Chapter 302: Countdown to the championship, the quarter-finals begin!
In this World Cup, except for the four teams in Asia, the strength gap between other teams seems to have narrowed a lot.
Five of the eight knockout matches went into overtime, including two penalty shootouts.
Apart from Spain, the remaining favorites to win the championship: Brazil, the Netherlands, Argentina, Germany and Belgium were all dragged into overtime.
Among them, the Netherlands was eliminated miserably. Not to mention taking revenge on Spain, they didn't even make it into the quarterfinals.
This made the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals extremely cautious and they dared not underestimate any opponent anymore.
Before the quarter-finals, the Spanish coaching staff conducted targeted research on the characteristics and tactical play of Costa Rican players, and called a meeting with the players to discuss how to limit the opponent's offense and how to break through the opponent's defense.
As they get closer and closer to the World Cup trophy, the players on the team have become more alert, eliminating all distractions and focusing their energy wholeheartedly on the World Cup games.
For many players, there may only be one chance to win a championship in their lifetime.
If you fail to seize such an opportunity, you will live in regret for the rest of your life.
"Costa Rica's defense is very solid, they mainly use defensive counterattack tactics and play more cautiously.
But the transition from defense to offense is very fast, so when defending, we must keep a close eye on their midfield core Brian Ruiz and limit his passing, which can effectively reduce or even curb the opponent's quick counterattack."
"In addition to Ruiz, their goalkeeper Navas is also very good. From the group stage to the knockout stage, his performance has been very stable. He is a goalkeeper with a strong reaction speed, keen prediction and insight, and good at attacking.
When facing him, you have to shoot decisively without any hesitation, otherwise it will be easily blocked."
All in all, there aren't many noteworthy stars in Costa Rica's lineup.
Compared to Spain's star-studded all-star lineup, their lineup is relatively ordinary.
Among Costa Rica's 11 main players, only three are from the top five leagues, namely striker No. 9 Campbell, midfielder No. 10 Ruiz and goalkeeper No. 1 Navas.
Among them, although Campbell is a player of the Gunners, he has been on loan and has no ability to gain a foothold in the Gunners.
Ruiz played for Fulham and was also unable to play in the game, so he was loaned to PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie.
The only one who can gain a foothold in the top five leagues and play well is Navas.
In the just-concluded 2013-2014 season, Navas was elected the best goalkeeper in La Liga with a high save success rate of 80.1%, beating many more famous stars such as Casillas and Courtois.
His performance in the group stage and knockout stage of this World Cup proved that he deserved the La Liga Best Goalkeeper award.
Judging from the strength on paper alone, the gap between the two teams is obvious.
The total value of the entire Spanish team is roughly equivalent to more than 20 Costa Ricans.
However, the World Cup is not about the players' worth, but about who scores more goals and who concedes fewer goals.
…
On July 5, the quarter-finals officially kicked off.
The first match to start was between Germany and France, which was a civil war among European teams.
The two sides have met 25 times in history, with France having the upper hand with 11 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses.
However, a year ago, in the last match between the two teams, France lost 1-2 to Germany at home.
In terms of honors, the French team has only won one World Cup championship, but the German team has won three World Cup trophies.
In addition to one championship, the French team also won one runner-up, two third places and one fourth place.
But the German team has 4 runner-up titles, 4 third place titles and 1 fourth place title.
The German team has always had an excellent record in the World Cup. Since 1954, they have never missed any World Cup and have reached the quarterfinals in every World Cup.
This is also the reason why they have always been the favorite to win the World Cup. The German team’s record is too stable!
Of course, after 2014...
Before the game, the outside world was more optimistic about the German team.
After Deschamps took over the French team, the team's performance did improve to a certain extent.
But there is still a long way to go before complete revival, and the German team under Loew may be the strongest German team in the past 10 years.
Therefore, if the French team encounters them, they will most likely be in danger.
Both teams attach great importance to this game.
Both teams lined up in a 433 formation, with veteran Klose playing as the lone striker for the German team and Lahm returning to the right-back position.
For France, Benzema was at the front, with Griezmann replacing Giroud in the starting lineup.
After the game started, both teams played more actively.
In the 3rd minute, Kroos tried a long shot with his right foot outside the penalty area, but it was blocked by the French defender.
