Chapter 517: Violent free kick, 2 goals ahead of Argentina

Chapter 517: Violent free kick, two goals ahead of Argentina

“ale ale ale”

Portuguese and neutral fans at the Lusail Stadium kept waving their fists, fully releasing their passion and creating a fanatical atmosphere for the World Cup final.

The Portuguese team, which had the initiative in the game, launched wave after wave of attacks, so much so that even Messi, the captain who was highly expected by Argentina, had to devote the entire team to defense to avoid being discovered by the Portuguese team due to insufficient number of defenders.

It's just that Messi's defensive ability is limited, and fully engaging in defense also brings hidden dangers to the transition from defense to offense, so head coach Scaloni used the opportunity of a dead ball to signal Messi that he does not need to participate too much in defense and should focus on offense.

In Scaloni's view, Messi's participation in defense will bring more disadvantages.

First of all, the defensive system is prepared in advance, and the sudden addition of one more person will cause other players to choose their positions awkwardly.

The most important thing is that Messi’s physical fitness is not very good. Once he invests too much in defense, the lack of physical fitness will most likely lead to a switch from defense to offense, which will not put pressure on Portugal’s defense.

The inability to put pressure on the opponent on the defensive end means that Portugal can focus more on offense and less on defense.

Although Di Maria is the backbone of the game in many cases, Di Maria's outstanding performance is largely due to Messi attracting a lot of energy and giving Di Maria enough room to perform.

Fortunately, Portugal did not find any chance to break through Martin's goal in the first few minutes, and the score on the scoreboard was still 0:0.

The ball was kicked out of the sideline by Tagliafico and Portugal got a throw-in on the right frontcourt.

The live director took the opportunity when Dalot was not in a hurry to throw the ball out of bounds to give Martin a close-up shot of his face.

His iconic side-slicked hair and delicate, three-dimensional facial features have caused countless female fans in front of the TV to fantasize about him.

He ignored the defensive player De Paul who was following closely and signaled Dalot to throw the ball over.

Without any hesitation, he threw the ball over.

De Paul tried to push Martin forward from behind, but he found that the top football star in front of him couldn't move at all.

Under the gaze of 80,000 fans at the scene, Martin leisurely used his chest to pass the ball to Dalot who let the ball go out of bounds.

Dalot has a high football IQ and a strong ability to read the game. He swept the ball that Martin had passed back and passed it to B席 who was standing on the right side of his own attack, and then quickly transferred it to Felix who was in an open space on the left side.

Felix has excellent technical skills, and Guerrero has been advancing along the left sideline.

The Portuguese fans near the stands were cheering and cheering for their team.

Felix dribbled forward and pretended to pass the ball to Guerrero who was making a forward run, but at the moment when the two people's positions intersected, he suddenly pushed the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot, creating space and passing the ball to B Fee who was making a forward run to participate in the attack.

Most of the defensive force in the middle was concentrated on Martin, which meant that the only player marking Bruno Fernandez was Enzo Fernandez.

B Fee, who was well prepared, looked at Guerrero who was making a forward run, and actually faked a pass when Enzo Fernandez was in position, then used the outside of his right foot to push the ball to the middle, and then did not give the Argentine defenders a chance to come forward to defend.

After slightly adjusting his pace, he swung his right foot and shot the ball about 27 meters away from the goal.

Boom~
Although B Fee looks thin, he actually has strong confrontation ability and is very tough.

The football is kicked out with great force, and the key is to control the angle well.

Martin chose a good position, took a step to the right, turned sideways, stretched out his arms, and just pushed the football with a slight arc to the outer edge of the left goal post, causing it to deviate from the goal post and hit the aluminum billboard behind.

"woowowowoooo——"

The Argentine fans subconsciously let out a cry of fear.

Fortunately, Martin reacted quickly as if he was helped by God, otherwise... B Fee's long-range shot would most likely help Portugal take the lead.

Having missed the goal, B Fee roared to the sky, venting his dissatisfaction at the slightest miss.

If we can score a goal first, the rest of the game will be much easier.

What a pity!

"Nice cum!"

"Great job!!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei said impassionedly.

Big Martin turned the tide, and Argentina head coach Scaloni breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a strong sense of worry.

Corner kick attack is the attacking method that Portugal is very good at.

Players such as Martin, Ronaldo, Ruben Dias and Palinha all have strong heading abilities.

Especially Martin and Ronaldo.

In the eyes of many football experts, they are the top two header players in the world today.

As long as the football can be kicked over their heads, Big Martin may not be able to stop it.

B is preparing to take a corner kick.

The Argentine penalty area was full of fear, and the players concentrated and held their breath, fearing that the corner kick from Portugal would pose a huge threat.

"aoaooaoaoaoo——"

The Portuguese fans in the audience were ecstatic and cheered with joy.

The quality of the corner kick taken by B Silva was much better than before. Ronaldo used Martin's cover to win the chance to scramble at the penalty spot and overpowered Romero and Alvarez to complete a header.

But under the pressure of the two players, he did not find the aim completely, Ronaldo did not control the angle well, and the football went slightly outside the right goal post.

Argentina gets a goal kick in the backcourt.

