Chapter 186: Undefeated myth, qualifying for the World Cup in advance!

"Hiss, it's so cold!"

After arriving in Helsinki and getting off the plane, the Spanish international players shivered collectively when they were blown by the cold wind.

The temperature in Helsinki is only around 5 degrees at this time, and the lowest temperature at night can even drop below 0 degrees Celsius.

When they set off from Spain, the sun was shining brightly in Madrid and the temperature reached 33 degrees.

The temperature difference between the two places is as high as 30 degrees, and it feels like going from midsummer to midwinter overnight.

Although the national team's logistics support staff had reminded them before departure to remember to prepare warm clothes.

But the Spanish players still underestimated the temperature here.

What’s worse is that the wind in Helsinki is very strong.

When the cold wind blew, the players lost heat quickly and couldn't help shivering.

"Hurry, hurry, get in the car, don't catch a cold outside!"

Coach Tony's nose was red from the cold, but he still stood in the cold wind and urged the players to get on the bus quickly.

After getting on the bus, the driver turned on the air conditioner in the car. Feeling the warm air pouring down from above their heads, the Spanish players all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is this the country in the Arctic Circle? Isn't winter coming too early?"

"I heard that it's not this cold in normal years. The reason why it's so cold today is because of the cold wave!"

"Damn it, why did the cold wave come at this time instead of earlier or later?"

When the players heard the news, they all became worried.

It is easy to get injured when playing football in cold conditions, especially if you don't warm up enough.

They had just come from Spain and were totally unacclimated to the climate here.

It may take some time to adapt to the temperature here, but the competition will start tomorrow and they don’t have much time left.

"Don't worry, this is not a life-and-death battle. Even if we lose the game, it won't affect our advancement!"

Seeing his teammates looking worried, Casillas stepped forward to comfort them.

Spain currently has three World Cup qualifiers left to play. In addition to this match against Finland, there are two home games against Belarus and Georgia.

If they win either of these two games, they will be able to advance as the group leader.

The importance of defeating France twice in previous key matches was revealed at this time.

If they had won one less game before, they would have no room for error now.

After hearing Cassie's words, everyone felt a little relieved.

It's not a life-and-death battle, so there's really no need to care so much.

Just kick it loose!

After Casillas calmed his teammates, he quietly found Lin Quan: "Lin, what do you think about tomorrow's game?"

"Um?"

Lin Quan looked at the other person suspiciously, his face full of confusion.

Didn’t I just say that winning or losing isn’t important?

Why are you asking me this question again now?

"Captain, what do you think?"

Lin Quan asked back, he believed that Casillas must have his own purpose in looking for him.

"I want to win tomorrow's game and qualify for the group stage two rounds in advance!"

Lin Quan nodded. It was not surprising that Casillas had such an idea.

Not only did he have such an idea, Lin Quan himself also planned so.

The remaining two opponents in the group stage are not very strong. If they can defeat Finland and qualify early, they can sit on the bench and rest in the next two games.

Mid-October is when the Champions League group stage, league and cup matches begin one after another.

When fighting on three fronts, these main players will consume a lot of physical energy.

If they add a national team match, their physical consumption will be even more serious.

Overdrawing your body is likely to lead to injuries, so it would be great if you can get a ticket to the World Cup early.

Then they can at least reduce one front line and save a lot of physical energy.

"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, Captain. I will be in my best condition for tomorrow's game!"

"Then I feel relieved!"

Casillas felt relieved when he heard Lin Quan's promise.

Lin Quan is the offensive core of the team. As long as he works hard, defeating Finland will be a piece of cake. ...

The Finnish team didn't think so! After their fans saw the Spanish players freezing in Helsinki, they regained hope.

The Spanish players seemed to be having trouble adapting to the temperatures in Helsinki, but as the hosts they had no such problems at all.

Therefore, the weather will help them weaken Spain's fighting power and prevent their opponents from exerting their full strength.

If the Finnish team can seize the opportunity, it is very likely that they will defeat Spain when the opponent is in poor form!

Spain is currently unbeaten in 37 international tournaments, with the last loss being in 2011.

As the big boss in the world competition, national teams from all countries are proud to defeat the Spanish team.

Moreover, Finland is now ranked third in the group with 6 points, while France, ranked second in the group, has 9 points, only one more win than them.

Theoretically, the Finnish team still has hope of winning the second place in the group and making it to the play-offs.

Therefore, the entire Finnish team was fully prepared for this game, and the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki was packed with nearly 40,000 spectators.

At 19:30 in the evening, the referee blew the whistle.

The focus match of Group I of the 2014 World Cup European qualifiers, the defending champion Spain's away challenge to Finland officially began.