In the 7th minute, Valbuena turned and passed the ball near the left bottom line, and Benzema shot directly with his right foot in the penalty area, but unfortunately it was slightly off the left post.
This was France's best chance after the opening, but Benzema's shot was not accurate enough and he missed a great opportunity to change the score.
After missing the ball, Benzema was very dissatisfied with his performance. He kept talking non-stop and no one knew what he was saying.
In the 12th minute, the German team got a free kick opportunity. Kroos took the free kick from the left side and sent the ball into the penalty area. Hummels squeezed out Varane who was defending him and headed the ball into the goal.
The German team got off to a dream start!
After seeing Hummels' goal, Löw clapped his hands excitedly and didn't even notice that his palms were red.
Before this game, he studied the French team's weaknesses and found that the French team seemed not good at defending set pieces.
Three of France's last four goals conceded were from set pieces.
Therefore, the German team practiced set-piece tactics before the game, but they didn’t expect the effect to be so good. They scored a goal just 12 minutes into the game!
After taking the lead, the French team tried to equalize the score, but was badly beaten by the German team's counterattack.
In the 24th and 33rd minutes, Klose and Muller fell in the French team's penalty area respectively, but the referee did not award a penalty.
This caused dissatisfaction among German fans, because the same person fouled both players - France's left back Debuchy! If the referee had awarded a penalty for either of these two fouls, Germany would have probably secured victory long ago.
France also had a chance to equalize the score in the first half. In the 34th minute, Griezmann successfully made an offside move, reached the front of the penalty area and passed the ball to Valbuena.
Facing Valbuena's close-range shot, Neuer reacted quickly and saved the ball with one hand. Benzema made a hasty follow-up shot, but it was blocked by Hummels' knee.
After missing this opportunity, the German team did not give the French team any more chances, and the score remained 1:0 until the halftime whistle sounded.
In the second half, the German team's defense became more stable.
It was difficult for the French team to penetrate the German team's defense, but it was the German team that frequently launched threatening attacks.
Unfortunately, Muller, Schurrle and others wasted excellent opportunities and failed to expand the score.
In the last minute of injury time, Giroud carried the opponent's defender in the penalty area and passed the ball to Benzema. Benzema's shot was blocked by Neuer with one hand, and the French team was powerless to turn the tide.
Benzema performed poorly in this game and wasted several opportunities, which led to him being attacked by some extreme French fans after the game.
Benzema, who has long been accustomed to taking the blame, did not refute or express his opinion on the outside criticism, but silently endured it all.
Not only Benzema was criticized, but France's head coach Deschamps was also attacked by the outside world, who believed that his conservative tactics and inappropriate use of players led to the French team's failure.
In fact, compared with the World Cup in South Africa, the French team's performance in this World Cup is quite good.
But the terrible thing is that they lost to the German team.
Because of historical grudges, French fans found it hard to accept that their team lost to the German team, so they were venting their emotions by scolding people everywhere.
I don’t know what impact this loss will have on the reconstruction of the French team.
Read the error-free version on 6Ⅹ9Ⅹ bookⅩ bar! 6Ⅹ9 book bar first publishes a novel.
As for the German team, after winning this game, they achieved the feat of reaching the semi-finals for four consecutive World Cups.
This is also the first time in World Cup history that a team has achieved this achievement.
The German team, which advanced to the semi-finals first, can now wait for their semi-final opponents with peace of mind.
After the match between Germany and France ended, another match in the upper half - Brazil vs. Colombia - was about to begin.
This is a civil war in South America! With the cheers of the fans at the scene, the Brazilian team, playing at home, is in hot form.
Just 7 minutes into the game, Brazil scored the first goal from a corner kick.
Neymar's free throw was of high quality. Players from both sides failed to compete for the front point. After the ball fell to the back point, Thiago Silva, who was unguarded, used his body to block the ball into the goal.
Thiago Silva's goal made the 60,000 Brazilian fans in the Castelão Stadium excited! This was the fastest scoring record of the Brazilian team in this World Cup. Taking the lead early made the Brazilian fans who were scared in the previous game feel relieved.
However, we cannot be careless, because the opponent's lineup also includes powerful stars like James Rodriguez, and we may be equalized if we are not careful!
