Just when everyone thought that Xiaofa's long-range shot was about to score, Portugal's goalkeeper Patricio jumped high and lifted the ball off the crossbar.

The Spanish fans in the stands, who were about to celebrate, covered their heads in disbelief, their eyes widened, and they looked like they had seen a ghost.

Not to mention them, the few Spanish players closest to the goal, including Xiaofa himself, who completed the shot, also performed dumbfounded at this time.

This is a dead end, this can also be pounced?

Who is the opposing goalkeeper?

The expression of the Spanish player looking at the opposing goalkeeper has changed, this guy is obviously outrageously strong, why haven't you heard of this person in the world?

It was not only the Spanish fans who remembered Patricio as a man, but also the global audience that watched the live broadcast of the match also left a very deep impact on Patricio at this moment.

If Portugal can beat Spain in this game, then he will definitely be the number one contributor!

Patricio's miraculous save not only dealt a heavy blow to the morale of Spain, but also greatly boosted the morale of the team.

Nearby Portuguese players came up to give him a high-five, and some even gave him a warm hug.

Patricio himself was thrilled, and he had already sniffed a chance to make a name for himself.

As long as he can continue to continue his form, whether he wins or loses this game, his value will skyrocket a lot, and he will be favored by some giant teams this summer, and even attract a lot of money!

Just when Patricio and the Portuguese players were immersed in the joy of defusing the opponent's attack, Lin Quan had already silently run to the corner kick area, asked for the ball from the caddy, placed the ball, and waited for the corner kick.

When his teammates saw his move, they quickly adjusted their form and began to line up according to the predetermined corner kick tactics.

Set-pieces are an effective attacking tool in the face of a dense defence, so Spain take such opportunities very seriously.

Ramos, Morata, Pique and several other taller players all came to the penalty area at this time, ready to participate in the header duel.

Portugal's players were also very vigilant, and even Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense.

The Spanish side has arranged a strategy of three high points in the front, center and back three positions, with the tallest Pique at the front and closer to the goal.

Once the ball is over his head, he doesn't even need to jump, just a rub to get his header on goal.

It is precisely because of Pique's huge threat in this position that the Portuguese goalkeeper has focused his defense on Pique's body, and his position is closer to the front point.

After Lin Quan saw his teammates standing in a good position, he took a few steps back and made a gesture representing the front point.

Seeing this, Pique took the initiative to run forward at the moment when Lin Quan kicked the ball out, looked back at the moon, and rubbed the ball towards the goal.

The ball worked together perfectly, Lin Quan's corner found Pique accurately, and Pique barely had to jump to get on the ball.

The ball was topped by Pique, spun and flew towards the goal, and it was towards the back post.

The Portuguese goalkeeper was on guard against Pique, so he was close to the front post, which caused him to miss some saves and could only watch the ball fly towards the goal.

Seeing that the opponent's goalkeeper had surrendered, the football was about to fly into the net, but I heard a 'bang', and the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back.

The ball bounced back into the box and Alvaro Morata's hasty follow-up shot was blocked by an opposing player's outstretched leg and Spain won another corner.

The Portuguese who escaped the catastrophe were so frightened that they broke out in a cold sweat, the ball was so dangerous just now, if it weren't for the meritorious service of the door frame, they would have fallen behind!

In the coach's seat, Spanish coach Bosque couldn't help but scratch his hair.

Why was the team's luck so bad today?

Two chances to score in a row, but they didn't go through!

Could it be that Lady Luck is really not on their side?

In the Portuguese dugout, Fernando's face turned white with fright.

Although the ball didn't go in the end, it was too scary.

A few more times like this kind of danger, he was worried that his heart would not be able to bear it.

"Keep an eye on the opponent's front point, don't give him a chance to fight for the top in comfort!"

Fernando yelled at the pitch to get his players to step up their efforts to defend Pique.

Spain's corner kick tactics just now have proved that Pique is a threat in the box, and if it is not taken seriously, Portugal will definitely be punished.

