Chapter 27: Battle with Brazil, 12

The afternoon before the game, it rained a bit in Utrecht. Coincidentally, the Italian team did not have a training session in the afternoon, and the whole team was on holiday...so only some players went out in the rain to visit Utrecht.

Li Qi was obediently correcting his homework and reports in the hotel, including continuing to improve his graduation project code...

In the evening, Li Qi also got tomorrow's starting list and tactical arrangements from the coaching staff, and got tomorrow's starting list and lineup of the Brazilian team from Pimenta.

The traditional 4-4-2 formation is nothing more than a single defensive midfielder and three central midfielders.

Goalkeeper: No. 1 Renan Brito (January 85, 1, 24cm, Brazilian international, right foot);

The defense line from left to right: No. 6 Fabio Santos (September 85, 9, 16cm, Sao Paulo, left foot, left back), No. 179 Leonardo José (March 3, 86, 3cm, Santos, left center back), No. 9 Ede Carlos (May 188, 14, 85cm, Sao Paulo, right center back), No. 5 Rafinha (Cruzeiro, right back);

Single defensive midfielder: No. 5 Roberto de Sousa Rezende (January 85, 1, 18cm, Guarani, right foot);

The central midfielders are lined up from left to right: No. 8 Renato Eduardo Ribeiro (April 85, 4, 28cm, Atlético Mineiro), No. 185 Evandro Gobert (August 10, 86, 8cm, Atlético Paranaense, right foot), No. 23 Arouca (August 179, 16, 86cm, Fluminense, right foot);

The forwards are: No. 9 Popo (Defuson Rogelio, January 85, 1, 9cm, Corinthians) and No. 186 Rafael Sobis (June 11, 85, 6cm, Internacional, right foot);

Also on the bench were No. 17 Gabriel (December 85, 12, 6cm, Flamengo, right foot), No. 176 Thiago Quirino (January 19, 85, 1cm, Atletico Mineiro) and No. 4 Diego.

The head coach of the Brazilian team is 43-year-old Nene Weber.

……

Soon, the next day and the competition arrived...

With a long whistle from the referee, the first semi-final of this World Youth Championship officially started at 17:30 local time in the Netherlands.

Needless to say, the game was kicked off by the Brazilian team wearing yellow shirts, blue pants and blue socks...

The captain of the Italian U20 team, who did not want to be named, was unwilling to reveal the details of the coin toss, but judging from the result, it seems that he lost again...

Well, he would say he won the right to choose sides! Yes, no matter which side, it seems that Brazil has more fans... Who lets Brazil be the football kingdom? There are many stars, outstanding achievements, and gorgeous football skills... It's really annoying.

The match between Brazil and Italy reached its climax almost from the beginning. Brazil had a clear offensive pattern on the flanks, and from the kick-off they took turns to charge towards Italy's defensive hinterland from both flanks.

The first shot of the game came in the second minute of the game, when Brazilian right-back Rafinha dribbled in the middle and was caught by Nocerino, winning a set-piece about 2 meters away. Then Brazilian striker No. 35 Sobis took a long free throw, but the ball flew high over the crossbar...

The first shot on target in this game came in the 4th minute when Italy's Li Qi counterattacked from the right side in the middle. When Rossi cut inside and Pelle made a pass and cut, the Brazilian defender intercepted the ball and kicked it forward.

After receiving the ball, Brazilian striker Popo retreated and turned around to get rid of Koda's pressure, overtook on the outside, and then passed the ball to right midfielder Renato, who cut inside after receiving the ball, and was knocked down by Motta who came to defend at about 35 meters in the middle... Brazil won another free kick in the middle.

This time, No. 16 Aroca kicked the ball and gave it to No. 5 defensive midfielder Roberto to shoot! The ball went out with a bang, like a cannonball, and hit the right ankle of Li Qi who rushed up to block it, changing its direction and heading straight into the blind spot...

