Chapter 239: The Matador is Out!
The score of 1:0 remained until the end of halftime, and Seth walked into the players' tunnel without saying a word. He knew that Spain was now only breathing its last breath, and it was the kind that basically didn't come back. Spain has reached the end of the rope and fought to the death.
On the Portuguese side, Scolari is equally dissatisfied. Pauletta's inability to act as a tactical fulcrum has made it difficult for Portugal's attack to continue on when it reaches the edge of the Spanish penalty area. If the back of the middle is inserted into the attack, and if it can't be played, Portugal's offensive ability will be equal to half of it. The attack in the first half was just Lao Lei's pure personal ability, and it had little to do with Portugal's tactics. Scolari will have to consider the problems Portugal are likely to face in the knockout rounds ahead, and this problem is currently the biggest one. In the first half, he had already made a decision.
At half-time, he didn't make any tactical changes. Just Gomez replaced Pauletta, a substitution that would have been executed at the start of the second half. In the locker room, Pauletta bowed his head in some frustration, and he did not object to the decision. He knows that he really doesn't fit into this tactical system, and it's not a matter of ability, it's a matter of characteristics.
At the start of the second half, both sides made personnel changes. In addition to Gomez replacing Pauletta, the Spanish side Saiss replaced Albelda with Baraja to strengthen the firepower of the attack. Although this time has greatly reduced Spain's midfield interception ability, Saiss has no time to take care of this. As long as you can't score goals, no matter how good the defense is. Spain will not qualify.
Portugal's strong attack on Spain in the second half was well prepared. The defensive line was very well organized, and the Spanish onslaught did not work very well. In the 51st minute of the second half. Raul received a cross pass from Neche Vicente and fired a shot from inside the box, which was again blocked by Lao Lei's outstretched foot, but could not threaten the Portuguese goal. Now Spain's attack, for Portugal's defense, although the momentum is huge, but the actual lethality and threat are not much high.
Spain's first threatening shot of the second half, in the 56th minute of the second half. In a chaotic battle in the penalty area, Raul once again used his agility and keen nose to the advantage. Finally got a good chance to shoot, and this time the old thunder whip couldn't reach it. Behind Raul, he didn't dare to make any moves. At this time, no matter how you count the foul, you will suffer.
Raul's shot was imaginatively hoisted into the far corner and he didn't opt for a powerful volley. It was a surprise attack, but Ricardo reacted quickly and leaped backwards, dragging the ball off the crossbar with his right hand. This time, Spain is in ruins. A continuous offensive began to form. In the 61st minute of the second half, the new Baraja again threatened with a header that allowed Ricardo to make a brilliant save. Today. Portugal's goalkeeper, who has a nervous knife temperament, is clearly in good form to make Spain's attackers. I have endured all the hardships.
In the 64th minute of the second half, Vicente fired an overly anxious shot. Fly high over the beam. Ricardo then threw the ball out of the way and threw the ball at the feet of Ray. Lao Lei took advantage of the situation and volleyed into the air. He cushioned the ball behind him, then turned around and accelerated, passing Raul, who came to steal on the spot. After carrying Raul's squeeze away with his body, Lao Lei began to advance in advance. Xavi Alonso, who didn't care about the pressure, passed directly to the left side of the front field with a big foot, allowing Ronaldo and Puyol to increase their speed.
Puyol stuck his body in Ronaldo's forward path and did not compete with Ronaldo's absolute speed. However, Ronaldo is also a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, and he is stunned to keep hitting Puyol with a momentum. When the two were about to touch the football, Ronaldo directly hooked the ball to the ground and hooked the football to the middle, where Deco was already in place. Deco dribbles directly on the edge of the penalty area and dribbles horizontally.
Encountering Juanito's block, Deco played a simple one-two with Gomez. At this time, the difference between Pauletta and Gomez comes out. Gomez used his strong body to lean on Elgra behind him, and then loosened the ball diagonally forward. Then he turned around and accelerated to the door to grab a point. Deco pushes the ball horizontally in front of goal before the ball goes off the line. Faced with such an opportunity, Gomez will not let it go. A slight pick from Casillas, who was attacking, allowed the football to fly into the door of Spain again.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!! It's a Porto-style counterattack! Nuno!! Beautiful, calm pick! 2:0, I think we're sure we're number one in this group. The Portuguese narrator's tone was tinged with a hint of schadenfreude. In his opinion, Spain's early exit is also a good thing for Portugal, with one less strong opponent in the future knockout rounds. No matter how you look at it, Greece is a better match for Portugal than Spain. Although he doesn't think Greece can make it all the way to the final, at least there is no chance that Spain will make it to the final, right?
