Max-level burst damage at the start, the British Empire arrives!

England's 4-1 victory over Italy in their first group stage match surprised many.

Although England also gave Italy a hard time in a warm-up match, the scale of a warm-up match and the World Cup are completely different.

It's worth noting that the Italian team is known as the most defensive team in world football.

Regardless of winning or losing, it is extremely rare to see them achieve a high score in a major international tournament.

Against a team like England with superstar players, Italy's concrete defense is the most suitable strategy.

Prandelli started with a "Christmas tree" formation, which was a perfect solution, but unexpectedly, his opponent hit four shots in the process.

Is the Italian team no longer performing well?

Absolutely not. Judging from their performance in the last two years and their results in the World Cup qualifiers, this Italian team is at least as good as others in Italian football history.

Italy finished as runners-up in the 2012 European Championship, and they were once considered by the media to be the team most likely to defeat Spain in that tournament.

In the World Cup qualifiers, Italy won 6 and drew 4, securing their place in the knockout stage as the top team in their group without any suspense. This is considered an above-average performance in the history of Italian football.

Moreover, this Italian team has amassed a group of decent midfielders, such as Marchisio, De Rossi, and Verratti, who would be starters in most teams.

Marchisio, in particular, is a player who excels in both offense and defense and can be described as having no weaknesses.

If Marchisio were an English player, he could have easily played well until the semi-finals of this World Cup.

Media outlets from various countries believe that Italy's performance was not entirely without merit. They had nearly 60% possession, had only two fewer shots than England, and created four excellent scoring opportunities.

That's already pretty good. In previous world tournaments, the Italian team had an average of one or two excellent scoring opportunities per game, and often the outcome was decided by a single goal.

Many media outlets, including those in England, believe that the key to victory in this match lies in the two teams' ability to capitalize on their opportunities.

They believe Balotelli also performed well in the game, creating two scoring opportunities with his physical strength and excellent technique, and his shooting was also impressive.

However, compared to Sun Ke, Balotelli's ability is far from sufficient.

Sun Ke was tightly marked by Italian players during the match and didn't even get many shooting opportunities throughout the game, but he still contributed 3 goals and 1 assist.

There's no way around it; that's the skill level of a top-tier player.

Sun Ke's first goal came from Sterling's high and wide long-range shot, the second goal was a rebound shot, and only the third goal was a proper scoring opportunity.

Many media outlets believe that Sun Ke's performance in his first World Cup was both unexpected and reasonable.

Before the World Cup started, everyone agreed that the other players on the England team were not good enough to match Sun Ke's ability.

England's perfect record in the World Cup qualifiers was largely due to Sun Ke's consistent performance.

In such a team, Sun Ke is likely to underperform due to the team's overall strength.

But if Sun Ke goes on a killing spree in the match, it wouldn't be big news.

Even against teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, whose defenses are cobbled together from star players, Sun Ke consistently averages at least two goals per game in important matches, not to mention the World Cup.

In the World Cup, the strength of many teams is predetermined. The number of domestic players is limited, and the head coach figured it out a year ago.

Good players can't suddenly increase in number; they can only decrease in number.

Against a team like Italy, who use center-backs as full-backs and still dare to push forward shamelessly, Sun Ke is a surefire winner.

After the first match, the English media generally gave the England team a low rating.

That's how the English media and fans are; if a team doesn't win the title, it's considered trash.

English media generally believe that this England team is basically unchanged from the England team in the World Cup qualifiers, and this match is just copying the homework from the warm-up matches.

They believed that the English players were both united and sluggish in the face of a well-prepared Italian team, displaying a recklessness amidst their bravery.

Their unity stemmed from the fact that the team created a favorable scoring environment for Sun Ke, and their communication efficiency surpassed that of previous competitions.

According to the English media, the English players were very brave on the field, but often recklessly gave the Italian team scoring opportunities.

Italy's four scoring opportunities were basically all close-range attacks, but England managed to withstand them head-on and avoid being defeated.

Most importantly, everyone believes that the other players did not create many opportunities for Sun Ke. The only clear-cut chance was the assist from Walcott; the other two goals were scored by Sun Ke himself.

Sun Ke not only scored three goals, but also created three scoring opportunities for his teammates.

According to the English media, Sun Ke scored 10 points in this game, while the other English players scored 6 points.

Considering the good results, the overall score can be close to eight points.

The media also believe that the other England players are not without their merits.

First, their frantic running and high-intensity tackling saved Sun Ke a lot of energy.

In this match, apart from Joe Hart and Sun Ke, all of England's starting players covered a distance of over 10,000 meters.

Regarding Sun Ke's unusually short running distance of less than 10,000 meters, the English media all said there was no problem, and they unanimously believed that Sun Ke's stamina should be saved for the knockout stage.

Secondly, Hodgson was competent in tactical arrangements and on-the-spot adjustments.

He did not arrange for Sun Ke to frequently return to his own half to participate in defense from the beginning of the group stage, which proved to be completely unnecessary when playing against Italy.

With limited time to gel as a team, Hodgson fielded a mix of players from various clubs in the first group stage match.

For example, the pairings of Sun Ke and Walcott, Sterling and Gerrard, and Ashley Cole, Cahill and Terry have excellent chemistry in the game, ensuring that the England team can often play some short-range combinations.

Although they were not entirely satisfied with England's first group stage match, the English media still believed that England would not encounter much resistance before the quarterfinals.

Given the Netherlands' powerful attacking prowess in their match against Spain, England could face considerable trouble in the quarterfinals.

At the post-match press conference, Hodgson remained stubborn, always choosing to confront the media directly regarding his tactics.

English media outlets believe that Hodgson's performance is a carbon copy of Pearce's.

Two years ago at the Olympics, Pierce suddenly adopted a tough attitude after the start of the competition, and won the Olympic gold medal with an attitude of leaving himself no way out.

English media believe that the reason why the two managers are so tough is largely because Sun Ke is in the team. After reaching a consensus, they made some rather extreme tactical arrangements.

The other matches in the first round of the group stage were also played with great intensity.

In Group E, Switzerland defeated Ecuador 2-1 and France beat Honduras 3-0, making the qualification for the knockout stage clear after the first round.

Switzerland has a strong defense and a decent attack, so beating weaker teams shouldn't be a problem.

This French team was probably the weakest French team before French football entered the "era of mass troop buildup".

Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine any team confidently claiming they can defeat this young French team.

In Group F, Argentina defeated Bohemia 2-1, while Iran drew 0-0 with Nigeria.

This group is a three-team competition for one spot.

In Group G, Germany defeated Portugal 4-2.

Even though Ronaldo didn't play with an injury like in his previous life, and still scored two goals in the match, Portugal was still no match for Germany.

The United States defeated Ghana 2-1 and will compete with Portugal for the other spot in the knockout stage.

In Group H, Belgium narrowly defeated Algeria 2-1, while Russia drew with South Korea.

The Belgian team boasts a wealth of star players, but their fighting spirit can only be described as average.

Soon, the group stage entered its second round, and England's opponent was Uruguay. Sun Ke even chatted with Suarez for a while the day before the match.

Sun Ke smiled at Su Ya and said, "Tomorrow, it'll be either you or me!"