a card up his sleeve.

But as time went on, the score still remained at 3:2. After shifting his butt in the coach's seat, Queiroz finally stood up and walked to the sidelines He made various hand gestures, and an anxious look gradually surfaced on his somewhat suntanned face.

Twain turned around and sat back in his seat. He crossed his legs, ankle over the knee.

As the game wore on, the situation could only get better and better for him. He knew he was getting closer to the first UEFA European Championship victory as the minutes ticked by.

What did it matter that the game was ugly to watch? So, what if it was a narrow victory? It was just an interlude in the process. As long as the result was good, then all was well.

Twain was able to stay calm and composed, but it did not mean that his players could accept the result - the original three-goal lead would have allowed them to finish the game beautifully so that no one would still think that they were a second-rate team in Europe. But the Portugal team's counterattack in four minutes ruined everything they had done before. No one would remember the glory of their three-goal lead. The three-goal lead could only become a joke and a footnote to the current score. Even if they won, people would just say that, ”They were close to losing the game in the situation where they had a three-goal lead. They won narrowly in the end... But that was terrible!”, ”They really showed themselves to be a second-rate team in Europe. A bunch of egomaniacs touted by the English media...”, ”They are really all made of China, good-looking on the outside but completely fragile. The Portugal team was really unlucky...”

The thought of getting that kind of evaluation made them unable to bear letting the game end like this. Now they wanted more time in the game than the Portugal team so they could continue to expand the score.

Twain used the last substitution spot in the 80th minute and brought Chris Cohen on to replace Downing. He had replaced Walcott with Bentley and Gareth Barry with Gerrard before. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

The two wingers he replaced were physically fit. They were able and willing to return to defend in time, which demonstrated his attitude – the heavy emphasis on defense in the final stage.

But the players on the pitch did not think so. They were enraged by the Portuguese players and were looking for a counterattack opportunity in the final moments of the game, like a bunch of hungry wolves who were also baited by their prey at the same time.

※※※

In the 86th minute, the Portuguese players launched an attack. The goalkeeper, Patrício kicked the ball wide into the midfield.

The tallest man on the field, Mitchell, won the fight for the header. He gave the ball to Gareth Barry.

Barry passed the ball to Michael Johnson up ahead. When the Portuguese players realized the control of the ball had changed hands, they hurried back to defend. Three players pounced toward Johnson with the ball at the first instance.

Johnson, a produce of the Manchester City youth camp, showed a remarkable calm composure at this time. He did not rush to put the ball in front of him. Instead, he turned his body and drew the other side's defensive attention to his side. Then he saw Wayne Rooney plug in from behind!

If he passed the ball over to him, it would be a one on one with the goalkeeper!

At the thought of it, he gave his ankle a shake, and sent the football forward.

Rooney plugged in just in time and got to the ball in between two Portuguese center backs.

”A gorgeous straight pass though the gap!”

Rooney dribbled the ball into the penalty area and saw the goalkeeper, Patrício, struck. He raised his leg to do a long shot!

The football was blocked out by Patrício... the English fans held their heads in their hands and bemoaned the attack.

But England's attack was not over yet!

Chris Cohen, who had only been on the field for six minutes, appeared on the left side of the penalty area just as the football flew straight into that direction.

Patrício was still lying on the ground. When he saw Cohen, he had a look of horror on his face. Using his hands and feet, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and jumped toward the goal behind him.

Cohen did not have a single Portuguese defender around him. Johnson and Rooney had helped him attract all the Portuguese players' attention.

He suddenly slowed down during the run, adjusted his pace, and then picked up his left foot just when the football fell.

He directly volleyed a shot!!

Patrício flew out for a save again, but the football flew past him in front of his eyes and hit the net...

”The ball went into the ——!” Motson's voice was so excited that it was even a little ragged. ”Chris Cohen scored his first goal for the national team! 4:2! England has locked in the win!!”

Queiroz, who was standing on the sidelines, only felt his knees weakened and his body swayed.

While Tony Twain, who was just watching the game just now with his legs crossed, had had rushed to the sidelines at this time. He raised his arms high to announce his victory.

The road to conquering Europe, started with a 4:2 victory over Portugal!