Chapter 746: Chapter 745: Here Comes the Little Flying Stick
One is the best lineup before the generation change, and the other is the best solution after rebuilding.
Which one will be superior?
June 24th, Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, a big battle was on the verge of breaking out!
Both Deng Kai and Ronaldo felt somewhat dreamlike at Luz Stadium.
The first time they came here, they crushed Benfica’s youth team.
It was so bad that Veloso was abandoned by the team.
The second time they were here, they shattered Benfica’s first team and made Gomes, who was at his peak, suffer.
To this day, Gomes’s status in this Portuguese team had greatly diminished, sitting on the bench with Bolaita.
People once thought that Gomes could uphold the sky after Portugal’s golden generation.
After all, he was much younger than the golden generation, and much older than both Ronaldo and Deng Kai.
But who knew... these young players grew up too fast, bypassing Gomes to take over.
As a result, Gomes’s position became awkward.
Looking at the majority of Portuguese fans at Luz Stadium, Deng Kai and others waved in acknowledgment.
With the referee’s whistle, the match officially began.
Soon, the Dutch team showed their targeted strategy.
In the 5th minute, Dai Weisi brought down Deco after receiving the ball.
In the 9th minute, Viana was knocked down by Seedorf as soon as he got the ball.
The referee called the fouls, but without further action.
The scale of this match was clearly not going to be small.
This was how it got intense.
After all, the Netherlands is famous for total football.
And the team led by Deng Kai is also known for its offense.
In the 14th minute, Dai Weisi and Seedorf double-teamed Deco.
Deco’s forced pass was intercepted by Cocu.
The Dutch team’s midfield meat grinder cut off Portugal’s organization.
The situation became passive for the Portuguese team.
They had to start falling back.
In the 18th minute, a long shot from Seedorf hit the crossbar, causing the Portuguese to break out in a cold sweat.
In the 26th minute,
Youngster Robben also began to shine.
Receiving Dai Weisi’s pass on the left flank, he directly exploited the space behind Maniche and made his way to the baseline.
Pepe went over to defend, but Robben sent a cross, and Dai Weisi blasted a shot from outside the left side of the penalty area, with the football striking the post.
Dai Weisi was quite regretful.
This was an excellent opportunity.
"Oh! The shooting quality of the Dutch midfielders is too high! Both Dai Weisi and Seedorf have a powerful long-range shot."
"The Portuguese team can’t get through if they don’t bunker down, but they can’t block such long shots if they do."
"And the Dutch team has Robben as a sharp knife."
"Portugal being pressed and played by the Netherlands is something many people probably didn’t expect."
In the 33rd minute.
Robben continued to break through on the left flank.
This time Maniche did not lose his position, but he really couldn’t stop Robben and ended up fouling, giving the Dutch team a free kick in a decent spot.
Demede and Seedorf stood in front of the football, with the option to shoot directly or play a tactical free kick.
In the end, Seedorf blasted a shot, going straight for the goal.
The Dutch had obviously rehearsed this.
They disrupted the Portuguese wall from within.
Seedorf’s long shot may not have had the height to get over the wall but it went straight through the wall.
Bang!
The football flew high, soaring over the goal and out.
The crowd gasped.
Kilop fell inside the penalty area, his face covered in blood.
He had blocked Seedorf’s powerful shot with his face.
The medics entered the field immediately.
Too dangerous!
Seedorf’s Heavy Cannon was extremely powerful.
It was like a cruise missile.
The only slightly comforting thing was that Kilop showed signs of pain after falling to the ground, instead of losing consciousness outright.
The latter would have been more dangerous.
The team doctor quickly shook his head.
Kilop could not continue the game.
Even if there were more games to follow, it was uncertain whether Kilop could compete.
They also had to consider the issue of a concussion.
On the sideline, Feng Te, who hadn’t been seen on the pitch for a long time except for interviews, was warming up.
Trigella still chose to trust this Quintuple Champion member.
After all, Feng Te had also been one of his soldiers; he knew the kid.
He even used Feng Te as a centre forward to score the winning goal against opponents!
Feng Te could only shake his head slightly in response: Trigella, you don’t realize people change. Now I mainly deal with some "cases".
Trigella: Did you switch careers to become a detective?
Feng Te: Chef. Red cases and white cases.
Of course, it wasn’t just personal reasons for putting Feng Te on the field.
Mainly, the Portugal team needed a defensive height advantage.
Feng Te and Kilop, both at 1.91 meters, had an advantage in aerial defense.
In the 37th minute, Feng Te proved his worth.
Dai Weisi and Robben executed a two-on-two on the left flank, with Robben crossing the ball from the byline.
Feng Te got ahead and cleared the football out.
However, Feng Te was a bit greedy; he didn’t want to give the Netherlands a corner, so he desperately tried to clear the ball backward.
As a result, Robben caught the ball again just before the baseline.
Robben swept the ball across to the front of the goal.
Van Nistelrooy stretched out his foot among the crowd and poked the ball straight into the goal.
"GOAL! Van Nistelrooy! This is the ability of another great Dutch striker! This is the new Van Basten of the Netherlands!"
"One to zero! The Netherlands team takes the lead!"
"Robben’s breakthrough is very sharp! He delivered a classic assist."
"Certainly, the Dutch team should also thank Feng Te for initiating their attack."
Feng Te: MMP! You praise me when I clear the ball, but call me a fool when the other side scores, huh? Damn it!
Of course, Feng Te did make a mistake in that defense.
The cross passed through him, and he couldn’t block it.
That was Feng Te’s weakness.
His reactions weren’t quick enough.
His ability to make interceptions and tackles was subpar.
That’s why he struggled to become a top-tier center-back.
Whereas Kilop’s fundamentals were very strong, it was difficult to break through him, and the football seldom got past his defensive zone.
In the 39th minute.
Portugal seized the opportunity to launch an offensive.
Deco sent a through ball connecting with Deng Kai.
After receiving the ball, Deng Kai dashed past Heitinga with a single move and completed a cross from the byline.
Unfortunately, the 1.91-meter-tall Stam overpowered the 1.85-meter-tall Ronaldo, successfully clearing the football.
In the center forward position, Ronaldo hadn’t yet developed absolute dominance.
He planned to add intensity to his strength training over the summer and the following season, evolving further.
But on the other side, Figo picked up the football and crossed from the flank again.
However, Van Bronckhorst reacted quickly, extending his leg to block the football out for a corner.
Portugal won a corner kick.
Viana took the corner.
Stam once again successfully cleared, heading the ball out.
Robben, after receiving the ball, turned and kicked it ten meters away before racing with the incoming Deco and visibly outpacing him.
Here comes the Flying Dutchman!
As Costinha retreated, he tried to anticipate Caroben’s passing angle.
But he quickly realized something was wrong.
Robben didn’t seem to plan on passing the ball.
Bang!
By the time Costinha realized and lunged toward Robben, Robben kicked the ball another ten meters and accelerated again, leaving Costinha behind.
