We agreed to play football together, and you will be the head coach?

Chapter 194 Korea is just an appetizer, Czech is the main course

[PS: Thanks to the leader of "The Great Evil Person" for the reward. There is one more chapter today. I am writing it and will post it when it is finished.]

Seoul Girls Group Baoyi Newspaper: "The South Korean Ambassador to Italy strongly protests against He Tianqi's rude behavior and insulting language at the World Cup!"

"We strongly urge the Italian government to severely punish He Tianqi and give an explanation to the Korean people!"

Sure enough, the Koreans raised the issue to the level of international relations.

Their officials seem to have nothing serious to do. They don't have any five-year plans or ten-year outlooks. They don't pursue development down to earth and just talk big every day.

If something really big happens, we don’t have the ability to deal with it immediately.

Logically speaking, Italy does not need to respond to them.

But He Tianqi is now so popular in Italy that Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said in an interview with the media: "Koreans have a problem with their brains!"

"He Tianqi led the team to defeat them. I couldn't wait to throw a party for He Tianqi to celebrate. How could I punish him?"

"If the Italian team can win the World Cup, I will arrange two cars full of beauties for them to make up for the suffering they have suffered during this period of abstinence!"

The Koreans were confused.

Is this something a leader should say?
However, Berlusconi is such a "foul-mouthed" player.

He also actually arranged a whole car of call girls for AC Milan players.

Seeing that their official rebuke fell on deaf ears, the South Koreans quickly tried to find a way out.

Korean netizens:

"Berlusconi's response was made in a private capacity and does not count."

"That's right. He Tianqi is also his son-in-law. It's human nature for him to bend his elbows inward."

"Berlusconi does not represent the whole of Italy. There are many people in Italy who want to apologize to us, but they just don't have the channels."

"Europe attaches great importance to South Korea, and Italy's attitude cannot fully represent the EU."

"We must have a broad perspective on the international situation and cannot be as narrow-minded as He Tianqi. We must present a good image to the mainstream Western world!"

For a while, Koreans no longer mentioned He Tianqi's matter, as if they had won an apology and respect.

Ah Q is so powerful.

This nation is as self-consistent as a foot basin.

As for Italy, it has finally cleared the injustice it suffered four years ago.

The latest article in Barbara's Column has spread throughout Europe. One of the most important points is: "He Tianqi has only taken over the national team for a few days. Although he has injected spiritual strength into the team, it will not change much in essence."

"Camignani's transformation of the Italian team is also heritage-oriented, not a complete overthrow."

"Therefore, the Italian team in front of us is not much better than the Italian team four years ago."

"But their results against South Korea were the exact opposite."

"The problem is obviously not with the Italian team. Given their strength, they will never lose to South Korea even if they play a hundred times."

"Then there is only one truth about that game four years ago... The Koreans stole the fourth place in the World Cup! They are thieves! They shouldn't be called Corea, they should be 'pulled away'!"

Ladro, Italian for thief.

In post-match interviews, the Italian players said they never thought scoring a goal would be so easy.

Their confidence was restored.

……

June 17th, the second round of the World Cup group stage.

Italy vs Czech Republic.

This match is regarded as the most ace match of the group.

Both sides are veteran strong teams.

Italy's superstars shine.

The Czech team won the golden goal.

But before the game, there was some bad news from the Italian team.

First, Buffon and Maldini were suspended due to red cards.

Maldini is okay, his position is as a substitute.

But Buffon's absence is a major loss for Italy's defense.

Secondly, Piero is still in the hospital and probably won’t be able to participate in the group stage.

Although his form in the national team has not been good, many people believe that he is not qualified to be a core or even a main player.

But as a rotation player, Piero is still qualified.

So his absence is a bit of a bummer, as the Italian team didn’t bring many forwards and attacking midfielders this time around.

Finally, there is Nesta.

As the defensive core of the Italian team, Nesta was diagnosed with groin strain during pre-match training.

This is an old injury of his.

He had been feeling unwell since the last game but hadn’t told anyone.

Who would have thought that He Tianqi attached great importance to the physical health of the players. He organized physical examinations for the players many times and even invited several experts in sports medicine at his own expense.

Nesta didn't hide it.

After the injury was exposed, He Tianqi directly removed Nesta from the match roster.

The night before, Nesta found He Tianqi and wanted to try again.

