Chapter 626: An unexpected attack
After completing the relevant procedures of the pre-match ceremony, Bruno and his teammates returned to their own half to prepare for the start of the game, while captain Cristiano Ronaldo went to guess the sides before the game.
Soon, Ronaldo ran back and gestured to them: "The other team is kicking off, be careful."
He gave Ronaldo a thumbs up, which meant: "Don't worry, leave it to me."
He has entered the game state early.
The referee on duty today is Argentine Nestor Pitana. For well-known reasons, this is not good news for Bruno and the Portuguese team.
Pitana signaled the French players to enter the center circle to prepare for the kick-off, and Giroud stood in front of the football.
The game is about to begin.
As the referee Pitana blew the whistle to kick off, Giroud kicked the ball out and Griezmann passed the ball back to Pogba behind him.
The game has begun!
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France played in a 4231 formation, with Giroud as the lone striker, Mbappe, Griezmann and Matuidi hiding behind him, Pogba and Kante as the double defensive midfielders. On the defensive line, Varane and Umtiti partnered as central defenders, Hernandez and Pavard were on the left and right, and Lloris was still the goalkeeper.
On the Portuguese side, Santos continued to line up with the 4321 Christmas tree formation, with Patricio as the goalkeeper, Cancelo, Pepe, Fonte and Guerrero forming the back line, William Carvalho, Moutinho and Joao Mario as the three defensive midfielders, the double attacking midfielders still being Bruno and Bernardo Silva, and Ronaldo serving as the lone striker.
After the French team took control of the ball, they did not rush to attack. Pogba adjusted the ball, looked at the Portuguese formation that had not been broken up, and passed the ball to the central defender Umtiti behind them. The purpose of this move was to draw out the Portuguese players and stretch their originally compressed formation, so that there would be gaps that could be exploited.
As expected, forward Cristiano Ronaldo and right midfielder Bernardo Silva ran up, passed the French midfield and rushed straight to the French defense line.
Umtiti knew that he was the opponent's target and that he might be intercepted if he continued to hold the ball. He did not want to be the kind of defender who often appeared in "A Collection of the Dumbest Football Mistakes in History" and was ridiculed.
He passed the ball to right-back Pavard on the wing.
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As soon as Pavard received the ball, he found that Bruno was less than ten meters away from him.
The young Pavard was a little surprised. He wanted to do something for a moment but didn't know what to do. In short, he had a "brain short circuit".
By the time he realized that he should pass the ball to his teammate in front of him, Bruno had already rushed to him and kicked the ball away!
There was a sudden huge noise erupting in the Luzhniki Stadium. The cheers of the Portuguese fans and the screams of the French fans mixed together. It was impossible to tell whether they were cheering for the steal or shouting out in fear.
At this moment, Pavard's brain suddenly reacted very quickly. He knew what to do, and did not hesitate at all - he stretched out his hand and pulled Bruno who was about to break through!
The referee Pitana blew the whistle, France's right-back Pavard committed a foul, and Portugal was awarded a free kick on the front sideline.
"Wow, the game just started and Portugal got a free kick in the frontcourt! Contrary to the media analysis before the game, Portugal showed great momentum after the start of the game!" the commentator exclaimed.
They were indeed surprised because before the game the media generally believed that Santos would adopt a defensive counterattack in this game and wear down the French team.
This tactic has been proven to be very effective in many key matches. Unexpectedly, Portugal adopted an active tactic of pressing in the front court at the beginning of the game, which caught the French team off guard.
This mistake was very embarrassing.
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Bruno is usually responsible for free kicks from the front wing, but this time, Bruno did not run up to take the free kick. Instead, he found Moutinho and said, "Joao, you take the free kick, and I'll go to the penalty area to compete for the header."
Moutinho was a little surprised and said hesitantly: "But I want to defend."
"Leave it to William and Mario. I can go up and give the opponent a surprise. We haven't used you to take the penalty in our set-piece tactics this season. You are an unexpected surprise that they can never expect and are not prepared for." Bruno winked at Moutinho.
Moutinho understood that this move was indeed brilliant. After Bruno went on the field, the French team would lack the means and personnel to deal with him, and they would not be able to find anyone to defend him for a while. Then, as long as the ball he kicked landed in the right place, Bruno would be able to create trouble for the opponent in front of the French team's goal.
Time waits for no one, so he nodded and ran up, ready to take the free kick.
Bruno ran to William Carvalho first and said to him, "You and Mario, watch your defense."
After saying that, he accelerated towards the French team's penalty area.
When Ronaldo saw him running in and huddled up with the other team, he started laughing. He knew what the guy wanted to do, and in order to cooperate with him, he had to create more chaos inside, so he became dishonest and kept changing positions in the crowd, making Varane, his Real Madrid teammate who was responsible for defending him, dizzy. As Ronaldo shuttled through the crowd, he also disrupted the French team's own defense.
Pepe also cooperated with Bruno, and his header should not be underestimated.
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Bruno saw the chaos on the penalty area and knew what his teammates were doing. So he hid behind Ronaldo and Pepe, relying on them to attract the French team's defensive attention, while he lowered his head and kept a low profile like a transparent person.
As expected, the French players did not notice him. They were more concerned about Ronaldo and the two central defenders Pepe and Fonte who rushed up.
Moutinho also understood what Bruno was going to do. He carefully placed the football on the ground and then stepped back.
The free kick location is near the sideline, thirty-nine meters away from the goal in a straight line, which is not far from the penalty area line.
This kind of free kick is basically an outward-spinning ball, which is sent to the penalty spot in the penalty area using a cross-like technique to make it easier for teammates to head the ball.
After Moutinho placed the ball, he waited for the referee's whistle.
Seeing that the situation in the penalty area was basically stable, the referee Pitana blew the whistle.
At this time, the game time displayed on the TV screen was one minute and thirty-eight seconds.
Moutinho started to run up, then kicked the ball hard. The ball flew into the air, drew an arc and flew towards the penalty area of the French team!
At this moment, Ronaldo and Pepe sprinted to the left and right respectively, preparing to head the ball.
The French players who were guarding the two of them ran away with them, and just like that, a crack suddenly appeared in front of Bruno, as if a tightly closed door was pushed open by Ronaldo and Pepe, and the front suddenly became clear!
This is the best opportunity! Now is the time!
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Bruno looked up at the football and started running.
One step...the football was flying in the air and was approaching the penalty area.
Two steps... the football passed by the first person, who was France's left forward Mbappe. Mbappe did not head the ball. His jumping header this time was more like a pretense.
Three steps!
Jump!
Football has finally entered densely populated areas.
C Ronaldo jumped up, and his French central defender Varane also jumped high, trying to kick the ball out.
The two people interfered with each other, and in the end neither of them hit the target!
Bruno, who was unmarked, jumped high in the air, so high that the people below could only look up at him.
The football flew over the heads of Ronaldo and Varane, and then reached his airspace!
Bruno in the air obviously had a period of hang time. He began to tighten his abdomen and twist his waist, making his body like a spring compressed to the limit, waiting for the ball to come and bounce out!
Bruno's eyes were fixed on the football, and the landing point of the football flashed through his mind. Everything was as he expected, exactly.
When the football reached the expected landing point, Bruno, like a spring, also bounced out, kicking his legs, swinging his hips, twisting his waist, and shaking his head... The force was transmitted from top to bottom to his forehead, and then hit the football hard!
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"Moutinho kicked the ball into the penalty area... Bruno! It's Bruno! He jumped up... and headed the ball--!!" The Portuguese commentator suddenly shouted excitedly because he saw Bruno jumping high in the air, with no French player around him!
He headed the ball into the goal without any interference!
Next, the football was like a silver meteor, and was hit by Bruno's head in the air, changing its flight path and crashing into the goal.
France goalkeeper Lori made a desperate save, but Bruno's header was so powerful and fast that he caught nothing but a gust of wind...
"GOLO! GOLOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"
Amid the roar of the Portuguese commentator, the silver meteor hit the white net hard.
The ball went in!
In the first half, the French team's goal was right below a stand where Portuguese fans gathered, so the attack in which Bruno participated was seen clearly by the Portuguese fans from a very close distance.
They saw Bruno leap high and head the ball into the air.
Then all the Portuguese fans raised their arms and jumped up from their seats!
"The ball went in! It's unbelievable! Just one minute and fifty seconds into the game, the ball flew into the French team's goal! This is the fastest goal in the history of the World Cup final! Did anyone think of it before the game?"
"Bruno's header! The French team didn't mark him at all, allowing him to head freely in the air... This was a fatal mistake by the French team!"
"Bruno! Yes, it's Bruno! It's Bruno again! He always scores goals for the team in such crucial games! This is his sixth goal in this World Cup! He tied with Harry Kane and ranked first in the scorer list of this World Cup!"
"Nice header! He jumped higher than anyone! Bruno, high above the ground, headed Moutinho's pass into the goal!"
"Bruno! Bruno!! Bruno!!! The hero of Portugal!"
"Portugal scored within two minutes of the start. They got off to a great start. It was a great start!"
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The commentators and announcers from various TV and radio stations were all shouting excitedly.
