8:00 p.m., October 15.
Sinobo Stadium, Prague.
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
Czech Republic versus England.
After the huge win over Bulgaria, England came into this match with plenty of confidence.
On paper, they were stronger, and with Jeremy Ling now integrated into Southgate's system, the attacking ceiling of the team had clearly risen.
However, fifteen minutes into the game, England had yet to score.
On the contrary, because of a quick Czech counterattack, Harry Maguire had already picked up a yellow card.
"Don't rush!"
Ling did not vent his frustration because he knew it would be pointless.
The Czech Republic's tactics today were simple: defend deep, counter quickly, and use physical man-marking to disrupt him whenever he received the ball.
To put it bluntly, they were treating him like the core of everything England did.
And they were not wrong.
The pitch was slick after the rain, making ground passes harder to control. It was not a vegetable patch, but it was not exactly the smooth carpet of Old Trafford or Wembley either.
By the way, the Czech goalkeeper was Tomáš Vaclík, Sevilla's first-choice keeper.
Ling had watched him before.
As the saying went, weaker teams often produced strong goalkeepers.
In less than fifteen minutes, Vaclík had already saved shots from Sterling and Kane.
But setting aside external factors, England's squad was still stronger.
As long as they stayed composed, victory was assured.
Ling had full confidence in himself and his teammates.
"Reduce risky ground passes, use the width of the pitch, play earlier balls into the box, and force them to turn around!"
Ling calmly issued instructions.
Hearing his steady voice, the England players regained their composure.
Perhaps the string of big wins had made their mindset slightly unbalanced. Now, they needed to lower their expectations and play the match properly instead of expecting the opponent to collapse on command.
In the 27th minute of the first half, Ling received a pass from Henderson with his back to goal.
The Czech players strictly executed their close-marking tactics, with two defenders immediately pressing into him.
No turning, no dribbling bu force him into a safe pass.
Even if it meant picking up a few yellow cards, they had to keep him out.
"Hendo!"
Ling shouted, letting the ball roll behind him as he turned and forcefully squeezed between the two defenders.
As England's secondary organizer, Henderson had plenty of room once Ling drew multiple defenders toward himself.
He passed directly into Ling's running path.
"A lovely one-two combination!"
"The Czech defensive line has pushed up — are they trying to set the offside trap?"
"Careful here!"
Ling glanced up, quickly scanning the field and memorizing the positions of both teams' players.
A simple change of rhythm made the Czech defense hesitate.
Because Kane on the left had stepped offside, while Sterling on the right had not.
Not only that, they also had to worry about Ling taking a long-range shot from outside the box.
Prioritizing England's number 7, the Czech defense continued to push forward.
The next moment—
Thwack!
The ball tore through the Czech defensive line!
"STERLING IS IN!"
"The assistant referee keeps the flag down — there's a shooting angle!"
"Will he take it himself?"
No.
Because the ball bobbled slightly off the wet turf, Sterling could only attempt a difficult volley if he shot first time.
The success rate was too low.
"Cross it!"
Sterling heard the familiar voice and hesitated no longer.
His right foot sent a high ball soaring into the penalty area.
Amid flying water and grass, the football spun downward.
England's number 7 was charging forward at full speed.
He leaped high, almost hanging in the air as he drew power from his core and drove it through the ball.
Vaclík turned his head in utter confusion.
The football was already bouncing inside the goal.
0–1!
The England fans who had traveled to Prague waved their arms and roared, releasing the frustration that had been building for nearly half an hour.
Finally, they could let it all out!
"LING ARRIVES LIKE A STORM AT THE BACK POST!"
"From pressure, from patience, from one moment of breathtaking timing — England have their breakthrough!"
"That is not just a header, That's a player bending the shape of the match until it finally breaks!"
"Damn, we finally scored. I was starting to suffocate," Sterling muttered after the goal.
Ling gave him a big hug.
"Now it'll be much easier to play."
"Let's try to score another before halftime."
"Go!"
With the weight lifted from their hearts, everyone's expressions relaxed considerably.
"Your hang time is ridiculous," Sterling said with admiration. "You could play basketball with that, couldn't you?"
From the side, he had seen it clearly. Ling's knee had almost reached the defender's shoulder.
"My wingspan isn't long enough," Ling laughed.
On the sidelines, Southgate also let out a long breath and returned to the coach's bench.
"Now it's the Czech Republic who should be worried. We can drop back as a unit and hit them on the counter. That's one of our strengths."
Through this match, he had identified several issues.
First, the defensive line, which had not faced many serious threats in several consecutive matches, still had vulnerabilities against fast counterattacks.
Covering, filling in, and overall movement still required more time to gel.
"After scoring, England have clearly changed."
"The Czech Republic have pushed their formation higher, trying to intercept in midfield and launch attacks quickly."
"Ah, a diagonal no-look ball from Ling, finding Sancho on the flank!"
"Sancho is quick!"
Sancho drove straight into the penalty area and, seizing the moment, pushed a right-footed shot toward the far post.
Vaclík produced another miraculous save at the critical moment.
He managed to deflect the ball, changing its trajectory as it hit the post and bounced back into the penalty area.
A Czech defender immediately cleared it.
But the clearance went high without much distance, and Ling won the first ball in the central area.
A rapid series of balance shifts.
Create space.
Right-footed volley.
Boom!
