Chapter 46 45．Powerless

The Italian team has successfully entered the quarter-finals, which is the most important thing, and all kinds of disputes about the employment will be overwhelmed by the victory.Entering the quarter-finals of the World Cup is already a remarkable achievement for most teams. However, for some super-top players like Italy, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, England, etc., their goal is only one, and that is to enter the World Cup. The finals, and straight to the championship, the Italian team will certainly not be satisfied with the World Cup quarter-finals, they have higher goals.However, the opponents that the Italian team faced in front of them gave them a headache.

In order to compete for a place in the semi-finals of this World Cup, the Italian team must fight to the death with the host French team. One of the two must end his World Cup journey early. French football and Italian football can be said to have deep roots.Both belong to the European Latin faction. Since the 1980s, a large number of outstanding French players have poured into the Italian league for gold. Focused on the Italian Serie A.Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Desailly, Thuram, Bergsian, Djorkaeff, Dugarry, Kalumbu, Anglomar, Blanc, etc. are all active players in France. Played for various clubs in Italy.These players are the core strength of the current French team, occupying more than half of the main positions of the French team, and are key figures in various positions.Due to playing and training with Italian players for a long time, these French players know Italian football like the back of their hands.At the same time, Italian players are also very familiar with the playing style and characteristics of these French foreign players, which makes the two national teams rivals who know each other very well.

French defender Bogosian said: "The Italian league is the best league in the world, so we went to Italy to play. In our national team, more than half of the selected players are the main players of the Serie A clubs. The style and characteristics of the French team are very familiar, and the balance of victory will of course be biased towards France." The French team coach Jacquet believes that the French team has the advantages of time, location, and harmony, and it is right to win. Not only that, he also firmly believes that the final champion will also belong to France. France.Zidane, the midfielder soul of the French team, also firmly believes that the final victory of the two teams belongs to France. His reason makes Italians feel sad. He quietly said to the French reporter: "Do you know why? The old Maldini gave up using Robert Baggio, this is very beneficial to us." Roberto Baggio will be abandoned. The old Maldini was very cautious in the formation, and did not determine the starting lineup until the eve of the game.Sure enough, it was discovered that Baggio's name was not in the starting lineup.Piero and Vieri are still the main players. There is no major change in lineup composition compared to the previous game against Norway. Only Pessoto replaced Albertini as the starter in the midfield, and the other positions remain unchanged.Baggio was placed on the bench.Piero said before the game that he would follow the example of Rossi, the hero of the Italian team in the 1982 World Cup, and show his prowess in the last few games to win the World Cup for the Italian team. "What he can do, I can do too. I am not afraid of anyone. Although Zidane is my teammate at Juventus, we are now enemies in the World Cup."

The 80,000 avid crowd at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis is understandably overwhelmingly French.However, this widely watched game was played insipidly, and the overly conservative tactics of both sides made the fans unappetizing.The French team's offense was weak, while the Italian team seemed to have given up the idea of ​​winning from the very beginning. They had no intention of attacking and kept defending. They seemed very passive. The best performer should be the goalkeeper Pagliuca. Two strong shots with Pettit, and before the end of 90 minutes, he abandoned the goal and confiscated a one-handed goal from Djorkaeff. Pierrot's performance is still unsatisfactory because he recovered from injury, The state is not at its best, this World Cup is like a nightmare for him, and his World Cup dream has to wait for another four years.

In desperation, in the 65th minute, the old Maldini had no choice but to order the flag to replace Piero with Baggio.After Baggio came on the field, people saw that his position was retreated more than before, and he reported to the midfielder, responsible for delivering shells to the forward line.Although this arrangement is conducive to Baggio's ability to shoot and pass, but after Baggio withdraws to the midfield, only Vieri is left in the striker line. In front of the super strong French defense line, Even though Vieri has extraordinary ability, it is difficult to do anything. After 90 minutes, both sides failed to break the deadlock and had to enter overtime with 0:0.

In the first half of extra time, Albertini, who had just replaced Di Baggio, made a precise long pass and passed the ball to the foot of Luo Baggio on the right side of the front field. The opponent's defender, followed by a strong shot from the instep of his right foot, shook the left post and flew out. The scene was extremely thrilling, and the French goalkeeper Butters broke out in a cold sweat.There was no sound in the stadium for a while, and people thought that the ball might have gone into the goal, and the French team had "suddenly died".The French team, who survived the catastrophe, quickly cheered up and stepped up strict defense against Baggio.Since then, neither side has any good chances to score. After 30 minutes of overtime, the two sides are still tied.A thrilling penalty shootout is inevitable.

Baggio was the first to take the penalty for the Italian team. He shot the ball into the net very easily. However, with Di Biagio's soaring kick, the fate of the Italian team in this World Cup ended. Final Four.So far, the Italian team has lost the World Cup penalty shoot-out for the third time in a row.However, Baggio tasted the pain of these failures three times as a client, and his fate was so unfair to Baggio.