736 St. George's World Cup

A day had passed since the game. It was possible that the Spanish fans were unwilling to accept the fact that as the predicted champions, they were knocked out by England's most incapable shooter.

This game boosted George Wood's fame in world football. Even pseudo-fans now knew his name.

After the game against Spain, George Wood passed the urine test without any problems. He was then named the most valuable player on the spot. FIFA's official website comments on him were, "Impeccable defense and game attitude, last-minute elimination of the favorite Spain, and embodies the full value of a central midfielder."

Motson's new nickname for Wood was also widely spread along with the goal. England fans had a new moniker for George Wood, St. George. After the game, on England's streets, public squares, echoed the sound of, "St. George protects England!"

The English media said that George Wood's stunning shot was perfectly comparable to David Pratt's last-minute shot against Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Pratt's goal saved England and helped the team reach the top eight. Two decades later, George Wood's screamer helped the team reach the top four.

Fàbregas looked frustrated after the game. In an interview, he still praised George Wood's performance. "I tried to intercept the ball, but he was too fast. Maybe I should have fouled earlier, but that's football. A second of hesitation cost us the game. He did well and deserved to win the game. I wish him good luck."

Capello rarely praised a player individually, but this rule did not apply to George Wood. He was very emotional after the game and took the initiative to mention Wood to the media. "He's a great player, and I'm happy to have one of those players on the team. Yes, he played beautifully, but what I valued most was his performance in the 119th minute before the goal. It was perfect. He completely contained Xavi and Fàbregas, and not losing the ball was the best affirmation of his efforts."

Bosque was calm after the World Cup loss. When he was asked about George Wood, he replied, "Capello's three fullbacks were successful, but without George Wood, the three fullbacks were not as strong as people think. He is the core of the midfield defense. Yes, I think he is the best defensive midfielder in world football in recent years. Maybe in a few years, I'll have to get rid of the 'defensive' aspect. That was a beautiful goal. I have nothing to say after being beaten by a goal like that."

Twain, who trained George Wood, was also the subject of media pursuit after the game. He was not surprised at Wood's success. "I knew he would succeed. If Eriksson had been as clever as Capello, England might have gone further in Germany. If McClaren had a clearer head, England wouldn't have had to be spectators in the summer of 2008. You see, anyone who looked down on Wood had a miserable ending. Do you think Nottingham Forest's two European Champions Cups and one league title in two years were due to luck? What is there we can't achieve with St. George?"

At this point, Twain laughed with pride. He liked Motson's new nickname for Wood in the live stream. It was a lot better than "monster,""artificial man," and "future soldier."

Many people complimented George Wood, but what did he think of himself? "I'm happy to get into the top four. I'm just playing as I usually do." He said he was glad, but there was no obvious smile on his face.

The reporter who interviewed him said, "If he's just playing normally, I really want to see what his extraordinary play looks like."

In short, George Wood had established himself as a god in the football world.

From before the World Cup began, all the way to the group stage. The English media was still trying to debate whether Lampard and Gerrard or George Wood and Gerrard should start. There were people who supported Lampard, but there were people who supported George Wood. Capello's arrival did little to solve England's "double German." On the contrary, the issue was exacerbated.

Now, all the arguments disappeared overnight. Some media even said, "Capello should not think about whether George Wood or Lampard should start, but instead who should start with George Wood?"

It seemed like St George's World Cup journey was just beginning, but he still had time to write his own legend. Thanks to Wood's excellent display, England's fans were even starting to look forward to the finals and him lifting the Champions Cup.

"Since 1966, we have never gotten close to that trophy. Every World Cup, we say we're the strongest English team in history, but are we in reality? This World Cup may have a different ending. Capello is a coach who prioritizes defense. In the World Series, defending means champion and victory. Now with St. George, we have the power to dream big!"

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But, St. George's World Cup trip ended. In the semi-finals, they encountered the Italian team led by Silver Fox Lippi.