The Portuguese players did not retreat to the half court to wait for Argentina to attack, but instead adopted a high defensive posture.

Big Martin originally wanted to kick the ball to his teammates on the back line, and then slowly move forward according to the game tactics formulated before the game.

Faced with the ferocious Portuguese players, he did not dare to give the ball to Romero who was ready to take the ball. After a brief and intense ideological struggle, he decided to kick the ball forward.

However, Alvarez, who was at the front, was at a disadvantage in terms of height and weight. After being squeezed away by Ruben Dias, he lost control of the landing point, and the ball was headed by Ruben Dias to his partner Danilo Pereira.

Immediately afterwards, the ball was kicked to Palinha.

After the transfer, the ball was passed back and forth by B Fee, B Silva, Martin and C Ronaldo.

Martin, who was running over a long area, casually sent a diagonal pass to the attacking left rib while moving in the middle. Guerrero quietly moved forward on the wing, overtook from the outside, and completed a sweep pass to the middle in front of Molina.

Right center back Romero fell to the ground to intercept but was a little slow and did not meet Guerrero's quick ground cross.

Ronaldo stretched out his foot before the equally aging Otamendi, and poked the football rolling quickly from the left with his toes.

The football changed its trajectory and rolled quickly towards the lower left corner of the goal.

Big Martin fell to the ground very quickly, and fell to the right side of his body almost at the moment when Ronaldo completed the sliding shot.

However, Ronaldo's shot was so powerful and at such a sharp angle that it completely brushed the inside of the left goal post.

Martin reacted quickly and stretched out his right fingertips as far as he could, but they were still a few centimeters away from the rolling football.

It was just these few centimeters that made Big Martin lose the chance to turn the tide.

The football brushed the inner edge of the left goal post, rolled across the goal line, and hit the snow-white net...

next moment.

The entire Lusail Stadium was boiling.

"Goooooooooooooal—"

"C Ronaldo! Shovel shot successful! Portugal leads Argentina 1:0!"

"What a great combination! Portugal's attack breaks through Argentina's defence! Raphael Guerrero delivers a wonderful low cross for Cristiano Ronaldo!"

"In the 13th minute of the game, Portugal took the lead!"

……

The commentators in the live commentary booth blurted out in unison.

After confirming that the ball had entered the net, Ronaldo first glanced at the assistant referee and saw that he did not raise the flag. Then he excitedly stood up and rushed towards Guerrero who had made the assist, expressing his ecstasy brought by the goal.

Portuguese players including Martin, B Silva, B Fee, Felix and others flocked to celebrate the goal that broke the deadlock.

Portugal head coach Santos was very excited and high-fived and hugged his assistants.

Argentina head coach Scaloni closed his eyes in pain. Although he had thought that Portugal would score first before the game, he did not expect the goal to come so early, and Martin was not directly involved.

He knew that there would be big trouble in the next game.

The Portuguese fans in the audience cheered and danced.

Argentina fans were dejected and shook their heads, obviously disappointed with the game. Messi, Alvarez, Di Maria, McAllister, De Paul, Enzo Fernandez and other players on the field became confused and didn't know what to do in the next game.

The director restored the entire process of the goal.

There was nothing special about the offensive organization, except that the passing speed was a bit faster and the running coverage between players increased. The most important thing was that Martin gave people a careless feeling when receiving the pass after B席's breakthrough, as if it was no different from the previous return pass.

I don't know...

One shot into the soul!
He was in the same rhythm as Guerrero who was running at high speed along the left sideline, and his pass was of just the right strength and angle.

Guerrero saved the unnecessary time of stopping the ball, and his subsequent non-stop pass to the middle was very timely.

He just managed to penetrate before Romero fell to the ground to block the ball, and Ronaldo cleverly moved in front of Otamendi and shot successfully.

The coordination process is very smooth and the viewing experience is very high.

After celebrating with his teammates, Ronaldo then turned to the broadcast screen and made his signature celebration gesture 'siu'.

"siuuuuuuuuuu——"

The moment he landed, the Portuguese fans and neutral fans at the Lusail Stadium cooperated and cheered hysterically.

Messi felt the fanatical atmosphere coming towards him and looked very depressed.

Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he had always looked down upon in the past, actually scored a goal in the World Cup final.

On the other hand...

There has been no decent performance so far.

Indeed, Portugal's offense is very dependent on Martin, but Ronaldo's ability to seize opportunities in front of the goal has not declined much, and his timing to score is just right.

After a brief mental decline, Argentina coach Scaloni quickly regained his fighting spirit. He came to the coaching and technical area and shouted to the players on the field: "Guys, the game has just started not long ago, we still have a lot of time left, you have to believe in yourself, you can definitely beat Portugal in this stadium!"

Scaloni's voice was loud and his actions were provocative.

But the atmosphere at the Russell Stadium was enthusiastic enough, with waves of cheers coming one after another.

His voice simply couldn't penetrate the mighty noise.

What the Argentine players saw on the field was...

Head coach Scaloni was unhappy with the way they conceded the ball early on in the match.

Not long after, the game started again.

