Chapter 315: The World Cup Final Begins, Spain vs Germany!

The current King of Spain is Felipe VI, who ascended to the throne not long ago. Half a month prior, the old King Juan Carlos I announced his abdication, passing the crown to his son, Prince Felipe. However, the entire nation of Spain is focused on the World Cup in Brazil, showing little concern for the change in monarchy. After all, like many European countries, the Spanish royalty serves more as a figurehead without real power. Compared to the king, it is the Prime Minister of Spain who actually wields significant authority.

However, Prime Minister Rajoy's visit is merely for political showmanship, an opportunity to boost his visibility in the media and among Spanish fans. He himself is not very interested in football, but King Felipe VI is a different story. Although he holds no real power, the king truly loves football. Including the recently abdicated old king, nearly every member of the royal family is a die-hard fan of the Spanish team. This is why, shortly after his coronation, Felipe VI eagerly left the country to visit the Spanish players, more out of his passion for football than official duty.

Furthermore, the king did not come alone; he brought his two children, Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia. At ages 9 and 7, these young princesses are already fervent supporters of the Spanish team. When Spain won the World Cup in South Africa four years ago, the image of the two princesses in Spain's red uniforms, lifting the World Cup trophy, melted the hearts of countless fans.

This time, as staunch supporters, both princesses accompanied their father to visit the team. While King Felipe and Prime Minister Rajoy engaged in cordial discussions with Coach Bosque and some player representatives, the two curious princesses looked around the Spanish training base with wide-eyed wonder.

"You must be Lin," said 9-year-old Princess Leonor, approaching Lin Quan with the demeanor of a little adult. "My grandfather has told me about you. He says you are the best player in the Spanish team!"

Lin Quan suppressed the urge to wipe away sweat; was this really something to say in public? Fortunately, his teammates did not mind the princess's comment and even agreed, praising, "The King sure has an eye for talent!"

"Absolutely, Your Highness, Lin is indeed the best among us!" another teammate added.

"This guy scored 9 goals in his first World Cup, averaging 1.5 goals per game over 6 matches. Is he even human?" another chimed in.

Ramos, feeling a twinge of jealousy, remarked, "I've been to so many World Cups and haven't scored as many as Lin in a single tournament."

His comment sparked playful teasing from his teammates: "You're a defender, Ramos. Why would you even think about scoring more than a forward?"

"Exactly, you score plenty for a defender. If all the goals went to you, what would we need forwards for? Might as well turn us all into defenders!"

Hearing their banter, Princess Leonor's eyes lit up. She looked up at Lin Quan with anticipation and asked, "Since you're so great, can you score a hat-trick in the World Cup final?"

The playful atmosphere among the players turned solemn. Scoring a hat-trick in a World Cup final was a formidable challenge. In the 84-year history of the World Cup, only England's Geoff Hurst had managed such a feat. Superstars like Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in a single tournament, and all-time greats like Klose and Ronaldo, had never achieved this.

Finals are notoriously tight and cautious, often leading to low-scoring affairs, sometimes decided by penalties.

"It's tough, but I can try," Lin Quan responded. He knew about Messi's equalizing total and was determined to defend his position as top scorer and win the Cup.

The princess, satisfied with his response, exclaimed, "If you manage that, I'll convince my father to knight you!"

Lin Quan was taken aback not by the promise of honors but by the young princess's precociousness in offering incentives—truly a future queen in the making.

Unlike her sister, Princess Sofia appeared more innocent and bashful. After the conversation, she approached Lin Quan, looked up at him, and shyly asked, "Super awesome big brother, could you please give me an autograph?"

Handing him a pen and paper she had brought, Lin Quan graciously signed his name.

"Thank you, big brother!" the young princess beamed, jumping with joy upon receiving the autograph.

Having personally witnessed the royal family's passion for football, Lin Quan had no doubts about their genuine love for the game. Not only the two reigning kings but also the younger royals were avid fans, especially given Spain's pinnacle era in football which drew extensive national attention.

Rumors had it that King Felipe VI, a former Olympic athlete himself, planned to enroll Princess Sofia in a women's football academy, possibly heralding a future professional player from the royal family.

