Chapter 380: Two consecutive victories in the World European Qualifiers, reversal and direct passage

Chapter 380: Two consecutive victories in the World Cup preliminaries, reversal and direct passage to the World Cup main game

"Goooooooooooal——"

The commentators in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium's on-site commentary box all stretched their voices at the moment of the goal.

The Arsenal players in the stadium were ecstatic when they saw Martin's goal and ran over with passion.

Wenger, who was sitting in the visiting team's coaching bench, was intoxicated with his head in his hands, obviously surprised by Martin's goal.

Simeone, who was in charge of the technical area as the home team coach, was briefly amazed. He immediately rushed to the fourth official and complained that Martin was offside.

The fourth official has long been used to this situation. He shrugged his shoulders and explained that the assistant referee had his own judgment on whether it was offside.

The referee Cakir looked at his assistant and saw that the offside flag was not raised. He whistled and pointed his finger at the center line, which meant...the goal was valid!

Immediately, the live director restored the entire process of the wonderful goal.

At the moment when Mendy passed the ball, Martin was still outside the penalty area, a full meter away from Juanfran who was trailing behind.

In other words...not offside at all.

Martin, who scored the goal, was very calm. He still looked calm and calm, standing on the spot and hugging his teammates who came forward to celebrate the goal.

Countless fans in front of the TV watched in ecstasy as Martin's heel passed the attacking Oblak.

When the game restarted, Atletico Madrid, which was trailing by two goals, had no way out and could only step up its attack regardless of the consequences to see if it could narrow the gap and then try to equalize the score.

As for turning defeat into victory, no one at Atletico Madrid, including Simeone, dared to imagine it.

Arsenal, who were leading by two goals as a guest, knew how to give up when things were good. They held firm first, waited until the ball changed hands, and then took control of the ball. They spent the game time reasonably through back-and-forth transfers.

If given the chance, give another fatal blow to kill the game completely.

Eighty minutes into the game, the Atletico Madrid players playing at home gradually began to have inconsistent thinking in the front and backcourt as time went by.

The players in the front want to narrow the gap and equalize the score, while the players in the back just want to do not seek merit but seek no fault.

The two full-backs Felipe and Juanfran are both over 32 years old, and their physical fitness cannot compare with their peak years a few years ago.

Now it is difficult for them to get back to their position once they run up.

There's nothing shameful about losing to defending champions Arsenal by two goals.

Lack of sufficient support on the offensive end, there is no way to threaten Arsenal's defensive system, let alone Cech guarding the goal.

At the end of the game, the scoreboard still showed 0:2.

Another peak matchup at the same time came to an end at the Parc des Princes. Paris Saint-Germain, who was at home, defeated the Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich 3:0 with goals from Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

结束全部两轮小组赛，两连胜的阿森纳积6分排名小组第一，罗马1胜1平积4分排名第2，马竞1平1负积1分排名第3，卡拉巴克两战皆负排名垫底。

After playing in the Champions League, the team's focus returned to the league.

Facing newly promoted Brighton, Arsenal, playing at home, defeated their opponent 3:0 with goals from Sanchez, Martin, and Cavani.

Time has come to October, and the first-level leagues around the world have entered a short intermission period and entered the international match day.

The international match day in October also means the final stage of the qualifying group stage of the 2018 Fighting Nations World Cup.

There are only three results.

Direct promotion, play-offs and preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

At 10:7 pm local time on October 8, the two group matches of Group B started at the same time and attracted a lot of attention.

After 5 minutes of fierce battle, Switzerland defeated Hungary 2:4. Portugal, which challenged the weak team Andorra, relied on Ronaldo and Martin both scoring twice to win 0: as a guest.

结束B组全部九轮小组赛，瑞士9战全胜积27分，葡萄牙9战8胜1负积24分排名小组第2。

In the final round of Group B, Portugal faced the leader Switzerland.

Since the goal difference lead is as high as double digits, it also means that as long as Portugal wins the final home game, it can beat Switzerland and directly qualify for the World Cup in the fighting countries next year as the first place in the group.

However, at this stage of the European qualifiers, only Group B, Group D, Group E and Group I are still in suspense about promotion.

The most fierce competition is undoubtedly Group D and Group I.

