Chapter 543: Mihajlovic free kick returns, Pogba is sent off
After Spain scored the goal, the team's morale improved a lot and the players played more confidently and calmly.
Under this situation, they now dare to play some frontcourt combinations that they were afraid to play before and were more risky.
In the 33rd minute of the first half, Spain got a chance on the right.
Fabregas, Morata and David Silva used continuous short passes to successfully get the ball to the front of the French team's left penalty area and attracted a large number of opposing players.
The French team learned from the lesson of the last time they lost the ball. This time they strengthened the defense in the middle, and Kante kept a close eye on Lin Quan the whole time, sticking to him no matter where Lin Quan went.
This time Morata did not pass the ball to Lin Quan, but moved to the empty space on the left.
Alba, who came in from behind, dribbled the ball quickly to the bottom line and completed a cross before the opponent's full-back got close.
Umtiti headed the ball at the front point but failed to get it far.
The ball fell in front of Busquets, who cleverly stretched out his hands to block Pogba who was rushing from the side.
Seeing that his opponent was stuck, Pogba pushed Busquets.
Busquets was thinking about how to deal with the ball when he was pushed by Pogba. He immediately screamed and fell to the ground. While falling, he did not forget to press the ball under his body to prevent the referee from stopping the game and allowing the opponent to grab the ball and have a chance to counterattack.
Pogba was very angry. He felt that he did not use much strength. Busquets fell down with just a slight touch, and he screamed so exaggeratedly. It was obviously a fake fall.
So after seeing Busquets fall to the ground, Pogba ignored him and kicked the ball under Busquets with his foot, as if he wanted to snatch the ball away and continue attacking.
If the first one was not considered a serious foul, then this one by Pogba was really a foul.
Busquets was kicked by him and screamed, covering his stomach and rolling on the ground in pain.
The slow motion on the big screen showed that Pogba did not kick the ball, but kicked Busquets directly in the stomach.
When the Spanish players saw the opponent commit such a bad foul on their fallen teammate, they rushed up one by one, surrounded Pogba, and demanded an explanation.
When the French players saw their teammates being surrounded, they immediately ran over to help them.
The situation on the field suddenly became tense. The referee was relatively lenient in this game and did not blow the whistle strictly.
Both sides committed many fouls in the first half. Some of these fouls would have been enough to get a card if they were called more severely, but they escaped because of the referee's penalty standards, which made the players on both sides who were violated very angry.
At this time, taking advantage of this opportunity, the tempers of both sides broke out, and the pushing and verbal quarrels between the players on both sides became more and more intense.
Giroud and Pique, the tallest players on the field, even started to butt the bulls head to head.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, the referee finally dared not show mercy this time.
He rushed over quickly, separated the players who were arguing the most fiercely on both sides, and gave a yellow card to Pique and Giroud, giving each of them a 50-point penalty.
He then walked up to Pogba who committed the foul, showed him a red card, and sent him off the field directly.
Pogba was stunned. He spread his hands and looked at the referee with an aggrieved look, as if he was confirming with the other party:
Is this red card really for me?
Could it be a mistake? The other French players nearby didn't care about arguing with the Spanish players at this time, and ran to the referee to plead with him.
The French team was already behind in the score. If one more player was penalized at this time, there would be no game to play.
This decision by the referee will greatly affect the course and even the outcome of the game.
They hope that the referee will show mercy, at least give Pogba a yellow card, instead of just sending him off the field!
The referee had no intention of changing the decision and insisted on his own judgment. He also signaled Pogba not to stay on the field and asked him to leave the field immediately.
The French in the stands held their heads in disbelief, and after seeing the referee insist on the red card decision, they all protested.
The entire stadium was filled with boos and insults, and everywhere was the sound of insults to the referee. The French seemed to be putting pressure on the referee in this way. Even if they could not change the result of this penalty, they wanted to make the referee hesitate the next time he made a penalty and make a penalty more favorable to the French team.
On the court, some referees will often make up for the harsh decisions afterwards in order to find the balance as much as possible. The French want to take advantage of this.
But they may have miscalculated! The referee for this match is from Italy, and it is Italian golden whistle Nicola Rizzoli.
He was voted Italian Referee of the Year for three consecutive years and was named International Referee of the Year in 2013 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
In terms of qualifications and officiating experience, he is one of the top referees in football today.
Although his enforcement standards are relatively loose, his will is very firm and he will not easily change his judgment, even if he faces tremendous external pressure.
Historically, in this European Cup semi-final, it was Rizzoli who withstood the pressure and awarded a penalty to the French team when the German team was in a very good situation, which completely reversed the situation of the game and helped the French team to finally defeat the German team and advance to the final.
The Italian is no stranger to the Spaniards.
He officiated two Spanish matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, namely the first group match between Spain and the Netherlands and the final between Spain and Germany.
Spain won both games, and they won by a large margin.
From this perspective, Rizzoli can be said to be the lucky star of the Spanish team.
Judging from the current situation, this game is clearly developing in a direction favorable to Spain.
In the stands, some Spanish fans couldn't help but start celebrating early.
Pogba is an important part of the French team's midfield. Sending him off will greatly affect the French team's offense.
Moreover, the advantage in numbers can greatly reduce Spain's defensive pressure on the field.
Deschamps looked very unhappy. Pogba's behavior just now was too uncalm.
Even if Busquets' acting was a bit exaggerated, as long as he didn't kick anyone, he would only be given a verbal warning at most for his first pushing foul. Judging from the referee's enforcement standards in this game, he didn't even get a verbal warning.
But Pogba kicked someone, and he did so while the opponent was lying on the ground. This constituted a serious foul of intentional injury to the opposing player, and he will definitely be given a card.