As a result, he was scolded by He Tianqi.

"Do you want to be absent now but play in the knockout rounds, or play now and be absent in the knockout rounds?"

"Don't tell me you can play. You are not a young man in your teens anymore. You know what your physical condition is like."

"I can tell you clearly that if you are healthy, you will definitely be the starter here. But if you are injured, you can't even make the bench here."

"It doesn't mean that you are not as good as other players when you are injured, but a team's defense often loses everything if it fails once."

"This is the World Cup, not the league. Neither you nor I can afford the consequences of a time bomb exploding."

"Take good care of yourself. What you have now is not an injury, but just a strain. You can play after a few days of rest."

After He Tianqi's talk, Nesta gave up his plan to play.

The main reason why he couldn't let go was because he was worried about the outcome of the game.

After all, the Czech team is the strongest in the group. If he can beat the Czech team, it won’t be too late for him to rest in the next game.

But I didn't expect He Tianqi to be so determined.

And it's not just Nesta, He Tianqi adjusted several other positions in this game.

Their starting lineup is:

Tony Iaquinta
Totti
Zambrotta, Pirlo, Gattuso, Zaccardo

Cannavaro, Materazzi, Barzagli

Peruzzi

The Czech team's lineup is:

Jan Kohler

Placiel, Rosicky, Nedved, Poborski

Galasek
Jankulovski, Rozhnar, Ujfalusi, Grygera

Cech
-

Obviously, the focus of this game will be on the midfield and the flanks.

So Tony looks like a center forward, but the responsibility he bears in this game is actually the attacking midfielder. His supporting and fulcrum abilities are the key to his being able to appear in this position.

He and several other midfielders formed a hexagonal formation.

And Iaquinta is the real center.

He had only one mission, which was to attack the opponent's back line, give strength to their central defenders and prevent them from attacking.

Zaccardo's starting lineup was intended to curb the Czech team's performance on the left and narrow Gattuso's coverage, allowing Gattuso to have the energy to fully target Nedved and Rosicky.

Pirlo is in a back position and can pass the ball back without any protection.

His biggest task is to deliver ammunition to the two wingers and help the ball cross half court.

After the wing players cross the half court, they actively cut inside and actively seek cooperation from the two front midfielders to exploit the defensive weakness of the opponent's single back midfielder in the rib position.

This set of tactics has also been determined, with the Italian team focusing on defense and controlling the ball in the backcourt.

More often than not, the battlefield will be in their half.

It looked like the Czech team had the upper hand.

It is precisely because they have to take risks in their own backfield that Nesta cannot be allowed to play with an injury.

Otherwise, the pain in the groin at the critical moment may seem like being half a step slower, but it is actually very fatal.

So Materazzi was brought on.

Materazzi's height of 1.93 meters is more suitable for competing against Jan Koller's height of 2.02 meters than Nesta's height of 1.87 meters.

……

"Hello everyone, I am the paid commentator Huang Jianxiang. Today I will bring you..." Huang Jianxiang criticized the South Korean team in the last game, and was anonymously complained by Koreans in mainland China disguised as Chinese. His salary was almost deducted.

The bad thing about the complaint system is that most people who think there is no problem will not complain, so if certain groups organize themselves to make collective complaints, the effect will be very obvious, thereby changing things that most people think are okay and achieving great results with small efforts.

But closing complaints is even more unreasonable.

Therefore, the complaint system must combine a series of information such as real name and regional display.

Special complaints from the same time, same region, same nationality and same social relationship are screened out for manual review.

Let's see if there is really a problem or it is just speculation by a small group.

The initial screening process requires the support of algorithms and AI.

This is also the reason why AI has become so popular in recent years.

It is actually not that close to the general public. The idea of eliminating some people's jobs and replacing some creative jobs is just bragging by some people in order to go public.

Driverless taxis?
That's called a small fixed-spot bus, and it's nothing new.

AI editing, AI writing?

That's called template and plagiarism.

The real big use of AI is in the upstream production, the initial processing of complex information, and war!
beep!

With a whistle, the war between Italy and Czech Republic began!
Although the Italian team was very proactive at the beginning, the ball came to the Czech team in the third minute.

The situation was inevitably controlled by the Czech team.

boom!
Nedved made a through ball.

