Chapter 648: The King of Lip-Service or the Prophet?

Just when the two teams were taking a break at halftime, the fans of both sides did not take a break. Instead, they seized the time to have a fierce quarrel online and offline.

"The Spanish team is awesome, they beat the French team!"

"Three consecutive championships, three consecutive championships!"

"The Spanish team: The French team is the worst opponent we have met in the finals!"

...

Because the Spanish team has an absolute advantage, both in the field and in the score.

So the fans who support Spain completely overwhelmed the fans who support the French team in terms of momentum.

The French fans who were scolded could only swallow their anger. With a score of 0:2, any of their sophistry seemed pale and powerless, and they could not get any support from neutral fans at all.

"Wait, you will know the strengths of the French team in the second half!"

In the end, they could only leave such a harsh word, and in their hearts they were looking forward to the team's comeback in the second half and slapping those who looked down on them.

"Haha, are you French fans repeating the same thing over and over again? Why do you keep saying the same thing over and over again?"

"The French team was strong in the second half, but is the Spanish team just a piece of paper in the second half?"

"That's right, if they keep playing like this, I wonder if Lin Huang will have a hat trick with free kicks in the World Cup!"

"Haha, don't tell me, don't tell me, it's really possible!"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, if Lin Huang really scored three free kicks in the final, he would be a god!"

In fact, Lin Quan scored two free kicks in the first half, which was enough to make everyone drop their jaws.

So many people are unwilling to believe that Lin Quan can continue to create miracles.

This kind of thing is unheard of.

It is already very rare to complete a hat trick in the World Cup final, let alone to complete a hat trick with a free kick.

This is too unbelievable!

…

On the commentary stand of Sky Sports, Manchester United star Gary Neville read the quarrel between the fans of both teams on the Internet and said in confusion:

"In fact, wasn't this result predicted by everyone before the game? Spain's strong first half and France's terrible second half, I thought everyone knew this, why is there such a big debate?"

Martin Taylor took over and continued:

"But from the first half, France was very passive and Spain had the upper hand, which made the outside world very worried. Will the second half still be the one-sided situation in the first half?"

Martin Taylor's question is the most worrying issue for many fans. Everyone hopes to see a well-matched game with both sides playing back and forth.

Rather than the first half, when Spain bombarded France's goal.

Gary Neville shook his head:

"How is this possible? The players' physical fitness can't support them to keep attacking in this way. The Spanish team's attack in the first half was just a chicken blood. Chicken blood can be maintained for a while, but it can't be maintained forever.

I think everyone should put their hearts in their stomachs. The French team will definitely exert their strength in the second half and will definitely score goals. Maybe they can tie or even surpass the score before the final whistle!"

Andy Gray couldn't help but be surprised when he heard Gary Neville's words:

"Are you so optimistic about the French team? You know, there is a guy named Lin in the Spanish team!"

Gary Neville was disdainful: "Football is a team sport. No matter how strong a person is, he can't change the final outcome!"

As expected, Gary Neville's remarks immediately caused great controversy.

The French fans who supported him thought he was right. This guy is worthy of being a Manchester United star. He has vision.

And the Spanish fans who opposed him thought that this guy was just sensationalizing and trying to use this method to gain fame.

...

In the Spanish team's locker room, the players didn't know what was happening outside.

Most of them were still in an excited state. The excitement at the end of the first half made them feel like they were on fire.

"Relax, guys, don't be so excited!"

Seeing this, Bosque smiled and pressed his hands down, signaling the players to stay calm and try to reduce their physical energy consumption.

"Coach, I don't think we need to rest. We are in good shape now!"

The effect of the excitement is still there. Many people even want to use this momentum to defeat the opponent in one go.

"Haha, there are still 40 to 50 minutes in the second half. Now sit down honestly, seize the time to recover your physical strength, stop yelling, and listen to me quietly."

It is a good thing for the players to stay excited, but it is also a bad thing.

If there were no 15 minutes of halftime, the Spanish team could have relied on the momentum at the last moment to rush and fight again, and maybe they could have expanded their lead again and completely defeated their opponents.

But unfortunately, the first half is over, so now we must calm down quickly and not get too excited.

Otherwise, when the second half starts, their excitement will fade and the players will fall into a state of fatigue after the excitement fades. If the opponent takes the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, they may not be able to resist.

Bosque's prestige is high, and the big guys in the team such as Lin Quan and Ramos are sitting quietly and resting without saying anything, so the other young players gradually calmed down.

Under Bosque's instruction, the team doctor and physiotherapist quickly gave muscle massages to veterans such as David Silva.

The physical fitness of veterans is not as good as that of young players, and they must be helped to maintain their condition as much as possible, otherwise they will have to be replaced in the second half.

"You played very well in the first half and perfectly achieved the goals we set before the game. I am proud of you!"

Bosque looked around, his eyes swept over each player, and praised the players in a restrained manner.

His tone was as flat as possible to avoid irritating the players and making them unable to calm down.

"But the game is not over yet, we can't take it lightly. Only when we maintain the advantage until the moment when the final whistle blows can we celebrate to our heart's content."

"Before that, I hope you can maintain the momentum of the first half, make persistent efforts, play well in the second half, and don't give the opponent any chance."

After a brief praise, Bosque began to knock on the players, hoping to keep the players vigilant and not underestimate the enemy.

The French team is a slow-starting team, and the second half of the game is destined to be more difficult than the first half.

This is something he has repeatedly emphasized before the game. Bosque emphasized it again at this time because he was afraid that some players would underestimate the opponent because of the lead in the first half, and would not take the opponent seriously, thus causing a disaster.

Fortunately, several key players in Spain are very clear-headed and have not shown any arrogance.

