Chapter 425: The ups and downs of Group B, the polo king shows his sharpness

Chapter 425: The ups and downs of Group B, the polo king shows his sharpness

Portugal defeated Morocco 4-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Another second-round match in Group B came to an end later at the Kazan Arena.

Neither team made any achievements throughout the first half, until the ninth minute of the second half, when Diego Costa blocked Iniesta's pass and the football, which slightly changed its trajectory, crossed into the lower left corner of the goal.

With this goal, Spain defeated Persia 1:0.

Although they won the game, the goal difference was still three less than the opponent, so they could only settle for third place.

The best news for Spain is that it has already played Portugal in the first round and will face Morocco, which was eliminated early in the last round. As long as it scores three points, the possibility of advancement will be very high.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the plastic brothers of the Iberian Peninsula release water.

Otherwise, too little goal difference is likely to become the key to qualifying.

In addition, Persia coach Queiroz has a close relationship with Portugal.

Ronaldo's ability to join Manchester United was fully recommended by Queiroz when he was Ferguson's assistant.

It is said that the transfer was finalized at Queiroz's apartment.

Secondly, Queiroz coached Portugal, which was in a period of recession, from 2008 to 2010, but this time was not pleasant for the two of them.

This... is also something that the Spanish media can take advantage of.

In this context, the Spanish media began to use various methods to 'stimulate' Portugal, which had already qualified ahead of schedule.

Obviously, they wanted to 'force' Portugal to do their best in the final round.

Portugal, who qualified early, did not pay attention to outside reports and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the preparations planned in advance.

No matter who plays in the last game, the group's two-game winning streak will definitely require rotation, otherwise a good start will become a show-off.

The special feature of the tournament system is the intensive schedule. If you want to have the last laugh, it is very necessary to arrange your physical fitness reasonably.

Especially since the start of the World Cup comes after a long season, the physical fitness of the main players of those wealthy clubs has almost bottomed out.

Even after half a month of rest, his physical fitness has not returned to its best condition.

Santos planned this, and the Portuguese team also reached a tacit understanding.

After all, the most important thing is the championship.

The second round of group matches for other groups continues.

The strong teams basically won the game, but the favorite Argentina, led by Messi, suffered a 0:3 defeat in Nizhny Novgorod by Croatia, led by Modric.

The weak process and poor results quickly made Messi and Argentina the hot focus.

There was a voice in Argentina quickly criticizing Messi.

[Can you please stop taking a walk? Look at Martin, who averages 12,000 meters per game, and then look at yourself? 】

[The past glory is indeed outstanding, but what about the contribution of the national team? 】

【Soft-footed shrimp competition! That’s what you’re talking about! Leo Messi! 】

【Get out of here! Stop talking about the national team! Without Habaibu, you are nothing! 】

……

There are endless abuses directed at Messi.

The only thing that can have an impact is the passage of time. After all, everyone's attention is attracted by the intensive World Cup group matches.

As Poland, led by Lewandowski, lost 0:3 to Colombia in Kazan, the second round of the group stage of the Fighting Nations World Cup came to an end.

Eight teams have advanced to the top 16 of this World Cup ahead of schedule.

The remaining seats will be decided in the third round of the group stage.

The host nation and Uruguay, who have won two consecutive victories in Group A, both qualified early, but they need to continue to fight for the top spot in the group.

According to the arrangement of the schedule, A1 vs. B2, and B1 vs. A2.

Portugal has almost locked in second place in Group B, so neither the Fighting Countries nor Uruguay, who have advanced in Group A, want to face Portugal, the favorite to win the championship, in the 1/8 finals, even if the Fighting Countries have the advantage of home court.

The best news for the hosts is that they have a goal difference advantage, and the game at the Samara Stadium can be reasonably avoided with a draw.

The day before the match between Portugal and Persia.

Regular press conference before the game.

Media reporters who always like to find faults took the initiative to follow Ronaldo, who was also present, to mention his former 'mentor' Queiroz, and hinted at the unhappiness between the two at the national team level. They also mentioned the FIFA Ballon d'Or/World Award during his tenure as the head coach of Persia. Not a single vote for Footballer of the Year was given to him.

Ronaldo narrowed his eyes slightly and saw from the corner of his eye that the reporter's work nameplate showed that he was from the Spanish media "Marca".

Obviously, this is deliberately provoking trouble.

He smiled and made a pun: "No one can change the past. What the whole team and I are focused on is tomorrow night's game."

Later, Persia coach Queiroz, who was on the field for the final time before the game, also encountered targeted questions from media reporters.

In order to upset him, he used various tricks to praise Ronaldo, and consciously mixed in a handful of sand, publicly stating that Ronaldo was better than Martin, and believed that he could play a more important role in the national team as he did in the past.

How smart is Ronaldo?
Why don't you know Queiroz's plan?
He has always taken the game very seriously.