Bobowski sprinted on the right, received the ball and dribbled back to get rid of Gattuso, and then he made a diagonal pass.

Rosicky got the ball on the right side of the penalty area and faked a shot before dribbling past the defense.

Barzagli fell to the ground to block the ball, but was dribbled past by Rosicky.

boom!
Rosicky shot from close range and at a small angle.

The football hit the side netting and almost went in.

The defensive model of Materazzi was too large, which blocked most of the shooting angles and was an important reason for no goals.

He Tianqi clapped his hands continuously, signaling the players to concentrate and devote themselves to the pre-match plan.

Don't engage in too much unnecessary fighting with the opponent on the front side of the center circle.

Bring the battle to your own half so that you can concentrate your efforts on defense and counterattack.

"Oh! The Czech team played very aggressively. They gave the Italian team a warning."

"It seems that the Czech team has the initiative in attack at the moment."

"Zambrotta steals the ball, passes it back, passes it back, and passes it back again."

In the sixth minute, after the Italian team continuously passed the ball in the backcourt, Pirlo suddenly launched a long pass to the left.

Totti moved to the left to receive the ball, took two steps with the ball and then made a straight pass.

Zambrotta ran away as fast as he could on the edge.

boom!
Cross from the bottom!

Tony and the opposing center back interfered with each other and failed to get into position.

Iaquinta headed the ball over the crossbar.

Italy's twin towers have an advantage in height.

But since most of their attacks were counterattacks, and Tony retreated very deep, he might not be able to reach the right position, and even if he did, he might not be able to get a good point.

Therefore, the twin towers today are not the core of the offense.

However, the Czech team may not know this, so their defensive focus is likely to be the twin towers, which will result in much less resistance for the Italian team when they attack from the flanks.

In the 13th minute, the Czech team controlled the ball in the frontcourt.

Gattuso suddenly rushed forward and entangled Rosicky.

The latter was very skilled and bold, and tried to dribble away from Gattuso.

However, Zaccardo saw the right time and suddenly joined the encirclement, helping Gattuso to complete the steal.

While Rosicky was still sitting on the ground complaining about Zaccardo's foul, Gattuso passed the ball back to Pirlo, who fired a long pass.

The second battalion commander's Italian gun opened fire!

Iaquinta fought hard for the header on the right side of the frontcourt and successfully controlled the ball.

He then passed the ball back to Zaccardo who was making a run, and turned to run forward.

Zaccardo received the ball and made a straight pass, which was impossible for Iaquinta to catch up with.

But Czech goalkeeper Cech became nervous instantly.

Because the ball was not aimed at Acuna, who was still between the center circle and the top of the arc.

But it was Tony who continued to cut in from the middle!

Czech central defender Ujfalusi attacked and engaged in a fierce physical confrontation with Tony.

Tony received the ball and broke into the penalty area.

Uifalusi bit Tony tightly and the two of them pressed against each other.

In terms of position, Uifalusi did not lose his position.

But Tony caught up with the ball and shot directly with his right foot.

The decisive shot made Uifalusi miss the chance to block.

Cech's vision and judgment were affected by the two-man confrontation, and he was a step slow in saving the ball.

The football went around Cech's right foot, rolled to the far corner, hit the post and bounced into the goal.

A heavy sword has no edge, and great skill has no workmanship!
A sword comes from the west, and success comes immediately!

"GOAL!"

"One to zero!"

"Toni scores the first goal for Italy!"

"A super center forward is the guarantee of the team. With Toni, the Italian team will have a one-to-zero advantage!"

"I didn't expect the Italian team's defensive counterattack to be so sharp."

“This ball looks simple, but it actually has power, speed and skill.”

"That's why He Tianqi repeatedly stressed that Tony is not just a fulcrum striker. He said this type of striker should have a more appropriate name, such as an all-around striker!"

"After the inverted winger, He Tianqi created a new term in football and activated another new position."

"It will also lead to changes in the careers of many players."

Inside the AOL Arena, it's blue and white.

The stadium will be renamed "Northern Bank Stadium" next year.

After Tony scored, the blue surged.

And the white silence.

Czech fans didn't understand why they were being overtaken by the Italian team when they had so many advantages.

The only explanation they could offer was efficiency.

This goal also made the Czech team play more aggressively.

They stayed in Italy's half for a longer period of time.

