Chapter 761: Chapter 760: The Gun King Opens Fire, The King Ascends the Throne
But neither side had much to adjust.
Because all the players from both teams had already performed at their best.
Deng Kai and Zidane had fulfilled their missions.
As for scoring goals, that wasn’t something they could control one hundred percent.
The second half.
The forty-eighth minute.
The French team launched an attack.
Vieira passed the ball to Zidane.
After receiving the ball, Zidane feinted with his eyes, deceiving Costinha and completed the dribble.
Without waiting for the Portuguese defense to respond, Zidane made a direct through pass.
Henry controlled the ball on the left side of the penalty area with a quick touch and, beating Kilop by half a beat, executed a powerful shot from almost a standing position.
Bya stretched himself to make the save.
But sadly, this time he couldn’t save the Portuguese team again.
"GOAL!"
"Henry! King of the Gunners, Henry has fired!"
"This is the ability of a world-class forward! This is Henry’s power! His shooting is too strong!"
"Zidane and Henry have finally breached the Portuguese goal, one to one, both sides are back on an equal footing."
"Over the past year, Henry has achieved the highlights of his career, officially entering his peak. But it was also this year, Deng Kai dominated the Premier League, surpassing Henry to reach the summit of the world!"
"If Henry can lead the French team to directly defeat his rival Deng Kai in the European Cup final, then he could very well be in contention for the Golden Ball and FIFA World Player of the Year at the end of this year, alongside Zidane!"
"It seems that the French team did more during the half-time break than Portugal."
The fifty-fourth minute.
Portugal won a free kick in the attacking half, though from a considerable distance.
They were definitely going to play a set-piece tactic.
Kilop and Carvalho both moved up.
Deco stood behind the football.
Before the football was played, Deng Kai started to make runs in the penalty area and was in an offside position.
But this caused chaos in the French defense.
Taking advantage of this, Deco executed the kickoff.
Ronaldo found his position among the crowd and took a volley at goal.
However, due to constraints from other players, Ronaldo’s attempt to reach the ball was extremely forced, making the shot even more so.
The football lacked power and a good angle.
It was directly claimed by Barthez.
The fifty-ninth minute.
Portugal continued their attack.
Deng Kai held the ball on the left flank, attempting a breakthrough to attract the attention of the French players, then delivered a direct pass.
Veloso overlapped and crossed from the bottom.
The football swept across the French penalty area.
Viana rushed in for a header, but still missed the ball by more than twenty centimeters.
Ultimately, the ball went out for a goal kick.
In the sixty-second minute, France pushed Portugal back.
The speed at which players from both teams pushed forward in attack and fell back for defense was very fast, and their willingness was also very strong.
They achieved the "Total Football" effect that the Netherlands team wanted.
Eventually, Vieira took a shot with the "Heavy Cannon," but it was heroically intercepted by Pepe mid-flight with a stretched-out foot.
The football rose high but not far, and a fierce contest ensued in front of the Portuguese penalty area.
Both teams continuously vied for possession.
In the end, it was Pepe again, kicking the ball back to the retreating Deng Kai.
Deng Kai feigned a turn with shoulder movements, seeming to go left but instead turning right, dodging Pires’s charge with a basketball move, then advanced with the ball.
Ronaldo pulled wide to the left up front.
Deng Kai passed the ball to Ronaldo.
After an unsuccessful attempt at a breakthrough, Ronaldo passed it back to the advancing Deng Kai.
Deng Kai cut inside directly.
The recently retreated Vieira faced him as if he were a formidable opponent.
Bang!
Deng Kai sent a through ball from the ribs; he didn’t actually challenge Vieira.
Deco burst from behind Vieira and received the ball on the left edge of the penalty area.
Bang!
Deco took a powerful shot, attacking the goal directly, clean and crisp.
However, Barthez was in outstanding form; Deco’s shooting angle was limited by Desailly, with little space available, and Barthez successfully saved it.
But...
Bang!
Viana rushed forward and poked the ball into the net.
The football found its way into France’s net for the second time.
Estádio Alvalade erupted into celebration once again.
"GOAL!"
"Viana! The young core of Inter Milan, Viana, did not let down the expectations of the Portuguese!"
"As one of the up-and-coming ’Big Four’ attacking midfielders, Viana is the only one who has never won the Champions League."
"Many people have said he doesn’t deserve to be among the ’Big Four’ because of this."
"But after this European Championship, no one can question Viana’s ability. His performance and his importance to the team are no less than Deco, this year’s new Champions League winner!"
"If Portugal ultimately wins the Delaunay Trophy, Viana, as the earliest renowned player among the ’Big Four’ attacking midfielders, will undoubtedly ascend the throne at Inter Milan officially! He will become the undisputed king of Inter... the King!"
"This goal was created by the successive shots of these two superb attacking midfielders!"
"Of course, the passing and progression of Ronaldo and Deng Kai played a huge role as well."
"Two to one! Portugal’s youthful storm once again conquers France’s team!"
Once again, France became the chaser in the match.
In the 67th minute.
France found an opportunity to counter-attack.
Pires eventually completed a cross from the flank.
Unfortunately, Henry and Trezeguet failed to reach the ball.
But this attack actually exposed a decline in Pires’ form.
At thirty-one, Pires had no issues with his playing ability, but his stamina was indeed on the decline.
Given the demands of the club season this year, the European Championship didn’t find him in his best shape.
The reason he chose to cross instead of cutting in and delivering a horizontal pass, which would have been a bigger threat, was that his speed had dropped a bit, allowing Veloso to catch up with him successfully.
Based on consultant Deschamps’ advice, France made a decisive substitution, bringing on Ribery for Pires.
Ribery, one of the Premier League’s top wingers, officially entered the game.
In the 74th minute.
Ribery dribbled past Veloso on the right side; this was the third time he had beaten Veloso since coming on.
Veloso, helpless, could only bring down Ribery.
The referee whistled and showed Veloso a yellow card.
At the same time, the beads of sweat on Veloso’s forehead reflected his state at that moment.
After defending against Pires for sixty minutes, Veloso relied on being younger and able to run more.
Now, after defending against Ribery for ten minutes, Veloso had been through a strong "anaerobic exercise," and while he might recover a bit after a while, his performance was expected to be poor for the next ten minutes or so.
Portugal also made a substitution promptly, bringing on Feng Te for the carded Veloso.
Then Pepe moved to left-back while Feng Te took the position of left central defender.
On the French side, they used their second substitution slot, bringing on Wiltord to replace Trezeguet, who had not been particularly impressive in this game.
Using Wiltord was also a hope to spark Henry’s best condition through their club partnership, to create a chemical reaction.
Henry, Pires, Wiltord - the three Musketeers of the French team almost all took the field together.
