Kapitel 293: Chapter 293: Will South Korea Face a Crushing Defeat? Seize the Opportunity to Beat the Underdogs, Give Them Another Crushing Defeat!
Chapter 293: Will South Korea Face a Crushing Defeat? Seize the Opportunity to Beat the Underdogs, Give Them Another Crushing Defeat!
"Even though I'm Brazilian, I still believe that Spain will win this World Cup!"
After the match between Spain and Chile, the long-silent football king Pelé couldn't help but voice his opinion.
As soon as Pelé spoke, it sparked a heated discussion.
Brazilian fans all breathed a sigh of relief; finally, Pelé wasn't jinxing Brazil anymore.
As for him jinxing Spain, Brazilian fans couldn't be happier.
Some people who didn't initially believe in Pelé's jinxing power now hoped his jinx would come true.
If they could take down Spain with Pelé's jinx, they'd want him to jinx every day!
Fans from other countries, especially Spanish fans, were devastated.
"Pelé really jinxed Spain!"
"Oh no, guys, I'm starting to panic. Can we still bet on Spain winning the championship?"
"Don't be scared! If we win, it's all good; if we lose, we get back to work. Go all in!"
"The rooftop is windy, brother. Stay calm!"
"This is too much. I'll bet on Spain beating Australia first to test the waters."
If it were just betting companies giving Spain the jinx, Spanish fans wouldn't be too worried.
The championship odds are just numbers; they don't mean much!
But with Pelé jinxing them, Spanish fans immediately panicked.
The knockout stage of the World Cup is a single-elimination round, making it highly unpredictable.
Even if Spain is the stronger team, there's no guarantee they'll advance.
If bad luck strikes and some bizarre event happens, they might really be out.
And Pelé has a track record!
Just like four years ago at the South Africa World Cup, he jinxed Brazil, the top favorite to win.
With stars like Kaka and Ronaldinho leading the team, Brazil was highly favored before the tournament.
Pelé's jinx seemed harmless at first.
However, Brazil was sent home early by the Netherlands with a 2-1 loss, not even reaching the semi-finals.
Because of the painful experience from four years ago, Brazilian fans were particularly anxious this time, begging Pelé not to jinx their team.
Samba fans were genuinely afraid of history repeating itself!
Within the Spanish team, some players were also worried.
Pelé's "track record" is too formidable to be ignored.
Originally, coach Bosque planned to use a full substitute lineup against Australia, but Pelé's jinx made him nervous.
"Maybe we should put some main players in the starting lineup for the next match?"
Coach Tony, seeing Bosque's hesitation, cautiously suggested.
"Yes, let's do that!"
Bosque promptly agreed and made the decision.
For most teams in the group stage, the second round is crucial to determine whether they can advance.
In Group C, Japan and Greece, both having lost their first match, faced off.
The result was a goalless draw, 0-0. Despite being a man down from the 38th minute, Greece held off Japan's fierce attacks with tenacious defense.
Japan had 74% possession and 18 shots but couldn't break Greece's defense.
This draw was unfavorable for both teams. With just one point from two games, they must win their final matches to have a chance of advancing, or they will both be eliminated.
On the other side, South American powerhouse Colombia defeated Ivory Coast 2-1, securing their spot in the knockout stage early.
With one win and one loss, Ivory Coast, led by Drogba, has 3 points and only needs a draw against Greece to advance.
In Group D, Uruguay defeated England 2-1, giving England two consecutive losses.
This made England the first European team to be eliminated.
The Three Lions lived up to their reputation as the "China of Europe," consistently underperforming in major tournaments!
After England's elimination, British media were full of lament.
Once again, the World Cup dreams of the British Empire were shattered.
It wasn't just the English who were upset; Italians were also lamenting.
In this round, Italy was unexpectedly defeated 0-1 by Costa Rica.
Not only did they miss the chance to advance early, but they also sent Costa Rica through to the next round.
With this loss, Italy put themselves in a tough position.
In the final round, they face Uruguay to compete directly for the last spot in the knockout stage.
