Chapter 160 Advancing to the Top Eight
In the 65th minute, after Nesta and Chiellini thwarted another Dutch attack, Italy launched a brilliant counter-attack.
Chiellini passed the ball to midfield, where Gattuso and De Rossi combined to block De Jong and Van Bommel's pressing, creating a barrier for Pirlo to organize the attack.
After receiving the ball, Pirlo launched his signature long diagonal pass from the backfield, targeting a spot on the left flank about 8 meters from the penalty area.
Fino and Dutch right-back Van der Wiel approached the ball's landing point at the same time, and after the ball descended, they both jumped to contest the pass.
Fino jumped significantly higher, and a somewhat anxious Van der Wiel began to make subtle moves behind Fino's back, secretly tugging at Fino's jersey. Fino was pulled so hard that he lost his balance and instinctively used his shoulder to press down on Van der Wiel's shoulder for support. After the ball fell, he used his forehead to head the ball towards the center.
Fino and Van der Wiel both fell down, with Fino landing on top of Van der Wiel.
The referee did not blow the whistle, and Fino immediately got up and ran towards the penalty area to continue participating in the attack.
Di Natale received the ball and attracted the attention of two center-backs before passing it to Camoranesi on the right wing. Camoranesi shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Stekelenburg and returned to the penalty area.
Heitinga miscontrolled the ball, and it deflected slightly off his toes, flying towards the outside of the penalty area.
Fino and Van Bommel, who had retreated, simultaneously lunged towards the ball's landing point.
Ultimately, Fino was closer in position. He raised his right leg high, pointed his toes, and unleashed a powerful volley as the ball flew towards him.
Fino's shot was less than a meter from Van Bommel. If Van Bommel had been just a fraction faster, he might have been able to stop it. But if only... as Van Bommel's anxious and regretful expression played on, the ball's trajectory once again veered towards the goal.
The shot even had a certain arc, the ball flew diagonally upwards to a certain height, over the head of Dutch center-back Mathijsen, and then dropped down, slipping under Stekelenburg's arm and into the net.
Italy took the lead again, 2-1.
"Gooooal! Cabrini scores again for Italy. While the Netherlands struggled to break through, Italy launched a brilliant counter-attack. Pirlo initiated a long diagonal pass from midfield, Cabrini outjumped Van der Wiel to win the ball, and headed it to Di Natale in the center. Di Natale, without being greedy, played his role as a center forward, drawing the defense and giving the shooting opportunity to Camoranesi. Camoranesi's shot was saved, but Cabrini once again won the ball, volleyed it in, and scored on the rebound."
The commentator quickly recounted the goal, then exclaimed, "That was such a beautiful combination! Since Pirlo returned, Italy's performance has been getting better and better. I even see the shadow of Ancelotti's AC Milan, which amazed the world football scene with their Christmas tree, in the Italian team."
His partner nodded in agreement and offered his insights: "When the Italian squad list was announced, many people didn't understand why Lippi still wouldn't let Cabrini return to the forward line even though Pirlo had recovered from his injury. I think after watching Cabrini's goal and assist in this match, everyone had their own answer..."
According to the commentator's analysis, the situation on the field changed again, and the Netherlands launched another attack from the right flank.
As Robben dribbled past him at high speed, Nesta shouted to Bocchetti, who was marking Kuyt, "Stay close to Kuyt and don't get distracted."
Then he shouted loudly to Chiellini, who was keeping an eye on Persie: "Go help Gianluca intercept Robben. Don't worry about Van Persie, he's no threat."
Chiellini was baffled as to why Nesta had suddenly switched to English, but he obediently let Van Persie go and headed towards Robben.
Van Persie was furious!
Robin van Persie hated nothing more than being looked down upon.
In the Dutch team, he always considered himself the number one figure. He admired technical geniuses like Robben and Sneijder, but only if they acknowledged his leadership.
However, as Robben's injuries increased and his playing time decreased, the head coach preferred to establish Sneijder as the core of the team, which made Van Persie extremely dissatisfied.
Nesta's meaning was clear: he believed Robben and Kuyt were both more capable than him, which directly ignited Van Persie's anger. Robben was one thing—he was indeed a genius—but who was Kuyt? Just a clumsy workhorse.
Robin van Persie has always looked down on Kuyt, even publicly advising coach Bert van Marwijk not to bring him to South Africa before the World Cup. Now, Nesta actually thinks Kuyt is more capable than him—this is an insult! He has to show Nesta who the Netherlands' most dangerous attacking player is!
In an instant, Robben had already started cutting inside with the ball.
Robben's combination of high-speed, high-frequency outside-of-the-foot flicks and inside-of-the-foot cuts left Zambrotta and Chiellini looking like clumsy penguins, their reaction speed simply unable to keep up with Robben's ghostly footwork.
Chiellini made a desperate tackle, but Robben passed the ball directly to Van Persie inside the penalty area.
Just as Van Persie was about to show Nesta his shooting skills, Nesta made a beautiful sliding tackle to take the ball away from Van Persie's feet, and Gattuso kicked it towards midfield.
Nesta got up, patted Chiellini on the shoulder without saying a word, but Van Persie understood his meaning from his expression.
Nesta seems to be saying: I told you he wasn't a threat!
Van Persie was so angry that he kicked the turf a few times; he had to teach Nesta a lesson!
In the 70th minute, the Netherlands made a substitution, with young player Elia replacing Robben. This was a like-for-like substitution, intended to protect Robben who was recovering from injury.
