But the ball is round, which means anything is possible.
When the match reached the 93rd minute, and everyone thought Portugal would become the champion of this World Cup, a corner kick opportunity for the French team created suspense once again.
Pogba's corner kick landed somewhat erratically, just outside the six-yard box. Despite Lei Ming's efforts to position his men in that area, they couldn't stop Giroud from making his move.
Because Lei Ming's vision was obstructed by other players while defending the ball, even though he judged the direction correctly, he was simply unable to stop the header that was so close at hand.
Faced with this former teammate who was still looking good in his old age, Lei Ming could only shake his head helplessly.
This guy is getting more and more amazing, no wonder he was selected by the national team at this age. I have to say, he is really good. Among the forwards on the field, besides Mbappe who knows Lei Ming's weaknesses, we should probably add Giroud as well.
Giroud's goal sent the stadium into a frenzy, and the French players joined him in celebrating.
This goal can be said to have pulled the French team out of the abyss, finally relieving the tension that had been building up in the stadium for their fans.
Clearly, the organizers did not want this exciting match to end so soon. Less than 30 seconds after the restart, the referee blew the whistle to end the regular season and had both teams return to their positions. A 30-minute overtime period followed, with two 15-minute halves and no halftime break.
Meanwhile, unfortunate news also came from Portugal: Moutinho suffered cramps and had to leave the field due to excessive physical exertion, and João Mário was also unable to continue until the start of extra time.
Portugal had already used two of their roster spots, so they could only field one substitute to replace Moutinho. As for João Mario, he had no choice but to stay on the field, even if he wasn't actively involved in the game, he had to stay until the end of the match before he could leave.
The French players weren't in much better shape either; they were also exhausted. However, they had two substitutions left, which gave them a slight edge over Portugal.
After the match restarted, Portugal had to adopt a full-fledged defensive posture to cope with playing with one less player, while France, under the guidance of Mbappe and Giroud, also understood a key point:
"We can't let the game go to penalties, absolutely not, because that's Ray's territory. We have to come back in the final minutes."
When Ray's dominance was mentioned, all the French players instantly recalled the Premier League penalty highlights that their coach had shown them the night before. It's hard to believe that there really is a goalkeeper in the world who can save every single penalty.
And they were facing this incredibly troublesome goalkeeper.
Portugal, however, shares a consensus: even if they can't widen the score gap in open play, they must do everything they can to drag the game into a penalty shootout.
As a result, the two teams on the field were fighting tooth and nail, and the tense atmosphere never stopped after the start of overtime.
The players from both sides were exchanging blows in midfield, almost giving their all. They would use their bodies to block you if they could, and they would pull your clothes down if they could.
Cristiano Ronaldo has also faced similar treatment during attacks, and the referee, perhaps considering higher-level factors, was relatively lenient towards these minor incidents, issuing only verbal warnings without issuing cards.
In the 22nd minute of extra time, when Mbappe encountered a lot of resistance on the wing, he intended to kick the ball off an opponent and have it bounce out of bounds. However, Pepe, as his opponent, was obviously more experienced and adjusted his position at the last second, directly bouncing the ball out of bounds. This made Mbappe smile helplessly.
Since the start of extra time, the French team has been trying their best to create as many corner kicks as possible, in order to generate some shots that could directly threaten Rey's goal. However, the Portuguese players naturally understood their intentions and were determined not to let the opponents have their way. Sometimes, when it looked like a corner kick was about to be awarded, they would deliberately kick it out of bounds, and even if they were given a throw-in, they would not give them a chance for a corner kick.
Pepe clearly defended this point very well, not giving you any chances for corner kicks.
Although Ronaldo had several good chances in extra time, he was temporarily shut down due to the tight marking by the French team and the team's focus on defense.
As the game drew to a close, the bald referee blew the whistle to end overtime. At that moment, all the fans in the stadium stood up nervously, praying for their team.
Most of the players were so exhausted that they were leaning on their knees, panting heavily.
Mbappe and the others wore bitter smiles; their final efforts had failed to change the outcome, and the game still had to be decided by penalties.
The Portuguese players, on the other hand, all had smiles on their faces.
"Lei, it's up to you now!" Cristiano Ronaldo walked over to Lei Ming and patted him on the shoulder.
Lei Ming stretched his arms and laughed, "Don't worry, Captain, I'll definitely get you guys up there this time."
With the game already at this stage, Lei Ming is very confident in his penalty-saving ability and has absolute confidence in leading the team to the World Cup trophy.
Soon, the penalty takers for both sides were determined. France sent out Griezmann as the first penalty taker to test the waters, while Portugal's first penalty taker was Bernardo Silva.
Lei Ming stood in front of the goal with his arms outstretched, staring intently at Griezmann. The atmosphere on the field became incredibly tense, and many fans held their breath to witness this historic moment.
Despite knowing that the opponent was very skilled at defending penalties, Griezmann still wanted to give it a try.
Griezmann took a run-up, swung, and fired the shot without any pause, emphasizing confidence above all else.
Lei Ming quickly lunged to the right and unceremoniously pushed the ball out of bounds.
"Why!"
"It's still this difficult after all!"
At this moment, the Portuguese fans cheered wildly.
Huang Xiaotian, a longtime loyal fan of Lei Ming, shouted in the live broadcast: "The world's best team! This is absolutely a phenomenal world-class team in football today. Lei Ming truly deserves it. Most people couldn't save that kind of penalty! It's absolutely amazing!!!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