In this game, Bosque made major adjustments to Spain's starting lineup.

George Koke, a young player who plays for Atletico Madrid, made his debut as a right-back, which was his first start in a national team match.

Mario Suarez, who also plays for Atletico Madrid, replaced Javi Martinez as a defensive midfielder.

Arsenal midfielder Cazorla replaced the aging Xavi and served as the core of the midfield organization.

The injured Silva was replaced by Mata.

Lin Quan was still the lone striker at the front, with Fabregas and Iniesta standing behind him.

After the game started, the Spanish players played more conservatively as the Finnish fans expected.

The players were afraid of getting injured and were reluctant to make big moves on the court.

The Finnish team seized this opportunity and took advantage of it to attack the Spanish team's goal.

In the 3rd minute, the Finnish team took advantage of an out-of-bounds opportunity to launch a fast break in the frontcourt.

Finland's left winger Alexander Lin dribbled the ball sideways and the Spanish defense was solid.

After failing to break through, he barely made a cross near the left baseline.

Finland's center forward Pukki made a flanking move to the front post and although he managed to get the ball, his position was blocked by Koke.

He forced a shot with great reluctance, but failed to pose a threat and the ball was easily caught by Casillas.

The 21-year-old young player Koke performed very steadily in this defense and won applause from his teammates and coaches.

Casillas even came over and patted him on the butt as a sign of encouragement.

Finland's offensive was not over yet. In the 6th minute, Schurrle launched an attack with a long pass from midfield.

Pukki received the ball in the penalty area, turned half way and shot the ball into the goal with his right foot.

The foot didn't hold the ball down and the ball went over the crossbar.

The fans at the scene were all very excited when they saw their team dominating Spain on the field.

One fan was so excited that he took off all his clothes, waved the Finnish flag shirtless and cheered for the team.

The air temperature at this time is about 3-4 degrees, and there is a level 2 or 3 cold wind on the field.

He dared to go into battle shirtless in such a situation. You have to say he is a ruthless person.

Although Spain's situation seemed to be relatively passive, slowly, as the Spanish players' running distance on the field increased, their bodies were warmed up.

It can be clearly seen that the Spanish players' movements are no longer so stiff and they are gradually beginning to relax their hands and feet.

There is a big gap in hard power between the two teams. When Spain did not dare to let go, Finland once gained an advantage.

But when Spain finished warming up and officially got into the game, the Finnish team was immediately beaten back to its original form.

In the 11th minute of the first half, the Spanish team successfully intercepted the ball in the midfield.

After Pedro dribbled past the opponent on the right, he passed the ball to Lin Quan. Lin Quan made a two-pass combination with him and passed the ball to the top of the penalty area.

Sabre got rid of the defender, rushed over, and shot with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area.

The power of the ball was a little bit weak and the ball was confiscated by the goalkeeper and failed to pose a threat.

Although no goal was scored, this shot sounded the clarion call for Spain's counterattack.

In the 12th minute, Spain played a wonderful combination in the frontcourt. After continuous passes, the ball was passed into the penalty area by Iniesta with an imaginative heel pass.

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Unfortunately, the defender was very focused and cleared the ball before Lin Quan could.

Otherwise, as long as Lin Quan gets the ball, it will most likely be a goal.

In the 15th minute, Spain made a comeback.

Full-back Alba assisted in the frontcourt and made a cross from the left after going down the flank.

This ball is a half-high ball and is a little difficult to handle.

But Lin Quan didn't want to miss this opportunity, so he almost instinctively leaned his body back into the air and did a bicycle kick.

The shot was beautiful, the ball hit the right spot and the goalkeeper didn't expect the opponent to shoot with his back to the goal.

So he was a little slow in saving the ball, and the ball flew in front of him into the goal.

1:0, Spain is temporarily leading.

The goal was incredible, and even Lin Quan himself was surprised.

The teammates didn't care about that and rushed towards Lin Quan, celebrating wildly.

Spain is not afraid of reversals. As long as they score first, they will most likely win.

Now that they are ahead in the score, the players feel relieved as if a huge stone has been lifted off their shoulders.

"Don't let up, let's keep working hard and try to score two more goals to completely secure the victory!"

"Well, if Lin Quan scores two more goals, he can go back to rest in the second half!"

Iniesta said humorously.

After conceding the first goal, the morale of the Finnish fans at the scene stagnated, and it was obvious that they were a lot lower than before.

Even the shirtless man waving the national flag slowed down, maybe because he was frozen or he had no strength left.

The Spanish offensive was not over.

In the 28th minute, taking advantage of the opponent's eagerness to equalize the score, Spain launched a quick counterattack.

