Capítulo 130: Wearing the National Team Captain's Armband for the First Time!
In the 76th minute of the match, Pogba tried to intercept Xavi in midfield but was evaded by Xavi's signature turn move. Just as Xavi was about to deliver a deadly pass, Pogba inexplicably raised his foot and stomped on Xavi's ankle.
Even though Xavi immediately tried to withdraw his foot, he couldn't avoid being brought down by Pogba's tackle. Xavi fell to the ground in obvious pain, clutching his foot and rolling in agony.
The Spanish players quickly surrounded Pogba.
"Are you trying to kill someone?"
Hot-headed Ramos seemed ready to throw a punch. Although he and Xavi were rivals at their clubs, they were teammates in the national team. Seeing his teammate hurt, Ramos was the first to step forward.
French players hurried over to protect Pogba, separating him from the Spanish players. Both sides shoved and shouted at each other, escalating tensions on the field.
Seeing Xavi's serious injury, Lin waved to the sidelines for the medical team.
The Spanish medics rushed onto the field with a medical kit. Xavi's sock was pulled down, revealing a noticeably swollen ankle.
"Soft tissue injury, the bone is fine!"
The medic, seeing that Xavi's ankle was not deformed, breathed a sigh of relief. However, a soft tissue injury is not a minor issue, especially for a player of Xavi's age. Such an injury would require at least 6-8 weeks of rest, potentially more than two months if recovery is slow.
This sight infuriated the Spanish players further.
The referee made a decisive call, showing Pogba a straight red card and sending him off. His foul was egregious enough to not only warrant a red card but also potentially additional penalties.
Pogba felt his mind go blank, not understanding what he was thinking or why he acted that way. When the referee showed him the red card, he hung his head and walked silently to the sidelines, heading straight for the locker room without acknowledging the coaches.
Deschamps was furious with Pogba. He had instructed Pogba to mark Xavi, not to commit such a foul.
Now, being significantly behind and down a player, they were doomed to lose this match badly.
With Xavi injured and unable to continue, Spain immediately made a personnel adjustment.
Martinez came on to replace the injured Xavi.
For this match, both Casillas and Puyol were absent, so the captain's armband was on Xavi. Before leaving the field, Xavi handed the captain's armband to Lin instead of Ramos.
Lin felt it was inappropriate and was about to refuse when Xavi spoke up:
"Lin, I can't continue. Wear this and lead us to win this match!"
Lin nodded firmly, no longer declining, and put the captain's armband on his left arm.
This was Lin's first time wearing the captain's armband in his career, and it was for the national team.
Journalists captured this moment with their cameras. The passing of the armband from Xavi to Lin seemed to symbolize a generational transition in the Spanish national team.
...
On the sidelines, Del Bosque looked worriedly at Xavi on the stretcher. Hearing from the medic that Xavi might be out for two months, his face darkened.
Two months meant Xavi would miss the remaining World Cup qualifiers.
"Damn it!"
Del Bosque punched the edge of the bench and cursed under his breath.
Although Xavi was older, he was still crucial to the Spanish team. Without him, their midfield strength would drop significantly.
...
With one player down, France could no longer mount any threatening attacks.
In the final stages of the match, an angry Spanish team launched a ferocious assault on the French goal. The French players were pinned in their own half, unable to fight back.
This scene disappointed the French fans, leading many to leave early.
Seeing no hope for a comeback and fearing a rout, they chose to leave rather than watch any further.
With both Xavi and Iniesta subbed out, Lin, wearing the captain's armband, took on the role of Spain's midfield commander.
Lin showed no discomfort in this position. Having started as a defensive midfielder and played in an attacking role, he was well-versed in orchestrating play from the midfield.
Under Lin's command, Spain controlled the game's pace completely.
In the final stages, Spain's attacks were relentless.
In the 85th minute, a pass from Spain's midfield breached the French defense, reaching Alonso. Alonso created space for a shot but sent it over the bar.
Two minutes later, a defensive lapse by France allowed Villa to find space. Lin delivered a tricky curved pass that bypassed the defenders and reached Villa, but Lloris rushed out to neutralize the threat.
Lin was genuinely impressed. His teammates' shooting was extraordinarily off-target.
If the ground passes didn't work, he decided to go for high balls. Ramos had been in good form lately, maybe he could head one in?
During stoppage time, Spain won a corner.
Lin delivered the ball into the box, and Ramos fought hard to head it, but his effort lacked power, and Lloris easily caught it.
After this missed opportunity, Spain couldn't extend their lead further.
After ninety minutes, with goals from Lin and Iniesta, Spain secured a 3-0 away victory against France.
At the final whistle, French players visibly sighed in relief.
It was finally over. Any longer, and they wouldn't have held out.
Spain's onslaught was terrifying, and if given a choice, they would never want to face this Spanish team again.
"Lin, can we swap jerseys?"
Benzema, who had a mediocre performance, earnestly approached Lin, asking to exchange jerseys.
Seeing Benzema act so quickly, Ribery, already holding his jersey and heading towards Lin, scratched his head awkwardly.
"If only I had moved faster."
"Sure, no problem!"
Hearing Lin's reply, Benzema smiled widely.
Lin suddenly understood why Benzema was the scapegoat at Real Madrid. His harmless look made him an easy target for blame.
