The Joy of Crushing the Opponent!

On March 23, the fourth round of the World Cup qualifiers began, with Spain hosting the Nordic team, Finland.

The Finnish team is not weak; among the five teams in the group, they rank about third.

But Finland has been unlucky. First, they faced France, then Spain. In between, they managed to encounter a slightly weaker team, Georgia, but ended up scoring an own goal at home and having a player sent off.

Forced to play with ten men, Finland missed the chance to secure their first win and currently sits at the bottom of the group with just one point.

So, in this match against the world champions Spain, they wisely chose to park the bus.

Not seeking victory, they only hoped to leave with one point.

Facing such a tight defense, if it were the old Spain, it might have taken a lot of effort to break through.

But with Lin now on the team, they weren't worried about breaking down the opponent's defense.

The entire first half felt like a half-court offense and defense drill.

Spain's possession reached an astonishing 85%, with the ball rarely falling to the Finnish players.

With possession firmly in their grasp, Spain launched a suffocating offensive against Finland.

Their passing and movement were as smooth as flowing water. These top midfield maestros seemed to treat football as their performance stage.

They consistently delivered stunning passes and executed breathtaking combinations.

This creativity and top-level vision seemed effortlessly easy for them.

In the 22nd minute, Spain strung together a series of one-touch passes in the front field.

The Finnish players, their eyes nearly dazzled by the ball's movement, couldn't keep up with the play.

Several of them, chasing the ball, slightly deviated from their positions.

This brief lapse created a fleeting gap in their defense!

Lin saw this opportunity and immediately passed the ball into the penalty area.

Arsenal's midfield star, Cazorla, received the ball on the right side of the penalty area and struck it powerfully.

Finland's goalkeeper, Mäenpää, made a crucial save, diving to push the ball away.

The shot was high quality, but the goalkeeper's performance was outstanding.

Cazorla gave Lin a thumbs-up in gratitude, though he felt a bit regretful.

But with so many top midfield maestros around, Spain never lacked shooting opportunities.

Two minutes later, Spain returned with another attack.

In the 24th minute, Silva delivered a perfect pass, and Cazorla received it on the left side of the penalty area.

This time, instead of shooting himself, he swept the ball across the goal.

Both Lin and Iniesta slid in for the shot.

The ball flew into the net at lightning speed, leaving the goalkeeper powerless.

After the goal, both Iniesta and Lin ran off celebrating.

The Spanish players weren't sure who the goal should be credited to, so they gathered around both players to celebrate.

The big screen at El Molinón showed a slow-motion replay, revealing that the ball had touched Lin's foot first, then Iniesta's, before going into the net.

Technically, the goal should be Iniesta's, and Lin might be credited with an assist.

Seeing the replay, Iniesta ran over, hugging Lin and joking:

"Great pass, Lin! I didn't even need to adjust; it just went in off my foot!"

Lin laughed at his comment:

"It's your great shooting skills, Iniesta. You started shooting before I even passed the ball. This high-difficulty pass, and you still scored! Impressive!"

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Finland originally planned to park the bus, but now they were trailing. Could they win by continuing to park the bus?

They helplessly looked to their coach on the sidelines.

The Finnish coach hesitated:

Should they abandon the defensive strategy and attack Spain?

Continuing to park the bus, with Spain's terrifying possession rate, they had little chance of equalizing.

But if they sent more players forward, there might be a slim chance.

So, the Finnish coach waved his hand, signaling the team to attack.

This played right into Spain's hands. Spain had been struggling with the packed defense, finding it hard to penetrate.

Now, with Finland coming forward, there were more gaps at the back, making Spain's passing and movement even more fluid.

In the 26th minute, after a series of passes, Spain sent the ball into the penalty area, and David Silva's shot deflected off a defender for a corner.

Lin took the corner, aiming for the back post.

Ramos, shaking off his marker, headed the ball powerfully into the net from about 11 yards out.

Spain scored two goals in three minutes!

Ramos was ecstatic after scoring. It's not every day a defender scores, so he had every reason to celebrate.

He ran to the sideline, performing a sliding celebration.

His teammates followed, sliding along behind him, with Lin joining in the fun.

It wasn't until after the slide that Lin realized he had scraped his knee, which was now bleeding slightly.

Seeing Lin's bleeding knee, Del Bosque was alarmed and immediately called for the medical team to check and treat him.

"This player is our treasure. He must not get injured!"

Lin felt helpless, repeatedly insisting that it was just a scrape, nothing serious.

But Del Bosque insisted on a thorough check. Only after confirming Lin was fine did he relax.

"Lin, no more dangerous celebrations in future matches. No sliding or flips; both are too risky."

Del Bosque spoke sternly.

He didn't care how others celebrated, but Lin couldn't do risky celebrations.

If Lin got injured, there was no one to replace him, which would be a disaster for the team.

Sliding can look impressive, like Drogba's, but can also be unfortunate, like Solskjaer's injury during his famous goal at Camp Nou.

Lin accepted Del Bosque's criticism sincerely, promising never to do it again.

