Chapter 159: Pelé: I bet on Brazil to win! Brazil: It's not me, I didn't say that, don't talk nonsense!

Lin Quan nodded silently, not saying much, and demonstrated his defensive ability with an aggressive tackle that left Pirlo impressed.

Yes, Lin Quan's defensive ability isn't strong, but his physical condition is excellent! Pirlo measures 177 cm and weighs only 69 kg.

While Lin Quan measures 173 cm and weighs 73 kg.

Additionally, Lin Quan is ten years younger than Pirlo, making his physical confrontation ability superior.

Lin Quan had no intention of taking the ball from Pirlo, nor did he even plan it.

He simply increased the pressure on Pirlo, making it difficult for him to receive and pass, preventing Pirlo from handling and passing the ball comfortably.

Pirlo is the brain of the Italian midfield, the most important piece of the Italian system.

Restricting his game is like cutting off an arm of Italy.

As expected, after Lin Quan began marking Pirlo, Italy's offensive power suddenly decreased.

On the contrary, Spain seized the opportunities created by the opponent and initiated several very dangerous attacks.

In the 68th minute, Xavi sent a corner from the right side, Ramos leaped high in the center, and his header narrowly missed the goal.

In the 75th minute, Lin Quan dribbled and passed the ball, Iniesta sent a pass, breaking the Italian defensive line.

Pedro, who was in a shooting position in the area, had his shot blocked by Buffon with his legs, Spain missed the chance to extend the lead.

In the 77th minute, Fabregas sent a long pass from his own midfield, the ball flew for over 60 meters, finding Lin Quan on the wing.

Lin Quan quickly moved forward to receive the ball, took the ball inside, evaded Bonucci's mark, and entered the area.

This pass was over 60 meters away, and due to its speed, the Italians didn't even have time to react defensively.

After evading Bonucci, Lin Quan had a chance to face the goalkeeper one-on-one.

This time, Buffon chose to come out, fully focusing on Lin Quan, prepared to save at any moment.

This time, Buffon's situation was even worse than last time.

The Italian defenders were far from Lin Quan, giving him more time to complete this attack.

Lin Quan looked at Buffon and, without hesitation, shot.

It was a low shot, with a precise angle and great speed.

Seeing this shot from the opponent, Buffon realized that things weren't going well.

To avoid being beaten, he couldn't fully lower his center of gravity, which made his speed to save the ball slower than usual.

In a showdown between experts, this small difference was fatal.

Buffon's reaction speed was already top-notch, but when he saw Lin Quan shoot, he was already extending his leg to try to intercept.

But the ball was one step ahead of him, passing by him before he could touch it.

He couldn't touch the ball, Buffon could only hope that his opponent's shot would go wide of the goal.

But unfortunately, that didn't happen.

The angle of this shot was very precise, and the ball almost hugged the inside post as it entered the net.

Even if Buffon had managed to block it, he wouldn't have touched the ball.

This guy is really formidable!

Thinking of this, Buffon looked at Lin Quan with a different expression.

He remembered all the top-level forwards he had fought in the past, and Lin Quan gave him the same feeling as those players.

If Lin Quan's first goal only helped the team establish a lead and relieved some tension for Spanish fans.

Then, the second goal completely ensured their victory.

With Italy unable to create threats in the attack, scoring two goals in less than 20 remaining minutes was a very difficult task.

Spanish fans finally felt relieved, waving their flags vigorously, shouting the names of the players on the field, many even chanting slogans for the championship.

As the main hero of the team, Lin Quan received the biggest ovation and applause after scoring this goal.

Lin Quan was also excited, he quickly ran to the sideline to prepare to celebrate, only to see Fabregas, who had sent that precise pass, running towards him.

Lin Quan had a sudden idea and thought of a very interesting celebration gesture.

So, he pretended to have a fishing rod in his hand and made the gesture of casting the hook.

Fabregas was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood and pretended to be a fish, approaching Lin Quan on the ground as if he were a big fish that had been caught.

Teammates burst into laughter, each of them ran to hug the "fish" Fabregas, showing their joy for the great harvest.

The funniest thing was that Ramos pretended to crouch in front of everyone, as if he had a camera in hand, posing as if he were taking a picture.

The spectators in the stadium were puzzled at first, not knowing what the Spaniards were doing.

But when they realized, almost everyone in the stadium started laughing out loud.

Spain is really cool!

This goal celebration gesture was truly innovative, leaving fans, accustomed to conventional celebrations, amazed.

Many fans even wanted to see it again, but to do so, Spain had to score another goal.

Not only the fans in the stadium, but also on the internet, the Spanish team's celebration gesture quickly went viral.

Many fans clipped this video, adding funny music, and soon it spread across all social media.

"Haha, Spain has so much talent!"

"Who came up with this celebration gesture? My stomach hurts from laughing so much!"

"Good results, exciting matches, and also so creative, I love this team!"

"I want to see it again!"

"Don't worry, when they play the final against Brazil, there will be a chance to show it, I hope Spain has new creative ideas by then!"

"Spanish team, please!"

"Brazilian team, please!"

"???"

I understand what he means, he wants Brazil to lose so we can see more of these creative celebrations!"

"I see, so, Brazilian team, please!"

"Brazilian team, please!"

On social media, a well-known user and fervent fan of the Brazilian national team, upon seeing the result of the match between Spain and Italy, thought that Italy would probably be eliminated.

So, he immediately launched a poll on his social platform: Which team do you think will win the Confederations Cup final?

A: Brazil

B: Spain

After launching the poll, the user felt confident.

Brazil has over 200 million inhabitants, while Spain has only 40 million.