It was a goal that completely crushed the Spaniards, who had to score twice in less than 30 minutes to regain their place in the rankings. However, at this time, Scolari obviously did not want his main players to waste too much energy in this game, and he began to deploy troops and strengthen the defense. In the 72nd minute of the second half, he replaced Lao Ray, Figo and Deco in turn, and Maniche, Simão and Rui Costa got the chance to play. In terms of Maniche's positional considerations, he borrowed from Mourinho's tactics and made him partner with Kostiani as a double midfielder.
At the same time, Portugal's squad began to shrink and switch to a steady counter-attacking tactic. There are two fast knives on the wings of Ronaldo and Simao, as well as Rui Costa, who has been immersed in Serie A for many years, and this front-court configuration is no worse than when Lao Lei was on the field before. On the contrary, in terms of launching counterattacks with long passes, Rui Costa is more thief than Lao Lei and has stronger lethality. Now Spain's fight to the death looks more like a curtain call for itself, leaving the last bit of dignity.
Lao Lei sat on the sidelines, watching the last fight of the matador, and had a tragic feeling. Raul on the field was already tired and panting and couldn't run, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered. At this time, Lao Lei thought of something, and couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He didn't know if he was fighting back against the term prince, but whenever the prince's team met him, the prince didn't end well. Lao Lei felt like a devil in a fairy tale who was specifically against the prince. But after thinking about it carefully, Lao Lei is very happy in his heart, such a bad corner is his dish.
The final score of the game was fixed at 2:1, although in the 87th minute of the second half, Torres made a beautiful turn and volley in front of the goal to help Spain pull a goal back. But it was too late, the goal came too late, and it didn't help the big picture. The matadors will say goodbye to Portugal early, and they are out. The Spanish fans at the scene, with their heads down, left the stadium in silence. They need a little time to heal the pain of football and then move on with their team.
In the bright light, the Spanish players lay limply on the grass, panting for breath. At this point, it's not so much that they don't have the strength to move, but that they don't want to move. The world of football is so cruel that no matter what the process is, only one company can have the last laugh, and the rest can only end in disgrace. Ray walked onto the pitch, took off his jersey, and handed it to Raul.
At this time, the prince of the Bernabeu was still in a very low mood, but it could be seen that he was slowly relieving. For a veteran like Raul, perhaps such a failure can only stimulate them for a while, and they are used to it. On the football field, there are no undefeated people and teams, and there will always be countless failures and grinds. Compared with most players, Lao Lei is lucky, he is in his youth, and his career is smooth.
Raul also took off his jersey, handed it to Ray, and said: "Do you want to play at the Bernabeu?" Reima. Lao Lei was stunned when he heard this, is this a private solicitation. However, Lao Lei did not feel flattered, and the so-called wealthy complex did not appear on him. For him, as long as it's a team that can compete for the title, it doesn't matter if it's Sao Paulo, the Bernabeu or Old Trafford.
"I don't know. My agent is in charge of this, and so far, there is no eyebrow on it. "Lao Lei told the truth. He is now a popular spicy chicken, and many giant teams are fighting for him. And Mendes will naturally not be stupid enough to set Lao Lei's new owner early, and sell it at a price in order to get a higher value. At this time, he was contacting the transfer directors of the major giants everywhere and made various temptations. So far, there has not been a clear result of intent.
Raul was not surprised to hear this result. After patting Lao Lei on the shoulder, he turned and walked towards the players' tunnel. This year has not been an auspicious year for Raul. The luxurious Galactic Battleship has lost all in the domestic league and in Europe. After being knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United, Real Madrid suddenly collapsed and their results plummeted. As a captain and leader, Raul has been burdened with a lot of doubts and infamy.
Looking at Raul's back, Lao Lei thought of the 02 World Cup, when he lost to Brazil. At that time, he was no different from Raul today. A firm voice sounded in his heart, "I don't want to go through such a moment again, absolutely not!" Absolute!! ”
And just when Lao Lei and his teammates were thanking the fans, Mourinho took a flight and flew to London.
A reform, a storm of gold yuan, will begin to hang here! (To be continued......)