章 163: Chapter 164: The Brightest Star

Chapter 164: The Brightest Star

Bruno felt the gaze of his teammates and nodded decisively, saying, "I'll take it then!"

The French team was about to set up their wall; there wasn't much time left.

After Bruno's statement, there were no objections.

"How should we coordinate?" Cristiano Ronaldo asked.

Everyone paid close attention.

"Both of you tall guys go to the left side, draw their tall defenders over there, Nani stays outside the box, Ronaldo, pass me the ball lightly, ideally stopping it right in front of me so I can shoot directly!"

Everyone agreed without hesitation and quickly dispersed to take their positions.

Soon, Bruno and Ronaldo were standing at the free-kick spot. Everyone knew that Portugal was counting on them.

Nani was on the left side of the penalty arc, while the tall defenders, Alves and Pepe, were on the left side of the goal.

This was Bruno's strategy, aiming to distract the French defenders.

The rules for an indirect free kick inside the box only required at least two players to touch the ball, but there was no upper limit. This meant that after Ronaldo passed the ball, Bruno had several options: he could find Nani for a long shot, look for Pepe or Alves for a header, or pass it back to Ronaldo to attempt a shot under the wall.

Everything would happen in an instant, and the French defenders wouldn't have a chance to react.

...

"This is indeed a great opportunity for Portugal, but it's also challenging," commented an analyst.

"Shooting directly from this position is tough; passing to Nani or Pepe might even be a better chance."

The French team wasn't foolish, though. They could analyze this too, so they guarded Nani and Pepe very cautiously.

Even when Ronaldo gently pushed the ball to Bruno and turned to run towards the baseline, someone immediately broke from the wall to watch Ronaldo, clearly worried that Bruno might pass back.

But Bruno clearly didn't intend to pass it back.

Without any hesitation, as Ronaldo nudged the ball forward, Bruno stepped up quickly. Planting his right foot, he swung his left foot and shot a curling ball from the inside of his foot.

There was a soft thud. Although it wasn't loud, the breathless silence of the Stade de France made it quite distinct.

The ball zipped from Bruno's foot, tracing a curve, just clearing the wall, and headed straight for the top left corner of the goal.

Mandanda reacted swiftly, leaping across and stretching his right hand.

The French goalkeeper knew he would be the villain if the ball went in. He used all his strength, stretched his arm to the fullest, but never felt the touch of the ball on his gloves.

Only when he landed heavily on the grass did he hear a wave of boos — the ball was behind him, in the net.

Bruno sprinted off the field!

...

"The ball is in!!!!"

"An absolute stunner to the top left corner!"

"Bruno delivers a spectacular curved shot, hitting the upper left corner perfectly!"

"Such a clean, decisive shot. This kick truly showcases Bruno's exquisite shooting skills. I believe no one will ever doubt his scoring ability and efficiency again after this shot!"

Bruno ran off the field, sliding on his knees at the sideline!

He heard the cascade of boos from the Stade de France, but he wasn't scared. To him, it was like facing a bunch of paper tigers; they posed no threat at all!

The moment he saw the ball swerve into the net, he was immensely grateful to the system that had been training both his feet since he arrived, especially his left foot, which had always been a focus.

And Bruno had never slackened in training his left foot, which now paid off splendidly!

At Stade de France, facing a French team that Portugal had not beaten in nearly forty years, he helped Portugal take the lead.

Bruno suddenly felt an urge to laugh out loud!

It was incredibly exhilarating!

"France pays a painful price for their own mistakes!"

"1-2, Portugal turns the game around."

"For France, struggling to open the offense, this is a crushing blow, not just tactically, but also psychologically."

"Mandanda should take responsibility for this goal because his foolish mistake gave Portugal the indirect free kick that led to the goal."

"Note that Deschamps has already made two substitutions without any positive effect on the game."

"So far, Santos has not made a single substitution, indicating how satisfied he is with the game's progress."

...

