After the game restarted, Portugal played more comfortably with a one-goal lead, while Uruguay was not so comfortable. In order to equalize the score, they did not hesitate to use more energy to create space.
In response to this situation, the Portuguese team, under Santos's guidance, also adopted a corresponding strategy: to further compress their own backfield space and focus on a defensive counter-attacking approach.
This tactic made the Uruguayans somewhat hesitant, so much so that although they tried very hard to attack, they were always afraid to commit more people to the attack.
This level of attack had virtually no impact on the goal guarded by Lei Ming.
Time ticked by, and by the end of the first half, Uruguay had failed to score, ultimately returning to the locker room with a disappointing 0-1 score.
In the Portuguese locker room, Santos, along with his assistants, explained the main changes on the field in the first half to the players. The interaction between Suarez and Cavani in the frontcourt was becoming more and more frequent, and there were signs of them dropping back. He told Lei Ming to pay attention to this.
Lei Ming nodded to the head coach and said, "Don't worry, boss, I'll keep an eye on them."
As early as the first half, Lei Ming felt that the interaction between the two had increased. This was not hard to understand, after all, he was no longer a player who had just debuted on the football field, and some of his shortcomings would still be exposed. If he was to say what kind of shot was more effective for him, it would naturally be a coordinated shot.
Clearly, Cavani, his old rival, must have known all this, so Lei Ming was not at all surprised to see them coordinating their attacks.
"The World Cup is very different from the environment you play in your clubs. It's brutal here, so brutal that if you lose, you're eliminated. How many four-year periods does a player have in their career? So you must cherish every minute and second and treat every game as if it were your last in the World Cup, even if you're leading."
"I won't say anything more. You guys get some rest. I only have one request: win this game."
"Win the game!!!"
Everyone put their hands together and swore an oath for the final 45 minutes of the night.
...
After the start of the second half, Portugal's defensive line was noticeably weakened, which allowed Uruguay to create several good opportunities.
But it was precisely under these circumstances that the audience at the scene, and even viewers around the world watching on television, witnessed the brilliant performance of a genius goalkeeper.
In the 55th minute of the match, Uruguay had a corner kick. Cavani got to the ball first in the penalty area and took a follow-up shot, but it was blocked by Lei Ming.
In the 60th minute, Uruguay launched another attack. Suarez's sudden cut inside the penalty area threw the Portuguese defense into disarray. He then used the cover of the opposing players to unleash a long-range shot, but unexpectedly, this shot still could not escape Lei Ming's control and was caught firmly.
Five minutes later, the Uruguayans finally had their closest chance to equalize when Cavani fell in the penalty area, and the referee awarded them a penalty.
Cavani deliberately gave the ball to Suarez, indicating that it wouldn't matter even if the opponent lost possession.
As a result, Suarez's mood was like a rollercoaster ride, experiencing huge ups and downs.
Before the penalty kick, he was full of confidence, but after the penalty kick, he was stunned.
Lei Ming almost perfectly predicted the direction of the shot, and even the ball was held firmly in the opponent's hands, which was unacceptable to him.
However, when Suarez was frustrated, the Portuguese team launched a counterattack in the last 30 minutes. Lei Ming used a powerful throw to accurately deliver the ball to the position of B. Silva in the frontcourt.
Perhaps due to their previous inability to break through the defense, Uruguay's defense showed obvious weaknesses. Two defenders immediately surrounded Bernardo Silva, and under this pressure, Silva cleverly used a bicycle kick to pass the ball. When the ball reached Ronaldo, almost everyone in the stadium lost their composure.
This is the powerful aura of the world's best striker.
Once he receives the ball, no one dares to ignore him.
This time, however, thanks to the wide field of vision ahead, Ronaldo didn't even bother dribbling and unleashed a powerful long-range shot. The ball flew into the net faster than Muslera could react, leaving him only able to watch helplessly.
Uruguay, who had been unable to break through the defense, never expected that Ronaldo would score again with just one touch of the ball. Keep in mind that they had assigned two players to mark him closely for the previous 70 minutes!
The result was that a single mistake led to a further widening of the gap.
At this moment, they really don't have much time left. In order to win, they can no longer conserve their limited energy. They must do everything they can to finish the game.
However, as the final 30 minutes of the match ended, all the Uruguayans broke down in tears.
The Uruguayan players were all exhausted and lying on the field, looking up at the sky.
That was an unattainable dream; he could only try again four years later.
All the Uruguayans stared at the 4-0 scoreline in silence for a long time. It was a score they had never expected, as Portugal had almost completely controlled the tempo of the game.
Before the match, they had considered the possibility of losing, but they never expected to lose so decisively.
It's all because of that goalkeeper!
They finally realized that the outcome of this match was entirely determined by this man; without him, the Uruguayans would never have lost so badly.
No matter how hard Suarez and Cavani tried, they were almost unable to break through the opponent's defense.
Does that mean these two players didn't perform well in this game?
No, they really did their best.
This Portuguese team is simply terrifying.
In this match, Ronaldo continued his scoring spree, netting another hat-trick and providing an assist, earning him the Man of the Match award.
However, the audience present and those watching on television knew very well that the Man of the Match award should have been given to the young goalkeeper. Without the opponent, Portugal would never have been able to launch such a sharp counter-attack.
Thunder's dominance once again shocked the world. After this round of matches, almost every team faced the same question: "How to break through the Portuguese goalkeeper's defense?"
"With a goalkeeper like that, how can you prevent a counter-attacking style like Cristiano Ronaldo's?"
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