Chapter 629: A strange game, Spain’s opponent

Although both Lin Quan and Guardiola were more optimistic about Croatia, it was the Danish team that scored the first goal.

And the Danish team’s goal came very quickly!
Only 50 seconds into the game, the Danish team got a throw-in opportunity.

Knudsen, the left back of the Danish team, used a signature strong hand throw and threw the ball directly into the penalty area. A foul ball was played as a corner kick!

Denmark's centre-back Simon Kjaer jumped high but did not touch the ball. Instead, he deceived the Croatian players around him.

The football fell behind without being touched.

The Danish team's central midfielder Delaney grabbed the ball before the opponent's defender could destroy it, took a few steps to the right and then passed it across to the teammate next to him.

Another Danish center back, Jorgensen, took the ball and shot directly. The angle of the shot was not tricky, but his luck was incredible.

When Jorgensen shot, there were two defensive players in front of him. One of them extended his foot to intercept with the goalkeeper, but the football passed under their crotch and rolled into the goal.

Jorgensen shot through the opponent's three doors with just one shot. His shooting skills are amazing!

This lightning-like goal made the audience a little confused.

Some fans who had just arrived at the stadium and had not had time to sit down were even more confused.

what's going on?
I haven't even sat down yet, and I've already scored?

After reacting, bursts of cheers erupted from the scene.

The fans of the Danish team were very excited. They felt that this game was safe!

In this World Cup, the Danish team performed very well on the defensive end.

In the three games in the group stage, they only conceded 1 goal.

Such a solid defensive foundation is the greatest confidence that Danish fans feel that they can win the game.

They even felt confident that even if the defending champion Spanish team came, they might not be able to break through their iron-clad defense line.

The expressions of the Croatian players and head coach were a little solemn. Obviously they had fully understood their opponent before the game and knew that this was a team with strong defensive capabilities.

Being taken ahead by such an opponent is a huge trouble for the Croatian team.

"This ball was lost..."

Guardiola did not expect that the first goal would come so early. After seeing this goal, he couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.

I don’t know what to say, but the Danish full-back’s arm strength is really amazing.

According to the rules of the throw-in, the player who throws the ball must raise his hands above his head to throw. In this case, he can throw the ball more than thirty meters. Has this kid practiced the unicorn arm?
For some teams that are good at heading goals, if there is a player in the team who is good at throwing throw-ins, then their offensive methods will be richer.

Just imagine, a frontcourt foul ball is approximately equal to a corner kick. This alone gives them more than a dozen more offensive opportunities than their opponents.

"After falling behind at the start, the Croatian team must speed up."

Guardiola was originally more optimistic about the Croatian team, but when he saw that the Croatian team fell behind at the beginning, he suddenly became a little worried.

The goal was conceded too early. If the Danish team's tactics were defensive counterattack, then the Croatian team would be in danger.

But it is obvious that the Danish team has no intention of playing defensive counterattack.

Maybe even they themselves didn't expect that they could score a goal so quickly, right?

Facts have proved that playing against Croatia is not a wise choice.

In the fourth minute, Croatia stole the ball and launched a counterattack. Rakitic dribbled the ball into the penalty area and passed across to the left.

The ball was not passed well, and the passing route was predicted in advance by the Danish defender.

But just when everyone thought that Croatia's attack was going to be resolved, the Danish defender gave them a big gift.

Their clearance hit a teammate, bounced back, and landed at the feet of Croatian forward Mandzukic.

Mandzukic was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect that the other party would give him such a big gift.

But he quickly recovered from the shock. Without even having time to look at Schmeichel's position, he turned around and volleyed the ball up from the ground, grazing the post and flying into the goal.

Although Schmeichel had moved to the near corner, he still had no reaction.

There is really no way to save this ball. It is too close, too fast, and the angle is too tricky. If he really saves, he will probably hit the post.

In just 3 minutes, Croatia quickly equalized the score.

The two sides returned to the same starting line again.

The audience cheered even louder. This game was so interesting. Two goals were scored in just 4 minutes.

If he keeps playing at this pace, he won't be able to score six, seven, eight or nine points in a game, right?
"This game is really interesting. Both goals were beyond my expectations."

