Capítulo 77: Super, Super Massive Mistake!
Even though he's also a newcomer, Lin made a start and scored three goals; surely, Morata, coming on as a substitute, should score at least one or two?
If he comes on and doesn't score, later he'll be compared to Lin by the media, and that would be really embarrassing.
"Alright, find a good position, and I'll pass to you!"
Lin is now playing as an attacking midfielder; it's not so much about scoring for him now but more about trying to create attacking opportunities for the team.
Belarus' players were already dazed as their opponents scored five goals in just fifty minutes, it would be daunting for anyone to come in at this point.
But now, with the arrival of a nameless young player, they felt insulted.
Unfortunately, Morata bore the brunt of it.
Watching the opponent lose their fighting spirit and realizing their strength wasn't great, he thought he could certainly score a goal or two.
But once he came on, he found the opposition's defense to be quite strong.
Every time he touched the ball, it seemed as if the opposition had a personal grudge against him, aggressively running into him.
Poor Morata, amidst the intense physical battles and collisions, he couldn't even take hold of the ball, let alone score.
The defenders around him were numerous, and Lin also couldn't risk passing to him.
"Alvaro, play smarter, don't get involved in physical fights with the defenders, you need to keep moving!"
Seeing Morata once again being knocked down by the defenders, Lin went and helped him up, couldn't help but offer a word of advice.
Morata nodded heavily, having experienced the aggressive physical battles, he realized that Belarus' defenders were a group of strong men.
He humbly took Lin's advice and stopped standing still in the penalty area, instead, he started increasing his running to find chances to receive and shoot the ball on the move.
In the 68th minute, after Martinez intercepted in the back, he passed the ball to Cazorla, who then passed it to Lin.
Lin then passed it to Silva and made a forward run.
Silva made a precise through ball, finding Lin in the penalty area.
With a glimpse, Lin saw Morata making his run, so he passed the ball to Morata, presenting him with a perfect goal-scoring opportunity.
Unfortunately, Morata was a bit slow, and he couldn't quite reach the ball in time, allowing the opposition's defender to clear it.
"Sorry, my bad!"
Morata gestured an apology; he recognized that he and his teammates lacked synchronization. If he had reacted half a second faster, it would have been a perfect opportunity.
Luckily, with a lot of top midfielders in place, Spain's forwards have plenty of goal-scoring chances.
In the 83rd minute of the match, Morata finally scored.
Fabregas intercepted in the front court, passed to Lin in the central area, who then chipped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper. Facing an empty goal, he selflessly passed the ball to his teammate.
Morata didn't waste Lin's assist, calmly slotting the ball into the net, making it 6-0!
This was Morata's first goal in his national team career, and Lin also achieved a hat-trick of assists, leading Spain's all six goals!
After this goal, the Spanish players started to slow the pace of the game, focusing more on preserving energy.
The completely overwhelmed Belarusian players seemed to have given up struggling.
In the end, Spain triumphed over Belarus 6-0, securing their second consecutive victory in the qualifying journey.
Next, they will be hosting the strongest opponent in their group—France!
After the match, Lin, who performed exceptionally well, was surrounded by journalists seeking interviews.
If he stayed silent, the journalists might not let him return to the locker room.
Helplessly, he had to accept the interviews.
"Lin, I'm a journalist from AS, what's your evaluation of today's match?"
"The team's performance today was excellent, we executed the coach's tactics diligently, after a tough match, we finally won. We were happy with how we played in this game!"
"A tough match? If we hadn't watched the game in person, I almost believed it! But the journalists thought he was just being polite to the opponents and didn't expose him!
The AS journalist continued: "What's your opinion on breaking the record held by your teammate Fabregas as the youngest player in the Spanish national team?"
"Cesc is a very talented player, a senior and teammate of mine in the national team. There are many things I can learn from him. Breaking the record doesn't mean much; it reminds me that I still have a long way to go to catch up with these seniors who have been serving in the national team for years. I'm just a newcomer, so I need to work harder to follow in the footsteps of those seniors and bring more glory to the national team!"
The journalists were surprised at his articulate responses!
Another reporter from Marca quickly joined in: "Lin, do you know that you've just broken the record for the youngest goal and the youngest hat-trick in the Spanish national team?"
Lin shook his head: "I haven't paid attention to those records. I just want to focus on the game with my teammates, provide more exciting matches for the fans, and win more honors."
Listening to Lin's response, the press officer looked at Morata, who was boasting about scoring a goal, and couldn't help but sigh:
"Why is there such a huge difference between people?"
Although Lin didn't care much about these records, the Spanish media did!
After the match, the entire nation of Spain celebrated their team's big win on the road.
And, as the major contributor to the victory, Lin was praised by the Spanish media.
"The emergence of a genius, he is the one Spain has been looking for!"
"A star is born, a 16-year-old prodigy breaks six national team records!"
"Scoring six goals in a single match, who dares to say Spain lacks strikers?"
"Aiming for the World Cup in Brazil, who can stop the Armada now?"
The media's praise turned the previously unknown Lin into a sensation in Spain.
Highlights of his performance against Belarus flooded the internet.
Under every highlight reel, numerous Spanish fans were actively discussing:
"This guy, covering his jersey number, isn't he like Messi?"
"This dribble has a Messi vibe to it!"
"Tears of joy, the Armada finally found the right striker!"
"Lin is only 16 this year; he can serve the national team for at least 20 years. Twenty years, haha, I'm almost laughing!"
"Lin is so talented; why did Barca loan him out!"
"That's right, Barca should hurry up and recall him so we can see his performance in La Liga!"
"La Liga's level is higher than the Bundesliga, and it's more technical, they should bring him back; otherwise, I'm afraid he'll waste away in the Bundesliga!"
The lively discussions online brought Lin a large number of fans.
His account, which originally had just over ten thousand followers, surged to 500,000 in less than three days, growing by tens of thousands every day.
The constant notifications and fan messages made his phone buzz like an alarm clock, never stopping.
Because the messages were too overwhelming, Lin had to turn off his notifications to have some peace.
Although he had made a name for himself in the Bundesliga, his fame within Spain was not high.
This match was really a big moment for him.
At less than seventeen years old, becoming the attacking core of a world champion squad, plus, on the Mediterranean, on the island of Malta.
—---------
Enjoying the sunny beach here, Pep Guardiola was on his honeymoon.
He put down the newspaper, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
This kid feels more promising than when I used to play!
I wasn't as successful as him back when I was in the national team!
It's a good thing I've had some success in coaching, otherwise I might really lose to this kid.
But this kid is improving really fast, at this rate, he might win the Golden Boy award next year, the World Cup in the following year, and even the Ballon d'Or...
Guardiola didn't dare to continue thinking, because he also felt the pressure.
He quickly sat up and carefully looked through the information of Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga.
Although he wasn't taking over the job immediately, preparing in advance was really necessary.
Otherwise, if he goes to Bayern next year and the team doesn't perform well, he might actually lose to his own son.
Sabrina looked on, feeling both annoyed and amused.
They had clearly planned to come here for a relaxing honeymoon trip, but it turned out that Guardiola only rested for a few days?
He turned back into a workaholic!
And what's ignited his competitive spirit is no longer the football maniac Mourinho, but his own foster son.
Is it really necessary?
Pep, your darn competitive spirit!
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