Apart from Benzema, the other French players were not in the mood, with only a few swapping jerseys with the Spanish players.
The rest hurried off the field to avoid the jeers and insults from the remaining French fans in the stands.
Returning to the locker room, the French players ignored Pogba, each heading silently to their lockers to grab towels and clothes for a shower.
Bang! The locker room door was pushed open forcefully.
Deschamps stormed in, his face livid.
Scanning the room, he found Pogba huddled in a corner.
Pogba kept his head down, far from his teammates, not daring to speak, and they seemed unwilling to talk to him.
Deschamps, initially filled with anger, softened upon seeing Pogba's dejected look.
"Paul, come with me to the press conference!"
Pogba looked up in surprise at his coach.
The other players also paused, turning to Deschamps.
"Is he serious? Taking a player who was sent off for a malicious foul to the post-match press conference?"
Seeing Pogba not moving, Deschamps snapped:
"Are you planning to be a coward for life?"
"Come with me to the press conference and apologize publicly. Making mistakes isn't scary; what's scary is not having the courage to admit and face them!"
He anticipated the French media's harsh criticism of Pogba, tearing him apart.
If nothing was done, Pogba could be mentally scarred for life.
To prevent that, Deschamps needed to protect him now.
But Pogba had to cooperate. If he didn't, Deschamps couldn't help him.
Pogba, understanding Deschamps' intentions, nodded heavily and followed him to the press conference.
On the Spanish side, Lin accompanied Del Bosque to the press conference.
"I'm sorry. I acted irrationally on the field. I apologize for the harm I caused Xavi. I hope he recovers soon!"
Pogba bowed to the cameras sincerely upon arriving.
Reporters quickly snapped photos of the scene.
A Spanish reporter, clearly upset, asked angrily:
"Pogba, do you think your poor performance and reckless behavior cost your team the game?"
This question aimed to put all the blame on Pogba.
While he was partly responsible, he wasn't solely to blame.
Spanish journalists weren't satisfied with Pogba's apology, trying to make him uncomfortable.
"I'm very sorry. I let down my coach, teammates, and fans."
Pogba maintained his sincere attitude. "I will work harder to meet the fans' expectations soon!"
A French journalist asked Deschamps:
"Coach Deschamps, will you continue to use young, inexperienced players like Pogba in the future?"
Clearly, the French reporter doubted Pogba's future in the national team.
Pogba's performance today was too poor to trust him again.
"Of course. The team always needs fresh blood. I'll continue to monitor young players performing well in various leagues. If they meet my standards, they will get national team opportunities!"
Deschamps was determined to rebuild the French team, not relying on the current veterans.
For the World Cup next year and the European Championship in three years, the rebuild had to start now!
Midfield would be a focus of this rebuild.
Not just Pogba, but also Griezmann, who had been excellent in La Liga, was on his radar.
The French journalist wasn't convinced:
"Aren't you worried young players will perform poorly like Pogba? We've almost lost
hope of directly qualifying for the World Cup!"
Losing to Spain twice, they had little chance of topping the group.
France now had to aim for second place, hoping to win the playoffs to reach the World Cup.
"Ahem, we need to be patient with young players. They need time to grow. We can't expect them to shine immediately!"
Boos filled the room. A Spanish journalist rudely remarked:
"Why is it that a 17-year-old Lin integrates so well with the Spanish team, performing excellently every match?"
Implying French players were inferior to Spanish players.
"Ahem, a genius like Lin is incomparable to regular players."
Deschamps' words shocked the journalists:
"What's going on? The French coach praising a Spanish player?"
"Wrong script? Isn't this the Spanish coach's line?"
Del Bosque, wary: "Is he eyeing our treasure?"
So he started praising Lin, extolling his virtues.
The Spanish journalists applauded enthusiastically.
Their team had won big, and their rookie outshone France's.
They felt immense pride, looking down on their French counterparts.
French journalists were angry but helpless.
Their coach had turned against them. What could they say?
The fault lay in not having a player like Lin!
...
Deschamps' concerns were right. After the game, Pogba's poor performance was heavily criticized by French fans.
Despite his apology, Spanish fans also joined the chorus of discontent.
Not just Pogba, even Deschamps faced criticism.
Fans blamed him for poor judgment and selection.
Using an inexperienced player in a crucial match had backfired, leading to a humiliating loss.
French media was pessimistic, believing the gap between their team and top-tier teams like Spain had widened significantly.
France was no longer a top European team!
Contrastingly, Spanish media and fans were optimistic.
After this match, Spain's lead in the group was significant.
They led by six points. Winning just two of the next three matches would secure the top spot and a World Cup berth.
While Spain celebrated, Lin felt some concern.
Spain's squad was aging.
Puyol and Xavi were getting older.
After this World Cup, they would likely retire.
Spain's young players were not on par with these world-class veterans.
In contrast, France, under Deschamps' bold rejuvenation, would eventually rise again.
In the near future, Spain would face another formidable rival on the international stage.
...
After the match against France, Lin didn't return to Spain with his teammates.
Instead, he flew directly from Paris to Germany.
Upon landing, he received a call from his agent, Pere.
"Someone wants me for an endorsement?"
"Yes, and it's a lucrative deal!"
Pere confirmed on the other end of the line.
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