Chapter 306 Semi-final Spain vs Argentina, Messi is nervous!
Costa Rica's second attack failed, and Spain scored another goal instead.
There is basically no suspense in this game.
Now looking back at Navas' attack just now, from the perspective of God after the event, there seems to be some problems.
He seemed to be affected by Lin Quan's goal last time, and his mentality changed a little, becoming a little impatient.
He is not an impulsive person, but he was a little swayed by the desire to win just now. He seemed eager to defeat Lin Quan, the world's top star, to prove himself.
Navas knows that many club scouts have been observing him recently, including scouts from some top clubs.
Facing the world's number one team Spain, it was a crucial battle for the team to advance to the World Cup semi-finals. While falling behind in the score, they also encountered inspections from other clubs.
The combination of these factors made Navas a little impatient.
Fortunately, he realized this quickly and his subsequent performance was as stable as ever.
This made the scouts who came to the scene to observe his condition nod with satisfaction.
After watching most of the game, they began to write down their observations of Navas in their notebooks.
"Navas has solid skills, quick reactions and strong predictive ability. He can quickly identify the opponent's offensive route and make the most reasonable choice."
"He is very decisive in attacking, sometimes a little reckless, but with his superb physical skills and superb goalkeeping skills, he can resolve most crises.
In addition, in the match against Costa Rica, Navas showed excellent leadership and communication with his teammates, especially the defenders, which enabled Costa Rica, which was far inferior to its opponent, to deal with the siege of Spain, the world's strongest team! "
“Overall evaluation: excellent!”
"Transfer price evaluation: 10-18 million euros!"
After David Silva scored Spain's second goal, Bosque quickly made a substitution.
In the 67th minute, Torres was replaced by Pedro.
Spain's formation changed to a strikerless formation, which is the formation they are most familiar with.
Spain adopted a strikerless formation, so the players passed the ball more often and at a faster frequency.
The Costa Rican players were at a physical bottleneck at the moment, and faced with Spain's attempt to increase the tempo of the game again, they were powerless and could not keep up at all.
The consequence of not being able to keep up is that there are dangers lurking in front of their goal!
In the 71st minute, Pedro broke into the penalty area and his shot went slightly wide of the post.
Five minutes later, it was Pedro again. He received Lin Quan's goal and volleyed the ball from the left side of the penalty area, but Navas narrowly blocked it with one hand.
Less than ten minutes after coming on as a substitute, Pedro felt the same way his teammates felt when facing Navas.
Why does this guy seem to be so hard to deal with? Similar to him, the Costa Rican defenders gasped and looked at Spain's number 30 in disbelief.
This guy, just now in such a small space, two people double-teamed him, but they couldn't steal the ball from his feet, and instead let him pass the ball away.
How did he do it? What should I do to completely kill him?
Could it be that they really couldn't defend him? Fortunately, they didn't have to think about this problem soon.
In the 80th minute, Bosque indeed replaced Diego Costa, and the one who was replaced was the core of the Spanish team - Lin Quan.
In order to prepare for the match against Argentina four days later, Bosque wants the team's main players to reduce some consumption, so that they can face Argentina's challenge in better condition.
After Lin Quan left the field, Spain's attack did not stop.
Diego Costa, who came on as a substitute, was very active. He ran back and forth in the frontcourt at all costs, trying to find a good opportunity to score.
With the assistance of Spain's top midfield masters, he did get several good chances.
But unfortunately, he failed to seize these opportunities. Several of his shots were either easily saved by Navas or kicked off the target himself.
Under the close surveillance of Costa Rican defenders, Diego Costa, who had just returned from injury, played awkwardly.
His ability to hold the ball in a small area is far inferior to Lin Quan, and it is very difficult for him to create space like Lin Quan.
The Costa Rican players were originally a little afraid of Diego Costa because of his status as Atletico Madrid's striker.
But after playing for a while, they only had one feeling: That's it?
It feels much weaker than the previous No. 30! Of course, Diego Costa has completely different characteristics from Lin Quan. Although his dribbling and breakthrough are not as good as Lin Quan, he relied on his strong body to find several shooting opportunities in the penalty area.
