Chapter 290: Spain's Odds of Winning Soar, Their Path to Victory Looks Bright!
Spain's team was leading by a large margin, and Coach Bosque was humming a tune, feeling relaxed.
He glanced at the bench and called up Xabi Alonso to warm up.
In the 65th minute, Spain made a substitution. Xabi Alonso came on for Xavi. This was a like-for-like substitution; in the past, both Xavi and Alonso could coexist on the field. However, as both players aged, Bosque consciously staggered their playtime to avoid having two older players on the field simultaneously, risking them being outpaced by the opponent.
Xabi Alonso and Xavi had different styles. Compared to Xavi, Alonso was more defensive. This substitution signaled that Spain was planning to play more conservatively.
Seeing Spain's change, Van Gaal hesitated but decided to sub out De Guzman for the faster, more skillful Wijnaldum. Although the 4:1 score seemed irredeemable, he had to try. Even if they couldn't equalize or turn the game around, scoring another goal to make the loss less severe would be good. After all, the Netherlands was a top-tier team, and losing badly would bring heavy criticism from Dutch fans.
Before Van Gaal's substitution, most of the Dutch players were ready to give up, except for Robben. Wijnaldum's entry brought some energy to the Dutch attack, and he quickly formed a synergy with Robben.
In the 67th minute, Wijnaldum made a brilliant pass to Robben, who cut inside and took a long shot, but it went over the crossbar. In the 72nd minute, Wijnaldum successfully broke through and made a through ball. Robben received it in the box, skillfully maneuvered past Pique with his right foot, and shot with his left foot before Ramos could block it. Despite the high quality of the shot, it hit the crossbar.
Robben stood still, shaking his head in frustration. He had given his best, but luck was not on his side. Wijnaldum and Robben's partnership alerted Spain to their threat, and they focused more on containing them. This attention made it difficult for Wijnaldum to deliver passes like before, and Robben's attacks became less threatening, neutralizing the Dutch counterattacks.
In the 75th minute, Bosque made another substitution, bringing on Pedro for Iniesta. Pedro had been on the bench for over an hour, and seeing his teammates dominate with a 4-0 lead had him eager to join. Once on the field, he was very active, running tirelessly to press the Dutch players and contributing both offensively and defensively.
Seeing Pedro so energetic, Lin Quan started moving closer to him. In the 80th minute, Spain's attack reached the penalty area. Lin Quan feinted, letting the ball pass to Pedro, who then shot from the right side of the box, hitting the crossbar. Pedro was stunned by the miss, and Lin Quan shook his head, noting their bad luck with the crossbar, just like Diego Costa earlier.
When Robben's shot hit the crossbar, Dutch fans sighed in regret. Now, it was Spain's fans' turn to do the same. That crossbar had denied Spain twice already!
In the 83rd minute, Spain won a free kick on the left. Lin Quan crossed the ball into the box, where Ramos and Dutch defender Indi clashed, resulting in both getting yellow cards. Bosque frowned at the sight of Ramos getting another card. While Ramos was talented, his temper was a concern. However, a calmer Ramos might not be the same dynamic player.
As the match neared its end, Spain's players relaxed, while the frustrated Dutch players began to lose control. In the 86th minute, Van Persie fouled Pedro from behind, earning a yellow card, the fifth for the Dutch team.
While the Dutch argued with the referee, Busquets quickly took the free kick. The Dutch were distracted, and Lin Quan easily scored, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Fans were disappointed because a goal would have completed Lin Quan's hat-trick. Replays showed it was a close call, with Lin Quan barely ahead when Silva passed the ball.
However, luck couldn't be denied forever. In the 88th minute, Spain's high pressing forced a Dutch mistake. Goalkeeper Cillessen mishandled a back pass, and Lin Quan quickly seized the opportunity, bypassing the goalkeeper and scoring into an empty net, making it 5-1 and completing his hat-trick in his first World Cup match. The fans in the stadium and watching online went wild.
"Lin is amazing! This is the first hat-trick of the World Cup, right?"
"Yes, and he's the only one with a hat-trick so far in this World Cup!"
"Lin is just over 18, isn't he? Is this the youngest hat-trick in World Cup history?"
"Not quite. The fastest hat-trick was by Pele in 1958, at 17 years and 244 days. He's the only one under 18 with a World Cup hat-trick."
"Wow, Pele was incredible! I thought he was just known for jinxing teams with his predictions!"
"He was the first king of football. You need talent to earn that title. By the way, why haven't we heard Pele's predictions for this World Cup?"
"Maybe the Brazilian Football Association asked him to keep quiet. He predicted Brazil would win the Confederations Cup last year, and Spain thrashed them. He also predicted Brazil would win the World Cup this year, scaring Brazilian fans!"
"With Pele's reputation, a gag order seems unlikely. The Brazilian FA probably begged him not to jinx them and to curse other teams instead!"
On the field, Lin Quan celebrated his hat-trick with a front flip, startling Bosque. He had forbidden such risky celebrations.
