Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 542: The Most Decisive Shot, Spain Leads 1-0 Against France!

Thanks to Kante's excellent performance, France temporarily managed to freeze Spain's attacking core, making it difficult for Spain to launch any effective offensive plays. This created a tense, hard-fought situation on the field, with both teams battling fiercely for possession. Fouls were frequent, and several players received yellow cards. The frequent stoppages made the flow of the game disjointed and disrupted.

In this kind of back-and-forth struggle, it became challenging for either team to organize a proper attack. Both teams started looking to the wings to launch quick attacks and try to break the deadlock. During this period, Griezmann shone on the field, orchestrating several dangerous attacks down the left side for France, putting immense pressure on Spain's right flank.

In just a few minutes, France managed several shots on goal, with Griezmann even attempting a long-range effort. Though none of these shots resulted in a goal, France's momentum was building, and it felt like a breakthrough was only a matter of time.

However, Spain wasn't entirely defenseless. In this match, they had brought on Pedro, a fast winger. Seeing that Kante was constantly marking him and limiting his ability to work with teammates in the center, Lin Quan decided to drift toward the wings, linking up with Pedro to create opportunities from the flanks.

This strategy worked by drawing one or two French defenders away from the middle, creating more space in the center for Spanish midfielders and defenders to push forward and capitalize on crosses from the wings. It also allowed Pedro to use his speed to put pressure on France's defense, preventing them from committing too many players to their attack.

In the 15th minute of the first half, Spain executed a brilliant combination play down the wing. Lin Quan and Pedro completed a give-and-go, with Pedro cutting inside to drag the French full-back out of position. Jordi Alba then surged forward from behind, receiving Pedro's pass and delivering a perfect cross into the box. Morata leapt high and connected with a powerful header, sending the ball toward the goal. But French goalkeeper Lloris, alert and well-positioned, made an excellent save, denying Spain the goal.

Although Spain didn't score, this attack demonstrated that the strategy of focusing on wing play was effective, strengthening their belief in using the flanks to create chances. Meanwhile, France was shaken by this dangerous attempt, prompting Deschamps to pull Payet aside and give him instructions.

Payet returned to the field and relayed the coach's message to Griezmann and Sissoko, urging them to provide more defensive support on the wings. With the midfielders offering better protection, France's wing defense improved, and they were quicker to close down Spain's attacking full-backs, making it harder for them to deliver easy crosses.

However, as France shifted more attention to defending the wings, they left fewer players in the middle. This gave Spain the opportunity to attack through the center.

In the 23rd minute of the first half, Lin Quan dribbled toward the left wing, making it look like he was about to repeat the previous play. France didn't suspect anything, and both Kante and Payet moved toward the left to help their full-back defend against Lin Quan and Pedro.

But this was exactly what Lin Quan had been waiting for. The moment Payet moved, Lin Quan changed his pace, stopped the ball, and with a quick feint, slipped past the sideways-moving Kante. He then passed the ball back diagonally to Busquets, who was in a more central position.

Busquets, known for his football intelligence, didn't need Lin Quan to explain what he intended. A quick glance at the positions of both teams told him exactly what to do. Without hesitation, he passed the ball to David Silva, who had drifted inside from the right wing and was now in the attacking midfield position.

Morata, seeing Silva with the ball, immediately sprinted toward the French half. Silva didn't pass the ball right away but waited for Pogba to approach before sending a diagonal pass to the right flank. There, a player wearing Spain's number 16 jersey—Juanfran—raced forward like a whirlwind, beating the French full-back to the ball.

Pogba, following his coach's instructions, quickly abandoned his pursuit of Silva and shifted toward the wing to help defend. Normally, this would have been the correct decision. Griezmann, with his stamina and wide coverage of the midfield, was a reliable defensive partner. But Griezmann had moved a few steps toward the left when Lin Quan had earlier driven the ball that way, leaving him slightly too far from Silva.

These few extra meters gave Spain just enough space to execute a tight passing combination. Juanfran quickly passed the ball back to Silva, who then threaded a through-ball to Juanfran, who had already bypassed two French defenders.

Spain had executed a brilliant one-two pass in France's half, and now Juanfran had no defenders in front of him! Rather than dribbling to the goal line, he cut inside, forcing Koscielny, who had been marking Morata, to abandon his position and try to stop him.

Morata had been tightly marked by two center-backs in the box, finding no real opportunities. But with one of his markers pulled away, Morata now had some breathing room. He moved toward the right, shaking off Umtiti, and raised his hand, signaling for the ball.

Juanfran didn't hesitate. Before Koscielny could block his passing lane, he sent the ball toward Morata. It was a perfectly timed pass, and Morata prepared to strike it into the goal.

However, Morata underestimated the skill of the young French defender next to him. At just 23 years old and playing for Lyon, Umtiti wasn't yet widely known in 2016. But he was already showing the potential to become one of the world's top center-backs, and at this point, without any injury setbacks, he was in peak form.