It was a contest between the two Italian coaches and a direct conflict between a conservative person and another who was even more conservative. In the end, Italy's reinforced concrete chain-link defense beat England. In the face of Italy's shrinking defense, England lacked the means to break the deadlock. Revealing their weakness in the lack of a deciding midfielder, Gerrard and Lampard both acted more like scoring midfielders and were slightly inferior in passing.

On the Italian side, Pirlo sorted the team's midfield in a well-organized way. Threatening England's goal with a defensive counterattack kept England from full-out attacking.

In the end, the game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out. In fact, England was exhausted by the time they entered the overtime period. Playing 120 minutes against Spain consumed too much energy. Now, they had played another 120 minutes against Italy. With that in mind, the mindsets of England's players began to collapse.

Only George Wood and Gerrard were exceptions. They were both still running tirelessly in the hope of breaking the deadlock for the team. Wood wanted to repeat history by scoring from the back. In fact, in the last minute of the game, England's fans and the media all wanted that. But, their opponent this time was not Spain, which did not guard its midfield. It was the defending footballer's forerunner, Italy.

George Wood was focused on the defense, and the Italian players were more willing to foul early. They would not give Wood a chance to step in. There were times when Wood rushed to shoot, but it was way off. Despite England fans shouting, "May St. George bless England," St. George had no energy left. He could no longer watch over England.

The game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out. The England players had completely lost their confidence, even though it was not the first time they had fallen in penalty. During a penalty shoot-out, almost everyone would have an inexplicable psychological shadow.

George Wood was not put on Capello's penalty list. Although his psychological state was good, his shooting skills were really not reassuring.

The result was indisputable. The world's best goalkeeper, Buffon, who dived and blocked a penalty shot, "frightened" away another penalty shot. The Italian side made four penalties. England's fifth man did not even play before the game was over.

Twain was not sad about the result. On one hand, he was not a real Englishman, so his emotions were not affected by the fate of this team. On the other hand, when the game was dragged into overtime, he had seen England's fate. They could not keep up on a physical level. Not being eliminated by Italy in overtime would only be because they were lucky. They were out of luck after two overtime games and could not afford to return in the penalty shoot-out.

George Wood stood side by side with his team mates in the middle circle as each of them stepped up one by one to the main penalty, whether they were happy or frustrated. However, he could only watch his World Cup journey come to an end.

He did not get a minute off at the World Cup in Germany. Even if England was knocked out by Portugal, he had no special emotion other than to experience Beckham's sadness. Four years later, South Africa was different. He had been a major player since the knockout stages and really felt he was part of the team. England could finish in the top four, but he deserved more than just stopping at the top four.

He felt sad, but he did not cry. He could not remember ever crying in his life. He just stood in place with his back straight, not even wavering in the slightest to vent his frustration. He could not move because a man was leaning on his back.

Lampard, who came on as a substitute in overtime, was the fifth to play, but the game was finished before his turn. He was crying behind Wood. It was not because he was not strong enough. It was because he knew this could be his last World Cup. He would turn 32 in 2010 and 36 four years later, making it almost impossible to play for his country again. Nobody, no matter how strong they were, could withstand such a blow.

Beckham was initially criticized for not being seen at the time when he was substituted for the match against Portugal sitting on the sidelines and sobbing. Those people were just trash talking because nobody could understand how sad they were if they had never been in their position.

When the fourth Italian player, Grosso, kicked the ball into Joe Hart's goal post, the Italian players next to him immediately buzzed him. Half of the crowd in the stands cheered.

Wood looked at his opponents' ecstatic expressions and raised his fists. He now regretted that he could not make a little more contribution to the team on offense. Had his shooting been better, had he taken one of three chances in overtime, he would not be seeing the Italian's expression now. He hated to see his opponent laugh. He liked to see people who were fighting against themselves cry.

