Chapter 146: Chapter 145: The End? No, This Is Just the Beginning
Spain’s defense was left exposed, with Quaresma only needing to face a single center-back as he cut inside.
Ultimately, Portugal’s superstar pulled off his signature move, an outside of the foot shot.
Spain’s center-back Nami blocked his own goalkeeper Reina’s line of sight, and by the time Reina spotted the shot, the football had already curved.
Reina made a desperate save, but the football still slipped through his fingers.
"GOAL! Superstar! That’s an absolute superstar!"
"Quaresma has scored a goal as precious as gold, which is so important for Portugal."
"He’s lived up to his price tag and special treatment, giving Portugal another chance."
"Had they not scored this goal, Portugal would have been like fish on the chopping board, ready for Spain to slaughter."
"Arteta just made a minor mistake, which is related to the multiple times he was taken down in Portugal’s half earlier, affecting his footwork."
"Next, unless something unexpected happens, Portugal won’t leave their own half again."
"They might set their sights on a penalty shootout."
Huang Jianxiang really understood football.
Because this was exactly what Violante emphasized during the halftime break.
Defense, defense, and more defense!
When you know you clearly can’t beat the opponent, a draw becomes a good result.
Lower your own stance first, then perhaps an opportunity will present itself.
Because the more dominant Spain, obviously, cannot accept a draw.
Spain’s substitute goalkeeper Valdes shook his head slightly from the bench.
He believed Reina’s reaction was too slow, which is why he didn’t block the shot.
If it had been him, he felt he could have saved it.
He always believed that in terms of reaction speed, he was superior to Reina.
But Reina had a better physical build, which is why both the club and the youth national team preferred him.
He lacked an opportunity.
The second half of the match.
After ten minutes of soporific passing, Spain’s impatience started to show.
They began to frequently enter Portugal’s half, then encountered another round of aggressive pressing.
In the 67th minute, Postiga knocked Arteta down.
Just two minutes earlier, he had dragged down Gabi.
After getting up, Arteta got into an argument with Postiga, and the referee came over to warn Postiga.
If he continued to use such unskilled tactics to disrupt Spain’s offensive chances, he would be penalized.
Postiga spread his hands helplessly, but he didn’t take it to heart.
He knew his time on the pitch was almost up; not getting a card before leaving the field would almost feel like a loss.
Violante had specifically emphasized to him during halftime that he would be subbed off around the 70th minute because his stamina would hardly support him in high-intensity pressing against Spain after that time.
Sure enough, the referee’s warning seemed like a reminder.
In the 70th minute, under clear circumstances where Iniesta had already passed the ball, Postiga didn’t brake and continued charging, using hands and feet to bring down Iniesta.
Iniesta, with a pained expression, cursed inwardly; he knew the Portuguese were shameless, but not this much.
At this moment, Gabi charged in, colliding directly with Postiga.
Both players were strong, and they butted heads instantly.
Deng Kai was the first to go over and pull Postiga away.
In his mind, he was cursing as well.
Damn, the Spanish players were so cunning, trying to use this foul to get Postiga sent off with a red card.
If they succeeded, Portugal would crumble.
As expected, Gabi was unrelenting and continued looking for trouble.
Arteta also realized what was happening and joined in cornering Postiga.
Fortunately, Ronaldo received a look from Deng Kai and stepped in to block Arteta and Gabi.
Although Ronaldo was a year or two younger, he was no weaker physically.
Despite his aversion to confrontations, if it was for Deng Kai’s sake, Ronaldo could stand firm.
Ah, spit!
Who the fuck cares about him.
He’s already got other dogs on the outside.
Hathaway: Who the fuck are you cursing? He’s clearly Deng Kai’s warm-hearted little kitty!
Beep!
The head referee blew the whistle and showed Postiga a yellow card.
But Iniesta and others clearly wouldn’t accept it, demanding the referee to issue a red card.
Deng Kai, Ronaldo, and Quaresma immediately went over to protect the head referee, the two sides argued for quite a while.
"If you continue to officiate with this kind of standard, problems will inevitably arise in this match," Iniesta threatened the head referee, but what he said was indeed the truth.
"So you want the head referee to be inconsistent with his calls just because you can’t handle the intensity of the current game? You should be working on your fitness, lifting weights, instead of teaching the referee how to do his job," Deng Kai retorted to Iniesta.
Then they were all silenced by a gesture from the head referee.
I’m going to get a yellow card if I say anything more.
Iniesta walked away sulkily.
The match began to get really heated.
In the 72nd minute, the entire Portugal team had retreated into their own half.
Spain passed the ball forward a little, but then passed it right back again.
Ronaldo pressed hard when the opposition came forward.
As a result, the opponent passed around Ronaldo in a consecutive fashion, making a fool of him.
Ronaldo couldn’t contain himself for a moment, angrily throwing his hands up in the air.
Even knowing his team had to hold back, one still couldn’t help but want to rush out and compete fiercely with the opponent when being blatantly mocked.
"You’re just like a lost dog!" Gabi yelled at Ronaldo after passing the ball.
Ronaldo glared fiercely at Gabi, then pulled back.
74th minute.
Iniesta deliberately took on Postiga, who was already on a yellow card and couldn’t be too aggressive.
With the "cover" provided by Postiga’s caution, Iniesta got an opportunity to pass and found Torres on the right flank.
Torres’s cross was headed away by Feng Te.
Violante immediately made a substitution.
Substitute forward Lorenzo replaced Postiga.
Iniesta felt desperate.
A new defensive forward had come on.
And he was even faster than Postiga.
Fuck!
Yes, Lorenzo had no intention of scoring when he came on; the Portuguese had made up their minds to take it to a penalty shootout.
Time kept slipping away.
The Spaniards were becoming increasingly desperate.
They were also more easily provoked by the Portuguese’s fouls.
76th minute.
Gabi got the ball.
Ronaldo, who had been waiting for this moment, went straight for a slide tackle that took Gabi down.
"Who looks like a lost dog now?" Ronaldo said to Gabi as they tumbled on the ground.
Gabi immediately started to tussle with Ronaldo on the ground.
The two wrestled each other on the turf.
Players from both sides rushed over at once, kicking off a new round of face-offs and tugging.
The head referee felt his head swell.
He was now starting to miss Iniesta’s words.
But unfortunately... the situation had developed to a point where it was actually harder for him to back down.
The head referee showed Ronaldo a yellow card, considering Ronaldo’s tackle to be retaliatory.
Gabi completely disagreed, wasn’t this supposed to be a red card?
