A Two-Goal Lead Is Not Enough
A Two-Goal Lead Is Not Enough
They could not wait to show their smiles to their boss. They embarrass him and make him blush.
Of course, their smiles did not go unnoticed by Twain. Every single England player who walked into the locker room looked as though he had just won the lottery.
Twain had deliberately made his team look weak prior to the match, and his actions had angered the players and propelled them to give their all in the match so far. Twain was quite pleased with what his team had managed to achieve in the first half. However, he could not let himself get carried away and become complacent just like the players were right now because that could possibly lead to them squandering their two-goal lead in the second half. Look at what happened in the match against Portugal. They had also gone into halftime with a two-goal lead. However, had it not been for his team's hard work and the Portugal team's bad luck, Portugal might have come out of that match as the victors.
Hence, this halftime was very important to Twain.
There were three things that he learned from the first half. Firstly, there was nothing wrong with his tactics for the match. He definitely got everything right; if he had not, his team would not have been able to go into the lead or dominate the match in the first half. Secondly, his attempt at manipulating the players' psychological states before the match had worked, and players from both teams had been affected. The England players were upset because they thought they were being looked down on, whereas the France players became smug after being praised by their opponents. Thirdly, England's abilities as a team definitely did not pale in comparison to France.
The three aforementioned points made Twain feel extremely confident about his team's ability to win the match.
Every single one of the England players looked at Twain expectantly when they entered the locker room. It seemed as though they were waiting for Twain to praise them for their performance.
Twain laughed inwardly but did not let any of his happiness show on his face.
"You did well in the first half." The team was able to dominate France and get a two-goal lead in the first half, but the only praise they got from Twain for their performance were the words 'you did well'. "But do you all think that's enough to win the match?"
Twain's words left the players dumbfounded.
They were able to take a 2:0 lead over France on the 25th minute of the match, and they also dominated the whole of the first half! Was this performance not enough to win the match? What else did the boss want from them?
Twain looked at the expressions of shock upon the players' faces and continued to laugh inwardly. However, he maintained a stern face before the team. "Look at all of you. What do you all find hard to understand? We are going to become champions of this competition. Are you guys really going to be satisfied with such a performance? I need to point out to all of you that you actually only played well for 23 minutes of the match. What did all of you do after we went into the lead? You all got complacent and stopped going on the attack, right? After seeing how you guys performed in the latter half of the game, I think I have to tweak my words a little. The most dangerous situation in this world is not having a one-goal lead in a match. It is having a two-goal lead!"
The players, who had been in a state of disbelief over how Twain had not praised them for their performance earlier, all lowered their heads after hearing his words. Twain had hit the nail on the head. The players had certainly relaxed after taking a two-goal lead over France. One reason for it had to do with France's poor performance in the first half, and another was due to a change in mindset.
"If you are satisfied with what you have right now and think that you can go take a nap with a two-goal lead in the second half, then I hope you are all ready to be slaughtered by the French in the next 45 minutes of the match! I am definitely not trying to scare you. Every single one of you here is a professional football player who has played in countless matches in the past. I'm sure all of you know it better than I do. No one here is an amateur player who has only played football for barely a month! Surely you must know what will happen when you underestimate an opponent who has nowhere to vent his pent-up frustrations!"
Twain's voice got angrier and angrier as he spoke. It was as though England had performed terribly in the first half and he was chastising them for their poor performance.
"All of you were smiling at the France players at the end of the first half. How do you all think they will react to that? Do you think they will panic and not know what to do at halftime? Wrong! Gentlemen, you are up against France! Just like us, they are also a team whose aim is to become champions of this competition! They are not some semi-professional football team that is playing in the National League! If you all continue to be complacent in the second half, then I can help you guys make a couple of phone calls right now! One to cancel your hotel rooms, and the other to book flight tickets! The tickets won't be for you to fly to Barcelona, they'd be for you to fly back to England!"
Barcelona was the venue for the first round of the semi-finals. If England managed to defeat France, they would fly over to meet with the winner of the match between Spain and the Czech Republic.
"Is there anyone here who still thinks that I should have praised you for your performance in the first half?"
No one breathed a word.
"If you want to prove to me that I was wrong in not praising you, or if you want me to praise you for your performance, then you better win this match! Are you all satisfied with a 2:0 score? Because I am not satisfied with just that! 3:0, 4:0, 5:0… Who could possibly hate scoring a lot of goals in a match?"