It's a pity that these opportunities were not converted into goals, and Costa Rica's offense was difficult to pose a threat when its core midfielder Ruiz was restricted.
The score remained 2:0 until the final whistle.
Spain easily defeated its opponents and advanced to the semi-finals.
After the game, the Costa Rican players were a little dazed. Some of them put their hands on their hips, some half-knelt on the ground, and some simply lay on the ground with their legs spread out.
Breathing heavily, he looked with envy at the Spanish players in the distance who were high-fiving and hugging each other to celebrate.
The other team got the last ticket to the semi-finals, how enviable!
It's a pity that they were not as skilled as them and couldn't beat them. Costa Rica accepted the defeat sincerely.
All in all, they won with honor despite their defeat.
Because Costa Rica has conceded the fewest goals among all the teams that have faced Spain so far.
In addition to the huge disparity in the value of the players between the two teams, it is already very good that they can persist to this extent.
At the post-match press conference, Bosque, who had just led his team to the semi-finals, looked very happy.
He answered a large number of questions from reporters in one breath, even some questions that he would not normally answer.
Seeing that he was in a good mood, the reporters began to ask questions enthusiastically.
"Coach Bosque, your team has made it to the semi-finals. The next opponent is the powerful Argentina. Are you confident that you can lead the team to defeat them?"
Bosque smiled and said: "Of course, why not? We are the defending champions!"
After hearing his answer, an Argentine reporter immediately said in dissatisfaction:
"We have Messi, how can Argentina lose?"
Without waiting for Bosque to answer, the Spanish reporter immediately retorted: "Spain also has Lin Quan!"
"Lin Quan has only been in the industry for a few years, how can he be compared to the great Messi?"
"Haha, although Lin Quan has not been in the team for long, he has already won the Confederations Cup with the team. May I ask if Messi has any honors in the national team that are worth praising?"
Argentine and Spanish journalists had a heated debate on the topic of who is better, Messi or Lin Quan.
The other reporters at the scene just watched the fun and not mind making trouble. Not only did they not try to stop the quarrel between the two sides, they even fanned the flames and wished that the two sides would just start fighting!
This is a good opportunity to make big news. Spain VS Argentina, Lin Quan VS Messi. Once these tags are added, won’t the topic and traffic increase?
As expected, after the lists of all four finalists were announced that day and the semi-final matchups were revealed, heated debates immediately broke out among fans supporting each team on the Internet.
"Brazil is number one in the world. I think Brazil will eliminate Germany!"
"Haha, the Brazilian captain is suspended, and the core players are injured. What can they use to fight against my German tank?"
The semi-final in the upper half is between the host country and Germany, both teams are very strong.
If Thiago Silva had not been suspended and Neymar had not been injured, the suspense of this game would have been very high.
However, after losing these two offensive and defensive cores, the Brazilian team's strength was severely damaged.
This makes the outside world not optimistic about the host country. If this is not Brazil, but other countries, their chances of winning would probably be less than 30%.
That is because this is Brazil and they have the advantage of playing at home, so the outside world's prediction for this game is 4:6, Brazil 4, Germany 6.
As for the match between Spain and Argentina in the lower half, the fans' divisions were even more serious.
"Given Spain's invincible state, Argentina will be in great danger if they meet them!"
"Indeed, their games highlight a sense of ease. No matter who the opponent is, Spain seems to win easily. I have never seen them being forced into a desperate situation!"
Obviously, there are more fans who are optimistic about Spain. Not only the local fans in Spain support them, but also many neutral fans overseas are attracted by Spain's strong strength and gorgeous playing style and become their fans.
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"Haha, Spain is only good at bullying weak teams, but they may not be that good against really strong teams!"
Fans of Argentina and Messi naturally do not agree with this statement. They think that the reason why Spain's record is so good is entirely because of good luck in the draw and they have not encountered top teams.
Argentina is different from the random teams Spain encountered before. They are one of the favorites to win this World Cup.
It won't be easy for Spain to defeat them.
What's more, Argentina has Messi!
…
As the World Cup draws closer to the final, the popularity and attention of the competition are also rising.