Vaclík stretched his body to the limit, eyes locked on the ball, only for the shot to skim off the slick surface in front of goal.
The ball bounced awkwardly, leaped over his body, and dropped into the net once more.
"IT'S IN AGAIN!"
"Oh, Vaclík will hate the pitch there, but Ling will not care one bit!"
"The wet turf has betrayed the goalkeeper, but only after Ling struck it with the kind of force that asks questions no defender wants to answer!"
Vaclík angrily kicked at the patch of turf, then quietly stepped back and tried to flatten it again with his boot.
In fact, similar situations had happened even in Europe's top five leagues.
And according to football rules, it counted as a goal.
Nothing would be changed.
With a two-goal lead, England gradually regained their rhythm.
Southgate also began making adjustments, experimenting with different combinations, especially in the defensive line.
What was the result?
Maguire and Stones were still the most suitable pairing for now, while younger defenders needed more experience.
Centre-back was the position on the pitch that demanded the most experience and punished mistakes the harshest.
Fortunately, there was still time before the European Championship, as well as the next World Cup cycle.
England would have plenty of opportunities to test different combinations.
"Have you noticed?"
Southgate's eyes carried a trace of helplessness. "When we have Ling play as an attacking midfielder, the centre-forward position becomes less fixed."
Kane was excellent, but he was not just a pure target man.
Sterling needed space. Sancho preferred to receive wide and attack inside. Rashford could run behind, but his decision-making still fluctuated.
They had many excellent attackers, but fitting all of them together remained a problem.
"We'll have to adjust based on the opponent," Southgate sighed.
England's attacking depth was enviable, but too many options could become its own kind of trouble.
In the end, the match finished Czech Republic 1–3 England.
After Ling was substituted off, England clearly became slightly disorganized, allowing the Czech Republic to sneak in a goal.
But this problem had no easy solution.
Because the current system, organization, rhythm, and attacking threat all revolved heavily around Ling.
Without him, England still functioned.
But with him, they became something else entirely.
...
After finishing England's two Euro qualifying matches, Ling took a flight back to Manchester.
On the way, he opened Dongqiudi with interest.
📰 BBC Sport: England Beat Czech Republic 3–1 as Ling Scores Twice in Prague
📰 Sky Sports: Ling Guides England Through Tough Away Test After Bulgaria Rout
📰 The Athletic: Southgate's System Still Leans Heavily on Ling, But Results Keep Coming
📰 Manchester Evening News: United Star Returns From England Duty With Eight Goals Across Two Matches
📰 Dongqiudi: Ling Scores Twice for England; Chinese Fans Still Divided, But His Level Remains Undeniable
Under the match report for Czech Republic versus England, comments and reposts were rapidly increasing.
📱 @ThreeLionsWatch ✔
England win 3–1 away. Not as smooth as the Bulgaria match, but this was a better test. Ling bailed us out when the rhythm got messy.
| ↳ 📱 @EnglandTalks ✔
| Reply: The moment he went off, the structure clearly dropped. Southgate has to solve that before the Euros.
📱 @StretfordEndTom
Eight goals over the international break and now he comes back to United. Mourinho is smiling and crying at the same time.
📱 @CNFootballRealist
I don't feel like England's overall strength improved that much? It's more like Ling raises their ceiling by himself.
| ↳ 📱 @YouthCoachLiu
| Reply: That's already terrifying. A player who raises the ceiling is exactly what every team wants.
📱 @HupuFootballCN
Still strange watching him score for England, but that first header was ridiculous. The defender looked completely stunned.
📱 @OldFan1988
The shirt still hurts, but I can't deny the level. Chinese football should be asking why we couldn't give him this kind of road earlier.
📱 @NeutralEuroWatch
England fans should celebrate, but don't get too excited. Stronger teams will punish that defensive looseness.
...
When he arrived at Carrington Training Base, he happened to run into Havertz, who had just returned from shopping.
"Kai, how have the last two matches been?" Ling greeted him.
"Don't even mention it. We drew with Argentina in a friendly," Havertz said, sounding a bit annoyed.
"A draw isn't good enough?"
Ling patted Havertz on the shoulder. "Germany didn't even make it out of the group stage in the last World Cup, while Argentina reached the round of sixteen."
"Hmph, we've gone through tactical reforms. We definitely have a chance at the next World Cup. If we meet then, I won't go easy on you!"
Havertz puffed up proudly like a little donkey.
"Alright, as long as you're happy."
Ling remembered that Germany's performance at the Qatar World Cup would not exactly be stellar either.
In the 2018 World Cup, they had been eliminated in the group stage, finishing fourth.
In the 2022 World Cup, they would be eliminated in the group stage again, finishing third.
Had Löw, who loved picking his nose, really completed any tactical reform?
Thinking of this, Ling sized up Havertz, who had become a bit stronger compared to before but was still thin.
And since the decline of traditional centre-forwards, Germany had not achieved good results.
After the international break, Premier League clubs were plagued with injuries, with some teams losing half of their starting players.
Oh, and Manchester United were among them.
After all, the nickname "Injury United" had not been given for nothing.
Kanté suffered a ligament strain and Maguire had a back muscle strain.
Mourinho was deeply worried.
How were they supposed to play the North West Derby five days later?
But soon, good news arrived.
Salah had muscle fatigue.
Mané injured his right fibula.
Henderson sprained his ankle.
Liverpool were only slightly better than Manchester United.
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