Chapter 295: The Knockout Matches are Set
After Spain defeated Australia to advance as the top team in their group, the hopes of the Netherlands and Chile to claim the first spot in their group were dashed.
Now, both teams must fight fiercely for the final spot to advance!
As the opponent from Group A, the match between the Netherlands and Chile not only attracted the attention of fans from both countries but also drew significant interest from the host country's Brazilian fans.
As the top team in Group A, Brazil will face the winner of this match in the Round of 16.
From a strength perspective, the Dutch team, often referred to as the "unofficial kings," are certainly stronger. Therefore, the Brazilians are not keen on facing them in the Round of 16.
Comparatively, Brazil is more familiar with their South American rival, Chile.
Brazil and Chile have faced each other 68 times in history, with Brazil winning 48 times, drawing 13, and losing 7, scoring 158 goals and conceding 58.
Additionally, Brazil remains unbeaten at home against Chile, with a record of 15 wins and 4 draws. In their last 12 encounters, Brazil has 10 wins and 2 draws.
These statistics show Brazil's comprehensive advantage. If they face Chile in the Round of 16, their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals are very high.
However, if their opponent is the Netherlands, Brazil's chances of advancing are much lower.
Historically, Brazil and the Netherlands have played 11 times, with Brazil winning 3, drawing 5, and losing 3, scoring 15 goals and conceding 15.
Their most recent encounter was a friendly match in June 2011, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Before that, in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals, the Netherlands defeated Brazil 2-1.
Therefore, the Brazilian fans present at the match almost all temporarily became fans of Chile, cheering for their South American neighbors while secretly hoping for an easier opponent.
The match between the Netherlands and Chile was very intense. It was clear that the Dutch team had not yet reached their best form.
Chile, learning from their previous heavy defeat by Spain, made many targeted adjustments in defense for this match.
These adjustments effectively restrained the Dutch offense.
By the 75th minute, the score was still 0-0.
Chile's goalkeeper, Bravo, seemed to be in outstanding form, blocking every threatening shot from the Dutch team.
His exceptional performance had already won over scouts from major clubs, with Barcelona's scout recommending the club sign this outstanding Chilean goalkeeper after the World Cup!
If the match ended with this score, Chile would advance to the Round of 16 with a goal difference of -2.
However, in the 77th minute, the first goal of the match finally came.
The Netherlands took advantage of a corner kick opportunity, with Robben passing the ball to Janmaat outside the penalty area.
The Dutch right-back, who had been almost overwhelmed by Lin Quan in the previous match, played a crucial role in this set-piece.
After controlling the ball, he didn't pass immediately but waited for the right moment when the defenders rushed out before passing it into the penalty area, assisting Fer, who had replaced Sneijder, in scoring the first goal for the Netherlands in this match!
The score became 1-0!
This goal saved the Netherlands from the brink of elimination and pushed Chile into a desperate situation.
Chile had to abandon their defensive counterattack and go all out in offense!
In the final stages of the match, Chile launched an all-out attack on the Dutch team.
However, this offensive effort not only failed to result in a goal but also provided the Netherlands with opportunities for quick counterattacks.
In the 92nd minute, the 20-year-old Depay scored his first World Cup goal, securing the victory for the Netherlands.
In the end, Chile, needing only a draw to advance, was eliminated by the Netherlands in the final group match.
With Chile's elimination, the teams advancing from Groups A and B were finalized.
Brazil, the top team in Group A, and Mexico, the second, will face the Netherlands, the second team in Group B, and Spain, the top team, respectively, in the Round of 16.
This matchup left fans of three teams dissatisfied, except for Spain's fans who felt indifferent.
Mexican fans were already lamenting, feeling their team would be out soon.
Meanwhile, the host Brazilian fans and Dutch fans were very nervous, knowing their opponents were strong, making the match very intense with no guaranteed outcome.
However, there was some good news for both Brazil and the Netherlands. By avoiding Spain, they wouldn't face them until the final.
