Chapter 518: Leading by 3 goals at halftime, securing the title in advance?

Chapter 518: Leading by three goals at halftime, securing the title in advance?
"The ball is in!"

“It’s in, it’s in!!”

"Another wonderful world wave!"

"The tenth goal of this World Cup!"

"Martin helped Portugal lead Argentina 2-0 at the Lusail Stadium!"

"The game is only in the 19th minute!"

At the Lusail Stadium, in the live commentary booth, CCTV 5 commentator He Wei blurted out.

"Martin!"

"Martin!!"

"Martin!!!"

The entire stadium went crazy at this moment, and hysterical shouts instantly filled the entire stadium.

Martin, who scored the goal, did not appear particularly excited. He stood in place and hugged teammates such as Ronaldo, B Silva, B Fee, Felix and others who came forward to celebrate, and simply celebrated to expand the lead.

Portugal head coach Santos was ecstatic and expressed his relief by waving his arms and cheering.

Argentina head coach Scaloni closed his eyes in pain. It was obvious that he was gradually losing confidence in the game.

The Argentine players on the field became confused and desperate.

So far, the team Martin plays for has never been equalized after leading by two goals, let alone overtaking.

Records are meant to be broken, but...the record set by Martin has not been broken to this day.

Whether it is Mbappe, or the strongest post-00s Haaland and Foden, they didn't even get close to the record...

The live director gave a long close-up of Martin's face, and then restored the entire process of the goal.

From the run-up to the final kick of the ball into the goal, the viewing experience is so amazing that it makes people applaud.

"Big Martin's fingertips even touched the ball, but... it was of little use. Martin's free kick was so powerful that it hit the post and went into the net without even deviating from its trajectory."

CCTV5 commentator He Wei watched the wonderful replays given on the broadcast screen and said: "The world's number one free kick expert is indeed worthy of his reputation!"

The wonderful replays frame by frame allow the fans in front of the TV to fully experience what is the ultimate visual feast.

The Portuguese players' celebration did not last long. Argentina captain Messi looked at Martin and Ronaldo who were smiling, and felt angry.

"The game started 20 minutes ago, and we still have 70 minutes to achieve our pre-match goals. To be honest, I have lost confidence in the game just like you all, but if we choose to give up at this moment, how can we be worthy of the fans in the audience who are still cheering for us with all their might?"

Messi, who usually doesn't talk much in the team, motivates everyone through practical actions. This time, he clapped his hands before the game resumed, stirring up his teammates: "Listen, look, the fans of our country still have confidence in us, so... we can't let them down!"

The Argentine players on the field looked at captain Messi in surprise.

Perhaps it was the contrast caused by the fact that he usually didn't care about anything, the Argentine players suddenly felt that Messi, who was only about 1.7 meters tall, had a very tall figure in front of them.

I felt unnatural, as if there was a fire burning in my heart.

"That's right! We can't let the fans down!"

'Little Spider' Alvarez immediately echoed captain Messi's remarks.

Tough guys Romero and Otamendi also pumped their fists and shouted: "We want to fight for the fans!"

The other players didn't make impassioned shouts, but... their facial expressions had changed noticeably.

From the original despair to regaining confidence.

Argentina coach Scaloni felt that the players had rekindled their fighting spirit for the game, so he called left-back Tagliafico to the sidelines to give him instructions.

Martin keenly noticed the emotional changes of the Argentine players, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly, revealing a playful smile.

It would be really boring to determine the victory of the game too early.

Seeing the Argentine players once again showing their desire to win the game, Martin also had new ideas.

The game was almost won with a 2:0 scoreline, but Messi was determined to win it.

Therefore, he decided to let Messi, who was 35 years old, feel the dangers of society!

Many times, winning a game with high morale is useless!
In order to be able to change the situation of the game with ease, your strength must reach another dimension!
For example...himself.

※※※※※

The game starts again.

Argentina, which was two goals behind, played extremely cautiously and focused on stability.

Finding gaps in the Portuguese defense through patient passing.

But is it so easy to find the loopholes in the Portuguese defensive system led by Martin?
High-level games change rapidly, but Martin has the ability to detect shortcomings and make up for them quickly in a split second.

Unless there are loopholes in the defense that are unreachable from long distance, it will be impossible for Argentina, led by Messi, to find a chance to narrow the gap.

Of course, there is another possibility to score a goal.

The star player's world-class shot!

