Chapter 525: Top Battle, Spain vs. Croatia
"Coach, I want to play!"
In the third round of the group stage, before the start of Spain's match against Croatia, Lin Quan took the initiative to find Bosque and applied to play.
Without even a second thought, Bosque refused directly: "No, no, how can this be possible? It's only been more than 20 days since the Champions League final, you must not have had enough rest. You must rest well and conserve your energy, it will be of great use in the future!"
Lin Quan was helpless: "Coach, I've had enough rest!"
Bosque's head shook like a rattle: "No, you didn't!"
"Then I won't play. You can put me in the roster and I can sit on the bench, right?"
Bosque thought about it and felt that it was a good thing that Lin Quan actively sought to fight. If he was suppressed blindly, it would easily make the players discouraged.
So he nodded and agreed: "Okay, I'll take you with me to the next game!"
He only said that Lin Quan would be brought along, but he did not say that Lin Quan would definitely be given playing time.
Bosque had this plan in mind: if the Spanish team took the lead without Lin Quan, he would not send Lin Quan to play.
If the team is falling behind, if necessary, Lin Quan can be sent to play to try to turn the tide.
Although Spain can afford to lose this game, bringing Lin Quan with them is also a guarantee!
The outside world was certain that Lin Quan would miss this European Cup completely because he missed two games in a row.
As a result, when Spain announced the team's roster before the start of the third round of matches, they were surprised to find that Lin Quan's name was on it.
Is it true, as Bosque said, that Lin Quan’s injury has healed and he can play for the national team?
This news immediately caused a heated discussion in the football world. Spanish fans were eager to tell others and agreed to stay in front of the TV to watch this last game.
Some neutral fans or fans from other countries were arguing whether the news released by Spain was a smokescreen! "I think it must be a smokescreen. The last game is a battle between Spain and Croatia for the top spot in the group. They released this news at this time. It must be a psychological tactic of Bosque. The purpose is to interfere with Croatia and make Croatia choose a conservative and safe tactic out of consideration for Lin Quan. In this way, Spain, which can get the first place in the group with a draw, can easily take the initiative!"
"Yes, I think so too. If Emperor Lin was really fine, he would have gone to the battle long ago. This must be a conspiracy of the Spanish. Croatia must not be fooled!"
When the Croatian coach learned the news, he also suspected that this was a deliberate smokescreen by Bosque.
He had previously learned about the situation from Modric, who participated in the Champions League final, and judged that Lin Quan was indeed seriously injured and was unlikely to play.
So he decided to continue using his previous tactics and ignore the smoke screens from Spain.
On June 20, the final round of the European Cup group stage kicked off.
The focus of Group A is the match between France and Switzerland. The two teams are currently ranked first and second in Group A. This match will determine who will get first place in the group.
Since it involves the competition for qualifying and top spot in the group, the last two games of Group A are held at the same time.
Under tremendous pressure, the four teams played conservatively and had few scoring opportunities.
At the end of the first half, the score was still 0:0 and neither team scored a goal.
At this time, news came from another stadium that Albania was temporarily leading Romania 1:0.
This news is good news for both France and Switzerland. If Albania really defeats Romania, the two teams will advance together.
Affected by this, the Swiss team played more conservatively.
The French team played at home and took the initiative to attack after the opponent became more conservative. However, their luck was not very good. They failed to score after many consecutive shots. One of Pogba's shots even hit the crossbar.
After the final 90 minutes of play, the two teams shook hands and advanced together.
The other match ended with Albania defeating Romania 1:0, and the two teams were eliminated together.
Group B is more dramatic.
England, who was at the top of the table, wanted to play more conservatively in the final round against Slovakia.
As a result, news came from another game that Wales' Ramsey scored a goal just 11 minutes into the game.
Now, Wales is temporarily ahead of England in points, and the British are suddenly anxious.
So they stepped up their attack, but before they could score, bad news came from the other side: Wales scored again! This really made the British anxious! If Wales beat Russia and they were tied by Slovakia, then the first place in the group would be gone.
