Capítulo 80: Showdown
After the start, Spain didn't rush to attack but held on to possession, slowly probing the strength of the French defense.
The French team deployed three defensive midfielders today, with strong sweeping abilities at the back.
From the initial movements and interceptions, it seems like the battle in the midfield between both sides will be intense.
Five minutes into the game, Spain firmly held the advantage in ball possession.
After testing the opponent's defensive line, Spain started to pick up the pace.
In the 7th minute, Lin dribbled past defenders on the right side of the penalty area.
But as he was about to enter the penalty area, he was tripped from behind by a defender.
Spain was awarded a free kick in the opponent's half.
The free kick was very close to the penalty area line, and a direct shot would be blocked by the wall, not a particularly good position.
After discussing with his teammates, Lin played a tactical free kick, passing the ball back to set up for a shot.
Initially standing behind Lin, Xavi suddenly moved aside as the ball approached, giving the shooting opportunity to a teammate.
Central defender Ramos unexpectedly appeared from behind and took a powerful shot towards the goal.
The French players were caught off guard by Xavi's move and didn't expect the central defender to take the shot.
Goalkeeper Lloris remained motionless, showing no reaction to the shot.
However, Ramos' shot went over the crossbar, relieving the French players.
Seeing the ball fly over, Ramos couldn't help but smile.
Allowing a defender to take a long shot seemed a bit unreliable, as they usually preferred long clearances.
In the 11th minute, Lin received the ball, passed it to Iniesta on the flank, and the two displayed brilliant cooperation on the wing!
But their attempt to enter the penalty area was thwarted by the opponents' defenders, clearing the ball off the sideline.
In these few minutes, Spain's attacks were vigorous, but breaking through the French defense was challenging.
The opposing defensive midfielders had a wide sweeping range, strong defense, and great physical qualities, making it difficult for Spain to gain an advantage in physical battles.
However, most of France's energy was invested in defense, with few players in the attacking front, leading to several counterattacks being nullified by Spanish players in their own half.
As time passed, neither side seemed to have a solution to each other.
Lin noticed the tight defense in the penalty area and the fierce midfield battle, so he voluntarily dropped back and formed a diamond formation with Iniesta and others.
This positioning benefits the forwards and midfielders being closer, reducing the passing distance and interception risks.
Moreover, by dropping back, he actually took on a midfielder position, effectively increasing the midfield presence.
This allowed Spain to gain an upper hand in midfield battles, enhancing their ability to create threatening opportunities.
On the sidelines, Bosque nodded in satisfaction at Lin's decision, as he had just noticed the same issue and was about to remind the players on the field.
To his surprise, the opponent had already recognized this point and made immediate adjustments.
This kid has strong match reading abilities!
In the 18th minute, Iniesta's breakthrough on the left side of the penalty area was intercepted, and he passed the ball back to his teammate.
Xavi transitioned to Lin, who horizontally dribbled the ball, glanced at the goalkeeper's position, and shot directly from the top right of the penalty area.
The shot was high quality but hit the woodwork due to the angle being too narrow.
The fans at the Calderon Stadium sighed, realizing how close that shot was to being a goal!
The French team was startled and immediately strengthened their defense against long shots.
Seeing the increased defense near the top of the penalty area, Lin quickly moved to the sideline to initiate attacks from both sides of the penalty area.
In the 22nd minute, Lin broke through the right side, attracting the defending defender before passing the ball to Pedro on the inside.
Pedro faked a shot and instead passed the ball to David Silva on the other side, who took a low shot with his right foot, easily saved by the goalkeeper.
Though it was a good opportunity and a good shot, unfortunately, it did not beat the goalkeeper's timely save.
Three minutes later, Lin dribbled towards the baseline, passed the ball near the goal line, where Iniesta, David Silva, and Pedro all made sliding shots towards goal. If any of them connected, it would have been a certain goal.
However, being smaller in stature, none of the three players managed to reach the ball, and it slipped past the goal.
The fans at the Calderon Stadium sighed again, understanding their missed opportunity.
Unable to change their height, they couldn't do much about it.
The French team breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if they had a tall striker like Giroud, the ball might have gone in.
They couldn't allow this kid to continue making unchecked crosses from the byline. Who knows if they would have the same luck next time?
The pressure on the French defense was evident. Even the forward line, including Benzema, dropped back to participate in defense.
However, this seemed to have little effect. Their defensive shift relieved the pressure on Spain's defense, allowing them to allocate more forces to the attack.
In the 25th minute, Lin once again advanced to the byline with the ball, and the French full-back Debuchy immediately rushed forward to stop his cross.
Debuchy used to play as a winger, but was later converted into a full-back at Lille.
Recognizing the opponent's characteristics after a quick mental revisit, Lin made a decision.
He did not choose to pass the ball but instead dribbled towards the penalty area.
Debuchy stood in his way, trying to force him towards the goal line.
Making a sudden forward movement with his right knee bent, Lin caught Debuchy off guard, who had expected him to break through from the right side and had adjusted his position to defend the right side.
However, as Debuchy readjusted his balance, he realized that it was a feint. While he was still moving, Lin quickly played the ball with his left foot, sidestepped the goal line, and bypassed Debuchy.
Debuchy was dumbfounded, wondering if such a move was allowed.
Even the French forward, Benzema, was astonished, thinking that Lin was stealing his moves.
From the perspective of the French team's goal-line, it looked like the ball was out of play.
So, the fans booed Lin and pressured the on-field referee, shouting loudly for the ball to be considered out of play.
The linesman stared at the ball, ready to whistle if it had crossed the line.
However, the ball stayed in play, and after skipping past Debuchy, Lin quickly accelerated and entered the penalty area before the approaching French defenders, stealing the ball and then racing into the penalty area.
After getting past Debuchy, Lin entered the penalty area again, and the right side of the French team's penalty area became tense.
They hadn't forgotten the head coach's warning before the match: "The biggest threat in the Spanish team is the number 30 player!"
So, the defenders Koscielny and Sako almost instinctively pounced on Lin.
Seeing the ferocity of their tackles, Lin didn't want to risk trying to get past them quickly and shoot.
He glanced at the position of the goalkeeper, realizing that the goalkeeper was positioned close to the near side of the goal, blocking his angle for a shot.
This positioning meant that more than half of the French team's goal was wide open!
As long as he could pass the ball out, it would be a chance for an open goal.
So, he feinted a shot, causing Koscielny to interfere by lifting his leg and Sako to rush forward to block with his arm.
This was what Lin had been waiting for. After seeing Koscielny lift his leg, he immediately played the ball to the open area in the middle of the penalty area.
If his teammates were cohesive enough, someone should have been advancing for a shot at that moment.
Sure enough, as he passed the ball, a red figure in number 6 jersey rushed from behind, reaching the ball and sliding to shoot, putting the ball into the net.
In the 26th minute, Lin assisted Iniesta's goal, putting Spain in a 1-0 lead against France for the time being.
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