After a brief visit to avoid disturbing the team's preparation, King Felipe VI and the Prime Minister took their leave. Before departing, Felipe VI declared, "Gentlemen, I will host a victory banquet at the Royal Palace in Madrid. I await your triumphant return!"

His confident demeanor suggested a firm belief in Spain's victory. Having previously eliminated Germany, Spain was stronger this time around, and the king was determined to witness the defense of their title at the Maracana Stadium, accompanied by his daughters.

No worries, the coach just sent me to ask if you're going to be able to sleep tonight," Puyol said.

"Uh, if you're here, I'll probably have insomnia!" Lin Quan joked.

"Haha, then I'll leave, try to rest early!" Puyol left promptly, trusting Lin Quan's ability to self-regulate, knowing well that a player who can score a hat-trick in a Champions League final isn't likely to lose sleep over nerves before a match. True to form, Lin Quan slept well that night.

However, the next morning, when he got up for breakfast at the usual time, he found very few teammates were up.

"Good morning!" Xavi greeted Lin Quan as he saw him.

"Morning, captain. Where is everyone else?"

"They overslept. The coach cancelled the morning training, we'll probably just go straight to the stadium this afternoon."

"Is that okay?" Lin Quan expressed his concern, knowing that even light training on match day is crucial for maintaining touch and form.

"There's not much else we can do now. We can't exactly go and wake them up now, can we?" Xavi chuckled. "But don't worry too much. Most of us old guys managed to get up; it's not many who are affected."

...

At three in the afternoon, the Spanish players headed to the Maracanã Stadium in their bus. The streets of Rio de Janeiro were filled with fans wearing various jerseys—Spanish fans in red, German fans in white, but most of all, Brazilian fans in yellow. Despite Brazil's team being out of the competition, their passion for watching the game was undiminished.

During the warm-up, Lin Quan noticed that his teammates seemed in good spirits, which reassured him. Relaxed, Lin Quan performed some tricks for the early arriving fans. From about 30 meters out, he hit the upper left corner where the post meets the crossbar with consecutive shots, earning vigorous applause from the crowd.

"Man, that skill is unbeatable!"

"I thought the first shot was a fluke, but after the second and third, I'm just in awe of Lin!"

"I have a feeling that Lin might score directly from a free-kick this match!"

Spain warmed up for less than half an hour before the German team arrived. Both teams occupied half the field, warming up without interfering with each other. Seeing the German team arrive, Lin Quan stopped showing off and started practicing dribbling.

As the players warmed up, both coaches observed their opponents. The German coach, Löw, was particularly focused on Lin Quan, who had performed exceptionally in previous matches, and Diego Costa, who had recovered from injury but had been kept on the bench. Löw suspected that the young Lin Quan might be affected by the pressure of the game, but Lin's confidence during the warm-up made Löw frown. It seemed there was no issue with Lin's form, but the real test would come during the match.

Then Löw turned his attention to Diego Costa. There had been speculation that Costa's injury had not fully healed and that Spain was concealing this. Löw was skeptical of these reports and hoped for an advantage if Costa was indeed still injured. However, after watching Costa's warm-up, Löw was disappointed to confirm that Costa was fully fit.

So, Bosque's hints of using a double-striker formation might actually be true. Facing both Lin Quan and Diego Costa would be a formidable challenge.

Löw's concerns soon became reality when the starting lineup included Diego Costa in place of Torres. Now he had to decide how to arrange his own forwards—whether to stick with the 36-year-old veteran Klose or opt for the younger Götze. If only Reus hadn't been injured, Germany would have had more options.

As the final preparations were underway, disaster struck the German team. Khedira pulled a muscle during warm-up and was ruled out of the final. Löw was dismayed. Losing a key midfielder hours before the final was not a good omen.

With no time left to adjust, the match kicked off at five o'clock. When Spain's tactical setup was revealed, Löw felt deceived by the supposed 442 formation—it was all a bluff.

Spain took an aggressive approach from the start. Without much probing, they quickly launched an attack into Germany's half. After a few passes, the ball was at Lin Quan's feet. The German fans tensed up, even though he was still far from their goal. But Lin Quan's reputation alone was enough to impose immense pressure.

True to that reputation, Lin Quan took a shot from over 40 meters out after observing Neuer's position. Neuer, shocked, quickly backpedaled towards his goal.

(End of Chapter)

ตอนถัดไป