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Chapter 129: It Feels Good to Crush!
On March 23rd, the fourth round of the World Cup qualifiers began, with Spain hosting Finland at home.
Finland's strength wasn't weak; among the five teams in the group, they were probably ranked third.
However, Finland was a bit unlucky; they first faced France, then Spain.
Finally, they encountered Georgia, a team slightly weaker than them, but ended up scoring an own goal at home and having a player sent off.
Forced to play with ten men, Finland regretfully missed the chance to secure their first victory, currently only having one point and ranking bottom of the group.
Therefore, facing the world powerhouse Spain, they wisely chose to park the bus.
They didn't aim for victory; just taking away one point would be enough.
Facing the opponent's bus parking strategy, if it were the Spain team of the past, breaking through might have been a challenge.
But now, with Lin Quan on the team, they weren't worried about penetrating the opponent's goal.
Throughout the first half, it seemed like both sides were conducting a half-time attacking and defending drill.
Spain's possession rate reached an astonishing 85%, with the football hardly ever touching the feet of Finnish players.
With possession, Spain launched a suffocating pressing attack on Finland.
Their passing and movement were as smooth as flowing water; those top midfield masters almost treated football as their own stage.
They consistently produced amazing passes and executed breathtaking combinations.
For them, this level of creativity and vision seemed effortless.
In the 22nd minute, Spain continuously passed the ball in the opponent's half.
Finnish players watching the ball being passed around were dizzy; their bodies couldn't keep up with the speed of their minds.
Some players chased the ball, slightly deviating from their positions.
There was a fleeting gap in their defense!
Lin Quan saw the opportunity and immediately passed the ball into the penalty area.
Arsenal midfielder Cazorla received the ball on the right side of the penalty area and took a powerful shot.
Finnish goalkeeper Mäenpää made a crucial save, flying to deflect the ball.
The shot was of high quality, but the opposing goalkeeper's performance was outstanding.
Cazorla could only give Lin Quan a thumbs-up to express gratitude, feeling a bit regretful.
But with so many top midfielders on the team, Spain didn't lack opportunities to shoot.
Two minutes later, Spain struck again.
In the 24th minute, Silva delivered a brilliant pass, and Cazorla received the ball on the left side of the penalty area.
This time, instead of shooting himself, he swept the ball across the goal.
Lurking nearby, Lin Quan and Iniesta both fell to the ground for a simultaneous shot.
The ball flew into the goal at lightning speed, leaving the goalkeeper powerless.
After the goal, both Iniesta and Lin Quan celebrated, not knowing who scored. So, their teammates gathered around them to celebrate together.
The replay on the big screen at the Molinón stadium showed that the ball initially touched Lin Quan's foot, then Iniesta's foot, before flying into the goal.
Strictly speaking, this goal should be counted as Iniesta's, with Lin Quan probably assisting?
Seeing the replay on the big screen, Iniesta ran over to Lin Quan, hugged him, and jokingly said:
"That was a great pass; I didn't even need to adjust, it just hit my foot and went in!"
Lin Quan laughed at Iniesta's words:
"Your shooting skills are still better; you didn't even need to react. Before I could even pass the ball, you were already shooting. To convert such a difficult pass, I can only say impressive!"
The two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Finland had initially planned to park the bus, but now that they were behind, could they still win by continuing to park the bus?
They looked helplessly at their coach on the sidelines.
At this point, Finland's coach began to hesitate:
Should they give up parking the bus and launch an attack against Spain? Continuing to park the bus might not give them a chance to equalize against Spain's terrifying possession rate.
But by committing troops to attack, there might still be a glimmer of hope.
So, Finland's head coach waved his hand, instructing the team to go on the offensive.
Now, with Finland actively attacking, Spain found it easier to penetrate the opponent's defense.
In the 26th minute, after a series of passes, Spain's players delivered the ball into the penalty area. David Silva's shot hit a defending player and went out for a corner.
Spain won a corner.
Lin Quan took the corner, aiming for the back post in the penalty area.
