Chapter 754: Chapter 753: The Portuguese-English Battle, Lightning Goal
Beep!
With the sound of a whistle,
the match officially began.
Portugal kicked off.
However, as soon as Deng Kai passed the football to Costinha, he turned and ran towards England’s half.
At the same time, Deco, Viana, Ronaldo, and Figo also rushed forward.
Five arrows unleashed!
Portugal was going for a kickoff blitz!
The pace of the game, from the very first second, was cranked up to the max.
The English, completely unprepared for Portugal’s "English-style" offensive, were caught off guard.
Some of their players were retreating to defend while others tried to press, resulting in a clear disconnection.
Costinha passed back to Feng Te.
Feng Te passed it sideways to Veloso.
Veloso took a quick look upfield and before Rooney could close him down, he launched a long ball up the pitch.
Veloso, still considered "quite ordinary" in the world of football,
delivered a long pass that wasn’t inferior to Pepe from Porto.
He was also a versatile midfielder on the radar of many top clubs.
Upfront, the sprint of the five men had a clear target.
Except for Figo on the wing.
The other four leaned more towards the left side, the defensive zone of Campbell.
Because, compared to the younger Terry, the thirty-year-old Campbell was significantly slower in movement and turning speed.
Moreover, Arsenal’s unbeaten season, though spectacular, led to greater fatigue than usual due to the intense pursuit of staying undefeated.
At his age, Campbell’s recovery was also slower, and he wasn’t in good shape at present.
Near the top of the penalty area, Campbell blocked Ronaldo’s path.
Both men were near the point where the ball would land, an optimal spot for contesting.
Ronaldo then leaped high, obstructing Campbell’s view.
Of course, Ronaldo couldn’t reach the ball, since he jumped too early.
But that wasn’t important.
Because... Campbell also missed the ball.
He misjudged it.
The ball brushed past Campbell’s head, landing behind him on a diagonal.
Campbell quickly turned.
But could only see a flash of red and green as it passed.
Bang!
With no one to defend him, Deng Kai calmly adjusted after receiving the ball and took a right-footed shot from a distance.
The ball curved past Robinson, who had rushed out halfway, and flew into the far side of the goal.
"GOAL!"
"Kickoff blitz!"
"Lightning goal! Portugal has scored a lightning-fast goal!"
"One to zero! Just about one minute into the game, Portugal is already ahead of England!"
"Deng Kai! It’s Deng Kai once again who has put Portugal in the lead!"
"Veloso’s long pass was spot on, and Ronaldo’s feint caused a huge blunder from Campbell!"
"The new king of Manchester United teamed up with Manchester City’s royal to give England a swift kick!"
"Oh! Not a minute, fifty-eight seconds! The goal took only fifty-eight seconds!"
"So, with that, the fastest goal record set by Russia’s Kirichenko in this season’s Euro Cup has been broken by Deng Kai!"
"That was when Russia scored against Greece, taking only one minute and seven seconds."
"It seemed like a record that would stand for a long time, but who expected... and to have it broken consecutively by players from the same group."
"Now, England is in a difficult position, their game plan disrupted."
"Reportedly, England was planning to focus on defense for the first sixty to seventy minutes of the game, hoping to drag it out and then launch a fierce attack in the last twenty-plus minutes."
"They did not want to enter an early attacking phase against a team with Deng Kai since even Arsenal, the most aggressive in the Premier League this season, wasn’t as ferocious as Manchester City!"
"Deng Kai has been the player with the most created chances in a single season for two years in a row!"
"But now, the England team clearly has no choice but to go on the offensive!"
Indeed, that was the case.
Following the goal they conceded, England could only launch frequent attacks.
In the third minute, Beckham delivered a cross, but it was cleared by Kilop, rolling to the other side.
Joe Cole picked up the ball on the other side and delivered another cross.
Owen tried for a bicycle kick but, given the difficulty, the ball flew into the stands.
Kilop immediately communicated with Feng Te.
Feng Te had just failed to keep up with Owen.
However, England’s offensive efforts soon slowed down.
Because... it wasn’t a question of whether they wanted to attack.
It was... a question of whether Portugal would let them attack.
In the seventh minute, Deco sent a diagonal pass, Deng Kai took a long shot from the left outside the box and missed.
In the eighth minute, Viana’s long-range shot from outside the area was blocked.
In the tenth minute, Figo’s cross was cleared by Campbell ahead of Ronaldo.
The onslaught from Portugal was like a tempest.
The biggest issue with England’s lineup was the lack of a top-notch defensive midfielder.
They lacked a holding midfielder, that is.
Like a player such as Essien.
Although Lampard was competent in both offense and defense, his positioning meant that no matter how strong his defensive abilities were, they wouldn’t be crucial in intercepting.
Because an attacking midfielder can hardly intercept passes meant for a holding midfielder.
Scholes was even less gifted defensively.
In the fourteenth minute.
Figo made a diagonal pass from the right flank.
Viana ran in from the ribs and managed to catch up with the ball on the right inside the box.
Terry quickly followed.
Viana feinted a pass.
Terry couldn’t take the risk, as behind him was the penalty area; if the ball got past him, it would be dangerous.
Terry reached out with his foot.
But who knew that Viana wouldn’t pass, but instead tapped the ball towards the byline inside the penalty area.
The ball rolled into the penalty box.
Viana then charged forward, ah, breaking through... with a nutmeg.
But Terry’s reaction was quick as well.
He immediately tugged at Viana and turned to keep up, trying to muscle Viana off the ball.
Who knew that Viana was seasoned in these situations.
As soon as Terry bumped into him, he immediately went to ground.
The referee blew the whistle right away.
Terry’s mind went blank in an instant.
Because the spot where Viana fell was already inside the penalty box.
"He’s diving! He’s faking it!" Terry immediately explained to the referee.
But the referee signaled several gestures indicating a foul, making it clear Terry had committed a foul.
"Oh! Terry looks a bit agitated."
"Let’s take another look... indeed, it was certainly a foul movement, no question about the penalty."
"This actually relates to different standards of penalty decisions between Serie A and the Premier League."
"It’s undeniable that Serie A still represents the highest quality of defensive systems and defensive quality in the world of football."
"Viana, the core of Inter, is naturally adept at dribbling, and with the experience against strong teams like Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio, and Roma, he has quite a knack for breaking through."
"He may not have Quaresma’s flair in his moves, nor Ronaldo’s swift pace. Yet, in terms of success rate on breakthroughs, Viana is quite high, and he also draws a lot of fouls."
"Here’s a player who possesses both skill and acting chops. He’s mastered a fine balance between drawing fouls and diving."
"Comparatively, Ronaldo, who practiced his diving skills in the Premier League, seems a lot less mature."
Ronaldo: So you’re saying you can’t proceed with writing this book without taking shots at me?
Peach: Bingo!