Like Pirlo, Robben suffered a left calf muscle strain in a pre-World Cup warm-up match, almost ruling him out of the tournament. He missed the first two group stage matches, only returning as a substitute in the third group stage game against Cameroon.
Lippi then substituted Cannavaro for the increasingly fatigued Camoranesi, adding a center-back to protect the victory, and the Italian team completely entered the defensive phase.
After Robben was substituted, the pressure on Italy's left flank immediately decreased, and the Netherlands' attack began to shift towards the center and left flank.
Under pressure from being behind, the Dutch team launched more frequent attacks, but Italy's well-coordinated defense prevented the Dutch team from gaining an advantage.
In the 72nd minute, Sneijder delivered a free kick from the left, but Van Persie's header went over the bar.
In the 75th minute, Van Bronckhorst launched a long pass from the left wing. Van Persie ignored Kuyt, who was in a better position, and unleashed a powerful shot inside the penalty area. The ball was blocked by Cannavaro and Nesta.
A minute later, Van Persie's shot was thwarted by Nesta again, and an angry Van Persie grabbed Nesta by the collar.
Nesta is not afraid of him at all. If it comes to fighting, Nesta is confident that he can take on the entire Dutch team by himself. There are no sticks on the field, whether it's an electric baton, a wooden stick, or an iron stick. The Dutch players have no advantage.
Nesta wasn't angry at all; in fact, he was quite pleased with Van Persie's reaction. In those 10 minutes, Van Persie had become increasingly emotional, playing more and more selfishly, and his coordination with his teammates had deteriorated, wasting several attacking opportunities for the Netherlands.
He couldn't help but admire Finney's intelligence and his keen understanding of human nature.
The result was even better than they expected. They only wanted to keep Van Persie out of the Dutch tactical system and disrupt the overall attacking rhythm. They didn't expect Van Persie to get carried away and want to fight. This was an unexpected bonus. It would have been even better if Van Persie had gotten a red card.
The referee immediately ran over and separated Van Persie and Nesta, and considered whether to issue a card to Van Persie.
At this point, the Dutch team made a substitution, with coach Van Marwijk replacing Van Persie with Huntelaar.
Van Marwijk was very disappointed with Van Persie's performance in those ten minutes. Time was running out for the Dutch team, and he could no longer allow an emotionally unstable player to remain on the field.
Nesta and Fino exchanged a disappointed glance, wondering why they had been substituted.
Van Persie walked back to the bench with a displeased look on his face, and as he passed the head coach, he immediately expressed his dissatisfaction to Van Marwijk.
"It's not me who should be off the field, it's Sneijder!" Van Persie roared.
Sneijder holds a very high tactical position within the Dutch national team, even being referred to as the "coach's advisor," which is something that greatly displeases Van Persie. He believes this substitution was Sneijder's idea.
Van Marwijk was somewhat taken aback, but this was not the time to argue. He ignored Van Persie and instead signaled to his assistant coach to pull Van Persie away, while he continued to direct the game.
After Van Persie left the field, the Netherlands continued their attack, but after failing to break through, the Dutch players became visibly anxious and played with increasing impatience. The more they acted this way, the easier it was for Italy to disrupt their attacks.
In the 84th minute, the Netherlands had their best attacking opportunity in the final moments of the match.
Sneijder and De Jong combined to break through the middle, but Gattuso and De Rossi failed to intercept. Sneijder then made a long diagonal pass to Elia, a young player who came on as a substitute for Robben on the right wing.
Elia, not daring to be careless, didn't hold onto the ball for long after receiving it, but immediately crossed it to the onrushing Huntelaar. Under pressure from Nesta and Chiellini, Huntelaar hastily took a shot, but the ball flew high over the crossbar and towards the stands.
Huntelaar kicked the plane.
After conceding that goal, the Dutch team's morale clearly collapsed, and they failed to mount any decent attacks again.
Time slowly approached its end, and after the stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle.
Defending champions Italy defeated the Netherlands, the uncrowned kings, 2-1 to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.
Among the dejected Dutch players, Fino found Sneijder and wanted to exchange jerseys with him.
Fino admires Sneijder, or rather, he admires every strong midfielder. There's no way a striker isn't captivated by a midfield maestro, and Sneijder is one of the best.
Sneijder draped Fino's jersey over his shoulder and forced a smile, saying, "Fino, lead the Italian team to challenge for the World Cup title. I don't like the saying 'we just lost to the champion,' but your performance deserves the championship."
He hesitated for a moment, then added, "In a few years, when you get tired of playing in the forward position, why don't you consider dropping back to midfield? Maybe then we'll see an even stronger you."
Top midfielders can sense the presence of their peers. Sneijder genuinely felt that if Fino played in midfield, he would surpass his achievements in the attacking third, even though he had already won the Ballon d'Or as a striker.
Fino smiled and nodded, just as he had when Sneijder suggested he wear a size 10, indicating that he would carefully consider Sneijder's suggestion.
“Wesley, you are the teammate every striker dreams of. I hope we can meet on the same team before I drop back. It must be wonderful to play with you in the midfield and attack. That feeling is enough to fascinate every striker.”
Hmm, Italians...
Sneijder felt his face getting hot.
After a year in Serie A, Sneijder still hadn't gotten used to the Italians' readily available sweet talk. He touched his nose and went up to hug Fino.
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support! [hugs]
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