Chapter 162: Breaking Records, a Man Comparable to Messi and Ronaldo!
Chapter 162: Breaking Records, a Man Comparable to Messi and Ronaldo!
"GOOOOOOOAAAAAL!"
"Unbelievable!"
"Incredible!"
"Surrounded by defenders, Lin Quan broke through and scored against Brazil! This is simply astonishing!"
In the commentary booth of Sky Sports, Martin Tyler showcased his exceptional commentary skills upon witnessing this goal.
With rapid speed, he described the entire goal sequence in one breath.
Finally, he exclaimed:
"Lin Quan, a player not even 18 years old, has scored two goals in this match, bringing his total goals in the Confederations Cup to nine.
This breaks Romario's historical record from the 1997 Confederations Cup!
And he has significantly raised this record to nine goals!"
"Scoring in five consecutive matches with an average of 1.8 goals per game, this scoring efficiency can only be matched by Messi and Ronaldo worldwide!"
"It's no exaggeration to say that we are witnessing the birth of a legendary player!"
Martin Tyler gave high praise to Lin Quan!
Andy Gray, sitting next to him, agreed:
"Yes, for a forward to maintain such consistent form in an international tournament against many strong teams, scoring so many goals in a row, this is something even Ronaldo and Messi haven't done!"
The two seemed worried that the audience wouldn't grasp the significance of Lin Quan's stats, so they repeatedly compared him to Ronaldo and Messi.
They hoped this would help the audience realize how high this 18-year-old from Spain was starting and how great his potential was!
Since Ronaldo and Messi displayed dominating performances, they have stood head and shoulders above other players, becoming the unparalleled stars of modern football.
In the years of their reign, challengers have appeared.
But these challengers either lacked the strength or were brief flashes in the pan.
No one could genuinely threaten their status.
But now, outside of these two, a true challenger has emerged!
This person is none other than Lin Quan!
...
Lin Quan didn't know how highly he was being rated because of his goal.
He had scored even more spectacular goals for his club, so he didn't think this one was special.
However, scoring two goals in a row still put him in a good mood.
The Spanish players rushed over, excited to celebrate with him.
He didn't think the goal was a big deal, but his teammates saw it differently.
They had never seen such a spectacular goal in the national team, so they naturally wanted to celebrate!
And they needed to come up with a special celebration move, something memorable.
In a previous match against Italy, Lin Quan and his teammates had designed a very creative celebration, which made many fans look forward to their next move.
So this time, Lin Quan and his teammates started discussing.
Should they meet the fans' expectations?
Lin Quan: "Should we use that celebration move?"
Iniesta: "Isn't that inappropriate? Won't the away fans think we're provoking them?"
Pedro: "Possible, we might even get stuff thrown at us!"
Ramos: "Then let's celebrate further away?"
Xavi, exasperated: "So we're definitely using that move, right?"
All: "Absolutely!"
Xavi shrugged: "Alright then, I'll be the backrest!"
Iniesta: "I'll be the toilet lid!"
Lin Quan: "I'll sit on the toilet!"
Pedro quietly stepped back, leaving Ramos in a conspicuous position.
Ramos, seeing everyone else had a role and he was the only one left, protested loudly:
"Why am I the toilet?"
"Stop whining, get down!"
Despite his complaints, the others pushed him to the ground.
Ramos, helpless, had to go along with his teammates' plan.
"What are they doing?"
The fans in the stadium soon noticed the unusual behavior of the Spanish players.
After scoring, instead of celebrating, they gathered and seemed to be discussing something.
"Are they planning a celebration move?"
Curious, the fans speculated.
And soon, the Spanish players' actions confirmed their guess.
"They're really designing a celebration move!"
"What surprise will this celebration bring us?"
"Haha, is it going to be like that fishing celebration move?"
"Why is Ramos lying on the ground with his butt in the air...?"
"To be fair, Ramos has quite a nice butt!"
"…"
"Six out of ten for creativity!"
"Gotta love how bold they are!"
After Ramos was in position, Iniesta knelt beside him, leaning on his back.
Xavi stood behind Iniesta, bending over to rest on his back.
At this point, no one knew what they were up to.
Until Lin Quan, the goal scorer, walked over.
He lifted Iniesta's arm, mimicking the motion of lifting a toilet lid.
Then he sat on Ramos, pretending to use the toilet.
After "finishing," he twisted Xavi's arm, as if flushing the toilet.
Finally, he put "the lid" (Iniesta) back down and walked away from "the toilet."
The audience finally understood what the Spanish players were doing!
Their goal celebration was mimicking a toilet visit!
This was over the top!
The fans burst into laughter, thoroughly entertained by Spain's creative and playful celebration.
Only a few Brazilian fans felt offended, thinking they were being mocked.
Did Spain's celebration mean they saw the Brazilian team as a toilet?
"Uh, the Spanish players have come up with a creative but somewhat inappropriate celebration move, and it seems to have angered the Brazilian fans, who are now booing them."
Martin Tyler covered his face with his hand, amazed. In all his years of commentary, this was the first time he had seen such a celebration move.
What kind of minds did these Spanish players have to come up with such bizarre celebrations?
"The fans' emotions can impact the players on the field. For the Spanish to pull such a move in an away game is quite unwise!"
Andy Gray, having previously supported Brazil, naturally took their side in criticizing Spain.
Martin Tyler, however, thought it didn't matter. The difference in skill between the two teams was evident from these few minutes of play.
Even if Brazil played with extra motivation, they might not be able to beat Spain.