Originally, he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, praying that the referee would show mercy and give him a yellow card.
Unexpectedly, the opponent would impose the death penalty on Pogba, forcing the French team into a desperate situation.
This is not the first time Pogba has lost his cool. As early as 2013, in a World Cup qualifier, Pogba did something stupid like this.
That time, after Pogba was substituted on, he received two yellow cards and was sent off in just two minutes, which surprised everyone at the scene.
And what’s more coincidental is that France’s opponent in that match was none other than Spain!
Pogba's unexpected departure caused serious damage to France's offensive system.
It became more difficult for them to score goals. Deschamps couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead and began to think about how to adjust during the halftime break to reduce the impact of Pogba's departure.
Just when Deschamps was having a headache over this problem, Lin Quan came to the foul site with the ball, ready to take a free throw.
At this time, both teams had ten players on the field. Busquets was really injured and was carried to the sidelines on a stretcher for treatment.
The temporary balance in numbers meant that there were no obvious loopholes in France's set-piece defense.
They nervously formed a human wall near the penalty area line, guarding against Lin Quan's direct shot while also guarding against the opponent's several taller players.
The foul occurred about 38 meters away from the goal, on the left side of the field, about seven or eight meters away from the sideline.
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The French players felt that at this distance, the possibility of the opponent shooting directly was not great, so they focused most of their energy on marking the players in the opponent's penalty area.
But when the Spanish players saw the gesture made by Lin Quan, they all understood that he was going to shoot directly.
Although they knew Lin Quan's intention, the Spanish players did not stand still like wooden stakes. Instead, they moved in and out of the opponent's penalty area like loaches, trying their best to attract the opponent's attention and create opportunities for Lin Quan.
Lin Quan took seven or eight steps back, took a deep breath, and started running.
With a loud bang, the football took off from the ground and flew towards the penalty area at high speed.
After seeing the flight trajectory of the football, the French immediately understood that the opponent had shot directly at the goal.
The French players forming the human wall jumped up one after another, trying to use their bodies to block Lin Quan's shot.
It’s a pity that they didn’t jump high enough and the football whizzed past their heads.
Hearing the sound of breaking air overhead, the French players who jumped couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
What a terrible power!
Fortunately, he didn't block it just now. If he had, he would have been knocked unconscious by the ball! France's goalkeeper Lori was concentrating at the moment, and his footsteps had already moved to the right side of the center line of the goal.
By observing the flight trajectory of the football in the air, he determined that the ball was kicked to the right.
Being able to take such a high-quality free kick from a distance of nearly 40 meters, Lin Quan's free kick ability is indeed well-deserved.
But unfortunately, I have seen through your intention, and a shot of this level cannot penetrate my defense.
Lori confidently turned sideways to make the save, but just as he jumped into the air, he found that the trajectory of the falling football suddenly changed.
Lori was shocked. The landing point of the football was different from what he had predicted, and he was already in the air and had no time to make adjustments.
With a crisp sound, the football almost brushed the lower edge of Lori's right arm and flew into the goal.
“Incredible goal!”
"Lin Quan's free kick completely deceived the French goalkeeper. Lori was completely fooled!"
"This is Lin Quan's second free kick in this European Cup, and both are long-range free kicks! Even if the French team tried their best, they still couldn't completely freeze Lin Quan, because he still has the special weapon of free kicks!"
"He is the genius of this era and a gift from God to our Spain!"
In the Spanish commentary booth, the commentators were speaking all kinds of flattering words at a very fast speed, as if they wanted to praise Lin Quan to the sky.
Not only were they doing this, after seeing Lin Quan score such a difficult free kick, commentators from various countries were almost doing the same thing.
Finished!
When Deschamps saw the ball go in, his head buzzed and he slumped down in the coaching seat, his mind going blank.
On the other side, Bosque was so excited that he jumped for his feet and rushed into the field at lightning speed, ahead of the substitutes.
Lin Quan's second goal almost sealed the victory for the Spanish team.
Leading by two goals gives the team a greater psychological advantage than leading by one goal because the team has more room for error.
Even if the opponent scored a goal in the next game, Spain could still win.
Moreover, Spain's advantage was very big at this time. Not only were they leading by two goals, they also had the advantage in numbers.
Bosque couldn't imagine what the opponent would do to turn the tables in this situation!
It was not just Bosque who thought so. The other Spanish players on the field, the Spanish fans in the stands, and even the Spanish commentators in the commentary booth all thought so.
"Although this result is very cruel for French fans, I have to say that they have been pushed into a desperate situation at this time!"
In the Sky Sports commentary booth, Martin Taylor pretended to feel sorry for the French for a while. The historical grievances between Britain and France are deep. If he had not been concerned about his current identity as a commentator, he would have wanted to open champagne to celebrate.
"Yes, the French team doesn't have much time left, they must find a way to score a goal as soon as possible!"
How could the French not understand something that even the commentators could think of? After the restart, the French team launched a crazy counterattack, trying to score a goal before the end of the first half.
Unfortunately, the numerical disadvantage made it difficult for their offense to be effective, especially when there was one less player in the midfield, the French team quickly fell behind in the midfield confrontation.
Pogba's departure left the French team with only one defensive midfielder, and the entire midfield had to rely on Kante to clean up the mess.
If it weren't for Kante who spared no effort to put out fires everywhere and resolved dangerous situations with his strong running ability and excellent intercepting ability, the French team would not only fail to attack, but might even continue to lose the ball.
But even so, the French team gradually fell into a disadvantage. Their counterattack did not last long before they were blocked by Spain. The situation of the game began to turn into Spain besieging the French team's goal! (End of this chapter)