"This kid's footwork is too accurate, isn't it? It's just a matter of hitting anywhere! ”

After arranging for two players to pack Pique one after the other, so that Pique could not jump, Fernando breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

However, once he recalled Lin Quan's corner kick just now, Fernando's cold sweat couldn't help but bubble out.

I've seen accurate corner kicks, but I've never seen them so accurate, it's like installing precision guidance on a football, finding Pique's head accurately, the height and angle are just right, and everyone else doesn't even have a chance to fight for the top.

If this is not from the opponent, then even if they prevent Pique, it may be difficult to completely eliminate the threat from the opponent's corner.

After all, Lin Quan can still find Morata, Ramos and others!

Fortunately, these two people are in the back, and there are many defenders around them, and they are also far away from Lin Quan, the farther the distance, the more difficult it is to pass the ball, Lin Quan may not be able to point where to play like he just passed to Pique, right?

After seeing the power of the Spanish corner, the whole Portuguese team has done the best to defend the second corner.

Not only Pique at the front point, but Ramos and Morata at the back were all stared at.

It's very difficult to pass the ball to them.

Seeing this scene, Lin Quan had a plan in his heart.

He continued to make a forward gesture, and Pique saw his gesture and struggled to get out of his pocket.

The Portuguese players saw Lin Quan play the same gesture as before, and one by one they couldn't help but focus on Pique, and even the goalkeeper's position was closer to the left side of the goal.

Hehe, I want to copy the trick just now, dream!

The Portuguese, who were waiting for the battle, were full of confidence that they would be able to prevent this corner kick from Spain.

However, no one noticed that Lin Quan retreated farther this time than before.

Beep!

The whistle blew, and Lin Quan began to run.

With a bang, the ball left the corner and flew into the box.

Seeing the trajectory of the football, the Portuguese players immediately realized that they had been fooled, and the ball was not rushing forward!

"Protect the back point!"

Pepe yells to alert his teammates as he jumps high and tries to intercept the ball.

However, his height was still a little worse, and the ball flew past his hair.

Jose and Ramos jumped at the same time, but neither of them touched the ball.

The ball wasn't passed to the back post!

Is the punishment crooked?

Seeing that the opponent's three good headers did not reach the ball, the Portuguese player couldn't help but wonder in his heart.

However, when they saw the trajectory of the football in the air, their faces changed suddenly!

Not good!

The ball is headed for the goal!

Patricio spotted this, as he struggled to move his feet on the goalline, but he was still a step too slow and the ball flew into the net with a thud before he could move into place.

There was an eerie silence at the scene!

Fans of both teams were stunned, as if no one expected such an outcome.

A direct free-kick?

Is this really possible?

This is a zero-angle shot, and there are goalkeepers waiting in front of the goal and so many opponent players to block it, in this case, if you want to break the goal directly, the difficulty is almost hell!

However, this impossible thing really appeared in front of them, and it was no wonder that they were so shocked and stunned!

Don't say it's them, even the referee was stunned for a moment.

However, he reacted quickly and, after confirming the goal, blew the whistle quickly to signal that the goal was valid.

When the Spanish fans heard the whistle, they reacted quickly, and one by one they fell into ecstasy and celebrated wildly in the stands.

The Portuguese fans, on the other hand, were still in a strong shock, unable to calm down for a long time and unable to accept this result.

Ronaldo stood in the penalty area, crossed his hands on his waist, looked at the football rolling in the goal, and couldn't help but look at Lin Quan who was celebrating in the corner kick area.

Conceding such a goal made him a little temperless.

Patricio kicked the ball that rolled into the goal, and he didn't expect his goal to be breached in this way!

The enemy was so cunning that he made a penalty gesture, but chose to shoot straight at the goal.

This trick not only deceived the opponent, but even the teammates!

"Good boy, even my brother and I have been deceived by you!"