In the 22nd minute, Rosicky got rid of Gattuso and made a horizontal pass, Nedved faked a shot and made a straight pass.

Jan Kohler received the ball and rushed into the penalty area, but unfortunately his feet were too hard and he stopped the ball a little far.

By the time he caught up with the ball and shot, Peruzzi was less than half a meter away from him.

The football bounced off Peruzzi.

Bobowski volleyed the ball from the outside and sent the ball to the fans supporting him in the stands.

In the 26th minute, the Czech team's full-back also came up.

Jankulovski went forward and passed the ball back to Rosicky.

Rosicky passed the ball to Nedved again. The iron man flicked and dribbled the ball, and then took a long shot from three meters outside the arc.

The momentum is strong!

Unfortunately the angle is too straight!

boom!
Peruzzi made a great save.

The small model goalkeeper just has a quick reaction. If he can't save this kind of long shot, he will be laid off.

In the 31st minute, the Italian team launched a counterattack.

Cannavaro successfully stole the ball from Poborsky without the need for Pirlo, and simply kicked the ball forward.

His passing is also accurate.

Italy doesn't have many central defenders who are not good at passing the ball, but almost all of them were on the field today.

Materazzi: ???
Barzagli: MMP!

Once again, Iaquinta overpowered the Czech defender and headed the ball back.

Tony, who was a few steps slower, received the ball and made a direct pass with great accuracy.

This one move seems simple, but many traditional big centers, especially British centers, are completely unable to perform it.

Totti made a forward run and received the ball and had a one-on-one opportunity.

But Cech also rushed out in time.

boom!
Totti lobs the ball.

Although Cech fell to the ground, he was tall and had long arms, so he actually caught the football.

Uifalusi then cleared the ball.

Totti held his head, lamenting that he had missed a good opportunity.

But He Tianqi's voice immediately woke him up.

"Return to defense! Return to defense immediately! Pay attention to defense!"

He Tianqi was not dwelling on failure at all. What he emphasized to the forwards was that the moment you shoot, you should also prepare for the follow-up shot or return to defense.

The regret after a striker's shot misses is a superstar's privilege.

And in this year's Italian team, there is no bigger star than He Tianqi!
No one can have this privilege.

As expected, the Czech team immediately launched a counterattack.

If Tony hadn't retreated quickly enough and fouled Galasek, the Czech team would have been outnumbered.

In the 33rd minute, Gattuso harassed Rosicky again.

The confrontation between the two sides was quite fierce.

But the scale of this game is relatively loose.

Because Eastern European teams like the Czech Republic are tall and good at confrontation.

This scale actually works in their favor.

But Mozatro Rosicky's ability to confront the ball on the field was not very good, and Gattuso actually managed to steal the ball this time.

Nedved knocked Gattuso down immediately to prevent Italy from launching a counterattack.

The referee gave Nedved a yellow card.

With this free kick in the backcourt, the Italian team drove the players into the Czech team's half.

Cannavaro then kicked the ball to Pirlo.

Pirlo passed the ball to Zambrotta.

Totti made a fake forward run, then suddenly retreated and shook off the defender.

Zambrotta made a diagonal pass to Totti.

Totti passed the ball diagonally into the penalty area without stopping.

His ability to kick the ball out instantly accelerates the team.

The positional warfare was transformed into a counterattack.

This kind of bold pass is actually difficult for most forwards to catch.

Especially the kind of striker who likes to put the ball at his feet and then create opportunities.

So even though Piero and Cassano are both good shadow strikers, they are not completely compatible with Totti's quick passing.

But Tony fits in!
The feeling of this pass was as if Tony saw a longer and more handsome version of Modric.

Modric: You Italian team can't play without me, right?
Tony was seen charging at the opponent's central defender, and after getting in position, he knocked his heels together.

The football went from running towards the far corner of the goal to moving sideways.

This is a wonderful collaboration.

All defenders were attracted by Tony, and there was an absolutely wide open space near the football!
Unfortunately, Iaquinta and Toney had no chemistry and went too far.

The football rolled to the right side of the penalty area.

boom!
Zaccardo fired a powerful shot!
[Timely forward insertion] greatly increased Zaccardo's offensiveness.

Rosicky's eyes widened!

Aren’t you a professional defensive player?
How could he appear in the restricted area?

The Czech team studied Palermo under He Tianqi, especially the defense.

