Chapter 147: Chapter 146: Just Do It (Fifth Update, Request for Full Subscription)
The main referee glanced at Gabi.
If standards were to be followed, Gabi should have also received a yellow card, since he was actually the one who had initiated the conflict.
But the referee found a balance.
His whistle was lenient, and in truth, both Portugal and Spain were beneficiaries.
They had both avoided numerous yellow cards.
However, three minutes later.
Spanish fans erupted in celebration.
Because in the seventy-ninth minute, Arteta and Iniesta worked together to press towards the penalty area, Arteta’s pass was blocked by Feng Te, and the football landed near Torres.
Torres passed back to Gabi.
The sapper Gabi sent a through pass.
Iniesta beat the offside trap, sprinted on a one-on-one, took the ball on the left side at a tight angle, and completed the goal with a low shot.
It was an extremely close call for a goal.
Full of luck.
But Spain had scored.
Two to one.
They had taken the lead once again.
Violante on the bench held his head in his hands.
Guardiola in the stands was smiling.
This is football.
It’s not that everything will develop according to your plan just because you arranged it so.
Portugal made almost no mistakes in this match.
Was their defense not good?
It was good.
But they conceded the first goal.
That was against the run of play.
Similarly, after Spain scored the first goal, according to their style of play, they were almost certain not to concede.
And what happened? Quaresma scored with a curling shot, bringing down the stars, and Spain, who were not supposed to concede, did.
This, too, was against the run of play.
And now, at this moment, Iniesta scored against Portugal, who had been employing a fouling strategy, even provoking the Spanish players’ anger, making them lose their cool and making their passing and control aggressive.
This was a hidden danger for Spain, and little by little, Portugal had actually begun to gain the upper hand.
However, Iniesta just happened to score at this time.
All three goals struck football pundits at their core.
Football tactics are full of technique and reason.
But often, the outcome is exactly the opposite.
This is the charm of football.
The first round of the 2022 World Cup group stage match between Portugal and Ghana is the ultimate embodiment of this contradiction.
In the first half, Otavio was the only player from the Portuguese midfield who posed any threat. Portugal, unable to find a breakthrough, needed more players like Otavio, yet the Portuguese coach inexplicably substituted Otavio with a slower and heavier player.
This substitution, from a technical point of view, was a disaster.
But less than a minute after the substitution, Portugal scored.
Unbelievable.
And in this moment, Portugal U16 were experiencing just such an absurdity.
They were clearly closer to victory, yet unexpectedly, Iniesta struck them a lethal blow.
In the eighty-first minute.
The Portuguese team, still not recovered, were once again easily penetrated by Iniesta’s dribbling and small interplays with his teammates, and Arteta, holding the ball outside the penalty area, looked set to pass again, and football would enter the penalty area, with Torres likely on a breakaway again.
At the critical moment, Portuguese right back Bosingwa made an excellent defensive play.
But with that, he earned himself a yellow card.
The Spanish team did not strongly demand that the referee show Bosingwa a yellow card this time.
Because they were already in the lead.
If it were still a draw, they would definitely be surrounding the referee again now.
Iniesta took the free kick.
His free-kick technique was quite good.
But perhaps Iniesta’s touch was also affected.
His shot couldn’t clear the wall.
Portuguese center-back Feng Te leaped high, unhesitatingly blocking the shot with his face.
Next to him, Duarte was the first to clear the ball, followed by the main referee halting the game.
Feng Te’s nose bled profusely.
The team doctor rushed onto the field.
After several tests, Feng Te could not accurately identify the doctor’s fingers.
When they pointed fingers, Feng Te even touched the doctor’s face.
This was a clear sign of a concussion, and Feng Te could not continue the game.
Violante replaced Feng Te with Angelo.
At the same time, he substituted Amorim for left-back Ribery.
Portugal shifted from a back four to a back three, adding the defensively capable Amorim to the midfield, seeking to match Spain’s midfield and to bolster their attack.
Because according to the current score, Portugal was clearly losing.
Amorim, Veloso, Deng Kai, Meireles, Lorenzo, and others aggressively pressed.
Even Ronaldo and Quaresma retreated to keep an eye on the Spanish midfield.
Logically speaking, at this stage from a tactical standpoint, Portugal was in danger again.
For they had been lured out by Spain.
However, the problem was that the Spanish team faced a strong opposition today.
Players like Iniesta were clearly fatigued.
While they still managed to control the ball, their reactions were a beat slower, mostly resorting to back passes and unable to accurately exploit Portugal’s exposed weaknesses.
In the 83rd minute, Amorim made an interception, and Deng Kai passed the ball to Quaresma.
Quaresma attempted a volley shot that flew over.
The actively pressing Quaresma’s touch had turned cold.
In the 85th minute, Iniesta seized a lapse, threading the ball to striker Gomes. Gomes, who dropped back to receive the pass, turned and executed a long shot, but it was of poor quality and was easily caught by Vale.
Vale didn’t drop to the ground but quickly launched a long kick instead.
The football soared over everyone, finding Ronaldo on the left flank.
Ronaldo, racing Allegri, moved at high speed, using a touch to steer the ball over ten meters away, then continued the race.
Allegri couldn’t match Ronaldo’s pace and eventually lost him.
However, as Ronaldo was about to catch up with the ball, he was taken down by Gabi’s flying tackle from the side!
Gabi had finally achieved his revenge!
Ronaldo rolled over several times, his expression one of intense pain.
This foul caused Portugal’s players to lose their cool.
Several players, including Deng Kai, charged over.
The fastest runner, Lorenzo, directly flipped the standing Gabi.
He came on as a substitute, full of energy.
Gabi had just gotten up when Deng Kai charged in, his force of gravity toppling Gabi once again.
"Fuck you, off-field brawler!"
Taking advantage of Gabi’s disorientation, Deng Kai for the first time gained the upper hand in an on-field conflict.
The Spanish players joined the fray to support Gabi.
Even those on the bench got involved in the scuffle, with constant shoving.
The main referee was also enraged.
Turning into a card master, doling out cards left and right.
For Portugal, Deng Kai, Lorenzo, and Amorim all received yellow cards.
On the Spanish side, the beaten Gabi also got a yellow card, due to his tackle on Ronaldo. Had he retaliated, he might have seen red, but he was pushed around and didn’t fight back.
Spanish midfielder Arteta, center-back Nami, and Gonzalez also received yellow cards.
The Spanish team decisively made substitutions.
They also used this tactic to delay time.
This caused extreme dissatisfaction among the Portuguese players.