This... there is no way to stop it. There is no way to stop it.

In this Argentine team, the only players who can change the situation are Messi and Di Maria.

Apart from that, there is no one else.

Santos had developed a specific defensive system targeting Messi and Di Maria before the game, making it impossible for the two to display their "star flash" abilities.

Obviously, this is also directly related to the advanced age of Di Maria and Messi.

If he were four years younger, there would be no way to completely restrict the two superstars.

Portugal, which was leading by two goals, played cautiously and focused on stability.

There is still more than an hour left before the end of the game, so there is no need to think about killing the game too early.

After all, Argentina, which is two goals behind, will definitely try to narrow the gap.

At that time, the attack will inevitably be intensified.

And strengthening the offense will inevitably lead to an increase in offensive forces.

At that time, it will be a perfect opportunity to counterattack.

Although Felix is ​​not as fast as Leo, he can hold the ball during counterattacks.

You can wait for support while trying to see if you can create another direct free kick.

Santos designed a very careful strategy before the game, and it was obvious that he was putting all his energy into defending his title.

Messi tried to take the ball more often to find space, but he was ultimately affected by his age. The loss of explosiveness and absolute speed had a huge impact on his breakthroughs.

When frontal attack doesn't work, we can only look for opportunities by trying to combine the sides and the center.

The results weren't very good.

Alvarez is not a powerful center forward, he is more like a flexible second striker who joins the attack from behind.

It is extremely difficult for him to compete with his club teammate Ruben Dias for the ball in the penalty area.

Whether it was a high ball or a low ball, there was no way to find Alvarez, or McAllister and DePaul who entered the penalty area from behind...

In addition, they did not dare to have too many players involved in the penalty area, so as to avoid giving Martin an opportunity to counterattack.

C Ronaldo, Felix and B Silva are indeed not very fast, but Martin has extremely strong individual combat capabilities.

As long as they find an opportunity to advance with the ball, the players on the back line are likely to form a situation where the gourd baby saves his grandfather.

The game passed quickly for ten minutes with both sides attacking and defending, and in the blink of an eye it was thirty minutes.

The scoreboard still shows that defending champion Portugal leads Argentina 2:0.

Argentina, which was behind in the score, worked very hard and was always patiently looking for opportunities.

The Portuguese attack and defense system led by Martin performed very well. It not only put huge pressure on Argentina on the defensive end, but also threatened Martin to guard the goal in positional offense.

Time passed second by second, and soon it was the end of the first half.

The situation is in a rather stalemate.

The on-site director gave the broadcasts to the core players of both teams.

Martin always maintained a calm and composed expression.

Messi frowned and looked very serious.

It is not difficult to see that this is the heavy feeling brought about by being two goals behind and being powerless.

Scaloni, who was standing in the technical area directing the game, had an expression no different from Messi's. He obviously felt tremendous pressure from the game.

If we fail to seize the opportunity to narrow the gap before the end of the first half, there will probably be no hope in the second half.

In the 42nd minute of the game, Messi's attack on the right was unsuccessful again. McAllister, who received the ball from Alvarez outside the penalty area, shot a sudden shot but the angle was too straight and was easily caught by Diogo Costa.

The continuous attacks yielded no results, and the Argentine players were two goals behind, feeling very frustrated, and their annoyance gradually affected their normal state of mind.

Martin keenly noticed that the Argentine players around him did not seem as motivated as before.

Ronaldo seemed to realize something. He suddenly took a step back and raised his hand to make a false gesture of asking for the ball, attracting the full attention of left-back Tagliafico and Di Maria.

At the same time, Martin made an obvious gesture of reaching out for the ball towards goalkeeper Diogo Costa, and then ran forward.

But...his action was a real gesture to ask for the ball.

De Paul noticed it and decisively retreated, and Enzo Fernandez quickly followed.

What made them depressed was that Martin, who was pretending to speed up, suddenly stopped.

Diogo Costa keenly noticed that Martin had given a tactical gesture that only they could understand, and the direction of the powerful hand-thrown ball was exactly where Martin was retreating.

While retreating, Martin stopped the ball with his chest. McAllister, who made a low shot outside the penalty area, snatched the ball from the side. Martin raised his right foot and kicked the ball back when it fell to the height of an ordinary person's waist.

McAllister, who came up from the side, kicked only a ball of air.

DePaul faced Martin, who turned and faced the direction of attack.

The distance between the two is getting closer and closer.

