Chapter 48: The Duel of Titans

Chapter 48: The Duel of Titans

"We must support him!" Bruno made a quick decision at the edge of the penalty area, suddenly changing direction to the left and signaling for the ball.

Bruma had been watching Bruno and immediately passed the ball to him when he saw Bruno running over.

The pass was excellent, with a bounce just outside the arc, making it difficult for Chile's defensive midfielder Robles to intercept.

Lichnovsky and Urtado, who had been tracking Bruno back to the penalty box, also reacted. Lichnovsky, in particular, was quick to rush behind Bruno, trying to block him from turning.

In any game, the central area of the penalty box is always the most heavily defended, giving offensive players very little time to react and demanding excellent ball control skills.

Despite facing Chile's U20, the challenge was still significant.

Bruno decided almost instantly as the ball bounced toward him. He gently flicked it with his right foot over Lichnovsky, who had lunged from behind, and quickly turned to chase the ball.

Lichnovsky, aiming to block Bruno, had lunged too forcefully. As Bruno flicked the ball past, he also spun around, evading Lichnovsky, who was now overly committed.

Urtado, Chile's other central defender, immediately came over to cover. The two defenders, having played together for many years, had a good understanding.

Bruno caught up with the ball to the left of the penalty spot, but Urtado also quickly moved to position himself between Bruno and the goal.

Just when everyone thought Bruno could no longer pose a threat, he seemed to predict Urtado's movements perfectly. With a sudden drag of his left foot...

The Chilean defender was only focused on covering his position. Even though he saw the ball rolling right under his eyes, he couldn't manage to stretch out a foot to disrupt it. All he could do was watch helplessly as Bruno flicked the ball from his left to his right foot.

With that flick, Bruno opened up a shooting angle that seemed completely blocked before.

"Bruno has passed Urtado, he has a chance..."

"He shoots!"

"It's a goal!!!!"

"Golo!!!!!!!!!"

"My God, oh my God, in the 92nd minute, Portugal scores again!"

"The shot from Bruno Fernandes!"

"That's his fifth goal of the tournament, tying him with his teammate Bruma at the top of the scoring chart!"

"What's even more astonishing is that he's also provided seven assists. If Portugal can maintain this score until the end of the game and advance to the semifinals, he is undoubtedly the key player!"

After shooting with the inside of his right foot, Bruno knew it was a goal.

He sprinted excitedly out of the field, waving his arms and roaring, releasing all his pent-up energy and excitement.

Finally, he rushed to the section where the Portuguese fans were seated, opened his arms wide as if to embrace all the spectators who had come to the stadium.

His teammates soon caught up and surrounded him in a group hug.

After delivering a crucial pass in the last game, he had now dealt Chile a deadly blow in the final moments of this game.

"It's clear from the replay that Bruno's ball control was incredibly skillful, almost divine, and full of imagination," the commentator praised.

"On the U20 World Cup stage, Bruno's skills far surpass others."

"4-3, Bruno scores the winning goal."

Bruno's goal in the 92nd minute marked the end of the celebration. Although the three minutes of stoppage time had elapsed, the referee allowed Chile a chance to attack.

After taking the lead, the Portuguese team adopted a stringent defensive stance, with even Bruno falling back to help defend.

Chile, desperate and urgent, launched several attacks. Inspired by the lead, Portugal showed a strong will to win and tenaciously blocked all of Chile's efforts.

In the final minutes, the game was heavily one-sided. Chile attacked frenetically, and Portugal defended staunchly, both teams showing unprecedented passion.

Despite the referee allowing an extra minute and a half for Chile, time eventually ran out.

Originally a three-minute stoppage time was extended to five minutes, heavily favoring Chile, but unfortunately, they were unable to breach the Portuguese goal again.

Since the Toulon Cup, Portugal's defense had conceded numerous goals and seemed unreliable. But at critical moments, they had not faltered. Including Cancelo, the defenders, even in the final moments, staunchly guarded their goal.

When the final whistle blew, all the Portuguese players collapsed on the field.

Bruno, although physically fit, seemed to have his energy drained by the whistle, collapsing to the ground, hands propped on the turf, gasping for air.

After playing nearly 90 minutes in two consecutive 4-3 games, such exertion would be challenging even for adults.

Fortunately, Coach Ramos had wisely rested Bruno for a game during the group stage, or else even his remarkable stamina might not have sustained such performances.

One game with a goal and two assists, another with two goals and two assists—Bruno had directly contributed to seven of Portugal's eight goals in the knockout stages.

Bruno had almost single-handedly carried Portugal into the U20 World Cup semifinals, epitomizing the image of a solitary hero.

At that moment, his body was exhausted to the extreme, but he felt as if he was on fire, his emotions highly charged.

The over a thousand Portuguese fans in the stands clearly understood Bruno's significance to the team, shouting his name in a frenzy.

Now that the team had finally advanced to the semifinals, all they needed was a victory over Uruguay in the semifinals to reach the finals.

In the upper half of the bracket, the competition had also concluded.

According to the pairing rules, the quarterfinals in the upper half were a European powerhouse derby and an Asian battle.

France, in a tough matchup, had ousted the top favorite Spain through penalties, thereby replacing them as the favorites to win the U20 World Cup.

In the match between Korea and Iraq, the teams were tied 2-2 after regular time and each scored again in extra time, leading to a grueling penalty shootout.

Iraq fortuitously won 5-4 in the shootout, advancing with an 8-7 aggregate score to the semifinals.

However, facing the formidable French team in the semifinals, Iraq's chances seemed slim. So, if Portugal could advance to the finals, their likely opponent would be France.

If that were the case, the ultimate showdown would be between the tournament's two standout young players, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba.

In the formidable French youth team, Pogba's performance wasn't as dazzling as Bruno's, nor were his stats as explosive, but his role in the French team was equally crucial.

As it stood, the competition for the tournament's best player was primarily between these two.

Of course, if either of their teams fell in the semifinals, that would mean the end of their contention for the best player award.

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