章 3: Fight
# Chapter 112: Fight
Carlos failed to score, but the Brazilian offensive remained strong.
Ronaldo, who had been silent for more than ten minutes, showed signs of recovery. The new trident of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaka finally began to show their power. Their continuous short passes in the frontcourt became more and more coordinated. Both had quality shots, but they were all timely resolved by Seaman.
Seeing such a scene, Rivaldo off the field was both relieved and frustrated.
He was reassured by the successor, but frustrated by feeling past his prime.
At thirty years old, a person's golden age, the line that represents his career had changed from a rising line to a parabola that starts to slide down. He felt a little breathless.
And Kaka's next performance made the Brazilian No. 10's eyes grow more and more weary.
After taking the ball in the middle, he broke through Butt's attack with a skilled maneuver, and once again passed Ferdinand with a brilliant move to give Ronaldo a comfortable through ball.
Ronaldo rushed forward and shot low, but the smile on his face hadn't appeared before the referee's whistle blew.
The flag on the linesman's hand was raised simultaneously.
Offside foul.
Brazilian fans couldn't believe it and even cursed the referee, but the replay on the TV screen gradually calmed their outbursts.
England resumed play.
Seaman's long pass found Scholes in midfield.
He lightly stopped the ball at his feet and turned to face Kleberson, pretending to shoot.
Kleberson was fooled and stretched his foot to block, but Scholes dunked the ball, rushed past him, and quickly passed to Beckham on the right.
There was no one around Beckham, allowing him to calmly set up a shot and made an arc that made the Brazilians uneasy from the 45-degree angle on the right side of the penalty area.
The football bypassed Lucio, Edmilson, and Junior, and appeared in front of Heskey.
Heskey jumped high and headed the ball.
The football did not fly directly to the goal but aimed for the bottom corner of the left side of the goal.
Cheney was too late to save, but his right foot stretched out reflexively, and he blocked the ball dangerously.
Junior in front of the goal hurried to clear it, but failed to get good contact, and the football only went a short distance before falling to Scholes again.
Scholes originally wanted to shoot, even assuming the posture, but suddenly saw a familiar figure rushing into the penalty area from the left.
He gently pushed with his right foot, and the football rolled to his teammate.
Owen lightly guided it with his right foot, taking the ball under his control.
Scholes' deceptive move left him unchallenged. After Owen received the ball, there was only Lucio in front of him.
This was a showdown between a top center defender and a top striker, but the encounter came so abruptly that Lucio was clearly unprepared.
Owen moved to the left, but when he touched the ball, he suddenly changed direction to the right, directly bypassing Lucio and facing Cheney.
Cheney's save was half a second too late, and Owen calmly pushed the ball into the net from the right side of the goal.
1:0.
It seems that some fans did informal statistics around 2010, and Owen was found to have the best shot in the world among the forwards of that era.
Regardless of whether it was the early, speedy Owen or the later, more poised Owen, when he had the ball in front of the goal, it was described by one word: steady as an old dog.
"GOAL! Michael Owen strikes! This is a wonderful collaboration between him and Scholes. Whether it is a pass, a breakthrough, or a shot, there is only one characteristic: Quick! Scholes' sudden pass, Owen's rapid positioning, and swift breakthrough achieved this goal!"
"It is now the 28th minute of the game. England leads Brazil 1-0! Owen scored his second goal of the World Cup and his eighteenth goal for England..."
Owen made his signature celebration, raising his right hand high, and his handsome face bore an unassuming smile. He looked not like a cold-blooded goal scorer, but a sunny and warm boy next door.
Cafu comforted the downcast Lucio, then asked Scolari for help, hoping to strengthen the offense.
Nesting in their half was not his style.
Scolari shook his head and rejected the captain's request.
He firmly believed that there was no problem with the Brazilian team's offense; they just lacked some luck.
The game resumed.
Kaka and Ronaldo stood together in the center circle. This was the first time Kaka had seen such a serious expression on Ronaldo's face.
He was only twenty-five years old but had experienced the glory and troughs that many people never experience in a lifetime.
On a larger scale, the 1998 final defeat made him criticized by thousands, and the Serie A champion he just lost drew countless doubts. This World Cup was his best chance to fight back.
On a smaller scale, the opponent's center had scored, and as a striker, he had to immediately respond to defend the glory of his title as the world's top striker.
Kaka could understand his mood.
If the goal had been scored by a Turkish striker, a Chinese striker, or a Costa Rican striker, people would not make such a demand of Ronaldo.
But it was Owen standing in front.
In terms of historical status, Owen couldn't even see Ronaldo's taillights, but at this time, Owen was indeed one of the few super forwards who could be compared with Ronaldo.
When playing on the same field, people would not ask Ronaldo to respond to Wu Lei's goal, but they would definitely ask him to counter a goal from Luis Suarez, because they are players on the same plane and naturally compared.
From an external point of view, this was a match between two teams, but for Ronaldo, this was a war between forwards.
"Kaka..." Ronaldo said, "Pass me the ball."
"Relax," Kaka nodded, "When I get the ball, you'll get the ball."
Ronaldo kicked off, charging forward, and Kaka passed the ball back and also ran forward.
Ronaldinho took the ball and passed it to Carlos in the back.
Carlos dribbled the ball on the left, and after meeting Mills, he and Ronaldinho collaborated against the wall, then sent a long pass to find Kaka in the frontcourt.
Kaka controlled the ball precisely and faced Scholes. After making a few fake moves that didn't deceive him, he could only pass it back to Ronaldinho who had followed.
Ronaldinho faced Butt, but couldn't get an advantage and was forced to pass sideways.
Both Cafu and Carlos were pressed by Scolari in the backcourt, but no one came to support. Fortunately, Kaka had already found space, and Ronaldinho quickly passed the ball back.
It was a half-height ball, awkward to control. It was too high to use the foot and too low to use the chest, but fortunately, it was slow, so Kaka could still trap it with his thigh.
Kaka intended to do so, but as the ball approached, he suddenly had an inspiration. With a slight twist of his body, he raised his right leg, swung it, and gently tapped the ball with his heel.
Scorpio wagging its tail.
The ball drew a parabola and landed in the penalty area, precisely where Ronaldo was positioned.
Ronaldo didn't wait for the ball to drop, he lightly tapped it with his foot. The ball flew again, directly over the attacking Seaman's head, and into England's goal.
Everyone's eyes shifted from the goal to Kaka, astonished.
Ronaldo turned around, trotting backwards to the sidelines, tapping his right index finger towards Kaka.
Kaka gave him a bright smile.
Me, Kaka, a small master, after copying one move from Zidane to another from Ibrahimovic. Whoever pulls a great move, I'll copy it.
週次パワーステータス
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ランキング 
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チケット