Chapter 44 43. Dreaming of the World Cup

The hesitant and slightly stubborn old Maldini finally decided to let Piero play the main force for the team's last group match. On June 23, 1998, the Italian team faced the Austrian team in Saint-Denis in the north of Paris. Since the Italian team had won and drawn 4 points before, no matter whether they win or draw in this game, they will get the right to qualify for the group and enter the top 16.Pierrot and Vieri formed the double arrows of the striker, and the players in other positions have not changed much. In the first half of that game, Pierrot did not enter the state, his movements were slow, and his performance was disappointing.In the first half, the two sides had to end 0:0.At the beginning of the second half, Vieri was the first to break the deadlock and open the door to victory for the Italian team. In the 48th minute, he scored with a strong shot, which made him score four goals in the first three games, the first among all participating teams. The most outstanding striker in the league, he has the momentum to win the top scorer of this cup.After leading by one goal, in the 60th minute, the old Maldini replaced Vieri with Philip Inzaghi, intending to let him recharge his energy for the next round of knockout rounds.Pierrot's performance is still no improvement.In the 72nd minute, the old Maldini called Baggio to the front and signaled him to play. The fourth referee held out the No. 10 substitution card, Piero went off, and Baggio went on.The old Maldini insisted that only one person can play between Piero and Baggio.People saw that Piero looked a bit depressed when he left the field. He was very eager to make contributions to the Italian team, but his condition was really bad and he hadn't found the feeling yet. He felt that he was ashamed of the trust of the fans and the coach.Baggio's appearance immediately caused a burst of cheers at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. It is certain that the fans have been eager for his appearance. Baggio has a very high support rate among the fans. expected and expected.Baggio's state is obviously better than Pierrot's, and he threatened the opponent's goal as soon as he played.In the 89th minute, he received a pass from Inzaghi and pushed through the Austrian team again, giving the Italian team a 2:0 lead and establishing the victory of the game. At the last minute, the Austrian team won A penalty was awarded, but it didn't help, and the Italian team finally won the game 2:1.

With 2 wins, 1 draw, 7 goals and 3 losses, the Italian team overwhelmed the first place in the group of the Chilean team, occupying a more favorable position for the next stage of the game. They scored 7 goals in three group matches. It is the most goals scored by the Italian team in the group stage since the 1950s.Baggio himself participated in the World Cup three times and scored 9 goals for the Italian team (2 goals in 1990, 5 goals in 1994 and 2 goals in 1998).This figure equaled the personal scoring record of Italian players in the World Cup set by the golden boy Rossi (scoring 3 goals in 1978 and 6 goals in 1982). Rossi said: "Scoring 9 goals for the Italian team in the World Cup is It’s not a small amount, it’s something to be proud of, and I congratulate Baggio.” Piero, whom Maldini trusted, also had to admit that Baggio’s condition was better than his own. In the game against the Austrian team, he failed to perform at a normal level, and it was Robbie who defeated the Austrians." In the game against the Austrian team.There was a cheering fan in the stands who shouted Baggio's name loudly, and was very devoted. Later, people learned that this was one of Baggio's most loyal supporters. In Serie A, as long as there is a Baggio game, no matter which team he represents or in which city he plays, this fan will appear in the stands as scheduled.He is a very charismatic fan, he can always mobilize the fans present to cheer for Baggio.He said proudly: "This time I bought tickets for all the matches of the Italian team in France, and I joined the Italian team in the north and south of France. There are many fans like me who like the Italian team and Baggio very much. We are willing to work hard Cheer for them." Baggio was deeply moved by the selfless support of the fans, and he knew that he had a great responsibility, "I am a professional player, and I just did what a professional player should do. I sincerely thank you The support and love of the fans. In order to express my sincere gratitude to them, I can only work harder and do my best for the fans and the Italian team,"