So the British began to fight desperately!
Rooney and Kane, come on, just one goal, as long as they can score one goal, the first place in the group will still be theirs!
For a moment, the British launched an offensive like a tide, attacking the Slovak goal relentlessly.
In the whole game, the English completed 26 shots in total, but the number of goals was embarrassingly 0! On the other hand, Wales' counterattacks from the wing were accurate. In the 67th minute of the second half, they scored again. The goal was scored by none other than Wales' top star Gareth Bale.
With this victory, Wales reversed England and successfully won the top spot in Group B, while England slipped to second place and may face a strong opponent in the next round.
After the game, the British were severely scolded by their own fans.
When they had all the advantages, they were actually defeated by their younger brother, who had given them warmth. This was a shame! Compared with Group A and Group B, the competition in Group C was less suspenseful.
In the last round, the German team easily defeated Northern Ireland with an overwhelming advantage. Northern Ireland was passive throughout the game, and it was difficult for the ball to pass through the midfield. There was only one shot on goal in the entire game, let alone a goal.
In another match, Poland defeated Ukraine and successfully obtained a qualifying spot, but because of the smaller goal difference than Germany, it ranked second.
In this round of competition, Group D once again became the focus of everyone's attention.
The reason is simple: it is the long list released by Spain.
Everyone was full of curiosity and wanted to see whether Lin Quan would show up.
The answer is: not sure! Lin Quan was not among the starting 11, but he was seen on the bench.
Compared to before when I could only look for him in the stands, being able to see him on the bench is already a huge improvement!
"Last time he was in the stands, this time he is on the bench, so will he be in the starting lineup next time?"
Optimistic fans have already started counting on their fingers when Lin Quan will start the game! However, skeptical fans still have not dispelled their doubts: "Bosque has not arranged for Lin Quan to play in such a crucial game. It seems that he is really injured!"
"I think Bosque is just using a strategy of confusing the opponent. By letting Lin Quan sit on the bench, he creates a situation where he may play at any time, increasing the psychological pressure on the opposing players and coaching staff!"
Even those fans who were certain that Lin Quan was really injured and would not play could not help but feel nervous when they saw Lin Quan appear on the bench, not to mention the opposing players and coaches.
So the analysis of these fans is not unreasonable. After all, Lin Quan does have such deterrent power.
"We know that Lin Quan is injured and can't play, but he still sits there, which makes people can't help but make wild guesses. This is bound to affect the other party's mentality!"
"I didn't expect that old man Bosque is actually a master of psychology!"
Seeing the cameras and fans at the scene looking towards his bench frequently, Bosque nodded with satisfaction.
Is it a psychological tactic? I guess so! Lin Quan's intimidation in the stands is obviously not as great as when he is on the bench. As long as he sits on the sidelines, the opponent has to be on edge, worrying at any time whether he will suddenly stand up and play.
Such continuous influence on the opponent's mentality will definitely increase Spain's chances of winning.
Read the error-free version on 6Ⅹ9Ⅹ bookⅩ bar! 6Ⅹ9 book bar first publishes a novel.
In fact, Bosque overlooked one point. When the Spanish players saw Lin Quan sitting on the bench, they suddenly felt a sense of security, as if someone was backing them up. They played more confidently and proactively.
After the game started, Spain played very determinedly and was determined to launch an attack on Croatia.
Morata continued his excellent performance in the previous game. Just 7 minutes into the game, Silva made a wonderful pass from the right rib, Fabregas' shot from the right side of the penalty area was saved by the goalkeeper, and Morata followed up with a shot and scored, and the score became 1:0!
Spain scored the first goal, and Morata also increased his goal tally in this European Cup to 3 goals, temporarily tying with Bale for the top spot in the scorer list.
“Nice fight!”
On the sidelines, Bosque was so excited to see his players open up the situation so quickly that he clapped his hands very vigorously and enthusiastically hugged his colleagues in the coaching booth to celebrate.