Martin lowered his left shoulder and stepped out with his left foot as if to push the ball to the front left.

DePaul, who was defending head-on, knew that Martin had strong explosive power and fast speed, so he subconsciously took a step to the right based on his judgment.

But the center of gravity had just shifted, and Martin's right foot did not touch the ball at all. He made a feint, then lowered his right shoulder, and naturally stepped out with the inside of his left foot to drive the ball to the front right.

That is the opposite direction where DePaul's body center of gravity shifts!

Enzo Fernandez, who was lagging behind, seemed to realize something and he pounced on him without hesitation.

Never imagined.

Martin, who was about to show off his skills, quickly passed the ball to B席 on the right with the outside of his right foot...

Enzo Fernandez subconsciously turned and rushed towards B Silva who was unguarded.

As a result, as soon as he turned around, he saw B席 decisively passing the ball forward, which was... the space behind him.

After completing the pass, Martin went at full speed, stopping and dribbling the straight pass from B席 forward, facing the double central defenders Romero and Otamendi directly.

"It's going to be over..."

Argentina coach Scaloni felt bad when he saw Martin speeding up.

Romero and Otamendi looked at each other and made a decision in an instant.

Romero, who is young, quick-witted and fast, stepped forward to commit a foul, while Otamendi protected him.

Both of them were ready to receive a yellow card at this moment.

Martin was a defensive player, so how could he not know what the two central defenders wanted to do in this situation?

foul!

The best way to avoid fouls is to stay far enough away!

So, when he was still four or five meters away from Romero, he lowered his right shoulder and stepped out with his right foot as if to push the ball to the right front, as if he was going to break out of the double-team. In fact, at the moment when Romero's center of gravity tilted to the left, he used the flexibility of his ankle and used the inside of his right instep to slam the ball to the left front.

The left shoulder dropped, and the right foot stepped onto the ground with all its might.

The huge reaction force allowed Martin to complete the rotation of his center of gravity in a very short time.

Realizing that he had been tricked, Romero quickly and forcibly turned his body weight and pounced on Martin who was changing direction to the left.

In order to complete his foul plan, he rushed forward with great momentum.

At this critical moment.

Martin kicked the ball to the front right with the inside of his left foot, which was the opposite direction of Romero's movement.

"Oops!"

Romero's momentum was too strong and he couldn't complete continuous changes of center of gravity in a short period of time.

Otamendi had no choice but to go ahead after retreating to protect the opponent.

What he didn't expect was that Martin, who was defending head-on, was simply unreasonable and bullied the old man.

Just use the outside of your right foot to kick the ball out more than ten meters while speeding up.

Ota, who is old, was unsure and wanted to commit a foul, but he couldn't even touch the person.

Martin's movement after dribbling the ball was very elegant, with an obvious turn to the left.

So it feels like it's as simple as Martin passing the training pole...

"aoaooaoaooaooooo——"

The hysterical cheers of Portuguese fans suddenly rang out over the Lusail Stadium.

Countless neutral fans also cheered.

Only the Argentine fans closed their eyes in pain.

With only Martin left in front of the goal, how could anyone stop Martin, who had never missed a one-on-one shot in his career, from scoring?

Martin, standing in front of the penalty spot, didn't care about anything else. He left the goal and attacked...

He originally wanted to get past his former club teammate Martin who was guarding the goal, but when he saw the opponent abandon the goal and attack, he didn't have so many complicated ideas.

He caught up with the football and without any adjustment, he directly shot the ball into the goal from about 35 meters away.

Big Martin watched the football fly into the air and his right foot, which had just crossed the penalty area line, paused stiffly. His reaction was exactly the same as that of many Argentine fans in the audience.

Close your eyes in pain.

After completing the lob, Martin did not look at the goal again. He turned around gracefully, raised his arms naturally, and left a majestic back view in front of the goal.

The football flew into the air, passing through the airspace that Big Martin could not possibly cover, and after reaching a maximum height of about four meters, it began to fall, and then, under the gaze of fans all over the world, it plunged into the snow-white net...

A few tenths of a second later, the commentary booth suddenly exploded, with endless commentary voices coming out.

"Goooooooooooal——"

"The ball goes in! ~ It goes in!!"

"In the 43rd minute of the first half! Martin's overhead kick helped Portugal lead Argentina 3:0!"

"What an incredible performance! This goal... also sealed the victory!"

……

(End of this chapter)