After the 9 rounds of the group stage, the top three in Group D all have the hope of directly advancing. However, the leader Serbia has the best chance, leading the second place Wales by two points. In addition, in the final round, they will face Georgia, which was eliminated early, at home. As long as they do not take the initiative to die, You can advance directly.

Wales and Ireland faced each other directly in the last round. The two teams had 17 points and 16 points respectively. Considering that many second-place points in the group are 18+, it means that if you want to get the second place in the eight best groups to qualify for the play-offs, A winner must be determined.

The situation in Group I is the most complicated. In addition to Finland and Kosovo being eliminated early, Iceland with 19 points, Croatia with 17 points, Ukraine with 17 points and Turkey with 16 points all have the opportunity to directly advance. Among them, Ukraine and Croatia will also compete directly.

But if both teams want to advance directly, they have to count on an upset at home in Iceland in the last round.

……

Three days passed quickly. Portugal's final Group B match against Switzerland at home was more than an hour away from the start of the game. The Stadium of Light, which can accommodate 64000 fans, was already full.

More than an hour before the game, players from both sides came to the court to warm up.

Martin met several old acquaintances.

The first is club teammate Xhaka, followed by former Wolfsburg teammate Ricardo Rodriguez, and finally Shaqiri, who has a record of playing against each other.

Everyone respects Martin.

Xhaka also put his arm around Martin's neck and joked: "Captain, please give me some light abuse."

"Hey~ try not to make you look embarrassed, how about that?"

Martin grinned.

Xhaka shrugged and said: "As promised, don't show off your skills to me. You also know me...hehe~"

"Then you have to shovel it until I wake up."

Martin blinked.

Xhaka laughed awkwardly. There were many teammates who wanted to stop Martin with fouls at the Kearney training base, but they couldn't even touch them...

Not long after, major media reprinted the starting list for the game announced by UEFA's official website.

Both sides have fielded their strongest lineups.

Portugal has two superstars Martin and Ronaldo playing together.

In fact, before the game, a large number of media and fans believed that Switzerland would win if it lost less in the final round.

Although Switzerland ranks first in the group with a three-point advantage, everyone knows the odds are against them as a guest in the final round.

Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo, is already very abnormal, and now Martin is coming to help. It is completely logical to win the game.

To put it simply, the offensive system of Ronaldo + Martin is simply too luxurious.

The home team Portugal used a 442 formation.

Goalkeeper: Patricio

Defenders: Eliseu, Font, Pepe, Cedric

Midfielder: Joao Mario, Martin, William Carvalho, Bernardo Silva

Forwards: Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo

Switzerland has a 4231 formation.

Goalkeeper: Sommer

Defenders: Ricardo Rodriguez, Djourou, Scheer, Lichtsteiner

Midfielder: Xhaka, Freuler

Midfielder: Mohammadi, Djemayli, Shaqiri

Forward: Seferovic

……

The game kicked off on time at 8:45 pm.

Portugal, playing at home, did not rush to launch an attack. It played steadily under Martin's deliberate control of the rhythm, and used Bernat's dribbling to test the depth of the Swiss defense.

This team, which has won all its first nine games in the qualifiers, has a very good overall combat effectiveness and its tactical execution is very good.

The attitude at the beginning was also very upright, and they defended comprehensively, leaving the home team Portugal open to attack.

Of course, this does not mean that Switzerland gives up its attack.

As a team that can fight tough battles, defensive counterattack is a necessary tactic.

Obviously, they want to use the surface of comprehensive defense to force Portugal to attack with all their players.

At that time, there will be a lot to do in switching from offense to defense.

How could Santos not know Switzerland’s plans?

Trailing by three points, if you want to qualify directly, you must beat Switzerland at home.

Reservations certainly cannot guarantee the quality of the offense.

The Swiss team's defensive quality was very good in the first ten minutes.

As the game entered 11 minutes, Martin accelerated the speed of passing and receiving while increasing the number and frequency of passes to the ribs.

The defensive system led by Xhaka gradually felt that it was struggling. Swiss head coach Petkovic could no longer sit in the coaching bench. He stood up and went to the visiting team coach's technical area. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at the court with a frown. . Portugal has been attacking many times in a row. The team he is in charge of has not even had a normal attack, and it is even difficult to cross the center line.