Ramos shook off the defending player's interference and, from about 11 yards out, powered a header into the goal.
Spain scored two goals within three minutes!
After the goal, Ramos was very excited. As a defender, being able to score was definitely worth celebrating!
Ramos happily ran to the sidelines and performed a sliding celebration motion.
His teammates followed suit, sliding together, and even Lin Quan joined in the madness.
However, he didn't realize during the slide, but afterward, he found his knee scraped and bleeding.
Seeing Lin Quan's knee bleeding, Bosque on the sidelines was frightened and immediately called for the team doctor to examine and treat him.
He was the team's treasure; he couldn't afford to get injured easily!
Lin Quan felt helpless; although he repeatedly said he was fine and it was just a scrape, nothing serious, Bosque insisted on having the doctor check him. After confirming he wasn't injured, Bosque finally relaxed.
"Lin, from now on, you're not allowed to use risky celebration moves in matches. No sliding or somersaults; both are dangerous!"
Bosque said sternly.
He didn't care how others celebrated, but Lin Quan couldn't do such risky celebrations.
If he got injured, there was no one in the team who could replace him, and that would be a big problem.
Some players looked cool doing sliding celebrations, like Drogba.
Some were unlucky, like Solskjaer; when he celebrated the Camp Nou miracle with a slide, he tragically got injured...
Lin Quan humbly accepted Bosque's criticism, promising never to repeat it.
Coach Tony, standing nearby, saw Bosque's stern words and whispered to Lin Quan:
"Don't blame Vicente for being so strict with you; he doesn't really want to criticize you. He just doesn't want your professional career to be affected by injuries."
"We old folks have made many mistakes when we were young. We hope you can learn from our experiences and not follow our old path."
Lin Quan's talent is truly outstanding, so much so that Bosque and Tony wish to cherish him like a treasure, fearing that he might fall into decline due to injuries before fully demonstrating his talent.
There have been too many examples in the football world already; they don't want such a thing to happen to Lin Quan.
Lin Quan is not an ungrateful person; he can certainly feel Bosque's care and attention.
Of course, this is also related to the strength and talent he has shown. If it were an ordinary player, the other side definitely wouldn't care so much.
...
While Lin Quan was off the field receiving treatment, Finland, playing with fewer players, finally managed to make their first shot in the 29th minute of the game.
Unmarked, Eremenko took a shot from about 25 yards out, but it missed the goal. Although it didn't pose a threat, at least it broke their embarrassing record of zero shots.
But once Lin Quan entered the field, Spain once again firmly held control of the game.
In the 39th minute, Lin Quan made a brilliant pass, but David Silva's shot was saved by the goalkeeper.
The ball went out to Iniesta outside the penalty area, who took a direct long shot from about 30 yards on the left.
The shot was of high quality, but once again, Mäenpää made a fantastic save, tipping the ball over the crossbar with one hand.
Iniesta missed the chance for a second goal.
After a corner kick, the ball ended up with Silva in the penalty area.
Manchester City's key player took a shot that hit the post, and after it bounced out, Alba attempted a follow-up shot but missed, allowing the Finns to escape.
In the final stages of the first half, Spain once again besieged Finland.
Originally intending to play Spain head-on, Finland was forced to endure Spain's relentless pressure in their own half.
If it weren't for the goalkeeper and the goalpost making several crucial saves, they would probably have been three or even four goals behind by now.
With a lead on the scoreboard, the team once again took absolute control of the game.
At the Molinón Stadium, Spanish fans were celebrating wildly.
They not only enjoyed the charm of Spanish possession football but also witnessed their own team's victory.
They really loved this feeling of dominating the opponent!
It's just a pity that the next game will be played in France, and most of them won't be able to go. They'll have to support the team from home in front of the TV.
But with the team's strength, winning against France shouldn't be a problem, right?
...
After halftime, with a two-goal lead, Spain made personnel adjustments first.
Pedro came on for Cazorla, and Negredo came on for Iniesta.