On the bench, Lin Quan was chatting with his teammates, but after seeing this ball, his eyes lit up.
Morata's last shot didn't require much technical skills, a three-year-old child could do it, but his movement before the shot was so smart and his sense of smell was so sharp! This guy does have the foundation of a top striker, but his shooting skills still need to be improved.
Sometimes I always feel that his handling of the final shot is not detailed or reasonable enough. In this regard, he can actually learn more from top shooters such as Messi and Ronaldo.
After taking the lead, Spain played more actively and proactively, almost forming a siege on Croatia.
Spain created a lot of opportunities during this period, but unfortunately failed to seize the opportunities to expand their lead. Instead, at the end of the first half, they were ambushed and Kalinic scored a goal to equalize the score.
Being equalized by the opponent at the last moment had a certain impact on Spain's morale.
But Bosque did not blame the players, he still encouraged and even praised them.
He could clearly feel on the sidelines that in the three games without Lin Quan, the Spanish team played better and better.
We played the worst and most chaotic game in the first one, but in the second one we found the rhythm and new attacking points and played much better than the first one.
The third game showed significant improvement compared to the second game. The frontcourt players cooperated more and more tacitly, the team was more and more like a smoothly running machine, and the state had been fully adjusted.
He firmly believed that as long as they continued to play like this in the second half, there was a great chance that they would win the game.
On the other hand, Croatia is not very happy.
The opponent's strength was much stronger than they had imagined. Even if Lin Quan was not on the court, these Spanish players on the field were not easy to deal with.
What's more, Lin Quan, who was sitting on the bench, put enormous pressure on them, making it difficult for them to completely let go.
“Don’t have any psychological burden. When you get on the court, use all your strength to attack the enemy’s goal. We need to constantly launch high-quality counterattacks like the last attack in the first half!”
Croatia's goal in the first half proved that they had the ability to break through the Spanish defense, but the players failed to seize such opportunities.
Although from the perspective of the situation, they were suppressed by their opponents, and their data such as ball possession, number of passes and number of shots were not as good as their opponents, but in terms of offensive threat, they were actually the superior side.
Therefore, it is possible that Croatia can win this game, and the possibility is not small.
The key is that they can't be timid. If they are timid, then it's over! After listening carefully to the coach's arrangement, Croatia's performance really improved a lot after the start of the second half.
In the 57th minute of the second half, Croatia launched a counterattack immediately after successfully defending.
Srna dribbled the ball along the right sideline and then made a cross, but the cross was too close to the goalkeeper and was blocked by De Gea in advance.
A few minutes later, Croatia launched another counterattack. After receiving the pass from his teammate, Jedvaj chose to volley the ball into the near corner. De Gea reacted quickly and fell to the ground to block the ball.
Croatia took a corner kick, but the first point was blocked by Spain. Piazza tried a back-heel shot, which was very cool and completed with a high degree of success, but unfortunately it went wide of the goal.
After withstanding the opponent's counterattack, Spain immediately retaliated.
In the 67th minute, Silva completed a wall pass with Iniesta in the middle and dribbled the ball along the left.
The opponent's full-back made a tackle and kicked the ball out of the bottom line. The Spanish team took a corner kick. Ramos overpowered the opponent's defender, jumped high and headed the ball, but unfortunately the ball hit the crossbar.
Ramos' header scared the opponent so much that after Modric's reminder, Croatia focused on marking Ramos when defending set pieces, not giving him a comfortable chance to head the ball.
In the 70th minute, Iniesta broke through the middle and made a lob pass into the penalty area. Croatian defender Forsajko tripped David Silva and the referee decisively awarded a penalty.
However, because Lin Quan, who was supposed to take the penalty kick, was not on the field, the players on the field could not come to a conclusion for a while as to who would take the penalty kick.
Finally, the captain Ramos stood up and said, "Since you guys don't come, I'll do it!" Ramos then took the penalty kick, but the ball was saved by Croatian goalkeeper Subasic.
Well, this is a bit embarrassing...
(End of this chapter)