Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 448: The New King of the Three Lions, the End of the Prince

Hodgson's words reminded everyone.

You know, as early as two years ago, Ling Feng had already led the England U21 team to win the European Youth Championship as captain!
Of course, the youth team is different from the adult team, and the locker room is more complicated.

However, Ling Feng's leadership qualities are also one of the important reasons why he is regarded as a future leader by English fans.

In response to the reporter's question, Ling Feng replied calmly:
"It's an honor to be one of the leaders of this team. For me, it doesn't change my attitude on and off the court."

"Whether I am the captain of the team or a member of the team, I will go all out on the court and strive for victory for the team!"

At the end of the press conference, Ling Feng also showed his captain's armband to the reporters.

Facing the baptism of the spotlight and the sound of shutter clicks echoing in his ears, Ling Feng kept a smile on his face, but a ripple was forming in his heart.

That's it?

I became the captain of Daying?!
Even though this is one of his ultimate goals in the Three Lions;

Even though I knew this surprising news yesterday;
But he never expected that the day when he would become the captain of the Three Lions would come so soon!

Although he has not yet really reached the level of being the boss of the Three Lions.

However, it still felt like a lifetime ago for him to be the captain of the Three Lions for the first time.

It seemed like the first time I was called up to the Three Lions and was personally taken on a tour of St George's Base by Gerrard was just yesterday.

Today, he has transformed himself and become the leader of the Three Lions when Rooney is away!
Of course, this is the result of his hard work and the rewards he has received along the way!

If it weren't for him, the performance of this young and underdeveloped Three Lions team in the past two tournaments would not be satisfactory.

If it weren't for him, new generation players such as Vardy, Lingard, Maguire, etc. would not have been called up to the national team in advance;
If it weren't for him, Kane, Rashford, Sterling and other frontcourt players would not have scored so easily;

If it weren't for him, Hodgson would have been fired as coach long ago and replaced by the totally useless "Southgate"!

However, as a world-class team and the most popular national team, when this news was dropped like an atomic bomb, it immediately shocked the entire British football world and even the European football world.

Some were shocked! Some were delighted! Some were confused!

However, no one in England was surprised at Hodgson's decision.

On the contrary, the vast majority of people think that this is a very wise and courageous decision and they agree with it with both hands!

There is no other reason, it’s just because Ling Feng’s performance is impeccable!
自从2014年5月30号对阵秘鲁的热身赛首次完成三狮军团的首秀开始，到2017年3月23号对阵德国的友谊赛前夕，短短两年多的时间里，凌峰为三狮军团出战42场比赛！
He personally contributed 20 goals and 29 assists, making him the player with the most goals and assists in the same period!

He also represented England in two international tournaments, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 European Championship in France, achieving excellent results of reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup and the semi-finals of the European Championship respectively.

He has also gone from a rookie newcomer to the Three Lions, to the absolute midfield core in the post-Double-Edward era, and now to the strongest player in England!
Everyone knows very well that the most indispensable person for the Three Lions right now is the British star who is most likely to win the Ballon d'Or again in the past decade and break the monopoly of Messi and Ronaldo!

The top fan Lineker immediately tweeted:

"A very wise decision!"

"Ling Feng's leadership qualities are innate! This young man will lead England to win the championship in the future!"

England's famous players such as Beckham, Ferdinand, Lampard and Gerrard also expressed their recognition of Ling Feng becoming the leader of England on social media or in interviews.

Although Rooney is still the nominal leader of the team.

However, everyone can see that, judging from his performance on the field, Ling Feng is the hero who repeatedly stands up at critical moments!
The real British star!
It is worth mentioning that after learning that Ling Feng was temporarily appointed as captain by Hodgson, Rooney not only sent a congratulatory text message to Ling Feng, but also posted a photo of himself fighting side by side with Ling Feng on social media.

And the text says:
"Congratulations @Lingfeng!"

“As the best young player in England, I have no doubt that Ling will be the leader who leads the team forward!”

"He has a big heart that never gives up, fearless courage, and a calm mind to make the right decisions at critical moments."