What they needed to do now was find an effective way to attack and level the score as soon as possible.
Otherwise, going into the locker room at halftime with a deficit would make the second half very difficult for them!
The Brazilian players understood this well, so after the restart, they played very impatiently.
They all wanted to score immediately and equalize the game.
However, the more anxious they became, the worse their performance got.
In the 25th minute, Alves sent a through ball on the right, but Fred's shot from the right side of the box missed.
In the 28th minute, Hulk sent a through ball from the right midfield, but Oscar was cleanly tackled by Ramos just as he was about to enter the box.
In the 32nd minute, Brazil intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack. Neymar sent a diagonal pass from the left side of the box, and Fred, struggling against Pique, managed a weak shot.
This shot was no threat and was easily caught by Casillas.
During this period, Brazil had a small surge in attacks, but their final shots were poor.
Their shots were more about shooting for the sake of shooting.
They posed little threat to Spain's goal, and as the Brazilian players grew more impatient, their cooperation decreased. The Brazilian players started to play more individually.
In the 36th minute, Hulk received the ball on the wing, managed to beat Alba in a physical duel, but Pique intercepted the ball.
A few minutes later, Neymar got the ball on the other side.
He managed a beautiful chip past one defender, but with too many defenders in the box, the ball was immediately taken away by another defender.
Without proper teamwork, Brazil's attacking threat decreased significantly, making it hard to threaten Spain's goal.
On the other hand, Spain's attacks became more effective.
In the 38th minute, Xavi sent a brilliant pass from the midfield. Lin Quan pretended to receive it but let it go to a teammate behind him.
Pedro arrived quickly and shot from the edge of the box before the defenders could block him.
The ball narrowly missed the post, causing the Brazilian players to break out in a cold sweat.
If that shot had gone in, it would have been game over for them.
Being three goals down at halftime is something only a team like Liverpool could come back from, like the miracle of Istanbul!
In the 45th minute of the first half, Spain missed a golden opportunity.
Lin Quan dribbled the ball forward and, after tricking Gustavo, sent a perfect pass.
Pedro, coming from the left, received the ball and quickly passed it across.
Iniesta arrived and, after receiving Pedro's pass, tried a curved shot aiming for the far corner.
Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar couldn't reach it, and the ball was almost certainly going in.
Iniesta, seeing the ball curve past the goalkeeper, raised his hands ready to celebrate.
But unexpectedly, Brazilian center-back David Luiz stepped in at the last moment.
He performed a split-like move on the goal line, blocking the ball.
Iniesta held his head in disbelief as the ball flew out.
No way! How did that ball not go in?
The Brazilian players, equally surprised, rushed to congratulate David Luiz, ruffling his hair and patting his back.
An ecstatic Cesar hugged him, grateful for his crucial save.
He didn't want to pick the ball out of the net for the third time!
There were few fouls in the first half, so the referee added only one minute of stoppage time.
With such a short time, neither team managed to score, and the 2-1 scoreline remained as the halftime whistle blew.
Hearing the whistle, the Spanish players walked off to the locker room in pairs, chatting and laughing, looking relaxed.
On the other side, the Brazilian players looked very serious.
Neymar, while walking, stared at Lin Quan's back, clenching his fists tightly.
In this match, just from the first half, he was completely overshadowed by his opponent!
The opponent had already scored two goals, while he had barely managed a few shots.
In terms of total goals, the opponent had nine, three times his own.
Even if he played out of his skin, he wouldn't be able to catch up in goals.
So, surpassing the opponent in total goals was out of the question.
Therefore, there was only one way left to defeat his opponent:
Win this match and lead his team to victory!
With this in mind, Neymar silently made up his mind.
...
In the locker room, Bosque entered with a beaming smile.
As soon as he walked in, he applauded the players!
"Guys, you did great, I'm proud of you!"
Despite Brazil's strong performance, completing seven shots and four on target in the first half.
Their pass completion rate was 79%, and they had 39% possession.
This data was much better than at the start of the game, indicating that Brazil was gradually adapting to Spain's possession-based play.
If given more time, they might fully adapt and turn the game around.
But Spain's timely goals constantly interrupted Brazil's momentum just as they were building up.
This not only gave Spain the lead but also stifled Brazil's attacks.
Facing such a strong opponent, Spain managed to turn the game around after a poor start and firmly controlled the match.
Bosque was very pleased; the players executed his tactics perfectly.
"In the second half, they will definitely increase their attacking intensity, putting more pressure on our midfield!"
Bosque brought out his tactics board and started drawing, planning the strategy for the second half.
...
Meanwhile, in Brazil's locker room.
Scolari was also busy planning the second-half tactics.
"Our wing attacks weren't effective in the first half. This doesn't mean our approach was wrong, but our coordination was lacking."
"In the second half, we need more teamwork. Don't fall into the trap of playing individually, understand?"
Scolari looked up, scanning his players.
The Brazilian players nodded, somewhat intimidated by him.
Scolari had led Brazil to win the World Cup in 2002 and held great respect within the team.
Most of the current players were young and not from major leagues.
They had been promoted by Scolari and naturally didn't dare to offend their mentor.
Satisfied with their response, Scolari called out:
"Neymar, you are the biggest star of this team. The team is in trouble, and we need you to step up. Can you fulfill my task and lead the team to victory?"
Scolari's words successfully sparked Neymar's sense of responsibility.
Eyes wide, fists clenched, he shouted:
"Don't worry, coach! I will lead the team to defeat Spain and win the championship!"