Pique rushed up to celebrate as soon as possible, smiling and high-five Lin Quan in celebration while complaining.

He really thought that Lin Quan was going to hand over the ball to him to fight for the top, so he almost used up his strength to eat milk, and completed the jump with difficulty in the middle of the opponent's two.

Although it was useless, his desperate actions really deceived the opposing player, and also prevented the opponent's goalkeeper from moving to the far end at the first time.

"What do you know, if you want to deceive the enemy, you must deceive yourself first!"

Ramos came up with a smile, one in one hand, and said with a smile on his shoulders.

In fact, it was not only Pique who was deceived, but Ramos and others were also deceived.

It is precisely because everyone has been deceived that the Portuguese appear defenseless, and Lin Quan's shot can have a surprise effect.

"Hehe, it doesn't matter what method is used to score, in short, it's a good thing to score a goal, doesn't the opponent like to put an iron bucket formation and shrink the defense? I'll see what they do now! ”

Casillas, who was furthest away, also rushed up and continued after hearing the words of his teammates:

"Now that the offense and defense are changing, it's our turn to play the opponent's defensive counterattack, the coach is not worried about our physical fitness enough, then now we will use more effortless tactics to deal with them!"

……

After taking the lead, Spain did not immediately withdraw to defend.

Instead, he took advantage of the momentum after the goal to continue to attack Portugal.

The morale of the Portuguese side has taken a big hit, and there is not a lot of unity within the team.

Some players wanted to launch an immediate counter-attack to level the score.

Some players felt that Spain's attack was too aggressive and wanted to hold on to the opponent's attacking climax before thinking about counter-attacking.

As a consequence of the lack of unity of thought within them, their defenses are not as solid as they used to be.

Within 10 minutes of Spain's goal, there were a number of mistakes in their defence that narrowly missed the opposition's chance to extend the lead.

Fortunately, in the end, under the shouting of the head coach, their internal thinking was unified.

After holding the Spanish offensive, Portugal's formation began to push forward, and the number of troops invested in the attack gradually increased.

The Portuguese players did not have a technical advantage over the Spanish players, but their physical advantage was still there.

Therefore, their tactics are also very simple, that is, relying on physical advantages, speeding up the pace of the game, looking for opportunities for opponents to make mistakes in the fast attack, and completing the fatal blow.

The opponent's calculations were good, but the Spanish side was not fooled.

After the opponent attacked, they did not mean to play against Portugal, but took the initiative to shrink the formation and put on a defensive counterattack.

Now, it's the Portuguese's turn to have a headache on how to break the dense defense.

Towards the end of the first half, Portugal had a lot more shots, but they were almost no threat, and many of them were taken by their players in a hurry.

Naturally, such a shot could not break through Spain's goal, but on the Spanish side, after the opponent pressed hard, the counterattack on the side was vigorous, and even at the end of the first half, it also created a single chance.

Unfortunately, Pedro's solo effort was once again defused by the opposing goalkeeper, and Spain missed a golden opportunity to extend the score, and finally ended the first half with a one-goal lead.

Although the score was ahead, the expressions on the faces of the Spanish players did not look relaxed, and the expressions of many players were still very serious, while the expressions of the Portuguese players next door were more solemn.

In the final stage of the first half, their attack was slow to play and did not work, which made the mentality of many players become a little anxious.

Once Spain takes the lead, it is almost impossible to turn it around.

The only comeback came in the group stage, but Lin Quan was not present in that game, so it does not represent the true level of the Spanish team.

So the Portuguese players couldn't help but wonder if they could really equalize or even reverse the game?

Spain is strong, as it has proven in the last few years.

Against such a formidable opposition, the Portuguese players will inevitably lack confidence, and once they have the idea that the opponent is invincible, their belief in winning will be shaken.

And once they don't even have confidence, then they can't win the game.

Therefore, a big challenge for Portugal is how to get the players back in their self-confidence.

(End of chapter)