Gradually Steadying, Half-Time Stalemate

Everyone thought the match would continue at this pace.

But after the twentieth minute, the situation on the pitch quietly began to change.

The two teams almost simultaneously started slowing down, controlling the tempo, and stabilizing their formations.

Löw, Germany's Head Coach, was the first to make an adjustment.

Standing on the sidelines, he remained exceptionally calm. After witnessing twenty minutes of Frenzied Attack, he decisively waved his hand.

He signaled for the entire team to slow the pace, abandon their mindless all-out attacks, and stabilize their midfield circulation.

Löw knew perfectly well.

Going toe-to-toe with an England side that had Li Yufei could not be the norm.

Li Yufei's counterattacking speed, individual finishing ability, and threat from set pieces were simply too great...

The more open and end-to-end the match became, the easier it was to create good opportunities for Li Yufei.

Germany's lineup was strong as a whole and better suited to playing steadily and grinding their opponents down bit by bit.

There was no need to burn through their stamina in the first twenty minutes and hand their opponents opportunities.

At almost the same time, Capello also made tactical gestures from the sidelines.

He signaled for his team to pull back their formation, stabilize their defense, and reduce unnecessary high pressing.

Twenty straight minutes of high-intensity attacking had taken a considerable toll on England's players.

If they kept charging at each other like mad, they would likely suffer a physical collapse in the second half.

For the sake of the entire match, it was time to slow things down.

And just like that, the violent wave of attacking came to an abrupt halt in the twentieth minute.

The pace of the match instantly shifted from a blistering sprint to a composed tug-of-war.

The spectators could clearly feel