Pelé: I Believe Brazil Will Win! Brazil: That's Not True, Don't Say That!
Lin nodded silently and then quickly showed Pirlo his defensive ability with an aggressive challenge.
Yes, Lin's defensive skills weren't strong, but he had excellent physical strength!
Pirlo was 177 cm tall and weighed only 69 kg.
Lin was 173 cm tall but weighed 73 kg.
Plus, Lin was ten years younger than Pirlo, making their physical confrontation completely uneven.
Lin didn't intend to steal the ball from Pirlo. He just wanted to put pressure on him, disrupt his receiving and passing, making it uncomfortable for Pirlo to control and pass the ball.
Pirlo was Italy's midfield brain, the most critical part of their system.
Restricting his passing was like cutting off one of Italy's arms.
Sure enough, after Lin started harassing Pirlo, Italy's attacking power dropped significantly.
Meanwhile, Spain, seizing the opportunity of Italy's attacks, launched several threatening offensives.
In the 68th minute, Xavi took a corner from the right, and Ramos jumped high in the middle to head the ball just over the crossbar.
In the 75th minute, Lin broke through and passed the ball to Iniesta, who delivered a pass that pierced Italy's defense.
Pedro, who was rushing in, shot at the goal but Buffon blocked it with his leg, and Spain missed the chance to extend their lead.
In the 77th minute, Fabregas made a long diagonal pass from his own half, sending the ball over half the field to Lin on the wing.
Lin sprinted to catch the ball, cutting inside and passing the trailing Bonucci, entering the penalty area!
The pass covered more than 60 meters, and Italy had no time to set up their defense due to its speed.
After passing Bonucci, Lin had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
This time, Buffon chose to rush out, focusing intently on Lin, ready to save at any moment.
This situation was even worse for Buffon than the last one.
Italy's defenders were far away, giving Lin more time to complete his attack.
Lin glanced at Buffon and decisively shot.
It was a ground shot, not only tricky in angle but also very fast.
Seeing the shot, Buffon knew it was bad.
To avoid being dribbled past, he hadn't fully lowered his center of gravity, making him slower than usual at saving low shots.
In a high-level confrontation, this slight delay was fatal.
Buffon's reaction time was top-notch, and he stretched out his leg to block the shot as Lin took it.
But the ball was faster, sliding past him before he could intercept it.
Missing the ball, Buffon could only hope Lin's shot would go wide.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
The shot was perfectly aimed, the ball flying into the net almost hugging the inside of the post.
Even if Buffon had blocked it, he might not have touched the ball.
What a terrifying player!
With that thought, Buffon's gaze towards Lin changed.
He recalled facing top strikers before, and Lin gave him the same feeling as those elite players.
...
If Lin's first goal only gave Spain an edge and relieved their fans slightly, his second goal assured them of victory.
With Italy unable to mount any significant attacks, scoring two goals in less than 20 minutes was too difficult.
Spanish fans finally relaxed, waving their flags and chanting the players' names, with many shouting for the championship.
As the team's top contributor, Lin received the most cheers and applause after his goal.
Lin himself was excited. He ran quickly to the sideline to celebrate when Fabregas, who had delivered the precise long pass, came running up.
Lin had a sudden inspiration for a fun celebration.
He pretended to hold a fishing rod, making a casting motion.
Fabregas was momentarily puzzled but quickly understood, pretending to be a fish flopping on the ground, wriggling towards Lin as if he had been hooked.
The teammates laughed and cooperated, lifting the "big fish" Fabregas and showing off their "catch" to the audience.
To add to the fun, Ramos squatted down and pretended to take a photo with an imaginary camera, completing the moment.
The audience was initially confused, not knowing what the Spanish players were doing.
But when they realized, the entire stadium burst into laughter.
The Spanish team was too funny!
Their creative celebration was a refreshing change from the usual, making the fans want to see it again.
Many fans even hoped for another goal to see the celebration again.
Not just in the stadium, but online, this celebration quickly went viral.
Many fans clipped the video, added funny music, and it spread rapidly across social media.
"Ha ha, the Spanish team is so talented!"
"Who thought of this celebration? My stomach hurts from laughing!"
"Great performance, great creativity, I love this team!"
"I want to see it again!"
"Don't worry, we might see it in the final against Brazil! Hope Spain comes up with another creative celebration!"
"Spanish team, please!"
"Spanish team, please!"
"Brazilian team, please!"
"???"
"I get it. He means if Brazil loses, we can enjoy another creative celebration from Spain!"
"Got it, Brazil team, please!"
"Brazil team, please!"
...
On social media, a prominent figure and hardcore Brazilian fan saw the score between Spain and Italy and thought Italy was likely to be eliminated.
So, he started a poll on his social media:
"Who do you think will win the Confederations Cup final?"
A: Brazil
B: Spain!
After starting the poll, he felt confident.
Brazil's population was over 200 million, while Spain's was only 40 million.
200 million vs. 40 million, we've got the advantage, we'll win for sure!
