Chapter 426: Easily defeat the host country and reach the top 8 of the World Cup!

Chapter 426: Easily defeat the host country and reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup!
Portugal defeated Persia 2-0 in Saransk and accumulated nine points from three consecutive group wins, becoming the most dazzling team since the beginning of this World Cup.

As the final rankings of the two groups A and B have settled, so has the matchup situation.

Portugal, which got B1, fell into the bottom half and competed with the A2 host country for a ticket to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

B2 Spain falls into the top half and will face A1 Uruguay in the 8/1 finals.

At ten o'clock the next morning, the Portuguese team flew to Moscow and will play again at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Upon arriving at Moscow International Airport, Portugal, which had won three consecutive games in the group, received significantly less welcome. Some local fans from the fighting countries even booed harshly, causing trouble for the visiting Portuguese players.

After all, the next person to face in the 1/8 finals is the host country.

No matter how much local fans like a foreign player, they will be their enemies in a war.

They want to bring a good home atmosphere to their team as much as possible, so they will also create difficulties for Portugal if conditions permit.

Various private fan organizations spontaneously launched extra measures for the Portuguese team to prepare for the match.

In this regard, Portuguese players complained endlessly.

Cristiano Ronaldo and other players also used social platforms to angrily criticize the behavior of the fans of the Warring States.

The organizers and some of the national players from the fighting countries still have a sense of responsibility and call on radical fans to be hospitable hosts and not to behave in a manner that is disgraceful or embarrassing to the country.

It must be said that such official actions have had some effect.

The interference received by Portuguese players preparing for the game has dropped significantly.

The final rounds of group matches for several other groups are taking place one after another.

The two group matches of Group C were relatively close to each other. France, which qualified early, and Sweden, which drew in the last round, had no achievements. The score was 0:0 throughout the game.

Except for Croatia, all three teams in Group D are likely to become the second team to advance.

As a result, Argentina became the lucky one, relying on Rojo's 86th-minute winner to defeat Nigeria with difficulty 2:1.

Although he advanced to the top 1 as second in the group, his opponent in the 8/ finals was France, the favorite to win the championship.

The value of a backup lineup that is not selected for the 23-man roster can be ranked in the top ten teams.

It is known as the second favorite team to win the championship after Portugal.

The last round of group matches of the EF group and GH group were completed respectively, and all the teams that advanced to the top 16 were announced.

Among them, Group F suffered a shocking upset.

South Korea, which was eliminated early, faced the defending champion Germany, which had to win to qualify. Everyone knew that this was a contest with a huge disparity in strength. Germany could win as long as it performed normally.

result……

Within 90 minutes of regular time, Germany was unable to knock on the door of South Korea led by Son Heung-min, and even scored two goals in stoppage time.

In the end, the defending champion lost to South Korea 0:2, and both he and his opponent bought air tickets to go home.

There was no upset in Group H, but a very interesting historical situation occurred.

Sakura Country gained four points with a win and a draw in the first two games. A draw in the last game would qualify them. Unexpectedly, they lost 0:1 to Poland, who were eliminated early.

同组的哥伦比亚2胜1负积六分小组第一出线，前两轮积四分最后一轮同样打平出线的塞内加尔输给了哥伦比亚，跟樱花国都是1胜1平1负积四分。

As a result, various calculations were started.

The results are interesting.

The two teams' goal difference, number of goals scored, number of goals conceded, and the relationship between wins and losses are all the same.

In this context, it is time to enter the final deduction of red and yellow cards.

In the end, Sakura Country defeated Senegal and became second in Group H by virtue of receiving fewer yellow cards. Senegal was unfortunately eliminated.

The top two teams in the eight groups of the Fighting Nations World Cup qualify, and the entire event is divided into upper and lower halves.

The first half of the 1/8 finals matchups: Uruguay VS Spain, France VS Argentina, Brazil VS Mexico, Belgium VS Sakura Country.

The 1/8 finals in the second half are: Portugal VS Fighting Countries, Croatia VS Denmark, Sweden VS Switzerland, Colombia VS England.

The first fighting countries World Cup 1/8 finals are C1 France and F2 Argentina.

The 1/8 finals between Portugal and the Fighting Countries were held early the next day, so the 1/8 finals between France and Argentina went to the Luzhniki Stadium as usual to adapt to the venue for the last time before the game.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Portuguese team's bus arrived at the Luzhniki Stadium.

A large number of local Fighting Nation fans and a small number of Portuguese fans have gathered in the outer square.

They release their energy under the watchful eyes of patrol officers and security guards.

The harsh boos spread to the entire outer square of the stadium.

Obviously, this is a disincentive given by Fighting Nation fans.

Each one has a body as strong as a bear and keeps shouting at the Portuguese players in the bus.

Most of the fans spoke Russian. Except for Martin who could hear clearly, it was basically difficult for other players to understand.

However, these fans showed a cannibalistic look, which worried many Portuguese players.

Do it if you don't accept it, which is the tradition of the fighting nation.

The bus stopped at the designated location. Head coach Santos took captain Ronaldo to attend the regular pre-match press conference. The assistant coach and other players entered the stadium directly to prepare for the last adaptation to the venue before the game.

Considering that the opponent is the host country, the Portuguese team's training mainly revolves around warm-up and simple tactics such as passing from the bottom, setting up the wing, and setting up long-range shots, in order to avoid the leakage of tactical routines.

In the new era of professional football games, various penetrations are emerging one after another.

5pm local time.

Kazan Arena.

France VS Argentina's 1/8 finals started first.

After returning to the hotel, Ronaldo and his teammates organized the whole team to go to the multimedia classroom to watch the live broadcast of the game and build a small team.

"What do you think of the game?"

Martin turned to look at Ronaldo who asked the question.

"If nothing else happens, the French team will resolve the battle within ninety minutes."

Martin was deeply impressed by this game.

"How many goals do you think France will win?"

Ronaldo became interested and asked again.

"There is a high probability that we will only win by one goal, and both sides will score a lot of goals."

Hearing this, Fei B asked curiously: "Can you be more specific?"

Martin rolled his eyes angrily: "Do you think I'm a prophet?"

"Hahaha……"

The Portuguese players in the multimedia room burst into good-natured laughter.

Only 13 minutes into the game, French supernova Mbappe started to surge from the middle and backcourt, throwing away three defensive players. When he broke into the right rib of the penalty area, he was pushed down by Rojo. The referee on duty decisively awarded a penalty kick.

"Kylian Mbappe is so fast!"

Pepe is a central defender and is very old, so he is particularly afraid of such unreasonable blows.

"I feel like he's going to have another good season."

Martin commented.

He still remembers Mbappe's performance in this World Cup, especially the knockout match against Argentina.

Two goals + points, one battle to become a god.

Shock the whole world!
At the end of the first half, Mbappe's teammate in Paris, 'Angel' Di Maria, hit a world wave to equalize the score.

Not long after the start of the second half, Messi's deflected goal helped Argentina take the lead.

"Why do I think Argentina is about to gain momentum?"

Seat B said something.

"I feel the same way."

B Fei agreed, looking sideways at Martin, and the meaning he wanted to express was obvious.

Martin smiled and shrugged: "Hehe~ The second half of the game has just begun."

The game continued in the 57th minute. Left back Lucas Hernandez made a pass from the left and crossed the penalty area and flew to the outside of the penalty area on the right. Right back Pavard picked up his right foot while running, and the completed volley hit the upper left corner. Liu Jiayuan, the commentator on the spot, blurted out a famous line from Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes": The shadow of the peach blossom falls. Flying God Sword.

"That's a really nice shot."

Cedric, who is also a right back, is very admired, but he received a total of two yellow cards in the group stage and will miss the 1/8 finals.

"Is it more beautiful than my goal?"

The corners of Martin's mouth raised slightly.

"That must be our Marco's beautiful goal!"

Cedric gives a rainbow fart.

Pavard's world wave equalized the score, which also indicated that the French team was about to start exerting its strength.

Mbappe scored two goals in the next four minutes, rewriting the score on the scoreboard to 4:2.

In the third minute of injury time, Aguero's header was too late.

In the end, the French team defeated Argentina 4:3 and took the lead in advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

The Portuguese players staying at the hotel in Portugal looked at Martin with even more admiration.

The result was exactly as predicted before the game, a big score and a goal win.

The second World Cup 1/8 finals started in Sochi in the evening, and Martin paid a little attention to the confrontation in this game.

After all, Uruguay's starting center is club teammate Cavani.

And he wanted to know whether the outcome of the changed 1/8 finals against both sides would change.

After 2 minutes of fierce fighting, Cavani scored twice and led Uruguay to eliminate Spain 1: and become the second team to advance to the quarterfinals.

Although he forgot the specific score, he had the impression that Uruguay advanced to the quarterfinals, but nothing changed.

※※※※※

The 2018 Fighting Nations World Cup ended with two 1/8 finals on the first day of the knockout rounds. Football fans from all over the world turned their attention to the knockout rounds on the second day.

Portugal VS Warring States, Croatia VS Denmark.

Among them, the 1/8 finals between Portugal and the host country are the most eye-catching.

Martin, recognized as the number one star in world football, scored six goals in the group stage, leading the scorer list.

In addition, Martin has the reputation of being a record creator.

Both the Premier League and the Champions League have his scoring records.

Both the media and fans want to know whether Martin can break the single-scoring record of the World Cup.

In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, French player Fontaine scored 13 goals.

Another record that Martin can hit in terms of goals is the total number of goals scored in the World Cup.

Klose, the legendary German striker who participated in four World Cups, scored 16 goals.

In the eyes of many media and fans, Martin can definitely try to hit Fontaine's single World Cup scoring record, but it will take at least two games to break Klose's total scorer record.

At 1 pm local time in Moscow, it is the start time of the 8/ finals between Portugal and the host country.

The Portuguese team took a bus from their hotel at 2:30 in the afternoon and headed to the already overcrowded Luzhniki Stadium.

Football is the number one sport in the world, and the World Cup is the most watched event. Moscow is the capital of a warring country, and the atmosphere of football is particularly fanatical.

The bus departed from the hotel and all the way to the Luzhniki Stadium was lined with enthusiastic fans.

These fans are divided into local fans of the host country, fans of the Portuguese away team and neutral fans who come to the fighting country to join in the fun and fully enjoy the World Cup atmosphere.

In order to prevent unnecessary conflicts, local police officers were very alert.

Fortunately, the fans on both sides were relatively restrained, and at most it was just a quarrel.

More than an hour before the game, both sides entered the stadium to warm up. Their respective starting lineups were quickly announced on the official website after being reported to FIFA, and appeared on social platforms for instant sharing within an extremely short time.

The formation given by the host country is fully respecting the 541 of Portugal, the favorite to win the championship.

Goalkeeper: Akinfeev
Defenders: Zhirkov, Ignashevich, Kutepov, Kudryashov, Fernandez
Midfielder: Zobrin, Golovin, Kuzyaev, Semedov

Forward: Dzyuba

Portugal is still in the 4231 formation.

Goalkeeper: Patricio

Defenders: Guerrero, Font, Pepe, Ricardo
Midfielder: William Carvalho, Moutinho

Midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo, Martin, Seat B

Forward: Guedes
……

With the starting lineups of both teams leaking out, fans who follow the World Cup know that the 1/8 finals of the two teams will start soon.

However, due to the large gap in overall strength between the two sides, most fans and media knew that there would be no surprises in the final result.

Including many fans of the Fighting Nation, they believe that advancing to the top 1 has achieved the goal. In the 8/ finals, they met Portugal, the favorite to win the championship. Losing is normal and can be accepted as long as it is not a disastrous defeat.

Only 10 minutes into the game, the score displayed on the scoreboard changed.

Seat B received a pass from Martin on the right and was brought down by Zhirkov. The referee on duty Kuppers decisively blew the whistle for a foul.

Immediately, Moutinho took a free kick from the right.

Ignashevich was marking Martin with his back to the ball. The falling football hit his leg and refracted towards the goal. Goalkeeper Akinfeev was unable to react in time and watched the football go into the net.

As a result, Portugal was very lucky to take the lead with Ignashevic's own goal.

What's interesting is that this central defender, who will turn 39 in more than ten days, has become the oldest player to score an own goal in the World Cup at 38 years and 352 days old.

An unexpected own goal was conceded at home, which had a great impact on the fighting spirit of the fighting nation.

According to the pre-match plan, the goal was to draw with Portugal at least at halftime, drag the game into overtime with high fighting spirit and home court advantage, and then try their luck in a brutal penalty shootout.

But the sudden own goal completely disrupted the rhythm.

There is no room for maneuver in the knockout rounds compared to the group stage. Once they lose, it means elimination, even if the set goal has been achieved by advancing to the top 16.

This is the charm of competitive sports, everyone wants to win the opponent.

To this end, the combatants who were lagging behind in the score gradually strengthened their offense while maintaining a stable defense, making full use of the role of Kodokouba.

Dzyuba is 1.96 meters tall and weighs 97 kilograms. He is a standard center forward.

Pepe and Font struggled to defend.

But it is also difficult for the Warring States to pass the ball to Dzyuba's activity area.

Many players in the Fighting Nation play in their home leagues. Portuguese players are basically the main players in the five major leagues. The intensity of the league is much stronger. The quality of Crossing in the Fighting Nation has dropped significantly through defensive pressure.

In the 28th minute, Portugal expanded the score.

Martin got the ball from the backcourt and passed it long to find Cristiano Ronaldo who was alert and moving forward.

Although he is 33 years old, he is still very fast. He led Martin's right football to the left side of the penalty area, and after adjusting in small steps, he shot a low shot with his left foot into the far corner of the goal.

The fighting country, which was two goals behind, knew that it could no longer hold back, otherwise it would be a defeat.

As everyone knows, strengthening the offense will bring about a defeat from offense to defense.

In the 37th minute, there was another quick counterattack.

Martin got the ball near the arc of the center circle and sent a through ball that accurately found seat B.

Ignashevic, who scored an own goal, could only foul after being broken through and gave Portugal a direct free kick about 28 meters away from the goal.

Martin, who was in very good condition, completed a world-beating free kick that was full of spectacle.

0:3
The score displayed on the scoreboard changed again.

Everyone knows that the overall situation of the game has been decided.

Portugal, which was leading by a big score, did not continue to launch a threatening attack. Playing against the host country, they must give face.

Before the end of the game, substitute Cheryshev's cross from the left accurately found the high-leaping Dzyuba. His header hit the arm of Wundt who opened his right hand. Kulpes was listening to VAR's advice. A penalty kick was later awarded.

Jiuba made a free throw.

In the end, Portugal defeated the host nation 3:1 and became the third team to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

(End of this chapter)