"And these are all excellent qualities to be a captain and a leader!"

As the current captain of the Three Lions, Rooney's statement disappointed many media outlets who were planning to stir up trouble.

They thought they could take the opportunity to fabricate a wave of news that "Rooney and other players are very dissatisfied with the decision of Ling Feng to be captain", and then attract a lot of eyeballs and traffic.

Ling Feng was also grateful for Rooney's vocal support.

Whether in the national team or in the club, Rooney is like an older brother and takes good care of Ling Feng.

So he immediately responded on social media:
"Thank you, my captain @Rooney! I will try my best to apply what I have learned from my predecessors on and off the court and make greater contributions to the team!"

. . .

March 2017, 3, is destined to be an important day that will be recorded in the history of the Three Lions and Ling Feng's personal career.

Westfalenstadion, Germany.

The stadium stands were packed.

The fans' loud singing can even penetrate the walls and reach the players' locker room.

In the visiting team's locker room, Ling Feng gave his first pre-match speech as captain.

Although he is about to make his debut as captain of the Three Lions!

However, Ling Feng is no stranger to being the team captain.

After all, he once served as captain and led the England U21 team to win the European Youth Championship.

In his opinion, whether he was the captain of the U21 team then or the captain of the adult team now, it is the same.

I am still the strongest one in the team!
So, when Hodgson signaled, he immediately stood up from the locker, and then after forming a circle with his teammates, he said loudly:

"Guys, many of you are being called up for the first time. I can totally understand that feeling..."

"As an experienced person, I have a suggestion for you, that is, don't think too much! Enjoy every minute and every second on the court!"

“Put your heart and soul into the game, play to your full potential, and when the whistle blows at the end of the game, you will know how wonderful it feels!”

"For victory!"

"Forward, Three Lions!"

As everyone shouted in unison, morale was boosted.

Assistant coach Livington, who witnessed the whole process, turned to Hodgson and whispered:
"This kid is born to be a captain!"

Leaving the locker room and entering the player tunnel, Ling Feng, wearing a navy blue long-sleeved away jersey, stood at the front of the team for the first time. On his left arm, he wore the captain's armband!
In his hand, he was also holding a team flag for exchange.

When the players from both teams lined up and walked onto the field, deafening cheers suddenly broke out in the Westfalen Stadium.

Many fans were shouting Podolski's name.

It is worth mentioning that this game, in addition to being Ling Feng’s debut as captain of the Three Lions, was also the farewell match for the national team for “Prince Poldi” Podolski, who played for the German team for the 130th time!
Therefore, before the game, the German Football Association held a simple farewell ceremony for this "prince" who was once the most popular among fans.

Prince Polti also accepted the loud applause from the audience!
In this game, Hodgson mainly played a new player.

Maguire, Lingard, Ward-Prowse, Livermore and other fringe international players as well as new young players all got the chance to start.

Germany, on the other hand, adopted a configuration of main players in defense and new players in the front court.

After all, it's a friendly match, so there's no need to take it so seriously.

What's more, with the replacement of talents in Germany and the retirement of veterans, Löw also has to consider giving newcomers more opportunities.

After the farewell ceremony before the game, Ling Feng, as an opponent, also came to the referee team, shook hands with the captain of the German team, Podolski, and sent his best wishes:

"Lucas, good luck."

"Thank you."

Looking at Ling Feng, who became the captain of England at a young age, and thinking that he has reached the twilight of his career and is about to bid farewell to the top five leagues and the national team, Podolski can't help but feel a sense of inexplicable emotion and regret in his heart.

Compared to Ling Feng who was like the sun hanging high in the sky, he was like a setting sun.

But veterans never die!
It will only slowly fade away
After the captains of both teams exchanged team flags, a pre-match ceremony of tossing a coin to choose the venue was held.

In the end, England got the kick-off.

As Dortmund's home ground, many German fans at this stadium have witnessed Ling Feng scoring twice in the Europa League quarter-finals last season to completely defeat Dortmund!
In this game, Ling Feng, who served as England captain for the first time, once again became the protagonist of the game!
Although there are many new international players who have just been called up into the team in the starting lineup, they lack mutual understanding.

