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

New Water Source Arena.

The England and Netherlands teams arrived at the stadium three hours before the match.

Two hours before the match, both teams provided a new roster with personnel changes.

Van Gaal and Hodgson began their tactical battle at the pre-match press conference.

At the press conference, Van Gaal made it clear that without Sun Ke, the England team would not have reached this level.

The Dutch coach made some very harsh remarks, believing that although English players are in the best league in the world, very few of them hold key positions at their clubs.

He stated that the Netherlands team is stronger overall than the England team, and they have also both been tempered by the previous World Cup.

Van Gaal said he expected a tough match, but the Netherlands would definitely win.

Hodgson was also very direct, stating that the Dutch team has a relatively high average age, and that the key players are all older.

Interestingly, Hodgson made it very clear that he would focus on taking care of veterans Robben and Sneijder.

He even stated with great seriousness, "We can defend their key players, but they can't defend our key players."

"It's that simple. All of our efforts were aimed at getting Sun Ke to score a goal."

"We don't care about the statistics, but we will make sure to finish the game within 90 minutes. In short, we will not choose a penalty shootout."

Hodgson's words were very practical: to make full use of Sun Ke's strengths to win the game.

Once the game goes to penalties, which is England's weakest area, Sun Ke's advantage disappears.

Interestingly, both Van Gaal and Hodgson provided a somewhat inaccurate roster 12 hours before the match, and then revised it 2 hours before the match.

During the two warm-up sessions, Sun Ke and Van Persie didn't exchange much.

Aside from Van Persie, Son Heung-min doesn't know many people in the Dutch national team.

The Netherlands' starting lineup only includes Robin van Persie, who plays in the Premier League, but it is not lacking in other star players.

After two warm-up matches, Sun could clearly sense that the English players were in high spirits.

This mentality is actually very easy to understand. The Netherlands team was the runner-up in the previous tournament, and they not only eliminated the defending champions in the group stage, but also knocked out the Mexican team in the first round of the knockout stage. It can be said that they publicly executed both teams.

Although England has played very openly since the group stage, they have not yet encountered a strong opponent.

Italy is too old, Uruguay is too weak overall, Costa Rica is too inexperienced, and Greece is too weak.

If you put all the star players from these four teams together, they'd probably only be at the level of the Netherlands.

From this match onwards, whenever the England team progressed further, they faced teams of roughly the same strength.

There will be no more left-backs who explode in a single attack, nor young center-backs who are too nervous to move.

The teams that follow will be formidable opponents.

If England wants to win, they need to be in a fighting spirit.

With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Hodgson said seriously, "Kids, seeing you all suddenly reminds me of two years ago."

"England has two teams participating in international competitions, one in the European Championship and one in the Olympics."

"The team that participated in the European Championship lost to England in the quarterfinals, while the team that participated in the Olympics won the championship."

"In my opinion, although the England team did not achieve outstanding results that year, we have many promising players among the Olympic-eligible players."

"In my vision, seven or eight players from this group should appear in the England squad, and four or five of them should become key players in the team."

"Unfortunately, only two players from that Olympic team made it onto the roster: Richards was replaced by an Argentinian player, Caulker didn't stay at Tottenham, Tomkins' playing time was intermittent, and Bertrand and Rose couldn't meet the team's requirements."

"This is a very regrettable thing, and it may mean that we have a gap in young players of this age."

"But I am still very happy to see that the careers of these four players—Sun Ke, Walcott, Chamberlain, and Sturridge—are progressing at a commendable pace."

"They will be key members of the England team for the next eight years."

"Although Walker didn't participate in the Olympics two years ago, I'm happy to see him catch up, and he has a good chance of participating in two World Cups."

"Wilshere and Jones are both only 22 years old, and they will become the backbone of the team in four years."

"Sterling is a good lad, and he will still be a rising player four years from now."

"Joe Hart should still be on the team four years from now, because your performance is consistent enough, and a 31-year-old goalkeeper isn't considered an old guy."

"The other players have either ended their careers or are past their prime, and I don't know if the next head coach will still be interested in you."

"That's right, if we don't achieve anything in this World Cup, I definitely won't stay with the team anymore."

"And the older players will probably find it hard to stay with the team, because veterans without successful experience are not a valuable asset to the team."

"It may be a bit unlucky for me to say these things now, but I still want to remind you that it's time to consider saying goodbye."

"I don't want to see you regretting in your autobiographies that you didn't fight to the death."

"If that's the case, I want to assure you in advance that you must write more about Sun Ke in your autobiographies, otherwise your autobiographies will have no value whatsoever."

Upon hearing Hodgson's words, the entire locker room erupted in laughter.

That's so damn real.

Hodgson glanced at the players, and after making sure no one was avoiding his gaze, he nodded in satisfaction and continued.

"You all know very well that reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup is not a respectable achievement for the winning team, and is more likely to be seen as a failed England team."

"Especially with a top player like Sun Ke on the team, you are very likely to be called trash."

"For many of you, losing this game probably won't change your lives much."

"You already have incredibly successful careers in the eyes of ordinary people, and you also possess a large amount of assets and wealth."

"People won't change your careers much, because your careers have always been associated with the failures of the England team."

"You'll retire in a low-key way, or go to a small club for two more seasons and then face a dull life."

"Until one day you see on the news that Sun Ke led England to the European Championship title, followed by the World Cup, and then the European Championship title again..."

"At that time, when you are old, you will definitely doubt yourself and doubt that your career, apart from making a little money, is all bullshit."

"The kids on the street don't even know you, because you are the only group of players who fought alongside Sun Ke in the World Cup but were eliminated in the quarterfinals."

"You will definitely be unwilling at that time, but it will be useless to say anything then. Even Sun Ke's son can handle you."

"This is your wealthy yet decadent life!"

"Are you willing to live your whole life like this?"

When he said this, Hodgson practically yelled it out.

He continued, "Although the Netherlands is a strong opponent, I am not afraid of them at all."

"They are not an invincible team; they are far from meeting that standard!"

"I guarantee that as long as you fight according to the tactics we devised before the match, we will definitely make it to the semi-finals!"

"We'll have to put up a fight with Argentina then. Their defense is good, but their attack is struggling. We still have a chance!"

"If we beat Argentina, we will become the first England team to reach the final in 58 years!"

"When that time comes, we'll fight tooth and nail for the second star on our jerseys—that's where we belong!"

"To hell with the runner-up! To hell with Robben! To hell with Sneijder!"

"No matter what happens, no matter the cost, we must win!"

"Forward! England!"