As soon as Juanfran's pass left his foot, Umtiti anticipated Morata's move. He suddenly accelerated, broke free from Morata's body contact, and managed to get in front of him, attempting to intercept the pass.

Seeing this, Morata was startled. If he stuck to his original plan and shot right away, Umtiti would likely block the ball. Forced to adapt, Morata quickly used his body to shield the ball from Umtiti, preventing him from making the interception. But this also meant Morata lost the chance to take a shot.

Umtiti wasn't going to give him any time to turn and shoot, and Koscielny was now rushing back to help, aiming to team up with Umtiti and strip the ball from Morata's feet.

Just as Morata was starting to panic, he heard a voice call out:

"Pass it to me!"

The voice belonged to none other than Lin Quan. Taking advantage of the chaos on the left wing, Lin had shaken off Kante's tight marking and charged into the box. He initially planned to see if he could contribute to the attack, or at least be available as an outlet. But to his surprise, thanks to Morata's hesitation and Umtiti's defensive brilliance, Spain's attack was about to falter. Even more fortunate, Lin Quan found himself in open space!

With no defenders within a couple of meters, all he needed was the ball, and he'd have a perfect chance to score.

Hearing the familiar voice, Morata, feeling desperate, instinctively passed the ball to Lin Quan, trusting his teammate without a second thought. As soon as the ball left his foot, less than a second later, it flew back toward the goal.

This time, it wasn't rolling away from the box, but flying straight toward the net—with much more power!

What a decisive shot!

Morata was stunned. He knew Lin Quan would go for goal, but he hadn't expected him to be so direct. He thought Lin would use his dribbling skills to break into the box for a better angle before shooting. But instead, Lin had unleashed a shot from outside the box!

Not only Morata, but French goalkeeper Lloris hadn't expected it either. His attention had been on Morata, and it wasn't until Morata passed the ball back to Lin Quan that Lloris realized Lin was closing in on the box. But Morata had been on the left side of the goal, while Lin Quan was now on the right. Despite Lloris' quick movement to adjust his position, he couldn't get set in time to block Lin Quan's shot.

Lloris stretched out his right hand in a desperate attempt to save it, but Lin's shot was too powerful and too precise. The ball whizzed past, grazing the post as it flew into the net. Lloris could only watch helplessly as the ball hit the back of the net.

Boom!

A roar erupted from the stands as Spanish fans jumped up like rockets, screaming in excitement. They hugged each other wildly, whether they knew each other or not, leaping and shouting in celebration.

Over at Spain's bench, the substitutes were just as ecstatic. When Morata had received the ball, they couldn't sit still, rushing to the edge of the field. And when Lin Quan fired the ball into the goal, they erupted, waving their jerseys and screaming as they stormed onto the pitch in celebration.

On the field, Morata was even more excited than Lin Quan, who had scored. When he saw the ball hit the net, Morata let out a loud roar and sprinted toward Lin, hugging him tightly and yelling into his ear, practically making Lin's eardrums ache.

Their teammates quickly joined in, rushing over to embrace and high-five Lin Quan.

This goal was crucial. Spain had not been dominating the game, and France, with their physical strength and superior movement, had gradually begun to take control of the midfield. If Spain's attack had continued to falter, France would have likely committed more players forward, increasing the pressure on Spain's defense. Eventually, France might have besieged Spain's goal, leaving Spain with little room to breathe.

But at this critical moment, Lin Quan scored. It was like seeing a glimmer of hope in the dark, giving the Spanish players a huge morale boost. Moreover, this goal would demoralize the French players, forcing them to play with added psychological pressure.

Both teams had been playing strong defense, and even after more than 20 minutes, neither side had many shots on goal. Spain had only managed two shots, while France had one more. But Spain had made their two shots count, gaining a significant advantage with Lin Quan's goal.

Now, the pressure was on France. How would they respond? How would they attack while ensuring their defense didn't collapse?

"Damn it!" Deschamps fumed after Lin Quan's goal. France had been building momentum, and he felt they were just a few plays away from breaking the deadlock. But to his frustration, Spain scored first, throwing his plans into disarray. Now France was on the back foot, and they would have to take risks and push forward.

However, with Pedro's speed on the counterattack, pressing too hard would be dangerous for France. One misstep, and they could concede another goal. Against a top team like Spain, falling behind by one goal was difficult to overcome. But going down by two goals would be disastrous—no team in the past eight years had ever come back from a two-goal deficit against Spain.

With this in mind, Deschamps called Kante over for instructions.

"Listen, Kante, you need to completely shut down their number 10. Don't give him any space!"

Deschamps knew the goal was partly due to Kante losing track of Lin Quan. If Kante had stayed closer when Lin made his forward run, Lin might not have received Morata's pass, or he wouldn't have had the space to take such a high-quality shot.

Kante, knowing this was partly his mistake, felt guilty. Hearing the coach's orders, he nodded firmly. From this moment on, Kante was determined to mark Lin Quan relentlessly, even if it took everything he had.

(End of chapter)

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