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

The game restarted, and Karagounis persisted; the Greek players continued to fight!

In the 64th minute, the Greek team substituted center forward Mitroglou for the already unsteady Samaras.

Samaras, who plays for Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, had been making short sprints between the attacking and midfield positions throughout the match, but by this point he was already too exhausted to run due to lactic acid buildup.

Soon, Wilshire also started showing signs of cramping.

Arsenal's former crown prince possessed a pure goblin body and an orc soul, fearlessly facing the onslaught of his opponents.

However, his small frame was not durable, and Hodgson, considering that there were still important games to come, did not let Wilshere push himself too hard.

At this moment, the England team's bench was filled with Gerrard, Lampard, Henderson, and Barkley, all four players capable of stepping up and giving their all.

Compared to the somewhat reckless Henderson and the inexperienced Barkley, it is obviously safer to field the veterans.

Even in the most critical situations, at least your mindset won't collapse, and you can exert as much of your strength as you have.

After a brief consideration, Hodgson replaced Wilshere with Gerrard.

Although Gerrard scored against Suarez shortly after coming on in the second group stage match, the Liverpool legend, who has weathered many storms, can withstand anything.

After Gerrard came on, the Greek team began to try attacking through the middle, but Gerrard was not intimidated by the aggressive Greek players.

The former England captain displayed precise positioning and decisive tackles in defense. His transitions from defense to attack were also marked by decisive passing and skillful movement, forcing Greece to shift their main attacking focus to the right flank.

In the 70th minute of the game, Hodgson substituted Walker for Ashley Cole.

Walker immediately used his speed to steal the ball from the Greek right winger as soon as he came on the field, and also drew a yellow card from the opponent.

Greece's head coach Santos also made a tactical move: since England had brought on a reckless player, he would bring on an experienced veteran.

In the 72nd minute, 34-year-old veteran Gekas came on.

This player named Gekas did not leave much of a mark on the world football scene, but in his youth he was one of the most lethal weapons in Greek football for the past two decades.

He first won the top scorer award in the Greek First Division, then moved to the Bundesliga, where he won the Bundesliga Golden Boot that season with Bochum.

Winning the Bundesliga Golden Boot speaks volumes about his ability. He almost single-handedly helped Bochum escape the relegation zone early that season, and the following season he transferred to Bayer Leverkusen.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Gekas scored 11 goals in 10 matches, surpassing a host of top strikers to become the top scorer in the European qualifiers.

After coming on, Gekas immediately used a running change of direction to nutmeg Walker, creating chaos in the England penalty area.

Just as the Greek team was able to continue creating threats on the right flank, their midfielder, Maniatis, collapsed on the right side of the midfield.

He had to help his teammates defend Sterling and also take charge of the offense; the seventy-plus minutes were almost up.

Despite the renovation of the right flank, Greece's attacking momentum remained strong.

In the 80th minute, Hodgson used his last substitution.

He replaced Sterling with Barkley, transforming England's left flank into a muscular wall.

Seeing Hodgson's three substitutions, commentator Lineker praised, "All three substitutions were fine; we've already gained a two-goal advantage."

"Under the current circumstances, our primary objective is to respond appropriately to changes in our adversaries."

"Sun Ke's goal and assist in the first half gave the team an advantage that was enough to secure the victory."

"Although we are not at a top level in many positions, I still firmly believe that this England team can withstand the pressure and win."

The game continued, and England dropped their defense deep enough to allow Sun Ke to create scoring opportunities, allowing Greece to launch attacks that they were not good at.

In the 83rd minute, England had a counter-attack opportunity.

After receiving the ball in midfield, Sun Ke made a through pass to the right wing. Walcott broke through to the edge of the penalty area and passed the ball across to the middle. Barkley, who was following up, hit the crossbar with his foot.

pity!

Compared to the unreliable Sterling, Barkley's shots at least have some merit.

As the match progressed, the players' physical condition began to decline rapidly.

Greece made two passing errors, resulting in two consecutive yellow cards for them to stop Sun Ke's attacks.