No matter who the opponent is, he will go all out!
……

In the last round, taking into account the possibility of betting companies manipulating the game, games in the same group will kick off at the same time.

The hosts, who wanted to keep the tie, eventually lost to Uruguay 0:3.

Another game played at the same time will not affect the situation, but it is a game for glory for Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which were eliminated early.

Salah took the lead for Egypt, but was later equalized by Saudi Arabia through a penalty kick.

In the fifth minute of stoppage time of the game, Saudi player Dossari completed a buzzer-beater at the front of the small penalty area on the right side.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Portugal faced the challenge of Persia at the Saransk Stadium.

Persia had one win and one loss in the first two group matches and accumulated 3 points. In terms of goal difference, it was better than Spain and ranked second in the group.

The game strategy is naturally to focus on defense, and only pursue upsets when ensuring not to lose.

What if Morocco gets upset?
Portugal has made several position adjustments compared to the first two rounds of the group stage.

At the beginning, the focus was on stability, which meant that Persia, who mainly defended, did not face much threat on the defensive end.

Another match in the same group in Kaliningrad had an unexpected start.

Morocco scored first.

Only 14 minutes into the game, Iniesta and Ramos both showed obvious humility when receiving the ball, but the fishermen took advantage of it.

Butayib broke into the penalty area with a single shot from the right rib and penetrated between De Gea's legs and into the net.

Persia head coach Queiroz at the Salanques Stadium could not help but clenched his fists and had great confidence in advancing to the top 16.

But not long after, Spain equalized the score.

David Silva made a direct pass from the left rib. Iniesta received the ball and passed it back from the bottom of the left rib of the penalty area. Isco kicked the ball into the upper corner from the left edge of the small penalty area.

Queiroz sighed after learning the latest live score from his assistant.

However, both games ended with the current score, and his team will advance to the top 16!

At the same time, a crisp whistle suddenly sounded over the court.

My heart suddenly thumped.

He clearly remembered that the team he was coaching was in the defensive phase and was still near the penalty area.

"Could it be..."

He instinctively looked up and saw the referee Caceres pointing his finger at the penalty kick. Lying in the penalty area was Cristiano Ronaldo, the leader of Portuguese football that he had been touting before the game. Ezzatolahi, who committed the foul, is still trying to explain, but the World Cup has a video assistant referee, so Caceres said everything is waiting for VAR feedback.

After verification from multiple angles, Ezzatolahi did indeed kick down Ronaldo.

Penalties are no problem.

but……

There are always little jokes in life.

The referee Caceres made the correct call, but Ronaldo's penalty kick was saved by Beiranvande.

The Persian fans throughout the stadium were ecstatic and shouted loudly.

Hierro, the Spanish acting head coach at the Kaliningrad Stadium, saw his assistant looking at the tablet, raising his arms and shouting, taking three steps and two steps at a time, and asked in surprise: "Did Portugal score a goal?"

"No, it was a penalty kick."

Hierro felt a little depressed when he heard the first word, but became excited after hearing the whole sentence.

If Portugal defeated Persia, it would only mean a draw.

Half a minute later, the assistant said dejectedly: "Cristiano missed the penalty."

Hierro: "..."

If the game ends according to the current score, he and the national team will have to buy air tickets to return home.

As the champion of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, it is really embarrassing to be eliminated from the group stage of two consecutive World Cups.

※※※※※

As time went by, Portugal, who played semi-mainly, gradually adapted to the rhythm of the field under Martin's connection, and the Persian team, which was fully defensive, gradually became difficult.

Ronaldo, who missed the penalty kick, worked even harder, looking for opportunities by running at all costs.

He knew that as long as he ran into space, Martin would definitely deliver the ball to his feet.

Ronaldo worked very hard, but his footwork today was very average, and he continuously wasted Martin's imaginative passes.

The on-site director gave Ronaldo, who had squandered another chance, his hands on his hips, and his helplessness was palpable.

Zeng Kan, the commentator on the Yangtze 5 scene, sighed: "Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't seem to be in very good condition today. If we seize one of the opportunities, Portugal has already taken the lead."

Although Ronaldo frequently squandered opportunities, Martin still handed the ball to Ronaldo when he had the opportunity.

He knows that besides himself, even the best players have ups and downs.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed great opportunities one after another, was also a little embarrassed.

In the 39th minute of the game, Martin, Quaresma and Guedes played wonderful ball coordination one after another. In the middle, about meters away from the goal, they faced the defensive fakes of Jahanbakhsh and Haji Safi. Real shot.

The connecting left foot passed through and accurately found Ronaldo who was diagonally inserted into the front of the left penalty area.

If it was a normal Ronaldo, he would definitely adjust one step with the outside of his right foot, and then shoot furiously.

But today, he really didn't have the shame to squander the opportunity again. With the same adjustment of the outer instep, the next action turned into a fake shot and a real pass.

Making full use of the flexibility of the ankle, the right foot that seems to be swung out is actually using the outside instep to move the ball to the right toward the top of the penalty area.