Fortunately, Italy has a one-goal advantage, so a draw will see them through.
But as the old saying goes, teams that only need a draw often end up being eliminated.
Although Group D was labeled the "Group of Death," no one expected Costa Rica to be the first to advance, while two traditional European powerhouses were struggling!
This unexpected outcome is the charm of the World Cup!
In Group E, Deschamps' French team performed outstandingly.
In this round, they crushed Switzerland 5-2, achieving two wins and holding a six-goal difference, putting them in an excellent position to advance.
Although France hasn't officially advanced, they are almost guaranteed to go through unless they lose by four goals or Switzerland wins by five goals in the final round.
So, it's almost certain that France will advance.
After the match, the French celebrated Deschamps' success.
Despite not having a very strong squad, France's performance was surprising and delightful for their fans.
Of course, the French also took the opportunity to mock the English.
Unlike the French, who were modest about their team's strength before the tournament, the English hyped up the Three Lions as potential champions and even believed they could overthrow Spain.
To support their claim, they cited a 2011 match where England defeated Spain, Spain's only loss in three years.
Such shameless behavior naturally called for ridicule!
Everyone loves some post-match banter!
In Group E, the second qualifying spot will be decided between Switzerland and Ecuador. Their final opponents are the weakest team, Honduras, and the strongest team, France, respectively.
Considering the matchups, Switzerland has a better chance of advancing, provided France doesn't slack off!
In Group F, Argentina's performance has been somewhat underwhelming, lowering external expectations.
In this round, they narrowly defeated Iran 1-0, securing their second group stage victory.
However, Argentina struggled to create good scoring opportunities against Iran's tough defense.
With stars like Messi, Higuain, and Aguero, it was surprising to see Argentina having trouble scoring.
If not for Messi's stoppage-time long-range goal, Argentina would have been held to a draw by the underdog Iran.
In Group G, Germany, who were dominant in the first round, had a significantly different performance in this round.
They managed a tough 2-2 draw against Ghana.
If not for substitute Klose saving the day, Germany would have been upset by Ghana!
In another Group G match, Portugal scored in stoppage time to secure a draw against the USA.
The two teams ended up drawing 2-2. With one draw and one loss in their two matches, Portugal is now on the brink of elimination.
In their next match, they not only need to beat Ghana but also win by a large margin to close the goal difference gap with the USA.
As one of the three best players of the current era, Ronaldo's situation is very different from Lin Quan's and Messi's.
Lin Quan's Spanish team is unstoppable, playing incredibly well.
Messi's Argentina, although their wins have been a bit bumpy, at least managed to win. Both teams are either already through to the next round or are in a very good position to advance.
But Ronaldo's team is on the brink of elimination.
After the match, there was a lot of criticism of Ronaldo online.
"Is this what they call the two legends?"
"He hasn't scored a single goal and still dares to compare himself to Lin Quan and Messi?"
"Stop with the black humor. People only recognize Messi, not Lin Quan yet!"
"Haha, I think 'the two legends' is perfect for Messi and Lin Quan, no problem there!"
"You haters, don't you see how hard Ronaldo is working? Did you miss his goal against Germany in the last match?"
"Haha, Germany was already leading by 4 goals and gave you one to save face, and you took it seriously?"
"Exactly, at the end of the last match, saying Germany's players were walking around is an exaggeration. They were strolling like old ladies, playing very casually!"
Although Ronaldo's fans tried to argue, the general fans didn't care about these excuses.
In competitive sports, weakness is the original sin! Even if Ronaldo's fans argue that Portugal is much weaker than Spain and Argentina, no one pays attention.
Even if Portugal is not as good as Spain and Argentina, they should at least get through the group stage, right?
When they lost to Germany, no one criticized Portugal or Ronaldo too much.
But not being able to beat the USA is just unacceptable, even shameful.
Who are the star players on the USA team?
None!
They barely have any players in the top five European leagues.