200 million against 40 million, the advantage is ours, we're sure to win!

At first, the poll results showed what he expected: Brazilian fans outnumbered the Spanish.

But soon things began to change.

Suddenly, the number of votes in favor of Spain began to rapidly increase.

Not only did they surpass those for Brazil, but they also left them far behind.

In the end, the votes in favor of Brazil could hardly compete with those for Spain.

The user was bewildered: Do people really believe so much in Spain and not in Brazil?

After Spain scored two consecutive goals, Italy was stunned.

They remembered the pain of being crushed by Spain in the final of the European Championship last year.

A wave of discouragement quickly spread through the team.

Prandelli, not resigning himself to defeat, made immediate changes, sending Giovinco and Aquilani onto the field.

Italy tried to strengthen their attack to equalize the score.

But with Pirlo limited, stacking forwards on the field did not solve Italy's lack of offensive effectiveness.

On the contrary, by substituting defensive players like Marchisio, their defensive ability decreased considerably.

In the 86th minute, Spain launched a quick counterattack.

Lin Quan, after entering the box, generously passed the ball to his teammate David Silva, who shot forcefully and pierced the Italian goal for the third time.

Spain 3:0 Italy.

Counting added time, there were less than 10 minutes left to play, and with a three-goal lead, Spain ensured victory.

After this goal, Italy finally accepted the reality that they couldn't come back from the scoreline.

However, they didn't want to accept being defeated without scoring.

That's why, in the last minutes, they continued to try to attack.

In the second minute of added time, a Spanish player committed a foul outside the box, giving Italy a good free-kick opportunity.

Pirlo prepared himself, observed the Spanish wall, and decided to shoot directly.

The free-kick was of high quality, the ball went over the wall and descended abruptly in the air.

This unpredictable trajectory affected Casillas' judgment, who couldn't stop the ball.

Italy finally scored thanks to the veteran Pirlo, saving some of their honor.

Two minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.

The Spanish players celebrated with handshakes, happy to have reached the final.

In contrast, the Italian players showed expressions of disappointment.

Losing twice in a year against the same team, and with barely any resistance, made the Italians develop a kind of phobia of Spain, they didn't want to face them again!

Pirlo, on the other hand, accepted defeat calmly; he had already won a World Cup, so he wasn't so discouraged, and dedicated himself to consoling his teammates.

At that moment, he saw the Spanish players thanking the fans and preparing to leave the field.

Pirlo took off his shirt and headed towards them, looking to exchange jerseys.

The Spanish players saw Pirlo approaching and looked at Xavi.

Both were the brains of their teams, and Pirlo was probably looking for Xavi to exchange jerseys.

Xavi thought so too, so he stepped forward to greet Pirlo.

"Excuse me, Xavi, but I'm looking for Lin!"

Pirlo smiled at Xavi and went straight to Lin Quan:

"Kid, do you want to exchange jerseys with me?"

Lin Quan was surprised, he didn't expect Pirlo to come specifically looking for him.

Players from both teams looked on with curiosity.

Pirlo seemed to value this kid a lot, to the point of personally seeking him out to exchange jerseys!

Lin Quan quickly took off his shirt and gave it to Pirlo.

"You're a great midfielder, it would be a shame if you didn't play in the center of the field."

Pirlo, after receiving Lin Quan's shirt, hugged him and patted him on the back.

In this match, Lin Quan had played as a free-roaming midfielder, occupying various positions.

His performance in the center of the field impressed Pirlo.

"Thank you for the compliment, but the responsibilities of a midfielder aren't necessarily limited to the center of the field."

Lin Quan responded modestly.

In football, with increasingly innovative coaches, players' positions on the field are not fixed.

Just as the classic 'number 10' has almost disappeared, organizing midfielders could also disappear, and players with passing skills could appear as full-backs or center-backs.

Pirlo nodded and, without further discussing the matter, went to greet Xavi.

Both were masters of the midfield and weren't young, so they felt a mutual affinity.

At their ages, after next year's World Cup, they would probably retire from the major leagues.

So this showdown could be their last duel in national teams.

After Spain eliminated Italy, the most anticipated matchup of this Confederations Cup finally became a reality.

The host Brazil, five-time world champion, against the current world champion, Spain!

On one side, the team with the most World Cup titles, Brazil.

On the other, the reigning world champion, Spain, currently number one in the FIFA ranking.

Their showdown also represented a clash between European and South American football.

At the same time, two emerging superstars would face off in the final.

So, even before the start of the match, the more than 80,000 tickets had already sold out.

Brazilians hoped to see their team win at home and start on the right foot for next year's World Cup.

And Spanish fans wanted their team to win the Confederations Cup, completing a grand slam of major tournaments and solidifying the golden era of the national team.

Before the match, legends from both countries showed their support for their respective teams.

Ronaldo and Ronaldinho said they believed in Brazil's victory, thinking that the young Brazilians would work a miracle at home and defeat the powerful Spanish team.

For their part, Raúl and Hierro declared that the invincible Spanish armada would defeat all their rivals.

But neither Ronaldo nor Ronaldinho, nor Raúl nor Hierro, had enough weight.

To make a meaningful prediction, they needed the two kings of current football.

Spain sought out Maradona.

Maradona, being Argentine, naturally didn't want to see the Brazilians triumph.

Furthermore, with Spain's superiority, Maradona supported Spain, believing they would win.

The Brazilians, seeing that Spain had secured Maradona's support, were worried.

They also had a football king, but they didn't dare to ask for his support.

The Brazilians didn't want to ask for Pelé's help.

But Pelé couldn't stay silent:

"I believe Brazil will win at home!"

(End of chapter)

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