If this continues for a long time, conceding goals will definitely become inevitable.

Sommer's goalkeeping was constantly tested, and there were dangers in front of the goal. The only good news was that the goal was not lost yet.

In the 16th minute, Martin, who served as the right center midfielder, pressed forward to the -meter area and received the ball from the B seat. He stopped and accelerated to pass Mohammadi's attack.

Facing Xhaka's well-timed defense, Martin used a fried meatball to smash the ball forward to the left, and then without making any over-adjustment, he passed the ball with the inside of the instep of his left foot at a 45° angle on the right.

The football shot up from the ground and flew towards the right rib of the Swiss penalty area with a strong internal rotation arc. The right center back Djurou took off while retreating but failed to hit the football.

"Falling off!"

With the exclamation of He Wei, the commentator of Central 5, Ronaldo, who had absolute confidence in Martin's pass, appeared at the ball landing point. With the instep of his left foot, he unloaded the ball comfortably in the direction in front of him and stepped out. His right foot is on the left side of the small penalty area, supporting his body, and his left foot shooting movement is very smooth.

Boom~

As soon as goalkeeper Sommer took a step, he saw the football that had grown from small to large appear in front of his eyes. Due to his body's conditioned reflex, he raised his hands up, but... he was still half a beat too slow.

The football with a whistling sound passed over Sommer's head at high speed, grazed the inner edge of the near-end post and hit the upper net of the goal.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa——"

In an instant, the Stadium of Light was filled with deafening roars from the home fans.

Ronaldo was extremely excited to score the goal, but he did not celebrate immediately. Instead, he waved to Martin, who assisted, indicating that they could celebrate the goal together.

When Martin ran over, he used his signature 'siu' celebration.

"MC is connected, invincible~"

Central 5 commentator He Wei said loudly.

Swiss player Xhaka looked at Martin celebrating his goal and shook his head. He had already guessed how the game would end.

Although I was mentally prepared before the game, I felt a little sad when I faced the reality.

As he joked with Martin before the game, many times it is difficult to touch someone if you want to foul.

As a club teammate, he knows how difficult and overpaying Martin is.

Adding a scoring machine, Cristiano Ronaldo, is simply not too perverted.

But the game is not over yet, Comrades still need to work hard.

The biggest feature of football matches is that they are full of uncertainty. What if you get upset through hard work?

Don’t give up your ticket to the World Cup in the Warring States easily.

When the game restarted, Switzerland, which was lagging behind, consciously stepped up its attack to break down Patricio's goal.

The two veterans Pepe and Fonte cooperated tacitly and had sufficient experience, and Martin, a top player who commanded the defense line, actively participated in the defensive arrangement, which made it difficult for Xhaka's series of attacks to create enough threats.

Shaqiri has strong breakthrough ability, fast speed, and a strong body like a rugby player. However, he was continuously defended by William Carvalho and Martin, and he always felt that he was unable to use his strength.

Continuous attacks did not pose a threat to the Portuguese defense, and problems quickly occurred when switching from defense to offense.

In the 26th minute, Xhaka didn't have time to commit the first foul. Martin, who received the pass from Pepe, looked like he had eyes in the back of his head. He stopped and turned to dodge Xhaka's falling to the ground, then sent a kick to the right front. A very penetrating through ball.

Bernardo Silva didn't know when he crossed the center line at high speed along the right sideline and approached Martin's pass at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Switzerland's left back Ricardo Rodriguez was fully involved in the attack and was simply not in position when he needed to defend.

Left center back Djuru had to pull out to cover the defense. Andre Silva quickly accelerated from the center towards the right rib, running at full speed with right center back Scheer.

After catching the football, Bernardo Silva made a slight adjustment about 40 meters away from the baseline, and then quickly used the familiar outside instep of his left foot to send a wide diagonal pass to the left front.

Petkovic, who was standing in the visiting team coach's technical area, had a good view. He watched the football rising from the ground like a rainbow across the sky, flying past Djurou, Andre Silva and Scheer. , accurately find the remote unmarked...

Ronaldo!

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

Francisco, the commentator of Portugal's National Sports TV, looked at the national hero appearing on the broadcast screen and shouted impassionedly.