However, with Ling Feng on the field, the Three Lions will always have a backbone.

All teammates, once they are faced with a situation where they don't know what to do with the ball, or are pressed or oppressed by the opponent, just remember one basic tactical requirement, which is:
Give the ball to Ling Feng!

As long as the ball is at the feet of the Three Lions' No. 7, there are unlimited possibilities and huge threats!
As for the German team, Löw chose to use the 352 formation which is very popular in today's football.

However, the Germans were not so adaptable to this new formation.

So, what made German fans very depressed was that England, playing away from home, actually suppressed them!

Moreover, in the 23rd minute of the first half, Ling Feng made a millimeter-accurate pass to help Vardy score the first goal.

In the second half, Germany created threats in front of the goal through supernova Sane's explosive breakthrough on the wing, and Podolski scored to equalize the score.

Just when the German team was about to gain momentum, Ling Feng stood up again!

In the 78th minute, the newly appointed Three Lions captain received a cross from his club teammate Lingard, and shot from the edge of the penalty area, overtaking the score again.

In the end, under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of German fans at the Westfalen Stadium, Ling Feng, who served as captain for the first time, completed a goal and assisted the team, leading the Three Lions to defeat the German tank again after a year, while also ruining Prince Polti's farewell match.

However, after the game, Ling Feng took the initiative to apologize to Podolski and exchanged jerseys with him.

In the post-match interview, Podolski generously praised his opponent Ling Feng:

"I'm happy to score in my last international game."

"Ling Feng? He said he was sorry that he couldn't let me bid farewell to the national team with a victory. I told him it didn't matter, this was a game that I would definitely remember deeply."

"In my opinion, this young man is very outstanding and very humble! In my opinion, I believe he will definitely become a great player like Melo!"

After the game, Ling Feng also received high recognition from German coach Löw.

"What impressed me most about Ling was his superb basketball IQ. I think his imagination on the court is absolutely incredible."

As his performance on the field became more and more explosive and amazing, Ling Feng received praise from many industry insiders and opposing players.

In addition to the English legends and Manchester United who praise Ling Feng in various ways every day, superstars from other countries also gave him extremely high praise.

Even the football king Maradona, after watching his game, claimed in an interview that Ling Feng was outstanding and the best English player he had ever seen.

To measure whether a player is strong or not, it is not based on his daily bragging and calling himself a goat all day long.

But look at what your opponents say about him!

When all the players who have played against him think he is strong, then he is truly strong!
. . .

After the friendly match with Germany, the Three Lions returned to London on a special plane and faced the fifth round of the European qualifiers for the World Cup at Wembley Stadium.

As a seeded team, England was placed in Group F of the European zone of the World Cup qualifiers.

The opponents in the same group are Slovakia, Malta, Slovenia, Scotland and Lithuania.

In the previous four games, England was on a roll and won four consecutive games, defeating all the other four teams in the same group except Lithuania!

Four consecutive wins, worthy of being the king of the qualifiers!

Although the other opponents in this group have basically no ability to threaten England.

Moreover, this game is played at their home ground, against a European underdog like Lithuania.

However, in order to prevent the players from becoming complacent, Hodgson still fielded most of the main players.

Ling Feng still serves as the team captain.

Considering that Rooney will return from injury on the next international match day, he will have to hand over his captain's armband.

In this game, Ling Feng showed no mercy and scored his first hat-trick for the Three Lions in just half a game!
After increasing his national team goal tally to 23 goals, he successfully surpassed former England star Woodward who scored goals and climbed to ninth place in the Three Lions' all-time scorer list.

He is also the player with the most goals among active players, second only to Rooney!

With 44 goals in 24 games, Ling Feng's goal efficiency for the national team is also very good.

It is worth mentioning that he ranks second in the Three Lions' historical assist list with 30 assists, second only to his idol Beckham.

The efficiency of assists is even more amazing!

This is exactly what Ling Feng planned for himself:
Goals and assists, I want them all!

(End of this chapter)