Shortly after the match between Portugal and Uruguay concluded, the results for the other sixteen teams in the Round of 16 were also determined.
To the dismay of many, Argentina, one of the favorites in this tournament and featuring Messi, was eliminated by France, another favorite.
Mbappe shone brightly at the World Cup, making the whole world remember this guy who looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Even with powerful attackers like Aguero, Messi, and Di Maria, they still couldn't defeat the formidable French team, causing Argentinians to burst into tears on the spot. They also felt immense regret that Messi was eliminated so early.
Many people wanted Messi and Ronaldo to lead their teams to continue competing in the World Cup, but unfortunately, that wish was not fulfilled.
Equally surprising was the match between Russia and Spain, where the two teams battled for 90 minutes before going into extra time, but still couldn't determine a winner, ultimately leading to a grueling penalty shootout with a 1-1 score.
As a result, Spain, the favorite to win the championship, was eliminated by the host country Russia.
With this, all eight finalists were determined:
Portugal,
France,
Russia,
England
Croatia,
Brazil,
Belgium,
Sweden.
Portugal's next opponent was soon revealed: they would face five-time world champions Brazil, a team they had already played against in a friendly match.
Facing Brazil once again, the Portuguese players looked more serious than ever before.
This is a traditionally strong team in the World Cup, and anyone who faces them would surely have a headache, including the Portuguese players.
However, to their surprise, when they faced Portugal, the Brazilian players also had serious expressions.
After the match, at the head coach's arrangement, everyone watched the replay of the game between Portugal and Uruguay. They found that this year's Portugal was ridiculously strong.
It wasn't that Portugal's overall strength had increased, but rather that after adding a goalkeeper named Lei Ming, Portugal had clearly grasped the essence of counter-attacking, leaving Uruguay utterly helpless.
Despite Uruguay controlling most of the attacking initiative and tempo throughout the match, Portugal managed to widen the score gap with just a few chances.
What's even more disheartening is the goalkeeper.
No matter how hard Suarez and Cavani tried, they could not escape the opponent's grasp.
To be fair, Suarez and Cavani are both top strikers, but even under such intense attacks, Portugal's goal remained impenetrable, and no matter how the two attacked, they could not break through.
Neymar, in particular, was present and watched the game on the screen with a furrowed brow.
One was a former teammate, and the other was a current teammate. He was well aware of how sharp both of them were, but in the end, he did not gain any advantage over the other. This forced him to admit what Mbappe had said before.
It was during one of those times that Neymar saw Mbappe making a strange prayer to the heavens, so he asked, "Kylian, what are you doing? I think I just heard you say that you absolutely don't want to face Portugal in the World Cup? Why? Are you afraid it won't look good if you send your idol out early?"
"Pshaw, how could that be? I'm afraid of my brother, Thunder, a very formidable goalkeeper."
He had scoffed at these words before and didn't take them seriously at all, but now, watching the game, he felt increasingly solemn.
He has now become a representative figure of the Brazilian team, and he must achieve results to show the world that he, like his predecessors, is a trustworthy figure.
Although Brazil is still known as the Five Stars Brazil, they have had few impressive results in recent years, which is one of the reasons why Neymar secretly vowed to perform well.
Before this match, the fans outside the stadium were also giving an uncertain assessment.
Five-time champions Brazil might win, but they could also lose badly.
If it were the old Portugal team with only Ronaldo, people might only see a sliver of hope for victory. But with the addition of the talented goalkeeper Rahm, almost everyone feels that Portugal has gained a significant advantage and is likely to go much further than imagined.
Football legends from various countries have also stepped forward to voice their support for their national teams.
...
Soon, as time went by, the match between Portugal and Brazil finally arrived as scheduled.
This was also a highly anticipated match, and before the start of the match, the number of viewers on all television stations was increasing exponentially.
A host from CCTV Sports Channel, a television station in China, also shouted in the live broadcast studio:
"Dear viewers, welcome to CCTV Sports Channel. I am your old friend, Huang Xiaotian, Ma Fanshu, and Chen Xin."
"The match between Portugal and Brazil will be held at the Kazan Arena, and we can see from the cameras that countless enthusiastic fans have gathered there, cheering and dancing."
"This will be another exciting match, and we are very much looking forward to Lei Ming's new performance."
"There's still some time before the competition starts, so let's take a look back at some of the highlights from the Round of 16."
The television station began broadcasting highlights from the Round of 16: Mbappe's spectacular long-range run, Ronaldo's opening goal, Messi's dribbling skills, and Harry Kane's header...
This highlight reel almost includes all the best players in the Round of 16, but the most eye-catching part is not the goals but the several incredible saves by Portugal's Reming.
In particular, there was a scene where the Uruguayan player took multiple shots in a row. He managed to block all three shots and then hugged the ball tightly in his arms, which made many people marvel at his abnormality.
Encountering a goalkeeper like this is a tragedy for all the strikers in this tournament, while the happiest and most joyful one must be Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the players' tunnel at the Kazan Arena, Cristiano Ronaldo put his arm around Ray's shoulder and said with a smile, "Ray, the defense will have to rely on you for this game. Having you here makes me feel more at ease than ever before. I really thank God for bringing you to our team."
"Ha, Brother Luo, don't be so polite! I'm happy to fight alongside you. I also need to ask you forwards to score more goals, otherwise, no matter how well our defense does, it won't be enough!"
The two men's polite conversation, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, made the Brazilians around them visibly annoyed.
Hey buddy, saying that to our faces, are you pretending we don't exist?!
We are Brazil, the five-star team, once the strongest team in the universe!
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