Chapter 62: A Flurry of Relentless Attacks

Brazil was now dominating the game.

With the opposition playing just one striker, and their wing-backs and attacking midfielder struggling to deal with Brazil's attacks, Baptista and Maicon were frequently moving forward to join the attack, which seemed to please their coach Costanio. This showed how fluid and versatile Brazil's attacking play was. 

Despite having more players going forward, Adriano did not simply want to overwhelm the opposition with numbers. He was a powerful, confident striker who relished one-on-one battles against defenders, even if he was outnumbered.

"Adriano is like a military truck compared to the Ferrari pace of Kaka. His tough style is about to smash through the opposition's defense..."

Adriano's approach was direct and purposeful, without any hesitation. With quick footwork, he went past the first defender, used a fake to beat the second, and simply barged through the third and fourth as they tried to block him. There was no fifth defender left.

As Adriano entered the penalty area, his powerful left foot was already winding up to shoot. His burly, muscular frame made the last defender back away instinctively. Adriano's shot whistled past his ear into the net.

Brazil's relentless attack had finally broken down the opposition's defense. 

1-0.

Adriano ran to the sidelines celebrating, punching the air with one hand pointed upwards. The opposition players looked dazed, some staring helplessly at their head coach. He seemed agitated, having expected his team to concede but not so soon. With a wave, he called some players over for urgent instructions.

Brazil's celebration went on, as the opposition coach took the chance to reorganize his team without protest.

Watching the opposition coach's frantic signals and feigned composure, Costanio felt uneasy. He knew their plan was to get the game to extra time and try for a golden goal win. But even then, Brazil would still be favored.

Unless the opposition had some special trick up their sleeve that would become ineffective once discovered.

After the restart, Costanio initially dismissed his earlier concerns. The opposition did seem more attacking-minded and not as defensively solid. However, their counter-attacks were still opportunistic long balls, either starting a break or just relieving pressure with their striker.

The first half ended 1-0 to Brazil.

At halftime, Kaka stayed out warming up per Costanio's instructions instead of going to the dressing room. 

The second half began similarly, with Brazil's one-goal lead not satisfying them while the opposition stayed defensive, countering occasionally.

Around the 50th minute, Maicon went down the wing again with Baptista supporting, as Costa pushed into the opposition half.

Suddenly, the opposition won the ball after an interception. At first no one reacted much, as Maicon casually dropped back and Baptista prepared to track back too. Only Brazil's two center-backs were alert, ready to pressure the opposition's lone striker who had been quiet so far.

The Brazilian defenders felt they could easily handle him.

But the striker was not the main threat on this attack. 

Surprisingly, the opposition's three midfielders - the attacking midfielder, left wing-back and right wing-back - had all pushed into Brazil's defensive third.

With Brazil playing just one defensive midfielder, Baptista's absence left that area vacant except for the center-back Anderson providing cover, while Maicon and Leao were too far forward to affect play.

Numerically, excluding the goalkeepers, it was now four against three in favor of the opposition.

They had found chances like this many times but never tried to exploit them, seemingly waiting for the perfect moment.

The attacking midfielder received the ball but didn't take on Anderson directly. Instead, he quickly switched the play wide. 

The left wing-back also didn't engage Brazil's left-back, creating a two-on-one situation before firing a low cross in.

The goalkeeper couldn't intercept it and the striker arrived at the back post with an open goal. However, before he could shoot, Brazil's other center-back desperately tried to block with a sliding tackle, bringing the striker down.

An obvious red card offense. 

Brazil protested futilely as the striker coolly scored the resulting penalty.

1-1, the opposition had finally equalized late in the match.

Anguished cries came from Brazil's bench, as the enraged and distressed Costanio had to make immediate tactical changes.

The sacrifice was Pinga, trudging off dejectedly to be replaced by a substitute to fill the vacant center-back position.

Brazil's players shared their coach's emotional turmoil. Although still attacking strongly on the surface, their once cohesive moves had become chaotic individualism in the face of being a man down.

While character transcends age, youthful composure often cracks under such high pressure situations compared to experienced veterans.

The similarly youthful opposition fared no better, looking equally nervous despite their supporters' encouragement and frustration. 

They had now fully committed to an ultra-defensive low block, even the striker dropping back to the halfway line to aggressively press for possession.

Time ticked away as the opposition's defense constantly appeared on the verge of collapse under Brazil's onslaught, only to somehow hold on by a thread until the next attack.

Being a man down didn't just reduce Brazil's attacking numbers, it visibly impacted the quality of their offensive play too.

In the 66th minute, Kaka stood ready on the touchline to be brought on as Costanio tried to rescue the situation.

(end of chapter)