Bosque still had one substitution left, which he had prepared for Lin Quan.
But he was worried that replacing Lin Quan too early might lead to a decrease in the team's attacking power, so he decided to observe a bit more before making the change.
After Pedro came on, he became very active on the field.
In the 49th minute, Pedro received the ball outside the penalty area and chose to take a direct shot, but it was blocked by a defender and went out for a corner.
Lin Quan took the corner, and Ramos scored a difficult header from the edge of the small penalty area.
After scoring, Ramos took off his shirt, revealing his muscular physique, and ran to the sidelines to pose for the camera.
It's unbelievable to say, but a defender scored two headers in this game.
The Spanish fans at the scene were ecstatic, applauding this spectacular header regardless of whether they were Ramos fans or not.
"How did he score that goal?"
On the sidelines, after celebrating with his national team colleagues, Bosque, with an incredulous look, touched the smooth forehead that had receded after his hairline moved back,
"Only God knows how that happened. If Ramos tried that again himself, he probably wouldn't score!"
Bosque nodded and quickly instructed his assistant to arrange the substitution.
With a three-goal lead, there was no need for Lin Quan to continue on the field.
It's better to substitute him now and prepare for the next game against France!
Seeing the fourth official on the sidelines holding up the substitution sign, Lin Quan jogged off the field while applauding the fans who had come to watch the game.
The fans also enthusiastically applauded him.
In this game, Lin Quan didn't score, but all three goals scored by the team came from his assists, although Iniesta's shot might have been a bit of a stretch.
But Ramos' two headers wouldn't have been possible without him.
After embracing Mata, who was preparing to enter the field, Lin Quan accepted the energy drink handed to him by his teammate, wrapped himself in a coat, and sat on the bench, watching the game attentively.
Bosque saw that Lin Quan didn't get upset about being substituted early and nodded slightly.
This kid's mentality is really good, unlike others who might throw a tantrum.
Although three main players were substituted, Spain still firmly held the initiative on the field.
In the 57th minute, Fabregas passed, and Ramos' header grazed the left post, narrowly missing a hat-trick of headers.
After missing this goal, Ramos held his head in regret.
If he had scored, he might have set a record for the Spanish national team.
A defender scoring three goals in one game, all with headers, would definitely be a historic achievement, right?
But unfortunately, Fabregas' pass was a bit too strong, and Ramos didn't feel comfortable heading it.
If Lin Quan had made that pass, maybe it would have been different.
Thinking of this, Ramos missed Lin Quan a little.
With a three-goal lead, Spain relaxed a bit.
Taking advantage of this, the Finns launched a counterattack and scored a goal in the 79th minute due to a mistake by their opponents.
This goal shouldn't have been conceded, and Bosque shouted a few words of dissatisfaction to the players on the sidelines.
The Finnish midfielder crossed from the left, and Ramos and Alba failed to mark their opponents tightly, allowing Pukki of the Finnish team to poke the ball into the net before Valdés could reach it.
If either Ramos or Alba hadn't made a mistake, the opponent wouldn't have scored.
Facing the coach's criticism, Ramos took the initiative to take responsibility. He did slack off a bit on this goal.
Because he had scored two goals earlier, he was too focused on getting a hat-trick as a defender, which led to a lack of concentration in the game, giving the opponent an opportunity.
After restraining his desire to score, Ramos performed very steadily in the subsequent game and didn't give Finland any more chances.
In the end, Spain won 3-1 against their opponents at home, thanks to the three goals from Iniesta and Ramos. Currently, they have won all four group matches and are at the top of the table with 12 points.
In the next game, they will visit the French stadium to face the second-placed team in the group, France.
In this round of matches, France also defeated Georgia 3-1 and is closely following Spain in the standings.
If Spain can win against France away, they will be able to open up a six-point lead and take the lead alone.
But if Spain loses to France, the two teams' points will return to the starting line, and it's hard to say who will advance as the group winner!
(End of this chapter)
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