Portugal, on the other hand, has stars like Pepe, Ronaldo, Coentrao, and Nani, with more than half of the team playing in top European leagues.
As the star player, Ronaldo was bound to get criticized when they lost!
Just like Messi gets criticized when Argentina loses.
Moreover, Ronaldo's performance was indeed not good enough.
In two matches, he only scored one goal, far behind Lin Quan's four goals and even Messi's two goals.
And that one goal was insignificant, unlike Lin Quan's consistent game-changing goals or Messi's crucial winning goal in the last match.
So, in direct comparison among the top three players, Ronaldo's performance was the worst, and it's natural for him to be singled out for criticism.
"Don't mind the outside criticism. Focus on playing well in the remaining matches. As long as you get through the group stage, all the criticism will disappear, and those who criticized you will start praising you!"
Worried that the criticism might affect Ronaldo's form, Mendes personally called Ronaldo to try and soothe his emotions.
Ronaldo just grunted in response, not saying much.
He had seen the criticism after the match, and even an insensitive reporter brought up the issue, which made Ronaldo very angry.
In fact, he didn't need the outside criticism to be angry; he was already frustrated himself.
The USA team's defense was very tight on him, and every time Portugal attacked, he was the most closely marked player on the field.
This made it hard for Ronaldo to find good opportunities! Also, used to the top midfielders at Real Madrid, Ronaldo found it hard to adapt to the national team.
Compared to the club's midfield, Portugal's midfield was much weaker.
He didn't get good passes and even had to make passes himself.
Varela's last-minute equalizer was actually assisted by Ronaldo.
If he could borrow Modric for Portugal, Ronaldo believed he would play much better.
But that's not possible! The matches in Group H have less hype compared to other groups, but that's not the case for a certain "cosmic" nation.
In this round, Belgium's Red Devils narrowly beat Russia 1-0, winning two matches and almost securing a spot in the next round.
That cosmic nation's match against Algeria almost turned into a disaster, but the disaster was for the cosmic nation itself!
Before the match, Korean media were generally optimistic, thinking Algeria was the weakest team in Group H, and that Korea would secure a favorable position in the competition by beating them and earning three points.
However, once the match started, the Koreans were stunned!
Starting from the 26th minute, Algeria scored continuously, netting three goals in just 12 minutes.
The Korean players were all dumbfounded. Was this the weak team they thought?
It felt like they were the weakest team in the group! Even the Algerian players were surprised! Was this really the team that reached the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup?
So they were this weak? It seems the rumors about the biased refereeing back then were true. With such a bottom-tier team reaching the semifinals, anyone could have done it!
Realizing this, the Algerian players pressed on and scored another goal in the second half, extending their lead to four goals.
Although Son Heung-min pulled one back for Korea before the final whistle, they still lost 1-4 to Algeria.
The result of this match caused an uproar in Korea.
Countless Korean fans criticized and even attacked the players, with several defenders who made mistakes being told to kill themselves in shame.
The head coach, Hong Myung-bo, was also asked to be immediately dismissed by angry fans.
As for who would coach the national team after his dismissal, they didn't care at all! While some people were happy and some were sad, the defeat of the Korean team sparked anger among Korean fans but was met with celebration in Europe.
The fans of Spain and Italy, the main victims of the 2002 World Cup, were so happy they wanted to celebrate for three days and nights!
The grudges from back then have never been fully resolved.
The World Cup, held every four years, is the dream of many players.
But due to biased refereeing, they suffered bitter defeats, leaving a lasting pain in the hearts of the fans from both countries!
So, whenever they face Korea, they want to crush them to vent their anger.
Knowing that Korea's next opponent is Belgium, Lin Quan called a few of his Belgian teammates, asking them not to hold back and to win by as many goals as possible! Belgium has no grudge against Korea, but after receiving Lin Quan's call, De Bruyne and Kompany happily agreed: when facing Korea, they would definitely play their hardest. They believed that those who don't play fair should be punished by everyone!
"Don't worry, I'll make sure they get what they deserve!"
(End of the chapter)
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein