Chapter 439: surpassing Maradona’s goal of the century to tie the ‘ancient’ record that had been dus

Chapter 439: Using Maradona’s goal of the century to tie the -year-old ‘ancient’ record

Before the start of the 21st World Cup final hosted by Luzhniki Stadium, a grand closing ceremony began.

The atmosphere throughout the stadium was maintained at a very high level.

But the craze was still waiting until the players from both sides entered the field, and the shouts that broke out were like a tsunami. Even the fans in the outer square who had not bought tickets joined in the carnival.

After a series of procedures for players to enter, both teams stood at half court, waiting for the Argentinian referee Piñata to blow his whistle.

None of the fans in the audience made any more noise, and took a breath, waiting for the game to start before bursting out.

"Beep~"

At six o'clock in the afternoon local time in the Warring States, the piñata looked at the time displayed on his watch and blew his whistle.

"aooaoaooaooaoaooaooao——"

"Dragon Country TV, Dragon Country TV, the game that is being broadcast for you now is the live broadcast of the French team against the Portuguese team in the 2018st World Cup finals at the end of 21. They are wearing dark blue jerseys and dark blue shorts. They look from the right side of the broadcast screen. Attack sideways to the left.”

As the overwhelming cheers rang out, CCTV 5 commentator He Wei blurted out: "Portugal is wearing the traditional crimson jersey and crimson shorts..."

The French team, which has a kick-off advantage, is exactly the same as in the past few games, with a steady start.

Through patient passing, he bypassed Portugal's strongest central defense and then sent the ball to the wing.

Griezmann, Mbappe, Pogba and Giroud are the French team's biggest reliance on offense.

Pogba has indeed played a huge role in past games, and he already has the demeanor of a superstar in his movements. However, in this game against Martin, he did not dare to show off his footwork. He was very low-key and strictly followed the requirements of head coach Deschamps. An honest series of overall offense.

Thanks to Martin, Pogba's passes that should have been passed forward became non-threatening cross passes and back passes.

It is precisely for this reason that the French team's performance at the beginning was not threatening.

The main role of Giroud at the front of the striker is not to score goals, but to attract firepower and make plays for players such as Griezmann, Mbappe, and Pogba behind him.

Among them, Pogba's go-between is the most important. His low-key performance directly affects the team's offensive quality.

On the other hand, Portugal's offense was impressive. Martin, who served as the central midfielder in the 442 formation, found his position early and could also bring tactical promotion to the whole team.

To put it simply, it means being able to stimulate the potential of teammates.

The first shot of the game came from Martin's non-stop through ball.

Guedes took advantage of Ronaldo's movement to receive a well-timed pass from Martin on the right side of the penalty area. He stopped and played in one go.

If not for Lloris' quick reaction, Guedes would have had a chance to help Portugal take the lead.

The French fans in the audience let out frightened exclamations.

Head coach Deschamps also let out a sigh of relief, but then his heart tightened.

Next, Portugal is better at corner kick attack!

It wasn't until he looked at three big men over 1.9 meters in height that he felt a little more at ease.

Pogba, Giroud and Varane.

Lucas Hernandez and Pavard are both over 1.85 meters tall.

Seat B may have been affected by the fanatical atmosphere of the World Cup finals. The quality of the corner kick taken was not good, and the ball was won by Lloris.

The French team still played steadily and gradually organized the attack from the backcourt.

Mbappe, who had already started to speed up, shook his head. He was very unhappy, but considering that his status in the team was not high enough, he did not show it.

Deschamps, who was standing on the sidelines, was very satisfied with the players' immediate performance.

In fact, counterattacking is not necessarily a good thing. Based on his vision, it can be seen that Martin seemed to have a prejudgment when he caught the low-quality corner kick in seat B. He did not mark the slow Griezmann or take charge of the ball. Pogba was in the overall situation, but he pounced on the extremely fast Mbappe.

If Lloris follows the defensive counterattack tactics formulated before the game, there is a high probability that he will not succeed.

Martin is faster than Mbappe!

Maybe it will be like the first goal England conceded in the semi-finals.

Being truly good at attacking and defending is not a name for nothing.

The core of the tournament system is always defense. Only when you are invincible can you pursue goals.

The offensive rhythm never picked up, and the scene was naturally not pretty.

Some pseudo-fans began to complain, saying, "Does this deserve to be called the World Cup final?" ], [My fights between wolves and dogs were more exciting than this], [RNM, refund your money! 】……

Audiences who know a little bit about sports, even those who are not sports fans, know that when the event reaches the pinnacle of determining the championship, no one can risk it.

Defending first is always the right choice.

In the first ten minutes, neither side contributed any decent shots, and the scoreboard still showed 0:0.

"aoaooaaooaooaooooo——"

The atmosphere at the Luzhniki Stadium was very fanatical, with overwhelming cheers coming one after another.

Fans from both sides in the audience focused all their energy on cheering and cheering, covering up the worry that swept through their bodies.

The game that determines the championship is always burdened with huge psychological pressure.

The same goes for the players on the field.

As the game time goes by, the players focus entirely on the game, and there is no longer too much mental baggage. The scene becomes more beautiful, and the momentum erupting from the audience becomes more powerful.

The fans in front of the TV didn't have any extra thoughts to focus on other than the game. They didn't even care about their friends who were in great need, and chose to watch the live broadcast intently.

Although there was no goal scored in the game, the competition between the two sides in the midfield was extremely fierce, and the number of people turning upside down began to increase.

Fans from both sides of the auditorium vented their dissatisfaction with boos.

The referee Pinata also realized that something should be done.

Therefore, he used severe penalties to restrain the actions of both parties.

The players on both sides are of high level and know what the core of the game is.

First make sure there are no problems with the defense, and then gradually increase the number of offensive players to threaten the opponent's goal.

Through Martin's reading of the game during this period, he knew that the French team planned to defend first and then look for opportunities to counterattack.

In general, the way to deal with it is to squat and defend. Whoever attacks first is the dog.

But in finals involving championships, it is always right to defend first.

In the past twenty minutes, he also fully implemented the tactical ideas developed by Santos before the game.

According to his guess, the French team is likely to defend for a long time.

This... is an opportunity that can be exploited.

In the 25th minute of the game, the French team found its first shooting opportunity in the game.

Pogba received Kanter's forward pass on the outside of the penalty area and hit the ball. The football he kicked was very powerful, but he couldn't control the crosshair.

"hahhahahaaa——"

There were Portuguese supporters sitting behind the goal, and they burst into mocking laughter.

Pogba, who has always had a good face, spit out his saliva in displeasure, and then spit it hard on the ground, as if he was spitting on the face of the Portuguese who made him dissatisfied.

The French team did not defend high and Patricio took a short goal kick.

The football passed through Pepe's transition and was then handed to Martin near the center arc by William Carvalho.

Griezmann happened to be in the defensive zone, so he had no choice but to go over and apply pressure.

The results are obvious.

Martin made a light change of direction and accelerated over.

The Portuguese fans and neutral fans in the audience instinctively cheered for Martin's wonderful performance.

Martin, who has attracted much attention, noticed from the corner of his eye that his teammates around him were not in a good position, and he suddenly became energetic.

Doesn't this situation mean that France's defensive focus is on Kata's passing route!
In this way, the strength of the frontal defense...

Very limited!
Martin, who had only seen Griezmann take the ball across the center line.

Pogba, who was in the forward position in the middle, had to step forward to fight.

Matuidi and Kanter work together in a tacit understanding, and the two have a clear division of labor. While protecting the space, they free up manpower to assist Pogba in marking Martin, ensuring the absolute safety of the defense in the middle.

Facing Pogba, who is stronger in offense than defense, Martin first lowered his right shoulder, as if he wanted to break through from the right side. When he caught Pogba's body center of gravity tilting to the left, he reversed his center of gravity with super explosive power.

At the same time, using the flexibility of the ankle, the inside of the instep of the right foot buckles the ball to the left front of the body, and the inside of the instep of the left foot naturally steps forward to buckle the football with the right foot in the direction of travel.

Fried meatballs! After realizing it, Pogba fell to the ground and was still half a beat too slow to release the shovel.

"aoaoaooaoaoooooooo——"

The atmosphere at the Luzhniki Stadium was immediately detonated by Martin's wonderful passing action.

Matuidi had already had a hunch that Martin would break through Pogba, but many times the body's reaction could not match the brain's consciousness.

Deschamps, who was standing in the technical area commanded by the home team coach, felt a little uneasy until he saw the defensive players were in position. He thought that with Martin's golf intelligence, there was a high probability that he would not use less to play more.

After all, his current position is very important and he will face great danger if he loses the ball.

A smart player like Martin will most likely not take risks.

But soon, he remembered that he had studied for a long time before the game and knew that Martin was a bold and careful player.

Unexpected choices often seem to be made.

"Could it be...?"

Thinking of this, Deschamps quickly shook his head and put this terrifying thought behind him.

Matuidi saw that the football was far away from Martin's position and made fierce defensive moves in order to force Martin to pass the ball and give up control of the football.

But is Martin the kind of player who gets easily intimidated?

He knows a truth.

Risks and opportunities coexist. It is said that the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.

In addition, this World Cup has VAR!

Don't be afraid of accidents at all.

Because he is confident in his combination of man and ball!

The fried meatballs that seemed to be too far away from the body were actually just for show.

He quickly kicked out with two lunges, stepped on the football rolling forward with his right foot in front, and gently pulled it back. At the same time, using his waist as the axis, his body completed a ninety-degree clockwise turn.

Then the sole of his left foot pulled the football back, and the twisted body once again completed a clockwise turn of about 90 degrees.

Change from facing away from the goal to facing the goal.

"Pretty!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei blurted out: "Marseille roundabout!"

French star Zidane, who was sitting in the VIP seats at the Luzhniki Stadium, couldn't help but exclaimed: "This move is better than mine~"

The group of French celebrities next to him were focused on the exciting game, so naturally they didn't hear it.

Martin's fried meatballs connected with the Marseille slalom, which directly stunned Matuidi, so that the technical movements of hasty changes were no different from those of a clown.

Although Xie Xie has enough trust in his partner Matuidi, he is more familiar with Martin and knows that what he likes most is that he cannot do anything for it. Therefore, when he saw Matuidi pounce on Martin, he was ready to defend. Prepare.

Of course, Kanter's step forward was not brainless. He consciously went to Carmartin to pass the ball inside the B seat.

It's just that Martin has a wide field of vision and has long caught Kanter's alert attack.

As soon as he completed the Marseille slalom technical action, he used the outside instep of his left foot, which almost defied the laws of physics, to move the ball to the left and forward, thereby increasing the distance from Kanter.

"Oops!"

Kanter, who had partnered with Martin in the past, instantly realized that something was wrong, and a strong sense of uneasiness swept through his body.

But the matter has come to this, and Kanter has no choice.

He could only use the limited inertia brought by the run-up to throw his 1.7-meter body. At the critical moment, he did not care about his identity as a club teammate. He raised his right foot and flashed his spikes.

If it were any other player, it would really be possible for him to be knocked down by Kanter.

However, Martin is tall, has long legs and is very explosive. He also has a technical move of smashing the ball to the left in advance to open up the distance between them.

This resulted in... Kanter only shoveled a ball of air!
"Oh My God!"

"N'Golo Kante couldn't stop Martin!"

"He beat four people in a row!"

Sky TV commentator Andy Gray's voice suddenly rose an octave: "Go through the entire midfield!"

Both Varane and Umtiti have experienced Martin's dominance, and they also noticed that Ronaldo, who was pulling in from the side, and Guedes, who was at the front of the striker, pushed forward respectively, and their heads were big.

But they have no choice but to do nothing. According to the first law of defense, defending the player holding the ball is the top priority.

Lucas Hernandez and Pavard maintained their positions very well. They moved in in time, and the two central defenders Varane and Umtiti were able to focus on Martin while also taking care of Martin's direct pass.

Martin, who passed Kanter, came to the middle about 28 meters away from the goal. He looked up and looked at Ronaldo, who had moved forward to the edge of the left penalty area and swung his right foot.

Pavard sticks to Ronaldo, and Varane, who is approaching his partner Umtiti, also tilts his center of gravity slightly, so that Martin can form a closed interception with Pavard as soon as Martin passes the ball.

Unexpectedly, it was Varane's advance judgment that caused the shaky defense to collapse.

Martin's body movements were completely false. He used the flexibility of his right ankle, flicked his ankle, and moved the ball to the right with the outside of his instep.

Varane is over 1.9 meters tall. Even though he has good speed, he cannot avoid the slow speed caused by his height and long legs.

Martin, who had reached full speed, caught up with the football in two strides. He naturally stepped out with his lowered right foot and slammed the football towards the area directly in front of him.

The top of the penalty area!
That is...the space between Varane and Umtiti.

"Merde!"

Varane and Umtiti's brains popped up with a customary national curse at the same time.

They thought Martin would force a breakthrough, but they didn't expect he would be so determined!

In addition, there was an illusion of passing the ball to Ronaldo in advance, which caused Varane to have insufficient distance to close in, so that he was just a little behind Umtiti's closing defense.

Football matches are ever-changing, and any mistake may lead to catastrophe.

This is the saying that a slight difference can make a difference of a thousand miles.

"aoaooaoaoooooooo——"

Accompanied by huge and overwhelming cheers, Martin rushed through at a speed visible to the naked eye between Varane and Umtiti, who turned to face the goal but could not close the door.

"Fake!"

Goalkeeper Lloris cursed directly in his heart.

How the hell did you let Martin in?
what should I do?
Varane and Umtiti looked at Martin's back with despair in their eyes.

Deschamps, who was standing in the technical area where the home team coach was directing, was stunned.

French executives, celebrities and fans also had the same reaction.

Portuguese fans and neutral fans had completely opposite reactions. They made hysterical shouts of passion and enthusiasm.

"Oh my God!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei blurted out an exclamation.

Just like Martin who was forcing a charge and staggered across the penalty area line, goalkeeper Lloris had to abandon the goal and attack, intending to take advantage of the opponent's unstable footing to increase the success rate of a single save.

However, Martin quickly stabilized his figure with his nearly full 99 balance attribute, and faced Lloris, who was about to hit the penalty spot, with a fake shot and a real dunk.

Due to his body's conditioned reflex, Lloris instinctively made a save on the spot.

It's just that he regretted his action as soon as he made it...

Therefore, I could only watch helplessly as Martin pushed the ball away with the outside instep of his right foot, opened up the shooting space, then picked up his billion-euro right foot and kicked the ball towards the empty goal that was no longer guarded.

In the past second or so, bursts of blurted comments erupted from the commentary box.

"Goooooooooooooal——"

"Passed Lloris! Hit the goal! Beautiful! The ball went in!!!"

"Incredible super performance! The seventh one! Martin scored an empty goal!"

"Oh My God! This goal can completely surpass Diego Maradora's goal of the century against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico!"

"Unparalleled! An absolutely brilliant performance from the world's number one football star! Martin's divine performance helped Portugal lead France 1:0 at the Luzhniki Stadium!"

……

(End of this chapter)