Dominate the midfield

Chapter 540 Chapter 540: The World Cup in South Africa kicks off!

For the England team, this is destined not to be an ordinary, smooth journey to the World Cup. The game has not officially started, and there are many contradictions inside and outside the team.

The England team set sail in this atmosphere, what kind of hardships will she encounter on the journey?
At [-]:[-] pm on June [-]th, the Johannesburg Soccer City Stadium was crowded with people, and the grand opening ceremony officially began.

Five "Silver Eagle" fighter jets from the South African Air Force performed aerobatics over the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, kicking off the No.19 World Cup.

Although the official opening ceremony will not officially start until 10 minutes later, the wonderful performance of the pilots has undoubtedly ignited the passion of the ceremony, which heralds the official arrival of the World Cup that fans all over the world have been waiting for!
The commentators of various TV stations shouted: "The World Cup is coming!"

Although Nelson Mandela, the symbol of South Africa, missed the opening ceremony of the World Cup in South Africa due to the sudden death of his great-granddaughter, the opening ceremony full of African style in the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg still made people feel that the World Cup was held in Africa for the first time. Continental conduct of passion.

The opening ceremony of the World Cup lasted for 10 minutes in total, and it was also the longest opening ceremony of the World Cup in history. A total of 210 five TV stations broadcast live.

After the opening ceremony, the match between the host South African team and Mexico started.

The South African team sent three players who played in the Premier League. They are from Everton Pienaar, from Portsmouth Mokena, and from Fulham Dick Gacoy.

South African coach Pereira resorted to a four-two-three-one defensive formation, while the Mexican team responded with a four-three-three attack formation.

The South African team ranks No.80 in the world, while Mexico's world ranking is 32. There is a big gap between the two sides in the world rankings.As the second-to-last team in the world among all [-] teams, the South African team's opening performance was significantly weaker than that of Mexico and has been in a beating situation.

Mexico didn't give the hosts any face at all, and they went on the offensive.

No.12 minutes, Franco of the Mexican team headed out the goal!

No. 18 minutes, Dos Santos shot and missed the post!

No. In the 207th minute, Marquez, who played for Barcelona in the Mexican team, lobbed a shot and was pushed out of the crossbar by the South African goalkeeper!

The South African team under heavy pressure seemed to recover at the end of the first half. No. 403 minutes, the South African team's Shabalala took a corner kick, and Mfera unfortunately failed to grab the point.

The football was kicked out of the penalty area by the Mexican team. South Africa snatched the football with an active press and immediately launched a fast attack.Shabalala crossed the middle, and South Africa's best chance to score in the first half came!

Dick Garcoy gets the point, but...

Unfortunately the football went wide of the goal.

The first half ended with a score of zero to zero. After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

Amidst the cheers of the home fans and the harsh hooting of the vuvuzela, the South African team reversed the decline in the first half, and their offense gradually improved.

In 5 minutes, Shabalala received a long pass from his teammate and shot with his left foot from the left front of the penalty area. The ball went straight to the dead corner of the goal!

The ball is in!
The score became one to zero!

Huge cheers erupted at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, and the home fans saw the hope of victory!
With the score behind, Mexico coach Aguirre dispatched troops, and Mexico launched a fierce attack on South Africa. No.709 minutes, Mexico's efforts finally paid off. Marquez easily scored after receiving a diagonal pass from his teammate in front of the penalty area!
The score became one to one!

The Mexican fans who came from afar cheered like thunder!

Marquez's goal dashed the hosts' hopes of victory.

In the ensuing game, both sides were slightly conservative. In the 809th minute, there was a scene on the stadium that terrified the Mexican fans - Mfera of the South African team shot from the penalty area line, and the football flew to the left of the goal like a cannonball!
Just as the home fans were preparing to revel, there was a loud noise of "Pong!...", and the football hit the post and missed the goal!
Mfera missed the opportunity to beat Mexico, and the two sides had to end the game with a score of one to one.

Mexico coach Aguirre said in an interview with the media after the game: "Now we must beat the French team to get the initiative to qualify for the group."