The Persian team's defense has formed an inertia thinking, and they all believe that Ronaldo will shoot directly as he did in the past nearly 40 minutes. Therefore, only the front defenders made blocking actions, and other players did not watch the Portuguese players near the penalty area.

When the Persian players saw that Ronaldo was passing the ball, they immediately panicked.

Standing in the command and technical area, Queiroz saw the Portuguese player wearing the No. 10 red jersey, his pupils shrank suddenly, and strong uneasiness swept through his body instantly.

Martin, who had previously sent a wonderful pass, continued to run forward and appeared in Ronaldo's passing route. Since there were no defensive players around him, he could make more adjustments.

However, the operations of high-level players are often very simple.

I saw Martin adjusting his steps while running, supporting his body with his left foot, and hitting the football with the instep of his right foot hard on the ground as it rolled in front of him.

Boom~
Persia center back Praliganji, who belatedly stepped forward to block the ball, instinctively closed his eyes while looking at the oncoming football, and the whistling sound seemed to slip past his ears.

Goalkeeper Beiranvand reacted very quickly. He took a step to the left with his right foot and threw his whole body out. His right arm naturally spread out, intending to use his height and arm length to turn the tide.

However, Martin's powerful volley from the top of the penalty area had good power and angle. Before Beiranvand's body could fully stretch, the powerful and heavy football passed by at high speed, grazing the inner edge of the upper post on the right side of the goal. Flying into the snow-white net.

"Goooooooooooooal——"

Almost at the same time, a hysterical and elongated voice sounded from the commentary box.

After scoring the goal, Martin ran directly to Ronaldo, who selflessly assisted, and at the same time called his teammates around him to celebrate the goal.

Central 5 commentator Zeng Kan's high-pitched voice was hoarse: "Martin! He has been hiding behind the scenes in this game and stepped forward! Scored his fifth goal in this World Cup! Leading the scorer list!"

The Persian team, which was lagging behind, had no choice but to try to equalize the score by strengthening their offense in the restarted game.

Although Morocco has a chance of being upset, this ratio is definitely very low.

Instead of pinning your hopes on other teams, it's better to take the initiative yourself.

Portugal leads the score and has an advantage in overall strength.

Persia had great ambitions to equalize the score, but were unable to turn their ideals into reality.

There was no equalizer, at least in the first half.

The good result for them is that they didn't concede any more goals.

In the second half, the side changed sides and the game started again. Only three minutes into the game, Portugal expanded the score.

Joao Mario took a corner kick from the right and went to the edge of the small penalty area on the right. Pepe jumped high and headed back.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who appeared near the landing point of his header, was like a feint in a volleyball match. He took off and attracted most of the defensive attention but did not head the ball.

The football missed, and Martin, who was running like crazy, appeared at the landing point. He completed a powerful header relay while running and smashed the ball into the upper right corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Beiranvand had no reaction when faced with such a tricky header from such a close range and watched the football go into the net...

2:0
"Two goals!"

Central 5 commentator Zeng Kan looked at the Portuguese player No. 10 shown on the broadcast screen and was ecstatic: "The sixth goal of this World Cup! This number has always won the Golden Boot in the previous three World Cups! Forgot, Portugal has already advanced to the top 1 in advance, Martin has super personal scoring ability, if he advances to the top of the group and faces the host country in the 8/ finals, he can definitely score more goals!"

Hierro, the Spanish acting head coach in Kaliningrad, received the good news from Saransk with a faint smile on his lips.

He knew that qualifying for the group was safe.

I just didn’t expect that life is often full of drama sometimes.

In the 81st minute of the game, Dilard made a pass from the left. Ziyech's shot hit Pique's unopened arm. The referee refused to award a penalty kick, but then Fajjer's corner kick was found. Ennesri, who came on as a substitute, beat Ramos ten yards in front of the goal and broke the net with a header, surpassing the score again!

If the game ends according to the current score, Persia, which lost two goals in Saransk, will advance.

Unless... Portugal can score another goal.

By then, Spain can rely on the advantage of more goals to overpower Persia and qualify for second place in the group.

It would be better if we could score two more, and there would be no need to count the goals.

The uneasy Spanish fans saw that the team was unable to equalize the score and could only pin their hopes on Portugal.

However, the game at another stadium was subject to substitutions and no goals were scored. What made them feel desperate was that Portugal's third substitution was Martin, who was replaced by Moutinho...

Until the game reached injury time, Carvajal received a tactical corner kick from Iniesta and Aspas scored with his heel.

The energetic Spain wanted to reverse the score, but the Moroccans were united and maintained the 2:2 score until the end of the game.

In the Saransk Arena match, with two goals from Martin, Portugal defeated Persia 2:0 and advanced to the top with three consecutive wins in the group.

为此，西班牙3战1胜1平1负积4分排名小组第二。

(End of this chapter)