Coach Toni, seeing Del Bosque had been a bit harsh, pulled Lin aside and whispered:

"Don't be upset with Vicente's strictness. He's just worried about your career being affected by injuries.

"We've made many mistakes when we were young. We hope you can learn from our experiences and not repeat our mistakes."

Lin's talent was so outstanding that Del Bosque and Toni wanted to protect him like a treasure, fearing his potential might be hindered by injuries.

There have been too many such examples in football, and they didn't want Lin to be one of them.

Lin wasn't ungrateful; he felt Del Bosque's concern and care.

Of course, this also had to do with his displayed talent and skill. If he were an ordinary player, the coach wouldn't care as much.

While Lin was off for treatment, Finland, playing with a numerical advantage, managed their first shot in the 29th minute.

Unmarked Eremenko took a shot from about 25 yards but missed the goal. Although not threatening, it broke their streak of zero shots.

But once Lin returned, Spain regained full control.

In the 39th minute, Lin made a perfect pass, but David Silva's shot was saved by the goalkeeper.

The ball went to the edge of the penalty area, where Iniesta picked it up and took a long-range shot from 30 yards.

The shot was high-quality, but Mäenpää made another spectacular save, tipping it over the bar.

Iniesta missed the chance for a brace.

From the corner kick, in the ensuing chaos, the ball fell to Silva.

The Manchester City star's shot hit the post and bounced out to Alba.

Barcelona's left-back's follow-up shot missed the post, letting Finland off the hook.

In the final moments of the first half, Spain continued their siege on Finland.

Finland, who initially wanted to counterattack Spain, found themselves pinned back and beaten in their half.

If not for the goalkeeper and the posts repeatedly saving them, they would have been trailing by three or four goals.

With the lead and absolute control, the Spanish fans at El Molinón were singing and dancing in joy.

They loved watching Spain's beautiful passing game and seeing their team win.

They loved this feeling of dominating weaker teams!

Unfortunately, the next match would be in France, where most of them couldn't go. They would have to cheer from home.

But with Spain's strength, winning away against France shouldn't be a problem, right?

After halftime, Spain, leading by two goals, made some substitutions.

Pedro replaced Cazorla, and Negredo replaced Iniesta.

Del Bosque held onto one substitution, saving it for Lin.

But he worried substituting Lin too early would weaken their attack, so he waited to see how things went.

Pedro, once on the pitch, was very active.

In the 49th minute, he received the ball outside the penalty area and took a long-range shot, deflected out for a corner.

Lin took the corner, aiming for the near post.

From a near-zero angle, Ramos scored a highly difficult header.

After scoring, Ramos took off his shirt, revealing his muscular physique, and posed for a dominant shot in front of the camera.

It was unbelievable; a defender had scored twice with his head in one match!

The Spanish fans went wild, applauding the spectacular goal regardless of whether they were Ramos fans.

"How did that goal go in?"

On the sidelines, Del Bosque, after celebrating with his colleagues, touched his receding hairline in disbelief.

"Only God knows. Even if Ramos tried again, he probably wouldn't score."

Del Bosque nodded and quickly arranged a substitution.

Leading by three goals, Lin didn't need to stay on the pitch.

It was best to rest him for the upcoming match against France!

Seeing the fourth official raise the substitution board, Lin jogged off, applauding the fans as he did.

The fans warmly appla

uded him in return.

Though he didn't score, Lin assisted all three goals. Iniesta's might be debatable, but Ramos's two headers were undeniably thanks to him.

At the sidelines, Lin embraced the incoming Mata, took an energy drink from a teammate, and sat on the bench, watching the match intently.

Del Bosque was pleased that Lin didn't sulk over being substituted early.

This kid has a good attitude, unlike some who might throw a fit.

Despite the substitutions, Spain continued to dominate.

In the 57th minute, Fabregas's pass found Ramos, whose header skimmed the left post, missing a hat-trick by inches.

Missing that goal, Ramos held his head in regret.

Had he scored, he might have set a record for Spain.

A defender scoring three goals in a match, all with his head, would have been historic!

But unfortunately, Fabregas's pass was slightly off. With Lin's pass, it might have gone in.

Thinking this, Ramos missed Lin.

With a three-goal lead, Spain relaxed a bit.

Finland took advantage and, in the 79th minute, capitalized on a mistake to score.

The goal was unnecessary, and Del Bosque yelled at his players from the sidelines, expressing his displeasure.

The Finnish midfielder crossed from the left, and Ramos and Alba failed to mark their men, allowing Pukki to poke the ball in past Valdés from the six-yard box.

Either Ramos or Alba could have prevented that goal with proper marking.

Facing the coach's criticism, Ramos took responsibility, admitting he had been distracted.

Having scored twice, he was too focused on getting a hat-trick, affecting his concentration.

After curbing his goal hunger, Ramos performed steadily, giving Finland no further chances.

In the end, Spain won 3-1 at home, securing their fourth straight win and topping the group with 12 points.

Next, they would visit Stade de France to face second-placed France.

France also won 3-1 against Georgia, closely trailing Spain on the standings.

A win in France would give Spain a six-point lead, but a loss would bring the teams level, making the group stage uncertain!