They know that Grosso likes to get forward, even into the penalty area.

But on the right side where Zaccardo was, he could only reach the defensive midfielder position at best.

Why is it that in this World Cup... Zaccardo makes more forward runs?
Cech spotted Zaccardo's shot while running and immediately dived to save the ball, expanding the blocking area.

His right hand even touched the football.

But Zaccardo's iron tree rarely blooms, so his shot is naturally powerful.

The football was lifted up in an arc, but continued to fall towards the goal.

After the ball was passed, Tony continued to look for an opportunity to attack and rushed towards the football, but he entered the goal and ultimately did not touch the football.

This also resulted in many Czech players raising their hands to indicate that he was offside returning in vain.

If he had really touched the ball, it might have been offside.

If it were Acuna or Gilardino, or most of the Italian players, they would probably have played there.

After all, this is a precious goal.

Only Tony has scored 50 goals in all competitions this season!
Because there is no shortage, there is no need to fight for it.

If you have no desires, you will be strong!

"GOAL! Two to zero!"

"The Czech team attacked fiercely for half an hour, but who would have thought that the Italian team would actually expand their lead!"

"But what's more interesting than the score is the person who scored the goal."

"Rosicky turned his head and the iron tree blossomed and the water flowed backwards. Zaccardo's shooting skills are amazing!"

"He inherited the glorious tradition of Palermo's right-backs shooting. He seemed to be possessed by Valencia, and his shooting skills were among the top five in the world... At this moment, he was not fighting alone!"

"Why didn't Tony go for the goal? Because the one who shot it was his teammate from the club!"

"Palermo players scored both goals, giving the Czech team a little Italian shock!"

Huang Jianxiang was extremely excited.

This is the charm of offensive football!

Zaccardo, who is the least prominent in Palermo's offense, can score goals in other games. This is the subtle influence of Palermo's offensive tactics on the players.

This goal made the Czech team anxious.

Their offensive became somewhat sloppy and they were unable to calm down and organize themselves.

In the 38th minute, Rosicky dribbled the ball from the left, and Zaccardo, who scored the goal, was facing him.

Rosicky pretended to cut inside and actually broke into the penalty area.

Zaccardo kept defending but didn't dare to kick the ball casually to avoid a penalty.

boom!
Rosicky passes back.

Zacardo anticipates and stretches his leg to destroy it.

Otherwise, Nedved, who got the chance at the penalty spot, would have shot the ball and no one would have been able to stop him.

Pirlo and Czech midfielder Galasek competed for the ball outside the penalty area.

Pirlo was kicked in the calf and fell to the ground.

The referee called a foul on the Czech team.

Nedved was dissatisfied with the referee's decision.

In the 42nd minute, Rosicky took the ball to the left and made a long pass.

He was more organized and got the ball today.

Bobowski received the ball on the right, ran out for a half-solo shot, broke into the box and dribbled past Cannavaro.

boom!
Bobowski shot from a small angle.

Materazzi stepped down to block the ball, and it flew out from his upper body and went straight to the upper side of the net.

"GOAL! One to two! The Czechs scored a goal!"

"Poborsky's shot was amazing! It was a half-high ball that perfectly avoided Materazzi and even Peruzzi couldn't save it!"

"Rosicky's pass was very timely!"

"The Czechs finally succeeded after a long attack."

"Does this mean that Italy's defense is starting to break down?"

On the sidelines, He Tianqi immediately called Materazzi over.

"You don't need to get down to the ground. Your advantage is that your model is very large, so you can block more shooting angles." He Tianqi instructed Materazzi, "Don't be afraid of pain. Every time you feel pain, it means you have blocked a possible goal!"

In the last ball, Cannavaro had already returned to the defensive position and could have completed the defense by blocking from the other side.

But Materazzi's tackle left Cannavaro with no place to tackle and he could only watch.

The difference is that Cannavaro can block the lower road with tackle, while Materazzi can use his body to block the upper road.

The opposite is not true.

Cannavaro's height and position are not as good as Materazzi's.

Materazzi's defensive choice this time turned a seven-point defense into a four-point defense, which had a counterproductive effect.

"I'm not afraid of pain!" Materazzi nodded to show that he understood.

He enjoys the pain!
Toni, Grosso, Modric: ???

In the 44th minute, the first half was about to end.