But with many strong teams remaining in this World Cup, reaching the final wouldn't be easy.
After the conclusion of matches in Groups A and B, the last matches in the other groups began.
In Group C, Japan suffered a 1-4 defeat to Colombia in their final match, ending their World Cup journey with 1 draw and 2 losses, scoring 2 goals and conceding 6.
Japan is not traditionally a strong team, with their best World Cup result being the Round of 16, so this outcome was not surprising.
However, Japan's elimination still disappointed Asian fans, especially those in East Asia.
Japan is considered the strongest men's team in East Asia, so their poor performance indicated a grim outlook for other teams from the region.
In contrast, Greece, who were heavily defeated by Colombia in their first match and drew with the weaker Japanese team in their second, managed to stage a miracle.
Despite a rough start, Greece won their final match against Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast became the second team in this World Cup to be eliminated despite only needing a draw to advance.
In Group D, Italy lost 0-1 to Uruguay in their final match, also getting eliminated despite needing just a draw.
As for England, they played to a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica and finished last in their group with 1 draw and 2 losses.
Eventually, the teams advancing from Group D were Costa Rica and Uruguay, with the two South American teams outlasting the two European teams.
With the teams advancing from Groups C and D confirmed, the Round of 16 matchups were set.
In the Round of 16, Group C's top team, Colombia, will face Group D's second-place team, Uruguay.
Group C's second team, Greece, will face Group D's top team, Costa Rica.
Notably, if Spain defeats Mexico to advance to the quarterfinals, their opponent will be the winner between Costa Rica and Greece.
In Group E, the teams advancing were France and Switzerland, while the two American teams, Honduras and Ecuador, were eliminated.
In Group F, Argentina narrowly defeated Nigeria 3-2 in their final match, advancing as the top team with three wins.
The match was dramatic, with Messi scoring in the 3rd minute, only for Musa to equalize in the 4th. Messi scored again in the 45th minute, and Musa equalized again in the 47th.
Messi was left questioning the prowess of his opponent.
Fortunately, Argentina's third goal wasn't scored by Messi, and Musa couldn't equalize again.
Despite Argentina's three wins, external opinions were pessimistic.
Before Rojo's goal, all of Argentina's goals came from Messi.
If Spain were somewhat reliant on Lin Quan, Argentina would have been eliminated without Messi!
Despite having many forwards, their performances were disappointing compared to their club achievements.
Higuain, Aguero, Di Maria, and others didn't score a single goal in three matches.
Luckily, Argentina's Round of 16 opponent is Switzerland, giving them time to adjust.
In Group E, the other Asian team, Iran, finished with a similar record to Japan, with 1 draw and 2 losses, ending their World Cup journey at the bottom of their group.
And their number of goals was even fewer than Japan's. In three matches, they only scored one goal and conceded four.
This huge gap left Asian fans feeling incredibly depressed and pessimistic.
Including Australia, an extra team, three out of the four Asian teams have already been eliminated, leaving only South Korea.
With one draw and one loss in two matches, South Korea still has a theoretical chance to advance. They just need to win big against Belgium in their final match.
Before the game, South Korean fans were boasting online.
They claimed that Japan and Iran were weak.
They said that only South Korea could defend Asia's honor and that South Korea was Asia's last hope.
They seemed to truly believe they were saviors, convinced that South Korea would perform a miracle in the last match and advance from the group as Asia's only team.
However, South Korea didn't perform a miracle. Instead, despite their opponent getting a red card, they lost 0-3.
This made their pre-game boasting come back to haunt them, attracting criticism from many Asian fans.
"South Koreans, stop pretending and show yourselves!"
"Where are those guys who looked down on Japan and Iran? Too scared to show up?"
"Ha, you used exaggerated acting to get a red card and played with one more player for most of the game, but still lost so badly. This isn't the pride of Asia; it's the shame of Asia!"
"You don't understand. In a parallel universe, South Korea has already beaten Germany and Spain and is the world champion!"