Li Qi: (っ°Д°;)っ

Fortunately, Viviano was focused and quickly fell to the ground and caught the ball in his arms.

The Brazilian team launched a fierce attack at the beginning, but it was the Italian team that scored the first goal!

The game came to the 6th minute. First, Motta intercepted Fabio Santos's long pass from the top near the midline, but after the ball came down, Rossi failed to control the ball and mistakenly stopped the ball two meters in front of him, which was intercepted by Roberto.

But Roberto was not decisive in passing the ball forward. He dribbled too much and was intercepted by Nocerino after just a few steps...

The ball intercepted by Nocerino bounced right in front of Li Qi. Li Qi had already observed it and passed it directly to Pelle who was waiting outside the penalty area. Then he quickly moved forward, preparing to pass 2-on-N and break through the central defense line...

Brazilian left center back Leonardo couldn't give Pelle the chance to pass the ball, so he knocked Pelle down from behind outside the corner of the penalty area before he could catch the ball.

Italy won a set piece about 30 meters away from the goal in the frontcourt. Although this set piece was not on the wing, it was outside the corner of the penalty area. The shooting angle was not very good, and the cross was a little awkward... leave it to Li Qi to deal with.

Li Qi placed the ball and waited for his teammates to get into position. Criscito, Andreoli, Coda, Motta, Pelle and Bentivoglio all squeezed into the penalty area. Rossi was lying in ambush at the top of the gourd, leaving only Nocerino and Montolivo in the backcourt near the center circle to provide support.

Almost all the players of the Brazilian team returned to defense, leaving only forward No. 11 Sobis near the center circle waiting for a counterattack.

Listen to the TV commentator's retelling of the attack:

"Italy won a set-piece on the right side of the field, about 35 yards from goal."

"No. 10 Li Qi will be responsible for handling it..."

"Run up...pass the ball!"

"Go back and do it!"

"Rosie..."

"Gooooaaal! Gooooaaal! Goal!"

"Italy used set-piece tactics, with Criscito heading the ball back to the top of the penalty area, and Rossi shot the ball!"

"Rossi's powerful shot was very beautiful. It penetrated the densely packed players from both sides in the penalty area and hit the upper left corner of the goal."

"Brazilian goalkeeper Renan's vision was blocked and he didn't react at all..."

Italy's set-piece tactical design came from Li Qi's ideas and exercises yesterday; because when playing against Argentina and Spain, Li Qi discovered that Italy had a height advantage, and by engaging the high point and attacking from the back row, it was still very threatening.

But in the second half of Argentina's game and against Spain, their opponents also came up with some countermeasures:

For example, 1. Goalkeeper attack. This is easier to deal with by adding more offensive players to interfere with the opponent's goalkeeper's attack. Where there are offensive players, there are defensive players. With two more people on the goalkeeper's attack route, the goalkeeper's range of movement is greatly limited.

For example, 2. Change man-to-man defense to zone defense, and evenly distribute high points in important positions. This is a test of the ability to collect intelligence on the opponent's lineup - sort out the weak areas of zone defense, and whether the free throw player's footwork can accurately output the ball to the weak areas.

For example, 3. Add more players to defend and distribute them to the left and right goal posts. This is actually slightly in conflict with the first point. The more people in the penalty area, the more disadvantageous it is for the goalkeeper to control a large area. However, it also has its advantages, which can effectively disrupt the ball in front of the goal. The way to deal with this is what Italy did with the set-piece this time, which is to pass the ball back to the penalty area line.

This time Italy's set-pieces adopted a front, middle and back layout, with the middle and back points being the focus, with Pelle, Coda and Andreoli responsible for the middle; the back point was handed over to the old pair of Bentivoglio and Motta, and at the front point only Cristiano was lurking with a harmless look on his face, as if preparing to receive the ball.

Sure enough, the center and the back point attracted the vast majority of Brazil's air defense forces and attention.