At first, the poll results were as he expected, with a significant lead for Brazil.
But things soon changed.
Somehow, the number of votes for Spain surged, surpassing Brazil's support and leading by a large margin.
In the end, Brazil's support rate was almost out of sight compared to Spain.
The prominent figure was frustrated: Does the world really favor Spain and look down on Brazil?
...
Being scored on twice by Spain stunned Italy.
They remembered the painful memory of being slaughtered by Spain in last year's European Championship final.
A sense of despair quickly spread within the team.
Determined not to give up, Prandelli immediately made substitutions, bringing on Giovinco and Aquilani.
Italy tried to strengthen their attack to come back.
But with Pirlo restricted, adding more forwards didn't solve their offensive problems.
On the contrary, substituting defenders like Marchisio weakened their defense.
In the 86th minute, Spain launched a fast counterattack.
Lin entered the box and unselfishly passed to his teammate, David Silva, who shot powerfully, scoring Spain's third goal.
Spain led Italy 3:0.
Including stoppage time, there was less than 10 minutes left, and Spain had secured victory.
After this goal, Italy finally accepted reality; they couldn't turn the game around.
However, the Italians couldn't accept being shut out by Spain.
So, in the final minutes, they kept trying to attack.
In the second minute of stoppage time, a foul by a Spanish player outside the penalty area gave Italy a good free kick opportunity.
Pirlo stood at the spot, looked at Spain's wall, and chose to shoot directly.
The free kick was high quality, the ball flying over the wall and dropping suddenly.
The unpredictable trajectory fooled Casillas, who missed the ball.
Italy finally scored through veteran Pirlo, saving some face.
Two minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
The Spanish players celebrated, having successfully reached the final.
On the Italian side, nearly every player showed a dejected expression.
Twice losing to the same opponent within a year, and both times being almost powerless, gave the Italians a fear of Spain they couldn't shake.
Pirlo, however, took the loss in stride, having already won a World Cup.
He didn't look dejected and instead comforted his teammates.
Seeing the Spanish team circling the field to thank the fans and preparing to leave, Pirlo took off his shirt and walked towards them to exchange jerseys.
The Spanish players saw Pirlo coming and looked at Xavi.
Both midfield maestros and leaders of their teams, Pirlo was probably looking for Xavi.
Xavi thought the same, preparing to greet Pirlo.
"Sorry Xavi, I'm here for Lin!"
Pirlo apologized to Xavi with a smile and went straight to Lin:
"Kid, would you like to exchange jerseys with me?"
Lin was surprised, not expecting Pirlo to seek him out for a jersey exchange.
The players from both teams curiously watched.
Pirlo seemed to value this kid a lot!
He personally sought him for a jersey exchange!
Lin quickly took off his jersey and handed it to Pirlo.
"You're a good midfielder. It'd be a shame not to play midfield!"
Pirlo said after hugging Lin and patting his back.
In this match, Lin played as a free forward, taking various positions.
His performance in midfield caught Pirlo's eye.
"Thank you for the compliment. A midfielder's role isn't confined to the midfield position!"
Lin replied modestly.
With creative coaches constantly emerging, players' positions on the field weren't fixed.
For instance, the classic number 10 had almost disappeared.
Defensive midfielders might also vanish, with playmakers possibly emerging in fullback or center-back positions.
Pirlo nodded, not continuing the discussion, and went to catch up with Xavi.
Both top midfield masters and aging, they felt a mutual respect.
Given their ages, they might retire from top-level football after next year's World Cup.
So this match could
be their last encounter in national teams.
...
After Spain eliminated Italy, the most anticipated clash of the Confederations Cup was set!
Hosts Brazil would face the reigning world champions, Spain!
On one side, Brazil had won the most World Cup titles.
On the other, Spain was the defending World Cup champion and FIFA's top-ranked team!
Their clash also represented the collision between European and South American football.
Meanwhile, two rising stars would face off directly in the final!
Even before the match, all 80,000 tickets were sold out.
Brazilian fans hoped to see their team lift the trophy at home, setting a good tone for next year's World Cup.
Spanish fans wanted their team to win the Confederations Cup, completing a grand slam of major tournaments and solidifying their dynasty!
Before the match, legends from both countries expressed their support.
Brazilian stars like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho favored Brazil, believing the young team could perform a miracle at home and topple the mighty Spanish team.
Raul and Hierro, meanwhile, asserted that the invincible Spanish Armada would crush all opponents!
But Ronaldo and Ronaldinho's stature wasn't enough.
Such predictions required the two greatest players in football.
Spain found Maradona.
As an Argentine, Maradona naturally didn't want to see Brazilians succeed.
Given Spain's superior strength, Maradona supported Spain, predicting they would win.
Seeing Spain bring in Maradona, the Brazilians felt uneasy.
They had their own football king, but didn't dare invite him!
The Brazilians feared asking Pelé for help.
But Pelé couldn't stay silent:
"I believe Brazil will win at home!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein