Chapter 274: European Qualifiers: Scotland Final, Part (Updated)

It had been raining coldly in the sky, and there had been no signs of the rain abating since before the game started, but the stadium seemed to be on fire. The shouts and cheers of the fans were deafening, resounding through the sky, as if they were constantly beating on the hearts and souls of the players running on the field. It was a deterrent in particular for the visiting team, as if they were not careful, their concentration might be interrupted, leading to distraction and mistakes.

In addition, the rain made the field slippery, and the grass became uneven as the game progressed. This was due to the rain and the players on both sides fighting for the ball. This also aggravated the difficulties for the side trying to control the ball and the defending side. After all, the uncertainty of the ball is getting greater and greater, and it is becoming more and more difficult to control, so there will be more and more mistakes and unexpected situations.

However, the lagging Scottish team seemed to be buffed by the atmosphere on the scene. They all ran and fought frantically like berserkers, because they knew that if they didn't fight hard, all their previous efforts would be wiped out with the end of the game!

In the 13th minute, Italy had a chance to add more chips to their side before Scotland started to gain momentum. Li Qi decisively cut inside in the counterattack and sent a long pass. McManus made a mistake in the tackle and the ball slipped through. Luca Toni made a lucky stop and broke into the left side of the penalty area. However, his left-footed shot from a small angle 11 meters in front of the goal was bravely saved by goalkeeper Gordon on the side net!

So after Italy took advantage of Scotland's mistakes and failed to counterattack, the game temporarily entered a rhythm dominated by Scotland.

Scotland got the first corner kick in the 15th minute, Panucci shoveled the ball out of the bottom line under McFadden's feet. Barry Ferguson took a corner kick from the left, and Hatton's header from the front of the small penalty area was blocked by Barzagli.

But then, Scott Brown grabbed the rebounded ball first, and then shot with his right foot again from 13 meters in front of the goal, but Zambrotta flew to block the ball out of the bottom line. The Scottish team collectively complained that Zambrotta was suspected of handball, but the Spanish referee Mejuto believed that Zambrotta blocked the ball with his chest.

Scotland then took three consecutive corner kicks from the right side, causing chaos in the Italian penalty area. Fortunately, the Italian defense led by Buffon and Cannavaro was calm and composed, without leaving too many loopholes. In the end, Barry Ferguson chested the ball on the penalty area line and shot with his right foot, sending the ball flying.

In football, the preferred offensive tactic is set pieces when a weak team plays against a strong team, when a dense defense is broken, or when it is rainy or snowy. In this match, Scotland's match against Italy is a combination of the three situations, so in the subsequent matches, Scotland continued to work hard on set pieces, and also put Italy's set piece defense in danger many times.

However, Li Qi felt that the Scottish players were still lacking in skills and talent. Although the single high-altitude bombing of set pieces was not ineffective against the battle-hardened Italian defense, it did lack variety and direct threats, and failed to truly test Italian goalkeeper Buffon.

In the 17th minute, McFadden took a corner kick from the right side, and Hatton headed the ball slightly off the far post from 6 meters in front of the goal.

In the 28th minute, Hatton tried to wade through the water to get past Gattuso but was tackled, winning a set-piece on the sideline. McCulloch took a free kick 30 meters in front of the goal and sent the ball into the penalty area, but Buffon rushed out and grabbed the ball.

In the 30th minute, Naismith's free kick from the left was blocked by the wall. Scotland organized an attack again after getting the ball. Ferguson and McFadden made a quick wall kick. The former made a low shot with his left foot from 13 meters away from the goal on the left side of the penalty area. The ball was too straight and the power was not strong, and it was easily caught by Buffon again!

After Scotland had been attacking fiercely for nearly 20 minutes, it was Italy's turn to seize the opportunity of Scotland's mistakes and press forward to create a deadly threat!

In the 31st minute, after Barzagli headed in a cross from Scotland, Pirlo, who was unmarked, stopped the ball, turned around and sent a precise long pass to counterattack. Luca Toni advanced to the front of Scotland's penalty area to protect the ball, and while waiting for his teammates to support him, he suddenly knocked the ball with his heel and made a wonderful pass.

Camoranesi rushed in from behind and received the ball on the right side of the penalty area. Unfortunately, the heavy rain caused some water to accumulate, which slowed down the ball's movement. Therefore, Camoranesi missed the chance to score and had to change his shot to a pass. However, the latter's first low pass was blocked by the central defender Will.

Fortunately, the ball still bounced back in front of Camoranesi, and then he used his left foot to send a half-high inverted triangle pass. Li Qi, who was following up on the other side, rushed over and brilliantly used his chest to pass this difficult half-high ball to Ambrosini who was coming in from behind near the corner of the penalty area.

Ambrosini met the ball in the middle and volleyed it along the penalty area line! This time, Scottish goalkeeper Gordon reacted quickly and flew sideways to block the ball outside the goal line! However, the ball was not cleared. Li Qi, who had just passed the ball, continued to move forward and easily shot the ball into the net when there was no one guarding him 4 meters in front of the goal.

This series of passes initiated by Pirlo, which included Toni's heel pass and Li Qi's chest pass, was one of the most exciting attacks for Italy in this game.

But the assistant referee raised the flag to indicate offside and the goal was invalid!

However, from the slow motion, Li Qi was not offside. Li Qi also knew that he was definitely not offside, after all, he passed the ball to his chest and then continued to move forward... But looking at the away line referee's firm eyes and iron-like raising, Li Qi decided not to force it and let the captain and head coach communicate. Before VAR came out, the possibility of changing the decision was almost zero.

Although Italy's sneak attack was fruitless, it sounded the alarm for Scotland. In the next ten minutes or so, Scotland handled the ball much more cautiously. They still tried to threaten Italy's goal with long passes and set pieces directly into the small penalty area, but the midfield and backcourt tightened the fence a bit, and the two full-backs and the defensive midfielder did not make frequent insertions.

So the game was deadlocked again until the first half stoppage time. In the 47th minute, Ferguson took a corner kick from the left side, and central defender Will headed the ball into the far corner from 6 meters away from the goal. Buffon, who was guarding the middle, was unable to reach the ball, but fortunately Pirlo headed the ball out on the goal line!

The Scottish players and fans were about to cheer, but they could only enter the halftime break with their heads held high. Pirlo saved Italy's match point!

After the change of sides, the rain finally subsided, but the water on the field did not dissipate for a short time. After the kick-off, the home fans once again made a terrifying roar, hoping that the home team Scotland could create a miracle. Therefore, the fight after the start of the second half was more intense, and it was really a fist-to-flesh fight. In addition to the technical level, the confrontation at the national team level also had an extra layer of bloodiness to defend the country's honor.

Italy's tough midfielder Gattuso was injured by Naismith and needed to be treated on the sidelines. Just when Italy was one man short, Scotland launched a fierce attack and luckily equalized the score in the 65th minute!

In the 65th minute, Hatton made a two-pass combination with Ferguson on the right rib. The former was knocked to the ground by Zambrotta before breaking into the penalty area, resulting in a free kick in the frontcourt along the penalty area line.

McFadden took the free kick from 18 meters in front of the goal. His powerful low shot with his left foot hit the wall and deflected twice. Then the ball luckily fell in front of McCulloch. The latter's follow-up shot from a small angle on the edge of the small penalty area on the left was blocked by Buffon.

However, Ferguson, the Scottish midfielder with the same name as the legendary coach, rushed to the goal with his left foot from 2 meters in front of the goal before Li Qi could clear the ball, and sent the ball into the empty goal of Italy! Although the slow-motion replay showed that Ferguson was already in an offside position at the moment McCulloch kicked the ball, this supplementary shot should be considered offside.

But the assistant referee who judged Li Qi offside in the first half was indifferent this time and simply did not move. Li Qi could only change a villain and curse him for continued impotence in the future!

But Li Qi thought about it and wondered if he should show the lying-down defensive tactics under the human wall in advance. Well, he would go back and discuss it with his boss.

Scotland, who equalized the score, saw hope again. They only needed to score one more goal to reverse the offensive and defensive situation! However, Donadoni made an adjustment first, replacing the tired Camoranesi with Di Natale.

I don't know whether Donadoni's substitution was intentional or unintentional. After all, Donadoni's tactics before the game were conservative. But in any case, replacing him with the offensive Di Natale instead of the defensive Perrotta at this critical juncture was very much in line with Li Qi's appetite. After all, the rain had stopped, and although the field was still a little slippery, the accumulated water had slowly receded, which was perfect for ground passing and fast breaks!

Italy began to take the initiative, hoping to surpass the score again and end the game. Scotland, who had to score again, also replaced midfielder Brown with striker Miller three minutes later to fight against Italy! Whoever backs down will be eliminated!

However, Italy obviously had not been able to switch to the rhythm of the game immediately, so Scotland created another chance to score in the 74th minute! McFadden and McCulloch played a wall pass and crashed into the Italian penalty area. However, the former's shot from 9 meters away from the goal on the right side of the penalty area missed the near post, which made the three teammates waiting for him to pass the ball in the middle beat their chests and roar with regret!

Scotland's attack also caused two Italian players to be injured. Zambrotta slightly sprained his ankle, while Gattuso had a nose injury and was bleeding. He had to receive treatment off the field. Italy could only play with 10 players for the time being. Li Qi quickly returned to the middle to plug the defensive gap.

However, as Gattuso left the field for treatment, Scotland tried to replicate the first goal. In the 76th minute, Scotland almost seized the opportunity to overtake the score. Ferguson passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area, and McFadden passed the ball to Miller who was unmarked on the other side. Miller's left-foot shot from 7 meters in front of the goal was inexplicably deflected from the near post!

Donadoni also found that the limping Zambrotta could not keep up with the opponent's rhythm, so he had to make up his mind to replace two players in a row, replacing the slightly injured Zambrotta with Chiellini to stabilize the defense line, and at the same time replacing the tough guy Gattuso who left the field for treatment twice with De Rossi, and blew the whistle for the final 10 minutes of the decisive battle!

However, after the substitution, Li Qi did not return to the wing immediately, but made short passes in the middle with Pirlo and the newly-come De Rossi. The purpose was to control the tempo of the game, to wear down Scotland's offensive momentum, to allow the new teammates to find the feeling of the game as soon as possible, and to stimulate the Scottish team, allowing the home team to further launch a rash attack and create space and opportunities for a quick counterattack.

Li Qi's nonchalant back pass was immediately effective. The whole audience thought that Italy was going to adopt a delaying tactic to maintain a draw. The main fans booed loudly, and the home team also began to press forward as a whole and desperately press high.

In the 83rd minute, De Rossi, who came on as a substitute, intercepted the ball in the midfield and launched a counterattack. Luca Toni protected the ball with his back on the left and made a long diagonal pass. Unfortunately, Di Natale missed the step and the Scottish defender who came to defend flew to shovel the ball out of the sideline!

In the 87th minute, Italy had another chance to score. This time, Li Qi intercepted the ball on the wing, but De Rossi, who received Li Qi's pass and wanted to pass it over the top, passed the ball too far. Di Natale could only protect the ball in the corner flag area and exchange it for a throw-in near the baseline...

However, Scotland, who had been attacking the entire field in the heavy rain, was indeed at the end of their strength. Scotland used up two substitutions in the last minute and could not regain the situation. After the rain stopped, Italy gradually regained control of the midfield, and the Scottish long pass attack began to break down.

The game entered the first minute of injury time. Li Qi and Chiellini teamed up to force and steal the ball. The latter was tripped from behind by Hatton who was almost cramping, and won a free kick in an excellent position.

Pirlo was responsible for taking the free kick from the right side of the penalty area, but the Scottish defenders in the penalty area were a little absent-minded at this time, and they were all anxious to charge quickly and counterattack. So Pirlo chose to shoot a high arc cross from the back point.