Chapter 150: How Terrifying is the Full-Strength Spain!
The day after Brazil's opening match concluded, it was Spain's turn to take the field.
In stark contrast to the scheduling for the Samba Army, Spain's match order was from difficult to easy.
Their first match was against the strongest opponent in the group—Uruguay!
The two teams had clashed just a few months prior in a friendly match, where Spain triumphed 3-1.
Moreover, in their historical encounters, Spain maintained an unbeaten record against Uruguay with 5 wins and 5 draws, holding absolute superiority.
Therefore, before the match, people were more inclined to favor Spain.
However, the Uruguayans didn't see it that way.
Before the match, several star forwards from Uruguay, in interviews with reporters, expressed their desire to redeem themselves against Spain and break the curse of their previous defeats.
Cavani: "Spain is strong, but I've found a way to breach their defense. In this match, we will end Spain's 22-match unbeaten streak!"
Since losing to England in November 2011, Spain had maintained an unbeaten record of 22 matches in official national team competitions.
This achievement was sufficient to demonstrate their dominant force in football in recent years!
Suarez: "Spain's defenders can't stop me and my teammates. In this match, we will definitely win!"
Although the Liverpool striker had been involved in biting incidents on the field, no one could deny his threat in the penalty area.
Given the opportunity, he was fully capable of changing the score.
With opponents' stars talking tough, Spain's stars naturally couldn't back down.
Pique, who liked to grab headlines, was the first to speak out: "Heh, Suarez says he can break through our defense? Is he planning to use his teeth to do it?"
This remark was a mockery of Suarez's biting incident in the English Premier League two months ago.
Because of this biting incident, Suarez was heavily punished by the English FA, receiving a 10-match ban and missing the remaining matches for Liverpool.
Pique's attack on this scandal had an immediate effect.
Suarez was thoroughly provoked and directly warned Pique to be careful on the field.
But was Pique scared?
He directly lodged a complaint with the organizing committee, claiming that his personal safety had been threatened.
The organizing committee had to step in and assure that they would severely punish any unsportsmanlike behavior on the field.
After receiving a warning from the organizing committee, Suarez finally calmed down.
The verbal battle between the players attracted the attention of many fans, and combined with the most anticipated match since the start of the tournament, it drew a significant number of spectators to the venue.
Among them, half were fans of each team, with the other half being Brazilian fans.
For Brazilian fans, this match was purely for entertainment.
Uruguay was their arch-enemy, and there were many grievances between the two sides.
So Brazilian fans wouldn't support Uruguay.
And Spain was considered by Brazilians to be the biggest competitor in this Confederations Cup, so naturally, they wouldn't cheer for Spain either.
However, there were exceptions, namely the Chinese fans living in Brazil.
This match attracted many Chinese fans to watch. They came not only to enjoy the exciting game between the two teams but also to witness the brilliance of Lin Quan, the Chinese genius!
"Lin, over here!"
During the pre-match warm-up, as soon as Lin Quan stepped onto the field, he felt waves of cheers coming from the sidelines.
Hearing the long-lost language in a foreign land made Lin Quan feel a bit nostalgic.
But when he saw the faces of those shouting his name, a heartfelt smile appeared on his face.
He waved to those fans, indicating that he had noticed them.
Unexpectedly, this gesture excited the fans to no end!
"Oh my god, Lin Quan greeted me!"
"Nonsense, he clearly greeted me!"
"Both of you, stop being conceited. Let's shout together and ask Lin Quan to come over and sign for us!"
So, this group of Chinese fans shouted in unison:
"Lin Quan, we're your fans. Can you sign for us?"
Because the match hadn't started yet, although there were some noisy voices in the stadium, there wasn't that uniform cheer.
So the clear shout from these dozens of people could be heard clearly by Lin Quan on the field.
Not only Lin Quan, but even his teammates also noticed.
"Lin, are those your fans?"
Morata, with an envious look, leaned over and asked curiously.
Why isn't anyone cheering for me?
After all, I'm a superstar for both the national team and Real Madrid!
"It should be, I'll go over."
Lin Quan picked up a football from the ground and walked towards the sidelines while borrowing a pen from the staff nearby, signing his name on the football.
"Thank you all for coming to cheer for me. This football is for you!"
After handing the football to the group of fans, Lin Quan signed for a few more people before returning to the field for training.
And even after Lin Quan left, these people still didn't react:
"Oh my god, Lin Quan actually signed for us!"
"Sorry, brothers, I was too excited and didn't hear clearly. Did Lin Quan just speak Mandarin?"
"Yes, standard Mandarin, even more accurate than us Chinese!"
A Chinese tourist among the crowd said:
"Ah, it's a pity that Lin Quan has already played for the Spanish national team. Otherwise, it would be great if he could represent our national team!"
"Let Lin Quan go, our national team is in such a state, you're not unaware. It's just a big mess, whoever goes in will be corrupted!"
"That's right, our national team is so thoroughly rotten, having one or two superstars won't make a difference!"
...
Lin Quan didn't know what these fans were discussing after he left. When he returned to the field, he focused his mind on training.
However, during training, Lin Quan noticed that someone was constantly watching him on the field.
Curiously, he looked over and saw a Uruguayan player with a headband and thick hair staring at him.
Seeing the other person, Lin Quan recognized him—Diego Forlan!
When Forlan saw Lin Quan noticing him, he smiled and withdrew his gaze.
As a former super striker who once scored over 30 goals in a single season for Atletico Madrid, Forlan seemed to see his younger self when he looked at Lin Quan.
Youth is truly wonderful! If only I were as young as him now, that would be great!
At 34 years old, Forlan had already reached the twilight of his career.
After being kicked out by Inter Milan, he had no team to play for in the top five leagues, so he could only return to play in the Brazilian league.
So, this Confederations Cup was probably his last chance to represent his country in a major tournament.
With his current condition, he probably wouldn't make it into the national team squad for next year's World Cup, another year older.
So, this match was of great significance to Diego Forlan!
...
After the warm-up, the players from both teams returned to the locker room to prepare for the match.
In the locker room, Del Bosque reiterated his tactical arrangements, emphasizing that Spain should focus on their own strengths in this match.
As for Uruguay, their coach took the time to remind the players of various points of attention.
"Our last encounter with their number 30 demonstrated his strength. All three goals we conceded were related to him. So, in this match, we must mark him tightly, and under no circumstances can we give him any opportunities. Understand?"
"Understood, boss!"
"Very well, let's go out there!"
Standing at the door, Tabarez shook hands with each player as they left, watching his players march out like soldiers.
For Uruguay, this is their return to the Confederations Cup after a 16-year hiatus.
Both the players and fans of Uruguay are hoping for a good performance in this Confederations Cup, at least not losing the first match!
But the opponent is too strong, so they don't have a guaranteed victory.
Therefore, the entire Uruguayan team is mentally tense for this match, bringing out their best to face the enemy.
Compared to them, the Spanish players are much more relaxed, especially the several Barcelona players in the front line, who are chatting and laughing with each other, showing no signs of nervousness.
The opponents' calm demeanor makes the Uruguayan players feel humiliated.
Hey, we are a strong team! We are the team with the most Copa America championships in all of South America!
How dare you underestimate us?
The Uruguayan players are angry!
After the kickoff, they immediately launched an attack against Spain.
Seeing their team playing so aggressively, the Uruguayan fans at the scene were all excited, raising their voices to cheer for the team.
"They're starting so aggressively, I wonder if they'll have the stamina in the second half!"
"Haha, trying to snatch the ball from our Spanish team's feet, they're miscalculating!"
Compared to the excited Uruguayan fans, the Spanish fans at the scene are very calm.
They've seen this scene many times before and are no longer surprised!
Facing Uruguay's aggressive pressing, the Spanish players increased the frequency of their passing.
The ball hardly stayed at anyone's feet for more than 2 seconds, rendering the Uruguayan players' aggressive pressing ineffective.
It's not enough for just a few players in the front line to try to steal the ball from the Spanish players' feet.
They need to commit more manpower!
But if they really do that, Spain's terrifying front-line attack combination will teach them a lesson!
So, after just five minutes of pressing, Uruguay's attack became unsustainable.
"What is Uruguay doing? Either press together, or don't press at all. What they're doing is just wasting their players' energy."
On the sidelines, Brazilian national team players who came to watch the game were very puzzled by Uruguay's choice.
"Perhaps because they lost to Spain before, so they're a bit scared?"
Marcelo, the Real Madrid left-back with a cool hairstyle, has suffered losses against Barcelona in the league, so he knows Barcelona's strength better than anyone else.
And the backbone of the Spanish national team is built around Barcelona, with even stronger attacking power in the front line.
Without Lin Quan as the driver before, they always seemed to be missing something, with the attacking firepower slightly insufficient.
But now, with this super winger whose strength rivals Messi's, Spain has evolved into its complete form.
This kind of Spain, how powerful it is, probably only teams that have actually faced them can understand.
And Uruguay happens to have such experience!
"Uruguay's defense is average, but their forward line is very strong. They shouldn't give up their advantage like this, instead, they should actively play to their strengths!"
Thiago Silva, hailed as the world's number one defender, is not very optimistic about Uruguay's defense.
On the contrary, he is more wary of their forward line.
If he has to defend against Suarez and Cavani, he's not confident he can stop them.
"Panic before fighting, Uruguay might be doomed in this match without even fighting!"
After hearing the analysis from the two elders in the team, other Brazilian players also expressed their pessimism towards Uruguay.
"Uruguay's strength on paper is indeed inferior to the opponent, but even if they lose, this match should be able to force something out of Spain, which would be very helpful for us!"
Alves, the Barcelona defender, spoke up.
He is the person in the Brazilian team most familiar with Spain's style of play, and when he said this, everyone fell silent and quietly watched the game.
...
After Uruguay stopped pressing, Spain's attack gradually became threatening.
In the 5th minute of the game, Lin Quan and Pedro exchanged positions.
Pedro made a pick-and-roll action similar to basketball, blocking the defending player for Lin Quan, giving him space to start and break through.
Lin Quan didn't waste the opportunity created by his teammate. He quickly dribbled into the penalty area. After attracting two defenders, he made a cross.
The ball was a low cross, fast and very close to the goal.
If anyone could touch it on its trajectory, it would likely be a goal.
Unfortunately, David Silva's sliding shot in front of the goal missed the ball, and the ball slid past the goal, causing a cold sweat for the Uruguayans.
After missing this opportunity, Silva gave Lin Quan a thumbs up, indicating that his pass was good.
It's just that his height is limited, and without legs over a meter long, there's really a chance for this ball.
Although they missed this chance, Spain's attack had already started to show its momentum.
In the 10th minute, Alba made a low cross from the left, and Fabregas stopped the ball and quickly took a shot from about 16 meters in front of the goal.
The ball bypassed the goalkeeper's fingertips but was blocked by the left goal post.
Spain missed two good opportunities to score within five minutes.
But Spain's attack wasn't over yet. Iniesta's follow-up shot hit the goalkeeper's face, knocking him out directly.
The Uruguayan goalkeeper subconsciously wanted to dodge the ball, but the ball was too fast to avoid, hitting him in the face.
The good news is that the ball didn't go in, but the bad news is that the goalkeeper seems to have a concussion.
So, just ten minutes into the game, Uruguay had to make a forced substitution.
They replaced the injured Muslera with the second goalkeeper Juan Castillo.
As it turned out, this substitution was definitely a mistake.
The Uruguayan second goalkeeper, who hadn't warmed up, was broken by Spain's attack just one minute after coming on!
In the 11th minute, after a wall pass between Iniesta and Lin Quan, they almost broke through Uruguay's defense.
All of Uruguay's defenders were attracted by the two players, leaving a huge gap on the other side.
After seeing the opportunity, Iniesta decisively passed the ball to the empty space on the right, where Fabregas was.
Fabregas shot fiercely, causing the goalkeeper to fumble, and Lin Quan, who was alert in the penalty area, seized the opportunity to score before the goalkeeper could control the ball, rewriting the score to 1-0.
Spain made a dream start!
(End of this chapter)
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