Fabregas made a wonderful pass in the midfield, Lin Quan successfully made an offside move and got the ball in front of the penalty area to have a one-on-one opportunity.

Facing the goalkeeper who was coming out, he calmly chose to push the ball with his left foot and scored.

The score became 2:0. Spain had basically secured victory! "Good shot!"

"Lin's left and right feet are really balanced, it feels like he doesn't have a weak foot!"

"Haha, just average, not as good as Brother Cazorla!"

Lin Quan said modestly.

Many players in the Spanish team are balanced with both feet, like Iniesta and Pedro.

But the one with the most balanced left and right feet is Cazorla.

When he kicked the ball, you couldn't tell which foot was his weak foot, as if it didn't exist.

The balance of left and right feet is so terrifying! For professional players, developing the weak foot is a very important ability.

Being able to play with only one foot is a serious disadvantage because defenders will defend you based on your dominant foot, and if you have an inferior foot, it will be too easy to defend.

Lin Quan's dominant foot is his right foot, and Messi happens to be a left-footed player.

So after copying Messi's template, Lin Quan can pass, dribble and shoot with both feet.

The game continued and Finland created a good chance in the 25th minute.

Unfortunately, Yeremenko's shot was blocked by Alba.

Spain then launched a counterattack. Iniesta made a straight pass from the left side in front of the penalty area, and Lin Quan passed it to Pedro.

Sabre seemed to want to show off his footwork as well, and he also chose to shoot with his left foot, but he failed to control the angle of the ball, and the ball hit the far post and flew out of the bottom line.

Seeing the ball slip through the goal, Sabre looked embarrassed and gestured to his teammates: "Mistake, mistake, we must score next time!"

"I don't trust you, Lin. Don't pass the ball to this guy next time. Isn't it better to just shoot with your right foot?"

The teammates looked at Sabre with disdain. Everyone could see that this guy was just trying to show off.

Otherwise, if he had just used his right foot, would the ball still have flown? Seeing the Spanish players chatting and laughing in front of their own penalty area, they looked relaxed.

The Finnish players feel very frustrated!

There is no way, it can’t be prevented, it can’t be prevented at all.

The opponent's players are not very tall and their speed is not very fast, but their passing and running are really good.

Unless they double the number of people in their penalty area and block all passing space, they will not be able to stop the opponent's passing and cutting cooperation.

Seeing that the opponent's offensive was getting more and more fierce, the enthusiasm of the Finnish fans at the scene was completely extinguished.

Even the cheers became much quieter.

In the 37th minute, Fabregas got the ball on the left side of the penalty area. He passed the ball to Lin Quan, who dribbled past two players sideways.

However, the space for breaking forward was blocked, so he did not act recklessly, but chose to pass the ball back.

After Fabregas received the ball, he passed it to Pedro. Pedro did not take the ball but made a feint and gave the ball to Iniesta who came in from behind.

Iniesta kicked the ball directly, but the goalkeeper himself was also dazzled by Pedro and could not save the ball in time. He watched his own goal being breached again.

Before the first half was over, Spain had already taken a 3:0 lead.

Seeing Spain score another goal, the Finnish fans at the scene finally seemed unable to bear it and started to leave early one by one.

The shirtless man had quietly put on the cotton coat thrown on the seat and wrapped himself tightly.

I don’t know whether he feels cold physically or mentally.

The second half was played at a different location because the team was leading by a large margin and in order to prevent accidental injuries to the players.

Bosque made a substitution early. After the half-time break, Spain directly replaced Iniesta and Fabregas.

Negredo and Isco were brought on.

After playing for more than ten minutes, seeing that the Finnish team seemed to have no desire to attack, the Spanish side also decided to call it a day.

So, in the 59th minute, Bosque replaced Lin Quan with Morata.

Morata's faces were filled with excitement when he and Lin Quan high-fived.

It's less than 60 minutes now, and he has at least 30 minutes of playing time! This is much more than the substitute time in the Confederations Cup!

As for Lin Quan, after he left the court, he and the other three main players who were substituted early, wrapped in thick down jackets, sat on the bench and chatted and laughed.

"Do you think the coach will let us report to the team for the next group match?"

"I don't know. If the coach wants to train young players, he probably won't recruit us!"

"But if the coach wants to maintain our undefeated record and continue our unbeaten streak, that's hard to say!"

After Lin Quan left the field, Spain's offensive ability declined and they failed to score any more goals in the second half.

In the end, thanks to goals from Lin Quan and Iniesta, Spain defeated Finland 3:0 away.

Not only did they continue their unbeaten streak, but they also qualified as the first in the group two rounds in advance, securing a place in the 2014 World Cup finals.

(End of this chapter)