Actually, the England players' smiles at the end of the first half helped Twain out. Their smiles must have led the French to think that they were gloating over their first-half performance. The France team manager, Claude Puel, would definitely think that his team had a good chance of making a comeback in the second half because he would expect the England players to relax to their cocky attitudes.
Unfortunately for Puel, it would all just be a trap laid out by Twain. He was destined to become just like the Monkey King, who was never able to escape from Buddha's palm.
"I don't want any of you to think that the match is over. Pull yourselves together for the second half! Continue to pile the pressure on the France team! Our tactics have worked very well in the first half, and we won't do anything different in the second. The France team would definitely crumble if you were able to score a goal in the second half! Remember, never go easy on your opponents! It doesn't matter how many goals you have scored, I want you all to keep scoring! If you go easy on your opponent, then the ones \ sent packing would be you guys! Don't you guys think that all the press talks about is how the France team are the favorites to win the Euro Cup? This is a perfect opportunity to prove them wrong!" Twain pointed at the door and yelled, "Let us trash France and show the world what we've got! Let us tell the stupid press who the real favorites to win the Euro Cup are!"
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While Twain was giving his players a pep talk, Puel was giving his own motivational speech to his dispirited players in their locker room as well.
"… There's nothing frightening about England. They are just a team that goes on the counterattack fast. All we need to do is to pay more attention to their counterattacks in the second half and not let their two fullbacks get to the front of the pitch that easily. What is most important right now is for all of you to regain your confidence. What's so scary about England? We are here to become champions. How are you going to do that if you can't even beat England? I admit we underestimated them in the first half, but luckily for us, we still have 45 minutes left to play in the match. The momentum of the match would definitely shift in our favor as long as we score a goal early in the second half."
Diarra opened his mouth. He wanted to ask, "What if we don't manage to score a goal early?"
However, the words were stuck in his throat and he could not get himself to ask the question. He was feeling very depressed over his performance in the first half. His actual performance differed too much from what he expected of himself. He had paid too much attention to George Wood in the midfield, and that has led to England's first goal. He was contemplating whether he should stay at the back of the pitch and solidify the team's defense when Puel called his name.
Diarra raised his head to look at his manager.
"I want you to pressure England's midfield with Mathieu in the second half." Puel did not want Diarra to retreat backward. He wanted him to continue moving forward to pile pressure on England's midfielders. George Wood and Gerrard were both playing as defensive midfielders, so they were positioned slightly towards the back of the pitch. This meant that Diarra needed to move upwards in order to pressure both Wood and Gerrard.
Diarra did not object to his manager's arrangement. He nodded in assent.
"No problem, manager." Flamini, who sat next to Diarra, nodded his head as well.
"Gentlemen, our tactic for the second half is still to go on the offense. We'll never be able to win if we don't attack England. I hope all of you remember that well. Pressure England from the start of the match! Make more runs at the front of the pitch! Intercept their balls! I don't want to see all of you sleepwalking around the pitch like in the first half, understood?"
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"I don't think the France players would retreat and play defensively in the second half since they are trailing by two goals. They absolutely have to score goals in order to win the match. However, I think one adjustment that Puel might make would be to decrease the number of times that their fullbacks go on the attack. Thus, we shouldn't go on the attack straight away at the start of the second half. What we should do first is to solidify our defense. France would definitely attack us ferociously at the start of the match, and we could end up letting them score a goal if we are not careful. If our lead is reduced to just one, I'm sure all of you understand what that entails. Overall, we must never let our guard down. Every tiny mistake that you make could end up putting the team in a dire situation."
Twain conveyed his tactics to his players in detail. Once he was done, he looked at his watch. The halftime break was almost over, but Twain was in no hurry to leave. He wanted the France players to get out onto the pitch first and wait for his players to arrive.
"There's still a bit of time left. Let's talk about what I said prior to the match…"
The England players lifted their heads and looked at Twain in astonishment.
"I know some of you must have been very upset with what I said. You must have thought that I had belittled you… or perhaps insulted you?" Twain laughed as he looked at his players, who had expressions of confusion all over their faces.
Did we get it wrong? The players evidently thought.
"Haha!" Twain laughed even louder. "Look at the current score for the match! I don't think my words were for naught…"
Twain did not make himself clear, but the discerning players would definitely understand what he was getting at. As for those who could not make sense of what he meant, they would definitely come to understand once the match ended. There was no use explaining to them now.
The eyes of the Nottingham Forest players lit up after hearing Twain's words. They immediately understood what Twain meant. In contrast, Gerrard and Terry had their heads lowered and seemed to be deep in thought.