If they could score one more goal, it would be even safer! The prayers of Brazilian fans seemed to have worked. In the 67th minute of the second half, David Luiz scored directly from a free kick, helping the Brazilian team expand the score to 2:0. This goal almost guaranteed Brazil a place in the semi-finals!
So after David Luiz scored the goal, the Brazilian fans at the scene were excited, the Brazilian fans on the Internet were excited, and all the fans in Brazil were excited!
They saw hope of winning the championship at home, and after reaching the semi-finals, their opponent was the newly qualified German team.
With the strength that the German team showed in the two knockout matches, shouldn't the Brazilian team be able to defeat them all?
However, the Brazilian team's joy soon turned into sorrow. Their captain Thiago Silva received a yellow card while defending and was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. He will miss the next game against Germany.
At the end of the game, James Rodriguez, who had scored in four consecutive games, made a wonderful pass and Bacca had a chance to score, but was tripped by the Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar.
The referee decisively awarded a penalty and gave Cesar a yellow card.
In the 76th minute of the game, such a penalty kick made the game, which had already been decided, become confusing again.
James Rodriguez took the penalty kick. He calmly used changes in his steps to deceive the goalkeeper and scored the ball.
This is James Rodriguez's sixth goal in this World Cup, and he is also the only player in this World Cup to score for the fifth consecutive game.
After scoring the penalty, James Rodriguez did not waste time celebrating, but quickly rushed into the goal, picked up the ball and ran towards the center circle.
From his actions, we can see that Colombia has not given up yet. They want to overturn Brazil and create a miracle! In the final stage of the game, Colombia's attack was very crazy.
In order to delay the opponent's attack, Scolari chose to use tactical substitutions to interrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm.
The Brazilian team made continuous substitutions, Paulinho and Hulk were replaced one after another. The two also tacitly chose to leave the field slowly to give their teammates more breathing time.
The Colombian players were very dissatisfied and their actions started to become more and more exaggerated.
In the 85th minute of the game, Colombian defender Zuniga knocked Neymar down with his knee from behind, and Neymar fell to the ground in pain.
The nature of this foul was extremely serious. If the top of his knee had been a few centimeters higher, Neymar would probably have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
After being hit, Neymar was unable to continue and was carried off the field on a stretcher.
Even though the foul was so serious, he was only given a verbal warning and not even a yellow card.
This caused serious dissatisfaction among the Brazilian fans at the scene, and boos of protest resounded throughout the stadium.
After the game, Neymar was diagnosed with a vertebral fracture and will miss at least 2-3 weeks.
This means that Neymar will also miss the next game.
Although Brazil eventually defeated Colombia 2:1 with goals from two defenders and advanced to the semi-finals.
However, the absence of two key players cast a shadow on their World Cup journey.
After the games in the upper half ended, the games in the lower half started the next day.
The first match to start was between Argentina and Belgium.
Argentina got off to a dream start in this game. Just 8 minutes into the game, Higuain, who had not scored in the previous 5 games, finally scored.
Belgium had bad luck. Di Maria's pass was originally intended for the full-back who was running behind, but the Belgian defender blocked it with his foot and the ball accidentally landed at Higuain's feet.
Higuain reacted quickly and shot directly, but the ball came too suddenly and Courtois was unable to react and could only watch the ball go into the net.
This was the only goal of the game. De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku and others made many attempts and efforts in the following 80 minutes, but failed to change the score.
In the end, Belgium unfortunately lost to Argentina and failed to advance to the semi-finals to meet Spain.
After losing to Argentina, De Bruyne sent a message to Lin Quan: Beat Argentina! Lin Quan, who was about to play, smiled when he saw the message.
"Don't worry, I will avenge you!"
De Bruyne frowned after receiving Lin Quan's reply.
Why does this statement feel so weird? It makes it seem like they are dead! Forget it, let’s not dwell on it, just cheer him on!
At 17:00 on the evening of July 6, the last match of the World Cup quarter-finals, Spain vs. Costa Rica, officially kicked off.
There was a low-level mistake in the previous chapter. The encounter between Germany and Brazil was the semi-finals instead of the quarter-finals (end of this chapter)