Guardiola couldn't help but laugh. The game turned into a chaotic battle. The position battles on both sides failed to produce results, but they both scored goals in various accidents.

Is it possible that this game will be decided by luck?
After 120 minutes, Guardiola couldn’t laugh or cry:
"It actually entered a penalty shootout. Is my prediction so accurate?"

120分钟之前，场上的比分是1:1，现在仍旧是1:1.
The two teams played very brilliantly. Together, the two teams contributed thirty or forty shots, but they just couldn't score.

In overtime, the Croatian team also received a penalty kick.

As a result, Modric's penalty kick was saved by Schmeichel, and the Croatian team missed the opportunity to kill their opponent.

The game entered the most brutal penalty shootout.

Denmark's Eriksen was the first to play and then missed a free throw.

When the Danish players on the field and the fans in the stands saw Eros miss the first penalty kick, their expressions suddenly changed, and their soles became cold, as if a basin of cold water had been poured on them.

It's over, it's over, it's really over now. You missed the first penalty kick. Can you still win?
Seeing Eriksen's shot saved by Subasic, everyone on the Croatian side cheered as if they had won the game.

Then, with everyone looking forward to it, the shot of No. 19 Baddeli, who was the first to appear in Croatia, was miraculously blocked by Schmeichel!
Now, the Croatian fans and players were dumbfounded.

what's the situation?
Is the opponent's goalkeeper cheating?
Save two penalty kicks in just a few minutes?

Schmeichel, who was on the sidelines, saw his son performing so well. His face turned red with excitement and his neck was thick. He cheered loudly and clapped his hands so hard that he didn't even notice that his palms were red.

"This game is so fun!"

Lin Quan and Guardiola, two neutral fans, were already laughing so hard!

Today's game was so exciting, exciting in every sense of the word.

How lucky I am to be able to witness such a game live!
"I feel that the goalkeepers on both sides are in good condition. Maybe they can save one or two penalty kicks in the future."

Guardiola applauded and said to Lin Quan.

Although the probability of saving a penalty kick is less than 3%, when the goalkeeper is in peak condition, all probability can be thrown aside. Facing a goalkeeper in this state, even the opponent will feel frightened and the psychological pressure is too great.

Penalty kicks themselves are a great test of a player's mentality. Once the mentality is affected, the probability of abnormal performance is too high, further reducing the difficulty of the goalkeeper's save.

This is why, the farther back the penalty kick goes, the greater the pressure on the kicker and the higher the probability of missing the penalty.

Among the fans at the scene, there were many fans who had the same expectations as Guardiola and Lin Quan.

If the penalty kick is scored, it doesn't matter. If it is not scored, it is news.

If you miss three penalties in a row, it will really be fun.

The second player of the Danish team was captain Kjaer. Under tremendous pressure, he chose to aim at the blind spot in the upper right corner of the goal and hit the goal hard!

It has to be said that such a choice is very risky. If the penalty is missed, the morale of the Danish team will really collapse.

But Dali worked wonders, and his shot hit the target accurately. Croatian goalkeeper Subasic had nothing to do about it.

The pressure came to the Croatian team. Kramaric, who came on as a substitute, used a coquettish change of pace to deceive Schmeichel and easily succeeded in pushing the ball.

Schmeichel protested to the referee, believing that the opponent's obvious pause before shooting was a penalty kick violation and the goal should be disallowed.

But the referee did not accept his protest and ruled that the goal was valid.

The two sides returned to the same starting line, and the pressure once again came to the Danish team.

After scoring two goals in the last round, the mentality of the players on both sides seemed to have stabilized.

The third Danish player who came on the scene also scored the ball steadily.

At this time, the Croatian team sent their third penalty kick player-Modric!
Seeing Modric walking towards the penalty area, there was an uproar in the stands. Many fans were worried that Modric, who had just missed a penalty kick, would be unable to withstand the pressure and collapse in this round.

And Schmeichel, who had just blocked the opponent's penalty kick a few minutes ago, saw Modric, an old acquaintance, walking into the penalty area, and also challenged Modric:

"Hey, Luka, my eyes have seen through you, you are dead!"