Twain glanced at his watch once again. He figured that the France players should all be standing on the pitch right now, and that was when he stood up. He then opened the door and waved to his players, "Get out there, lads. Don't forget a single word I said earlier. It will definitely become the key to our victory!"
Just as Twain expected, the France players have already made their way onto the pitch, and they have been waiting for England for two whole minutes. These two minutes would have gone unnoticed usually, but not this time around. The France players felt like idiots to have waited for the England team for two minutes in such a cacophonous environment.
When the England players appeared at the tunnel, the France fans immediately started booing and chastising them. The British and the French have never seen eye to eye, and football has only amplified the animosity that they held towards each other. When the French booed the England team, the England fans immediately retaliated by singing a song that insulted the French. Both sides kept getting in each other's faces relentlessly.
The players did not appear to have been emotionally affected by the fans' actions. They got into their respective positions on the pitch quickly and waited for kick-off.
Twain did not return to his seat in the dugout after walking out of the tunnel with his players. Instead, he stood by the side of the pitch with his arms folded across his chest. He wanted to direct his players from the sidelines, and would only return to his seat if he did not notice any issues after 15 minutes.
He wanted his players to know that he, Tony Twain, the manager of the England national team, was standing right by the side of the pitch!
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The France team kept attacking England's penalty box ferociously the moment the second half commenced. However, the England defense led by George Wood did not crumble. Wood's interceptions in the midfield acted as a shield against France's attacks. Wood stopped all any attack by France that had a chance of threatening England's goalpost.
Neither Gourcuff nor Nasri were able to win against Wood in the middle of the pitch. All they could do was bring the ball forward via the flanks and try to find a chance to break into England's penalty box from there. However, the England players were all well-prepared to deal with France's attacks down the flanks.
In the end, France had to rely on the individual abilities of their star players to break through England's defense. This type of attack was the kind that Twain feared the least. His team's defenders were good at holding the line, and he was confident that they would be able to defend against all the France players who came their way.
In addition, France's star player, Benzema, appeared to be in a poor form for the match and had wasted numerous chances to score a goal so far. Twain felt relieved to see Real Madrid's top striker clutch his head in frustration time and time again.
Did you think that you could perform well after falling into my elaborate trap? Well, I hope you keep on daydreaming! So he thought.
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France attacked relentlessly for 13 minutes, but they did not gain anything from those attacks. The score remained 0:2, and France still trailed behind by two goals. Diarra did not get many chances to face off with Wood, and it seemed like Wood saw through their plan to pressure him and steal the ball from his feet. He did not maintain possession of the ball for a long time, and he always passed the ball to his teammates quickly. A reason for his ability to make such quick passes was due to his skill of observing where his teammates were on the pitch before making each pass. Diarra realized that he was just wasting his energy every time he ran up to Wood, and eventually he decided to stop doing that altogether.
Puel was upset with Diarra's performance. He kept yelling Diarra's name by the sidelines. He wanted Diarra to be even more proactive and go after Wood more.
It was clear that the ex-manager of Lyon lacked the ability to deal with situations like these whereby his team was trailing in a match. Things have always been smooth sailing for his team over the past two years… Perhaps a little too much so.
All he cared about was the 0:2 scoreline. He wanted his team to go on the attack, but he did not sense the danger that lurked behind England's rigid defense.
Diarra sensed it, and that was why he has gone against his manager's demands. He did not go after George Wood every time he received the ball. Instead, he took a few steps back and waited quietly at the defensive midfielder's position.
"You bastard!" Puel chided Diarra angrily after seeing his performance. If France lost this match, he would definitely teach Diarra a lesson in the locker room. He was blatantly going against his orders! This was something that he could not condone!
Diarra proved to his manager that he was right not to chase after George Wood soon after.
Wood noticed that Diarra did not pounce at him after he received the ball. He then passed the ball over to Gerrard. Gerrard suddenly carried the ball forward down the middle of the pitch, and this caught Flamini completely unaware. If Diarra had rushed up to Wood to intercept the ball earlier, Gerrard would definitely have been able to break through France's midfield by now. However, fortunately for France, Diarra was positioned at the back and he was able to get to Gerrard in time. He ran up to Gerrard and intercepted the ball from his feet. Diarra was able to stop England's attack successfully.
Both Twain and George Wood raised their brows in unison after seeing Diarra's performance.
It looked like there was one man they couldn't get past in the second half.