In the football world, there has always been a debate: Is European football stronger, or is South American football stronger?
European football is famous for its strong leagues, stable youth training and rapidly innovative techniques and tactics. Its influence in the football world has been growing in recent years, and it has also won two consecutive World Cup titles.
South America is famous for producing many talented players, and both world champions came from South America.
Their league may not be as influential as the top five leagues, but no one can deny the strength of South American players!
As a result, this debate has never come to a conclusion, and fans from both sides are unable to convince the other side.
The existence of the World Cup provides a stage for the two sides to compete directly.
Let them compete directly in the World Cup and use actual results to prove whether European football is more advanced or South American football is stronger.
In addition to this World Cup, in the past 19 World Cups, South American teams have won a total of 9 championship trophies, including 5 from Brazil, 2 from Argentina and 2 from Uruguay.
European teams, on the other hand, have won 10 championship trophies, slightly suppressing the South American teams.
But in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, the South American team not only failed to win the championship, but also failed to make it to the finals.
Both of these World Cups ended up being civil wars among European teams, which is quite disadvantageous for fans who support the view that South American football is stronger.
Therefore, this World Cup held in Brazil is a great opportunity for South American teams to avenge their previous defeat.
They also performed very well. Compared with the previous two World Cups, they made a great breakthrough this time.
Both Brazil and Argentina have made it to the semi-finals!
And fortunately, there was no civil war on either side, and both semi-finals were matchups between European teams and South American teams.
This means that as long as they perform well enough, the two teams can even meet in the final and present a civil war between South American teams to the world.
Of course, if they screw up, it’s likely that two European teams will make it to the final.
Having European teams meet in the final for the third time in a row at home would probably be a disgrace to the host Brazil team and even the entire South American team.
So, before the semi-finals began, the under-pressure South American Football Confederation called on fans to go to the scene to cheer for Brazil and Argentina.
The debate in the football world about which is stronger, European football or South American football, may come to a conclusion after this semi-final.
And they can't afford to lose!
…
With a bang, the football flew into the goal in a graceful arc, brushing the crossbar in the upper left corner.
Seeing this scene, Messi finally showed a satisfied smile on his face.
After learning that Argentina's opponent in the semi-finals would be Spain, Messi increased the intensity of his training.
Only as a player playing in La Liga did he understand how powerful the Spanish national team is.
If it was before that guy joined the Spanish team, Argentina might be able to fight Spain on equal terms, or even have a certain advantage.
But now, Messi feels that Argentina's chance of winning is probably less than 40%, and their situation may be even more dangerous than Brazil in the upper half.
Judging from Germany's performance from the group stage to the knockout stage, their offensive firepower is not as strong as imagined.
As long as the Brazilian team can choose a more stable tactic, after losing Neymar and defensive general Thiago Silva, instead of engaging in a head-on attack with the opponent, they can choose to control the tempo of the game and use stable defensive counterattacks against the German team.
Their chances of winning are still not small!
But Spain is different!
This team currently does not have any major weaknesses. On the contrary, their advantages are really too prominent!
The attacking power is super strong! The control is very strong! The players have a lot of experience in major competitions!
These three points are Argentina's shortcomings.
Argentina, which has Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria and other attacking players, has the biggest weakness in attack! Their forwards have collectively fallen into a goal drought in this World Cup. After five games in the World Cup, Aguero has not yet scored.
Higuain scored not long ago and Di Maria has only scored one goal.
Messi, the biggest contributor to Argentina's previous win, has also been in a goal drought in the last two games.
Compared with Lin Quan who scored steadily in every game, Messi has not scored a goal for 225 minutes! This state makes Messi feel worried.
He wasn't sure if he could score against Spain, but if he couldn't help the team, who could he count on?
Therefore, Messi can only choose to seize the last time and work hard to improve himself.
What he chose to practice more during this period were penalties and free kicks.
Messi was deeply impressed by the penalty kick scored by Lin Quan in the match between Spain and Mexico.
There are many penalty shootouts in this World Cup, so Messi feels it is necessary to practice.
In this case, if we are really dragged into a penalty shootout, maybe my extra training will be effective! (End of this chapter)