Argentina, trailing in the score, had no choice but to attack step by step as long as there were no problems with its overall defense.

Messi is already 35 years old. His skills and sense of rhythm are still very strong, but his explosive power has greatly decreased, resulting in a serious drop in starting speed.

The result was that Messi was able to use the change in rhythm to get past the Portuguese defenders, but he would be caught up again after just two steps. Coupled with the timely backup of other Portuguese players, he was unable to play the role of a single man at all.

On the contrary, Di Maria frequently relied on his strong personal ability to create killing opportunities on the left, causing Portuguese fans to exclaim in surprise.

Of course, this situation didn't last long.

Martin, who was on the defensive end, actively participated in defense and took the initiative to find Di Maria who was in very good form.

Di Maria, who received the ball again, felt good about himself and thought that breaking through Martin would be a piece of cake.

did not expect……

Martin chose the right moment and made a simple shoulder-to-shoulder contact, then took a big step forward to separate Di Maria from the ball.

"A textbook step-over to steal the ball!"

CCTV5 commentator He Wei said passionately: "I think many fans have forgotten that Martin was known for his strong defense when he first debuted, with a % success rate in one-on-one defense. Di Maria probably also forgot this and dared to challenge Martin with the ball! You know, even Messi in his prime couldn't make a breakthrough!"

After losing control of the ball, Di Maria suddenly realized something.

Portugal switched from defense to offense.

Martin, with his back to the attacking direction, passed the ball to B on the right, who passed the ball back.

Martin moved sideways with his back to the right sideline of his own defense and sent a long diagonal pass through half the court with his left foot.

Felix made a high-speed forward run, passed the center line along the left sideline, and passed Martin's well-placed long diagonal pass in the direction in front of him.

Argentina had too many players on offense, so there were not enough defensive players to switch from offense to defense.

Fortunately, the starting left winger in this game was Felix instead of Leo, otherwise there would be no way to catch up.

Felix, running at full speed, dribbled the ball to the left side of the attack and met Romero who was chasing back about 35 meters from the baseline, but he maintained control of the ball with his superb footwork. Before Ronaldo and B Silva reached the frontcourt, his task was to ensure control of the ball.

Romero defended successfully, without committing reckless fouls, and slowed down Felix's forward rhythm.

Enzo Fernandez, who was actively returning to defense, was a little impatient. He stretched out his foot and tripped Felix, who had kicked the ball out first.

Referee Maziniak blew his whistle decisively, indicating that Enzo Fernandez had committed a foul.

"The young defensive midfielder Enzo's foul was a bit reckless~"

CCTV5 commentator He Wei changed the subject: "The distance at this location seems to be a very good opportunity for Martin."

The on-site director was obviously very knowledgeable about basketball and immediately gave Martin a close-up of his face.

Argentina coach Scaloni's face was livid and he repeatedly reminded the players before the game not to commit fouls within 30 meters of the defensive third zone.

The results of it?
Still made the mistake!

The key is that Romero's frontal defense stabilized the situation!
He now felt a little regretful. If he had known earlier, he would have sent out Palacios, who was two years older than him.

"aoaoaoaoooo—"

The Portuguese fans in the audience seemed to realize something and started cheering hysterically.

Then, the broadcaster gave the distance from the foul site to the goal.

29m.

It is about 80 degrees to the left goal post.

A direct free kick that was well within Martin's range.

Argentine goalkeeper Martín was nervously arranging the human wall, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.

If the referee Maziniak hadn't intervened and urged him, he would have waited even longer.

It is best to wait until the Martin footfeel decreases.

Only when Martin saw the human wall in place did he place the football on the surface sprayed with white foam and retreat to a sufficient distance.

As the player who has scored the most free kicks in modern football, Ronaldo will not compete with Martin for the opportunity to take direct free kicks.

"Beep~"

Maziniak blew the whistle in his mouth.

Messi, who was waiting for the counterattack, watched Martin from a distance and kept praying in his heart: Miss the goal post! Miss the goal post! !

Boom~
Martin's right foot hit the lower middle part of the football hard, making a crisp dull sound, and also brought the praying Messi back to reality.

He couldn't help but look up at the football that rose from the ground without any rotation and passed over the heads of the five jumping people at high speed, flying towards the upper left corner of the goal like a cannonball.

The position chosen by goalkeeper Martin was slightly to the right of the center of the goal, which was a typical strategy of a human wall guarding the near corner and a human guarding the far corner.

In addition, he was also cautious, thinking that Martin would most likely play at the near end.

When he saw the football fly over the heads of the wall of people and headed for the near corner, he immediately took two steps to the right, then used the slight inertia to leap up, spread out his long right arm, and rubbed his fingertips against the powerful football.

The fingertips of his right hand did touch the football.

But… before he could exert force with his fingertips, the football, endowed with surging energy, had already flown over with unstoppable force, hitting the inner edge of the upper post on the left side of the goal and crashing into the net…

The Argentine fans were delighted when they heard the crisp sound, but they became confused again the next moment.

Finally, there is despair.

"Goooooooooooooal—"

The powerful football hit the snow-white net, and the commentators in the live commentary booth went crazy, making hysterical long noises.

(End of this chapter)