For example, Lin Quan, Iniesta and others.

To be honest, as the French complained, the two goals scored by the Spanish team in the first half were not scored in positional warfare. Strictly speaking, they did not break the opponent's defense.

Although they have an absolute advantage in the field, this situation of gaining the upper hand but not scoring is very dangerous.

The French team's tactic today is to defend and counterattack. They have an extreme counterattack player like Mbappe in their team.

Thanks to Lin Quan for scoring at two key time points, the rhythm of the French team was disrupted.

Otherwise, given that Spain could not attack for a long time in the first half and the team's mentality was generally impetuous, the opponent only needed to make a threatening counterattack to score first.

So after calming down and thinking back carefully about the situation at that time, many people couldn't help but sweat.

The strength of this French team should not be underestimated. Who dares to underestimate them when facing such a strong opponent?

At this time, the effect of chicken blood began to fade, and many people entered the sage mode. Therefore, many people on the Spanish team felt that the French team was terrible. In this case, would it be better to play a defensive counterattack in the second half?

But if you think about it carefully, it seems not to be possible, because in addition to counterattack players like Mbappe, the French team's forward line also has a high center forward like Giroud.

In addition, the overall physical confrontation ability of the French team is much stronger than that of the Spanish team, so if they really want to fight a positional war, the opponent will not be afraid at all, and even more like a fish in water.

On the other hand, most of their players in Spain are more accustomed to controlling the ball at their feet, and are not used to the situation where the ball is at the opponent's feet and they are passively beaten.

Of course, Bosque understood these principles, so Bosque did not make a 180-degree change in the team's tactics, but made slight adjustments based on the original tactics.

The specific strategy is to pass and control the ball as safely as possible, and not to take risks easily unless there is a great opportunity in front of you.

The Spanish team now has two goals in hand. What they need to do in the second half is to ensure that their own goal does not lose the ball as much as possible.

Of course, not attacking is not an option. If the opponent's goal cannot be threatened for a long time, the opponent's defender will definitely press forward to participate in the attack.

So attacking at the right time, continuously putting pressure on the opponent, so that they dare not invest a lot of troops to attack, can effectively reduce the defensive pressure on their own side.

Passing and controlling football itself is a defensive tactic. If the ball is controlled at your feet, the opponent cannot get the ball, and naturally there is no threat to your own goal.

If the opponent is pressing very fiercely, you can use the pass to transfer the opponent's players, leaving the opponent's defense empty, and create opportunities for your offensive players to counterattack.

This tactic is called passing and controlling counterattack!

…

At the same time, in the French team's locker room.

Deschamps began to focus on explaining the tactics of the second half to several players in the frontcourt. Among them, Griezmann and Mbappe were the players he paid special attention to. Deschamps held the hands of the two and gave them instructions for a long time, wishing to instill all the ideas in his mind into them.

The first task for the French team in the second half is to score goals, and the responsibility of scoring goals falls on these two people.

The French team is currently two goals behind, and they must catch up with the ball or even overtake their opponents before the end of the game.

Otherwise, they will have to watch the opponent step on them and hold the World Cup.

For any team that enters the final, they are definitely here to compete for the championship, and no one is here for the runner-up.

The French team has not won the World Cup for 20 years. This year's championship is the best proof that they have returned as kings.

"The opponent's defense is not strong. We have created opportunities in the first half, but unfortunately we didn't seize them in the end. But we must not make mistakes in the second half. We must seize every opportunity that comes with great difficulty. Do you understand?"

Deschamps emphasized his tone. He didn't want to see the players wasting opportunities on the court.

The time left for the French team was running out. They didn't have many opportunities to waste.

"Understood, coach!"

Mbappe, Griezmann and others nodded seriously and kept the coach's instructions in mind.

Even if Deschamps didn't emphasize these, they would try their best to seize every opportunity.

Who doesn't want to be the hero of the team?

Especially in the World Cup final, a big stage that billions of people around the world pay attention to, scoring a goal here is more effective than scoring 10 or even 100 goals in other league and national team games.

On the contrary, if they perform poorly here, the image of a weak shrimp in the competition will be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it will be difficult to wash it off no matter how well they perform in the future.

...

Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and the players of both sides returned to the court again.

When the players of both sides passed through the player channel, many Spanish players were observing the status of the French players.

They clearly remembered that at the end of the first half, the French team was generally in a dejected state.

But after a 15-minute break in the middle of the game, the opposing coach gave them some chicken soup in the locker room. When these players appeared again, the dejected state disappeared.

Instead, they were in a state of being suppressed for a long time and ready to go.

Seeing the state of the opposing players, Lin Quan looked at Busquets, Pique, Ramos and others.

Everyone knew that the second half of the game might not be easy to play.

Beep!

With the referee's whistle, the second half of the 2018 Russia World Cup final, Spain vs. France, officially started.

The two sides changed the venue, and the French team got the ball.

Giroud kicked the ball to Griezmann, who didn't delay for a second and directly knocked the ball to the side and handed it to Mbappe who was about to rush forward.

Although there was no problem with the opponent's defensive position, Mbappe didn't care and rushed forward with the ball.

David Silva, who was facing him, was very calm. He knew that he was not as fast as the opponent, so he stuck in his position, fought and retreated, waiting for the support of his teammates nearby.

But Mbappe accelerated, rushed from the side, and continued to rush towards the Spanish team's bottom line.

At the same time, on the court, the French team's overall formation pressed forward, and Giroud in the middle rushed towards the Spanish team's penalty area like a moving tank.

Griezmann, Pogba, Kante, Matuidi and others followed behind him, lined up, and launched a charge towards the Spanish team's half.

At the beginning of the second half, the French team directly accelerated the pace of the game! (End of this chapter)