Modric glanced at the other person and ignored him.

After the referee blew the whistle, he made a steady run and kicked the ball towards the center with a blast.

Schmeichel misjudged the direction and rushed to the right side of the goal. If he had stood still, the ball would have been blocked again.

Modric completed his redemption. After scoring the penalty kick, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his previously tense nerves slowly relaxed. After returning to the queue, he apologized to his teammates one by one for his Apologize for missing the penalty kick before.

If the penalty hadn't been missed before, the game would have been over.

"It doesn't matter, it's the same whenever you win!"

Rakitic, a good friend of the national team and a mortal enemy of the club, patted Modric on the shoulder and said comfortingly.

Kovacic echoed from the side: "Yes, we agreed to win or lose together. There is no need to blame ourselves like this. Besides, we are going to win the championship. How could we fall here?"

The comfort from his teammates made Modric feel warm in his heart and very touched.

He secretly vowed in his heart that he would try his best this time and leave no regrets.

"Let's go, the outcome of this game has been decided."

Seeing the state of the Croatian players, Lin Quan said to Guardiola.

"Are we leaving now? The penalty kick hasn't been taken yet. How about waiting a few more minutes?"

Guardiola seemed to want to watch the last few penalties before leaving. At this moment, there was an exclamation from the stands, followed by bigger and louder cheers.

The two turned to look at the court and saw the Croatian team's goalkeeper Subasic throwing away the football in his hand and roaring excitedly. In front of him, the fourth Danish player Schone, who appeared on the field, looked remorseful.

It was clear what had just happened, Denmark missed a penalty kick again.

"Uh, okay, it looks like the winner is really decided."

Missing the fourth penalty kick was a reprieve for the Danish team.

But just when everyone thought that the Croatian team was going to win the game based on the opponent's mistakes, the fourth Croatian player also missed a penalty kick.

At this time, both Lin Quan and Guardiola were dumbfounded.

What number is this?

Was it the fourth penalty that was saved?

If you include the penalty saved by Schmeichel in overtime, the goalkeepers of both sides have a success rate of over 50% today.

However, what was even more shocking was yet to come. Before the Danish team, which had escaped death, had time to be happy, Jorgensen, the fifth player to score, once again sent the ball into the arms of the opponent's goalkeeper.

So far, the Danish team has taken all 5 penalty kicks, but only hit 2 penalty kicks and missed 3!
The head coach of the Danish team on the sidelines was so angry that he almost vomited blood. It was really outrageous. He missed 5 of 3 penalty kicks. Why don't you go to heaven?

Finally, it was the Croatian team's fifth player's turn, and the final one was Rakitic.

At this time, all the fans' eyes were focused on him, and countless Croatian fans in front of the TV were praying silently for him.

You must enter, you must enter!
As long as this goal is scored, the Croatian team will advance to the quarterfinals.

The atmosphere on the field was very solemn, and the camera captured the actions of the Croatian head coach. At this time, he was burying his head deeply in his knees, not daring to watch the last ball.

There were also many timid fans in the stands who covered their eyes with their hands, including Danish fans and Croatian fans.

Everyone knows that this penalty will determine the life or death of both teams.

Rakitic took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

After a calm run-up, he steadily threw the ball away. Schmeichel misjudged the direction and the football flew into the net.

The stands instantly boiled. The Croatian players on the field roared and rushed towards Rakitic. Modric, as thin as a monkey, clenched his fists with excitement, and jumped high on the lawn as if his feet were strengthened with springs. stand up.

Thousands of miles away in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, countless excited fans poured into the streets and squares, waving national flags and celebrating excitedly.

Regardless of who the opponent is in the next round, tonight is a carnival night for the Croatians.

"It seems that Croatia is your opponent in the next round!"

Guardiola and Lin Quan had already stood up and were about to leave the field. Before leaving, they looked back for the last time at the Croatian players who were celebrating crazily on the field.

In today's game, the Croatian team left a deep impression on them.

"Well, this is an opponent worth looking forward to and a good touchstone." (End of Chapter)