In the 88th minute, Walcott made a mistake controlling the ball in midfield, giving Greece a chance to switch from defense to attack.

They launched the ball directly into the penalty area at a 45-degree angle, and the tall striker collided with Cahill in the air and fell to the ground at the same time. Veteran Gekas then took a shot from the edge of the six-yard box.

At a crucial moment, Joe Hart once again withstood the pressure.

When Yekas took the shot, he was severely hampered by Terry. The shot was powerful, but the angle wasn't particularly tricky.

Joe Hart blocked the ball with his right hand, but his palm was pierced by the ball.

Behind him!

Phil Jones made a face-first gesture, using his head to block the ball on the goal line.

On the goal line!

Gerrard, back in goal, showed no fear at the crucial moment, converting a penalty on the goal line. After dribbling past Gekas, he chipped the ball to Milner.

Milner pushed past the defender and, after a half-turn, passed the ball to Rooney on the right side of the backfield.

Rooney stopped the ball, looked up, and decisively delivered a long pass that traversed the entire field.

The ball arced dramatically through the air, landing directly on the left flank of the attacking third, between the center-back and the full-back.

Barkley sprinted towards the edge of the penalty area, directly drawing away the Greek team's right-back.

Rooney's pass landed very deep, and the Greek center-back had no way to intercept it in advance, so he could only chase after the ball.

The moment Sun Ke controlled the ball, the two Greek defenders protected each other, one in front and one behind, and dared not rush in to tackle.

Maranos stood on the edge of the penalty area, his entire weight almost pressing down on the ground.

This guy's intention was obvious: to get in and block Sun Ke's position the moment he started moving.

If they can create a stalemate with Sun Ke, that would be acceptable. Once their teammates get back, they can force England's attack into a positional battle.

For the team counterattacking, every second is crucial.

If Manolas can delay Sun Ke for five seconds, England's counter-attack will be automatically neutralized.

But Sun Ke didn't rush to break through; instead, he used his foot to pull the ball slowly to the outside.

Manolas was like a spring, poised to spring into action.

next moment!

Sun Ke suddenly accelerated toward the edge of the penalty area, and Manolas immediately rushed up, while another Greek center-back protected the inside.

The instant Manolas accelerated, Sun Ke suddenly stopped and changed direction towards the inside.

But Manolas was no ordinary man, and he immediately turned around and followed.

Just as he turned and accelerated, Sun Ke suddenly stopped again and changed direction to the outside.

Another Greek center-back made a decisive cover, and Sun Ke suddenly flicked the ball between the two center-backs the moment he started his run, and then used his left foot to flick the ball into the penalty area.

Fried meatballs!

This moment!

The entire stadium erupted in cheers from the England fans.

Sun Ke accelerated laterally inside the penalty area, and the Greek goalkeeper could only follow him.

Sun Ke accelerated a second time, leaving the goalkeeper behind. At the moment he touched the ball with his right foot, he suddenly twisted his wrist and pushed the ball into the goal.

3: 0!

With Sun Ke's second goal, England completely sealed the victory!

The moment Sun Ke scored, Hodgson, standing next to the coaching staff, pumped his fist and then turned around to give each of his coaching staff members a high-five.

nailed it!

On the pitch, Sun Ke's teammates surrounded him, and the England captain smiled and gave each of them a high-five.

Although this England team was eliminated in the group stage in its previous life, it was called the weakest England team in history by the English media.

However, Sun Ke still approves of everyone's performance.

In the world of football, ability is one thing, attitude is another.

If football were simply a sport of individual skill, then teams like Denmark and Greece, whose strength is not outstanding, would never have won the European Championship, and the 2022 Argentine team would never have been able to defeat the French team, which had already entered a period of roster overload.

After conceding the third goal, the Greek players hunched over, their spirits completely gone.

This goal completely extinguished their hopes of advancing.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the English players all had smiles on their faces, while the Greek players simply lay down on the grass.