Shoot a little better! Attack a little better! I'm not going to be a midfielder who can only defend! I do not want others to take control of the direction of the game! I want to take destiny in my own hands! I'm going to be the real St. George!

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Mortensen kept silent for a long time, as if he were dead. Alan Shearer shook his head helplessly. Twain sighed. The first two were really sad for England to finish only as the top four again, but Twain just felt sorry for George Wood.

"Regardless… Being in the top four was part of their pre-World Cup goals. After watching the last game against Spain, I'm sure all the English people are looking forward to more. But..." Mortensen had finally recovered a bit of anger. "This is football. It does not bend to our will. England's lads are good… 24-year-old George Wood, 23-year-old Alan Lennon, 18-year-old Jack Wilshere, 19-year-old Jack Rodwell, 22-year-old Micah Richards, 21-year-old Walcott, 23-year-old Joe Hart, 24-year-old Wayne Rooney, 25-year-old Ashley Young, 26-year-old Bentley, and 26-year-old Stewart Downing. Look at these young people. I think we can continue to look forward for another four years."

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In the third- and fourth-place finals on the day before the final, George Wood continued to play as a starter in the match with Lampard as his partner. England's opponents were Brazil, which was in the group stage. Losing the semi-finals did not affect Wood negatively. Conversely, he had become more competitive.

Capello handed Kaka over to him, and he was on the pitch faithful to the manager's tactical demands. He did not let Kaka receive the ball easily, give him the space to start a breakthrough, or let him easily pass the football, even if it were at the expense of a yellow card. He was out to completely freeze the core of the Brazilian team.

George Wood and Kaka's duel was wonderful and became a beautiful scene in the game. Neither side was on top. Both had their wins and losses.

In the end, England, which was not as good as Brazil overall, and with two 120 minutes matches in a row, which exhausted the team's stamina, lost to Brazil 1:2 to finish fourth in the World Cup.

The final match was between Italy and Argentina. It was a fierce 90-minute battle. Argentina beat Italy 2:0 with two flashy plays from Messi and Aguero, winning the World Cup for the third time in history. After the battle, media and fans called him the king of the new generation of football. For a moment, "Mesidona" was shouted all over the world.

"2010 is Messi's year!" At the club, he wore the No.10 shirt to lead Barcelona in the league and The Champions League! In the national team, wearing the No. 10, he finally became the king of the world! We have the honor to witness the birth of a new king in the soccer generation in South Africa! "

In the midst of such praise, only one person thought the opposite.

Twain, who had a me-against-the-world mindset and despised people who blindly followed the majority, wrote in his column after the finals, "I'll admit that Messi has won three championships, but it's still too early to call him the new Soccer King. Argentina only won the World Cup because they didn't encounter England. Barcelona only won the Champions League because Nottingham Forest was not there!"

Some people called Twain a sore loser. He rebutted, saying his team would return to Europe to play next season and let everyone know who was right and who was wrong.

"I don't mind UEFA pitting my team up against Barcelona," he said. "I would even hope for it. Come on, use your 'unspoken rules' on me!"

He was later fined 20,000 euros and given a severe warning for his speech convincing people that there was a covert operation inside UEFA. The tension between him and Barcelona was exacerbated. In the eyes of outsiders, Tony Twain was an idiot who behaved in an unacceptable manner, but he thought he was just calling a spade a spade.

If George Wood had gone up against Messi, all Messi had to do was pray he would not be injured and ejected in 90 minutes and nothing else. As long as Twain was still the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would do it.

"Why did Italy lose? They lost because they had been too civilized when marking Messi. Unfortunately, as he aged, Gattuso's standards slipped. If Gattuso were in his prime, it would be hard to say what the outcome of this final could have been. In the game, Gattuso clearly could not keep up with Messi's pace and was always easily left behind by Messi's speed. He could not even foul quick enough. The new ball king? Messi was still far from dominating everyone. He still had a long way to go before he could be king. At the very least, let St George test his mettle first."