When Li Qi kicked the ball out, Roberto, who was only 1 meters tall, didn't follow Criscito very carefully; because Criscito's running didn't seem to be for a header...

Indeed, Criscito just wanted to go around the near post and look back at the moon, then head the ball to the penalty area line!

Roberto could only watch in amazement as Criscito jumped high in a position that was not suitable for attacking, twisting his waist to shoot back... he had no idea how to respond.

A header of the ball near the penalty area line will inevitably have poor accuracy, so enough space must be left and a shooter with better flexibility must be arranged to complete the final shot.

This sufficient space was easy to deal with. As Li Qi kicked the ball out, all the Brazilian defensive players were fighting with the Italian offensive players, all rushing forward to grab the ball. This time, almost all the Brazilian players won the fight and got stuck in front of the Italian offensive players...

So when Criscito's header was passed back, the area near the penalty area was empty, and there was a row of Italian offensive players separating the Brazilian defenders, leaving Rossi with ample space to adjust, aim and kick.

In the end, some luck was indeed needed, and this time the goddess of luck was on Rossi's side and on Italy's side!

Luckily it wasn't a coin flip situation...

(Hey! Who is saying bad things about me behind my back?)

Italy scored its first goal with its first set-piece, first shot and first shot on target in this game.

Italy scored the first goal and led Brazil 1-0!

……

After that, Italy focused more on defense, deployed low defense, and patiently waited for the opportunity to counterattack.

The Brazilian team began to take control of the ball, and as the game progressed, the small-scale cooperation between the front players gradually became smoother, but the Italian team's defensive position was very good and did not give them many opportunities.

Instead, it was Li Qi who organized several counterattacks, causing Brazil to pay the price of several fouls, and midfielder Roberto received a yellow card as early as 15 minutes into the first half.

In the 18th minute, Brazil won a free kick in the left corner of the penalty area with the cooperation between Rafinha and Renato on the wing - the position of this ball was a bit similar to the set-piece goal scored by Italy.

Rafinha took the free kick, and the ball turned in a high arc towards the center of the goal near the small penalty area line!

This time Popovich got the ball with the help of Koda, but due to the interference, his header went over the goal and was a bit outrageous.

In the 22nd minute, Italy launched a quick counterattack with a small group of three people and almost expanded their lead.

Li Qi, who triggered the "breaking point moment" in defense, clearly judged the feint and dribbling route of Brazil's No. 10 Evandro. When he pushed the ball a little too far, he decisively rushed forward, then gently picked up the ball with his toes to avoid Evandro's counter-attack, and took a step forward with his long legs, passing Aroca who had no time to turn around and return to defense!

"Li Qi! Clean steal!" The famous spit-like commentary from the TV broadcast commentator...

"A beautiful pass, Li Qi took a big step forward and got rid of the defense..."

"Roberto quickly came over to defend... Li Qi passed the ball to Pelle who retreated in the middle..."

"A textbook 2-on-1!"

"Pellet made a slight adjustment and passed the ball back to Li Qi who was running in..."

"It's 3 vs 2! The two Brazilian central defenders can't retreat any further..."

"Li Qi passed the ball straight through Brazil's defense line, and Rossi made a diagonal run to receive the ball..."

"Not offside! The linesman is not lifting..."

"Rossi has a one-on-one chance! A lob shot!"

“It’s off…”

"Ditch oooooh! Ditch oooooh! Ditch!"

"Pelle followed up and put the ball into the goal!"

"Oh oh! Wait! Oh! Damn it! The linesman has raised the flag, it's offside!"

"Well, let's watch the slow motion replay. Yes, when Rossi made the shot, Pelle ran too fast and passed the ball by one body length..."

"What a pity! Li Qi's steal and counterattack have penetrated Brazil's midfield and backcourt defense..."

The Brazilian captain breathed a sigh of relief, luckily there was an undercover agent in the opposing team!

"Hey, you idiot! Why are you running so excitedly? I'll see how I can deal with you if you don't score a goal!" Li Qi stared at Pelle coldly, and Pelle suddenly felt a chill...

In the following period of time, both sides had several free kick opportunities on the front sidelines. Although the quality of the passes was very high, the attacks, reactions and saves of the goalkeepers on both sides were very timely, and both sides also lacked a little luck.

In the 38th minute, Brazil's Renato made a cross from the bottom line, and Popovich once again beat Koda to the ball and jumped high near the small penalty area line to head the ball. Koda started slowly and could only interfere with Popovich.

Unfortunately, the ball headed by Popo hit the outside of the left post and went out of the bottom line.

Viviano broke out in a cold sweat. Why did Koda make so many mistakes in positioning and marking today?

In addition, back to Popovich, although he has continuous scoring performances, he has also wasted many opportunities. Previously, there was a long shot more than 40 meters away from the goal. It was a very poor attacking choice, which did not pose any threat and only seemed very impatient. It seems that it is difficult for the Brazilian team to emerge with high-level strikers in this World Youth Championship.

At the last moment of the first half, Li Qi once again performed a good show of stealing the ball, counterattacking and breaking through to pass the ball. Unfortunately, this time it was Bentivorio who was not offside. In the end, he passed the ball high out of the sideline on the opposite side...

The two ghosts who shot at the goal from the middle - Pelle and Rossi - also looked resentful: "All the defenders are left behind! A flat ball will do! Why pass it so high? You are from Juventus, not... and we are not 2 meters tall!"

Bentivoglio looked embarrassed...

Yes, another chance to break through the Brazilian team's midfield and backcourt defense was ruined...

……

Li Qi was also helpless, but he also obviously discovered the problem. Due to physical and mental fatigue, the whole team was not in a very good condition.

And it wasn't just the Italian team. The Brazilian team was also very impatient. Although they had the technical advantage, when it came to passing and shooting in key areas, their movements were distorted and the results were extremely deviated.

Apart from the long shot at the beginning that was deflected by Li Qi and tested Viviano, Brazil had no other shots on goal in the entire first half; and there were many ineffective shots from 35 meters away.

The same was true for Li Qi himself. In previous games, he could produce 9-10 "breaking point moments" in almost every game, an average of once every 10 minutes or so; but as this game was near the end of the first half, Li Qi only produced 3 "breaking point moments", which was nearly 40% less than the normal frequency.

Fortunately, Li Qi relieved a lot of physical fatigue by applying ice after the game and getting better sleep, and at least his movements did not show any obvious changes.

Soon, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half!

Italy entered the locker room at halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Li Qi was thinking, as he got more tired, he would definitely make more mistakes. The second half would be very difficult, he had to think of a strategy... How could he stabilize the situation and win even when he was not in good shape?

But seeing the tired and anxious look on the face of the young Brazilian team member who was walking off the field beside him, Li Qi suddenly came up with an idea: "If we can't do it, why don't we make the opponent even more miserable?"

"Our ancestors taught us that happiness is achieved through comparison. If you have the chance, you must take advantage of others' misfortunes, add fuel to the fire, and make things even worse..."

(Italian ancestor: "…Who taught you?! Ah?! You don't learn from the good things, and you don't learn from the good things! I'm so angry! If you lose the game, I will break your dog legs!")

(The Chinese ancestor: "...Yes, the Italian ancestor taught me...I lived to see the excitement, and now I'm going back...")

"Why not... make the Brazilian team more anxious, and then discuss this with the boss and everyone else..."

Li Qi began to mutter to himself as he walked back to the locker room:

"Hmmmm... so obscene... I like it!"

"Anyway, that special man has used it..."

"Hmm? Has he used it before at this time?"

"Don't steal his limelight as the first player..."

"Or has anyone else used it?"

"Has anyone used it before? I should ask the boss..."