Watching Bruno excitedly rush off the field and celebrate the goal, Pogba felt very frustrated. Compared to Bruno's dazzling performance, he had been rather subdued throughout the game except for the first few minutes.

It wasn't just him; the entire French team seemed lackluster.

Before the game, many French media had high hopes for Pogba, with L'Équipe even predicting it would be Pogba's night. But as the game progressed, it turned out to be Bruno's night.

Or rather, a nightmare for France!

Pogba's frustration was not unique but shared by many stars of the French team.

They all tried very hard to perform better, but with their tactics completely suppressed, there was really little they could do.

From the looks of the field, France never found an effective way to change the situation.

In contrast, after overturning the score to lead 2-1, Portugal played with increasing confidence, solidly defending and waiting for opportunities to counterattack.

The more desperate France became, the more problems they revealed.

Soon, Portugal seized another opportunity.

"Portugal's midfield intercepts, Gomes steals and passes to Nani."

"Nani, on the right wing, decides to advance."

"Portugal quickly initiates a counterattack, with the entire midfield pushing forward."

"Ronaldo quickly cuts into the box, pulling the defense away for Nani."

"Nani reaches the right side of the box and crosses directly, looking for Ronaldo at the near post."

"Ronaldo heads towards the goal..."

"Mandanda leaps to punch the ball away."

"But the ball is still in the box, Danny gets to the first header, passing it to the far post..."

...

During the quick counterattack, Bruno saw Nani pushing forward on the right wing and chose to hang back slightly. This was to spread out the defense in the box and also to create layers in the attack.

But he was also confident that if Nani crossed directly to the far post, he would be the first to surge forward.

Nani chose Ronaldo at the near post, but Ronaldo's header was blocked by Mandanda.

At that moment, Bruno noticed Danny and quickly dashed into the box.

Sure enough, with no immediate shot available, Danny chose to head the ball to the far post, where Bruno, rushing in, was perfectly positioned to take advantage.

Sagna was closely following Bruno, and Mangala was retreating, trying to predict where the ball would land.

With one ahead and one behind, they sandwiched Bruno, but it didn't matter—Bruno jumped higher.

Mangala was taller than Bruno but was retreating, while Bruno had a run-up and thus jumped significantly higher.

As for Sagna behind him, he couldn't jump at all.

What used to be considered Bruno's weakness, his heading, had been addressed with two years of systematic training. Now his heading was not only comparable to aerial dominants like Ronaldo but exceptionally precise.

Even his timing and decision-making might be better than Ronaldo's, lacking only the phenomenal leaping and hang-time abilities.

When Bruno jumped, the ball arrived right in front of him, and he quickly leaned forward, firmly smashing his forehead into the ball.

The ball changed direction, flying directly into the French net!

...

"Oh my God! Another goal!!!!!"

"Wow, Bruno scores his second goal of the day, and with a header, his weakest skill! This is absolutely incredible!"

"Unexpectedly, Bruno's jumping is quite good, significantly outjumping Mangala. The French center-back had no chance against him, only able to watch as Bruno headed the ball into the goal!"

"3-1! Portugal extends their lead to two goals!"

"France suffers a complete defeat, an unacceptable reality, but Portugal truly performed better and was more active, especially Bruno, scoring twice at Stade de France!"

"Deschamps should really reconsider his tactics since both Pogba and Benzema were effectively limited by Portugal. Despite the substitutions of Payet and Gignac, no improvement was seen in the attack. This is definitely not up to par!"

"From 1-0 to 1-3, France experiences a nightmarish turnaround, especially at Stade de France."

"Fortunately, this is just a friendly match, exposing the issues France faces and allowing Deschamps to address them ahead of the upcoming Euro qualifiers."

"As for Portugal, Santos' tactical acumen is admirable, almost completely suppressing France throughout the game, and Bruno's addition has significantly boosted Portugal's offensive capabilities. Tonight, with his two goals and an assist, he was definitely the best performer for Portugal!"