German star Klose, watching with his teammates, smiled at the scene. He had heard about a talented young player at Werder Bremen who also loved front-flip celebrations, thinking the kid was paying tribute to him. Seeing Lin Quan's rapid rise reminded Klose of himself.
"Front flips are dangerous. If I get the chance, I'll remind him to use them sparingly."
Bosque regretted using all three substitutions so early. If he had one left, he would have subbed Lin Quan out to let him enjoy the crowd's cheers alone, a fitting reward for his outstanding performance.
Assistant coach Tony approached Bosque, asking, "Vincent, do you still think you're spoiling Lin too much?"
Bosque was at a loss for words, momentarily speechless.
Lin Quan's goal completely crushed the Dutch team's morale. Spain's fifth goal wasn't particularly well-executed; it was purely a result of a mistake by the Dutch.
When even the goalkeeper makes such a basic error, what can you expect from the other players?
In the last few minutes of the game, the Dutch players were dispirited and just wanted the torturous match to end quickly.
Spain, on the other hand, continued to press on with their attacks. Even though Lin Quan was no longer trying to score, he still created opportunities for his teammates.
In the 91st minute, Spain got a free kick in a favorable position. Normally, Xavi or Lin Quan would take it, but with Xavi off the field, Lin Quan saw Ramos eager to try and let him take the shot. Ramos' technique was a bit off, and he missed the target, failing to pose a threat to the goal.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Torres fell in the box. Perhaps feeling pity for the battered Dutch team, the referee didn't call a penalty.
In the end, Spain won 5-1, securing a resounding victory over the Netherlands in their opening match of the group stage.
After the match, news of Spain's 5-1 thrashing of the Netherlands quickly made the front pages of sports newspapers worldwide.
People were both astonished by Spain's strength and lamented the swift decline of the Dutch team. Four years ago, the Netherlands had played evenly with Spain, but now, they seemed leagues apart, utterly outclassed.
This shocking scoreline was a true reflection of the difference in strength between the two teams. While many experts and analysts had predicted a Spanish victory, few had expected them to win in such a dominant fashion.
As a result, betting companies dramatically raised Spain's odds of winning the tournament, with the figure soaring to 2.2. This meant that, after just one round of group matches, the external belief in Spain's chances of winning the World Cup exceeded 45%.
This was truly remarkable!
After the victory, Bosque was in high spirits. He didn't wait for Van Gaal to come over; instead, he eagerly went up to him for a warm hug. Van Gaal, looking quite displeased, didn't want to embrace the "old man," but Bosque's enthusiasm left him no choice, making him very uncomfortable.
"Haha, old friend, how does it feel to lose so decisively?" Bosque teased.
"Hmph, you were just lucky. I've already figured out how to counter you. See you in the final!" Van Gaal retorted, shaking off Bosque's hug and walking away proudly.
Bosque found Van Gaal's stubbornness amusing. The words sounded familiar—they were what Van Gaal had said before the match. So, nothing to worry about!
With their strongest opponent in the group defeated, Spain's path to advancing looked bright. Five days later, Spain would head to Maracanã Stadium to face Chile in their second group match.
Chile was not as strong as the Netherlands, and a victory in this match would see Spain advance from the group stage early. Knowing this, Bosque gave the players a two-day break, allowing them to reunite with their families. This wise decision was warmly welcomed by the players, who quickly dispersed to join their loved ones.
While most players went to meet their wives and families, Lin Quan went to Guardiola's hotel to discuss tactics late into the night.
After Spain's match against the Netherlands, the other B group game saw Chile defeat Australia 3-1. This result was expected, as Chile was a strong South American team.
Following B group, other groups' matches also began. In Group C, Ivory Coast came from behind to beat Japan 2-1, and Colombia easily defeated Greece 3-0.
Group D saw the first upset of the World Cup: Uruguay, with stars like Suarez, Cavani, and Forlan, was defeated 3-1 by Costa Rica. Despite being considered potential quarter-finalists or even semi-finalists, Uruguay stumbled in their opening match. This showed that having strong players on paper doesn't guarantee victory, and any lapse in focus can be costly on the World Cup stage.
The rest of the matches didn't feature any major surprises. Among the favorites, Italy beat England 2-1, France easily defeated Honduras 3-0, Argentina won 2-1 against Bosnia with Messi scoring a goal, and Germany thrashed Portugal 4-1 with Ronaldo managing to score a goal.
Notably, in Belgium's 2-1 win over Algeria, De Bruyne came off the bench in the 75th minute and scored a goal, securing a late victory for his team.
After the first round of group matches, European teams had a mixed record of 6 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses. South American teams had a better win rate with 4 wins and 2 losses. Surprisingly, North American teams had the best win rate, with 3 wins and 1 loss, defying expectations. Asian teams had 2 draws and 2 losses, confirming their reputation as the weakest region. African teams had 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses, not performing much better.
With a tight schedule, as soon as the first round of matches in Group H concluded, the second round for Groups A and B was set to begin.
In this round, both Brazil and Spain, having won their first matches, faced strong opponents. Their performance in this round would determine if they could secure early advancement from the group stage.
(End of Chapter)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.