The Czechs wanted to equalize the score in one fell swoop.

Launched a stranglehold in the midfield.

The Italian team struggled in their own half.

Rosicky controlled the ball continuously, passed Gattuso and created a chance to kill.

boom!
Barzagli made an early move and made a steal.

His position is further forward than Pirlo.

Palermo's emphasis on defensive aggressiveness came into play at this moment.

They will not wait to die in the penalty area, they are used to resolving crises in advance.

boom!
Barzagli passes the ball.

Zaccardo advances with the ball.

Italy strikes back!

boom!
After seeing his teammates in the middle approaching the penalty area, Zaccardo made a through pass.

Acuna wrestled with the opposing center back, and the two men collided with each other.

The opponent did not dare to lose position, and Acuna successfully received the ball.

He half turned and volleyed the ball.

Bad angle, bad position, bad timing.

It looked like Tony's previous ball, both of which were received on the right side of the penalty area, with the center back defending on the left side.

But in fact, the expected value of Tony's goal was at least 0.20.3.

But the expected value of his goal with this kick is probably less than 0.1.

Sure enough, the opponent stretched out his foot in time, and the football was bounced to the back and caught by Tony.

The Czech team's other central defender immediately stepped up.

Their defensive midfielder was closer to Tony and stretched out his foot to steal the ball.

However, Tony pulled the football back and played with the three-goal king for a season, and Tony more or less learned some tricks.

boom!
Pull the ball out and pass it through the crotch!
Totti came in from the left, unguarded, and shot in front of the penalty spot.

Swish!
Cech failed to catch the ball.

"GOAL! Three to one!"

"Italy has re-established its lead!"

"Less than three minutes after the Czech team scored, they returned the favor!"

"The Czech team had a big defensive problem today. They couldn't solve the problem of being counterattacked by Italy!"

"The key is that the Italian team's counterattack efficiency is too high!"

"In the first half, they only had six shots on goal, four of which were on target, and three of them were goals! Every shot was on target!"

"Tony is like a god of war on the court! He can pass and shoot! You even suspect that he is a midfielder, not a center forward!"

To the great disappointment of the Czech team, the first half ended with a score of 3-1.

The Czechs lost more than they gained.

After returning to the locker room, the players communicated with each other.

But Iaquinta looked a little lonely.

Because he didn't score.

Not even an assist.

Tony scored a goal and had two assists, and was the best player in the first half.

Zaccardo scored one goal and made one assist, and is essentially a right-back.

Totti also scored a goal.

I am the only one feeling lonely in this front court.

"Great performance!" He Tianqi came over and patted Acuna on the shoulder.

The latter was stunned.

"You almost single-handedly suppressed the three central defenders of the Czech team! You created a lot of opportunities for Toni, Totti, Zaccardo and others." He Tianqi began to praise Acuna for his contribution in the first half.

As a physical striker, his contribution is completely invisible in the statistics.

He didn't touch the ball much.

Although the only header statistic is impressive, many people think that it is what you deserve. For such a big guy, it would be a problem if you can't get it.

Little did people know that Iaquinta's destruction of the opponent's defensive system and physical torture of the opponent's defensive players was one of the reasons why the Italian team's counterattack was so efficient.

This style of playing football will be called "beast striker" in the future.

They may not score directly, but they destroy the opponent's defense.

If a player is defined by his ability to disrupt defense, then Muller, who likes to use movement and physical contact to disrupt the opponent's defensive system and thus create and gain opportunities, can actually be considered a beast striker.

outrageous.

This is also what makes Muller different from many small, fast and agile forwards, wingers and attacking midfielders.

The latter types are about finding defensive loopholes and flaws.

Mueller seems to be actively creating loopholes and flaws.

In addition, He Tianqi also emphasized the availability of the two wingers.

Italy's offense and defense require a high level of involvement from both wings, and Zambrotta and Zaccardo made the most runs of the game so far.

So He Tianqi will definitely replace them both in the second half.

If they can't hold on any longer, they must notify He Tianqi as soon as possible and not force themselves and give the other party a chance.

Finally, He Tianqi also reminded Pirlo.

If you have to lose the ball, find a way to get it to the wing.

Otherwise, after losing the ball in the middle, the Czech team could almost face the Italian team's goal directly.

The ball they lost in the first half was actually caused by a steal in the middle.