In the knockout stage, there were no weak teams.

The Greek team played exceptionally well today, but they faced an equally determined and stronger England team.

After the match, the English media's attitude towards the England team changed significantly.

The media unanimously agreed that this match was a victory for all 23 lions; the English players showed great courage and tenacity against the formidable Greek team.

Both the performance and the scoreline satisfied the media and fans.

There are bound to be flaws, but the England team has given everyone hope.

Since reaching the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, England's best result in the next 24 years was reaching the quarter-finals.

As everyone knows, the World Cup only truly begins to unfold from the knockout stage onwards.

The quarterfinals are the dividing line between top teams and other teams. At this stage, no team can guarantee advancement, and everything depends on their performance.

At this point, the English media finally saw the advantage of Hodgson bringing a group of muscular players to the World Cup.

In this England team, Sun Ke is the absolute core. The task of the other players is to create attacking space for Sun Ke, so that Sun Ke can focus all his energy on scoring goals and organizing the attack, and try not to waste his energy on defense.

In the first four matches, England used nearly three different lineups.

Apart from the third-choice goalkeeper, all the other players got playing time, and their overall performances were quite good.

In this World Cup, England and France were the only two teams that dared to make full rotations of their squads in the third group stage match.

Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Germany all played almost the same lineup in all four matches.

At least in terms of physical fitness, the English players shouldn't have too much of a problem.

The World Cup knockout stage was incredibly intense over the next two days.

On July 1, the French team faced Nigeria, a team considered the "African Eagles".

Nigeria is considered the most athletic African team in this World Cup. If they hadn't been grouped with Argentina, they would have definitely made it to the quarterfinals.

Putting aside the other groups, if Nigeria and Cameroon were switched, Brazil might not be able to find a way to beat either of them.

Ultimately, none of the four African teams in this World Cup are capable of going toe-to-toe with the top European and American teams.

Nigeria's advantage lies in their mobility, but unfortunately they faced a more athletic French team.

The French team's physical strength and toughness surpassed theirs; they were stronger, faster, and far more disciplined overall.

In the match, France won 2-0 thanks to own goals from Pogba and Nigerian center-back Job.

Overall, the French team controlled the pace of the game, and Nigeria had few options against them.

If you add Kanté and Mbappé to this French team, it's understandable that they'd be in the title race.

In another match played on the same day, Germany was dragged into extra time by Algeria.

The two teams scored three goals in extra time, with Germany narrowly advancing 2-1.

7 month 2 day.

Argentina faced Switzerland, who couldn't withstand France's attack but managed to force extra time.

In the 118th minute of extra time, Argentina secured a hard-fought victory with a last-minute goal from Di Maria, thus advancing to the next round.

On the same day, both Belgium and Portugal went into extra time.

Belgium defeated Portugal 2-1 thanks to goals from De Bruyne and Lukaku.

In the round of 16, four of the eight matches went into overtime.

Brazil, Germany, Argentina, and Belgium, all considered favorites, struggled to advance after playing for 120 minutes.

This is the World Cup!

With this round of knockout matches over, those fans who hoped to use the World Cup for investment purposes have probably lost everything.

In such competitions, every match is highly unpredictable.

Only years later, when we look back, will we know which teams were good at financial management.

Regardless, England emerged as the team that won the most decisively in this round of knockout matches.

Of the eight matches, five were decided by a single goal, and one went to penalties.

Only England and France managed to win by more than one goal, with England being the only team to win by three goals.

After four matches, Sun Ke's stats rose to 7 goals and 4 assists, essentially securing the World Cup Golden Boot in just three games.

Currently, James Rodriguez of Colombia is second in the top scorers list. Judging from this data, his €8000 million transfer fee doesn't seem to be much of a controversy now.

Next, England will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

This is a decisive battle between the fourth and fifth favorites to win the championship.

For Sun Ke, the next three matches are all life-or-death battles for the England team.

The Netherlands poses an even greater threat to England than Argentina.

Whether he can become a god depends on the next two weeks.