"Ha, the country where the universe originated!"
With South Korea's defeat and elimination, all the Asian teams in this World Cup were knocked out, making Asia the first continent to be completely eliminated.
Moreover, in all 12 matches they played, they didn't win a single game, only managing 3 draws and 9 losses, scoring 6 goals and conceding 27.
This is undoubtedly the darkest moment for Asian teams in the World Cup!
With the poor performance of Asian teams, many Asian countries were awakened to the gap between them and the strong football nations. As a result, more and more young Asian players started to play abroad.
And their choices were no longer limited to the top five leagues. Asian players began to appear in leagues like the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the Russian Premier League, the Dutch Eredivisie, and the Belgian Pro League.
It's worth noting that in this match, De Bruyne played exceptionally well, scoring one goal and assisting twice, accounting for all the goals!
De Bruyne was named MVP of the match and received praise from Belgium's national team coach, Marc Wilmots, after the game.
"Kevin is an excellent player. His creativity on the field amazes me. With him, the possibilities are endless!"
Marc Wilmots, being an attacking midfielder himself, was naturally fond of players in De Bruyne's position.
After training in the Bundesliga and Premier League, De Bruyne grew quickly and became Belgium's midfield core early on.
With him, the Red Devils of Europe looked strong and seemed capable of competing with other favorites for the World Cup crown!
Moreover, Belgium's Round of 16 opponent was the USA, a relatively weaker team, giving them a high chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
As for the semi-finals, it would depend on whether they could overcome Argentina!
If they could get past Argentina, Belgium would face Spain in the semi-finals.
Lin Quan and De Bruyne could very well face each other as opponents for the first time on the field! ...
After the match against Australia, Spain began preparing for the knockout stages.
Although the outside world generally believed that Mexico wouldn't pose much of a threat to Spain, the Spanish team themselves were not so complacent.
In the group stage, there were three matches, and losing one could be made up in the next two.
But the knockout stage is a one-game elimination. If they slipped up, it would be the end for them.
As the top favorite to win the World Cup, if they were eliminated by Mexico, their fans would be furious.
"Mexico is not weak. We can't underestimate them just because their world ranking is lower than ours!"
During the pre-match preparation, Del Bosque gathered the players and gave them a stern talk.
He felt that the team's consecutive big wins could easily make the players overconfident and underestimate their opponents, so it was necessary to knock some sense into them.
Especially the main center-back, Ramos. As a defender, he had been having dreams of being a forward.
He frequently ran forward during attacks, making his desire to score almost visible on his face.
Del Bosque could see that Ramos was very excited.
This guy had scored 2 goals so far, making him the second top scorer for Spain, only behind Lin Quan.
For a defender to score so many goals, he had reasons to be excited.
But a defender's primary job is defense. Scoring should be left to the forwards. If everyone focused on attacking, who would defend the goal?
After a stern talk, Ramos seemed a bit deflated.
He looked much less enthusiastic, but Del Bosque didn't completely crush his spirit. He allowed Ramos to leave his own half and join the attack during set-pieces.
Although Ramos wasn't very tall, his heading ability was impressive and should be utilized.
After all, there weren't many tall players in the Spanish team. While Pique was tall, his heading ability was average, not as good as Ramos.
Thus, letting Ramos join the attack during set-pieces could significantly enhance Spain's threat in the air.
Lin Quan didn't participate in the heading practice. With his height, challenging for headers in the box was too difficult.
Del Bosque had him and a few forwards practice penalties.
Due to the conservative tactics and strong defenses, penalty shootouts were common in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
If they didn't practice penalty strategies, they would be left to luck in a shootout.
The forwards didn't mind this arrangement, but they did have some complaints about the goalkeeper assigned to practice with them.
"David, do you always dive in just one direction when saving penalties?"
After scoring 10 consecutive penalties, Lin Quan stopped and asked De Gea curiously.
(Chapter ends)
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