With the movement of the football, it was too late for Scheer to turn around and pounce on Ronaldo. While running at high speed, he led the ball in the direction in front of him, stopping and running without slowing down.

In a few steps, he ran to the front of the penalty area on the left, and Sommer left the goal and attacked.

During this period, Cristiano Ronaldo was nicknamed 'Instant Noodle Ronaldo', and he had full shooting machine attributes. When he saw Sommer attack, he decisively adjusted his steps, stepped across the penalty area line with his left foot, and took a kick from the inside of the instep of his right foot. Instep arc.

Sommer's attack was to block the near corner consciously. When he saw the football flying towards the far corner, he knew that no matter how long his arm was, he would not be able to cover it.

"Goooooooooooooal——"

Half a second later, the commentators in the commentary box raised their voices in unison.

Ronaldo was extremely excited after scoring the goal and once again used the iconic 'siu' celebration to vent his joy of expanding the score.

Less than half an hour into the first half, the score became 2:0. He knew that he was about to get the ticket to directly advance to the World Cup of the fighting countries!

Of course, as a player with considerable experience in the game, he knows that it is easy for things to happen if he gets carried away. When he walked back after celebrating the goal, he consciously reminded his teammates that they must pay close attention during the remaining game time of the first half until the end of the game.

If given the chance, he would definitely kill the game.

The score became 2:0, and there was no way out for Switzerland.

There is no difference between losing by two goals and losing by three, four, five, six or seven.

If you go all out, you might still have a chance.

But what happened next was completely opposite to what they imagined.

In the 36th minute, Bernardo Silva broke through with the ball at the edge of the penalty area on the right and was brought down by Xhaka. Portugal received a very well-positioned direct free kick.

In the past, Ronaldo would have definitely taken the free kick.

But with Martin on the team, Ronaldo took the initiative to give Martin the opportunity to take the direct free kick.

No particular reason.

The main one is reassuring.

Martin lived up to the expectations of Ronaldo and Portuguese fans.

He accurately sent this direct free kick about 26 meters away from the goal into the upper right corner of the goal.

Although Sommer had an accurate prediction in advance, Martin's direct free kick was so powerful and angular that even his stretched torso could not touch the football.

3:0

"You still have to watch the little boy~"

Ronaldo hugged Martin excitedly.

"Everywhere, Brother Luo gives me opportunities."

Martin said humbly.

"You two should stop bragging about each other and pass the ball to me when you get the chance."

Andre Silva said pitifully.

"Hahaha, easy to say~"

Ronaldo and Martin looked at each other and laughed in unison.

The on-site director restored the entire scoring process. The football Martin kicked seemed to be equipped with a precise strike system. The almost perfect inward arc circled the top of the wall and hit the goal in an absolute blind spot.

Switzerland, which had been taking chances before, was obviously awakened by the cruel reality, and everyone lost confidence in scoring points.

Feeling that their opponent was close to surrendering, Portugal had no intention of wielding its sword again.

For the rest of the game, both sides played in a tacit understanding, attacking and defending each other, but neither organized an attack that threatened the opponent's goal.

At the end of the game, the scoreboard still showed 3:0.

With a huge victory at home in the last round, Portugal overturned Switzerland in the standings and topped Group B. With a goal difference advantage, Portugal directly advanced to the World Cup in the fighting country next year.

The end of the last international match day in October also means that the direct promotion quotas and play-off quotas for each continent have been settled.

The nine direct qualifying places in the European area are France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium and Iceland.

According to relevant rules, the eight best second-placed teams from the nine groups will participate in the play-offs.

Scotland, second in Group F, was the most miserable. They only needed to defeat Slovenia, which was almost eliminated, in the last round. Unexpectedly, they were tied with 18 points and ranked second in the worst group among the nine groups.

The eight best-performing second-place teams in the European preliminaries of the World Cup will be drawn in Nyon at the UEFA headquarters three days later, and four direct qualifying places will be determined on the two international match days in November.

As of the end of the international match day in October, a total of 26 teams, including the host country, have been directly promoted, and the remaining six places will be settled at the end of the international match day next month.

Among them, Europe has four places, Asia and North and Central America compete for one promotion place, and South America and Oceania compete for one competitive place.

(End of this chapter)