The South African coach Pereira said: "The opening game will always bring a lot of pressure to the home team. Although today's result is not what we want, a draw is acceptable."

With the end of the game between South Africa and Mexico, other World Cup games in South Africa have been presented to fans all over the world.At [-] o'clock that night, the other two teams in Group A played at the Cape Town Football Stadium.

The game between Uruguay and France was extremely dull. After the two sides missed several chances to break the goal, they shook hands with a score of zero to zero.

This is the first time the French team has gone without a win in three consecutive World Cups.The last World Cup runner-up, the French team, did not show strong strength. After the game, there were media reports that there were many conflicts in the French locker room. Anelka and coach Domenech had a fierce quarrel in the locker room after the game.

In this regard, the French media are worried, is it possible that their team will fall under internal strife?

At 04:[-] pm on the [-]th, the match of Group B started. The Asian powerhouse Korea team and the [-] European Cup winner Greece team took the lead.The match between the two sides was played at the Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Just 7 minutes into the game, the South Korean team ushered in a good opportunity to score. Ki Sung-yong made a cross in the penalty area, Charisteas fell from the top, and the unguarded Lee Jung-su shot an empty goal from far and close range!
The score became one to zero!

South Korea expanded the score in two minutes. Ventra made a mistake in stopping the ball. Captain Park Ji-sung dribbled the ball into the penalty area and scored with a single-handed shot from ten meters in the penalty area. He has scored goals in three consecutive World Cups!
In the end, South Korea won the game with a score of [-]-[-] and got off to a good start.

Half an hour later, the other two teams in Group B made their debut. Argentina, the South American powerhouse and favorite to win the championship, faced the African powerhouse Nigeria.

The match between the two sides started at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. Maradona, who advocates offense, commanded his team and launched a tidal attack on Nigeria.

In the 3rd minute, Odia from the right side of Nigeria made an assist and made a pass from the right. The Argentine central defender Gutierrez failed to intercept. Nigerian midfielder Obasi took the ball and passed Gutierrez. The foot shoots low and the football goes wide of the goal.

Argentina quickly launched a quick counterattack and moved the football to the frontcourt. Messi broke into the left side of the penalty area and made a pass. Higuain hit the edge of the small penalty area and missed the ball!
After the game restarted, Argentina did not choose to retreat. They launched a fierce press in the midfield.

In the 6th minute, Higuain passed the ball to Messi after stealing the frontcourt.The Barcelona striker dribbled forward with the ball and shot hard inside the arc of the penalty area. The football flew towards the upper left of the goal like a sharp arrow!
Nigeria's Enyama made a wonderful save to get the football out of the baseline!

Veteran Veron took a corner kick on the right, which made the entire Argentine fans excited - Heinze overwhelmed the opponent's defender, and at 11 meters away from the goal, a beautiful header rushed to the top!

Soccer hits the net!

The score became one to zero!

The eagles on the Pampas plateau began to spread their wings and fly!
In the ensuing games, Argentina was not conservative because of a one-goal lead, and the offensive factor permeated in their blood, allowing them to launch waves of attacks against Nigeria.

However, the best performance in this game is not last year's World Player of the Year Messi, nor is it the field conductor Veron, but the Nigerian goalkeeper Enyama.

Through his wonderful performance, he resolved Argentina's offense time and time again. He is the firm rock in Argentina's turbulent offensive wave.

Argentina's attacking group retreated regretfully in front of him time and time again. After Enyama lost the ball in the 6th minute, he never let the Argentine score again.

Argentina beat Nigeria [-]-[-]. Maradona made his World Cup appearance as coach and won the first game. He was in a good mood.

In an interview with the media after the game, he said: "I am very satisfied with the results of the game. The most important thing in the group stage is to win. Enyama performed great tonight. If it weren't for him, the score of this game would be four. Zero, five to zero!"

"Messi didn't score a goal, but he performed very well and made dangerous situations many times. I believe he will get better and better, and he will not disappoint those who like him!"

(End of this chapter)