Chapter 296: The Knockout Stage Begins, The Brutal Penalty Shootout!
"Do I?"
De Gea was puzzled by Lin Quan's question, not realizing he had this issue.
Lin Quan nodded seriously, "Yes, and it's quite serious!"
To confirm his suspicion, Lin Quan brought a camera and took another 10 penalty shots.
After recording De Gea's saves, it proved Lin Quan was right.
De Gea had a habit of diving to his left, and his penalty-saving moves were awkward, like a player who had just woken up, lacking energy.
After making another 10 penalty shots, Lin Quan wasn't happy.
Taking these penalties didn't help him improve; instead, it was affecting his mindset.
"David, you need to train specifically on your penalty-saving skills!"
The assistant coach also noticed De Gea's weakness and seriously talked to him.
De Gea is Spain's second-choice goalkeeper. If Casillas gets injured or suspended, he might get the chance to play for Spain.
Considering his penalty-saving weakness, if Spain ends up in a penalty shootout, it would be a big problem.
De Gea felt a bit down but nodded, saying he would work on it.
For a goalkeeper, 24 is very young.
The goalkeeper position requires a lot of experience to master, and De Gea has a long way to go, with plenty of time to improve.
Spain's main goalkeeper, Casillas, is already 33 years old and might not make it to the next World Cup.
So De Gea needs to grow quickly, as he might become Spain's future number one.
Compared to De Gea, Spain's other substitute goalkeeper, Reina, is much better at saving penalties.
Against Reina, Spain's forwards could only score about 7 out of 10 penalties.
The unluckiest was Torres, who had 5 of his 10 penalties saved!
No wonder Torres doesn't take penalties for Chelsea; Lampard usually takes them.
Such a low success rate is a bit disheartening.
However, Lin Quan thought Torres's penalty technique wasn't bad; his shots had power, speed, and decent angles.
But Reina could make incredible saves and stop them!
To be honest, this surprised Lin Quan.
He had never thought a goalkeeper could be this good at saving penalties!
"Hehe, you didn't know, did you? Reina won the Premier League Golden Glove and set a clean sheet record for Liverpool!"
Torres, who had played with Reina at Liverpool for several years, knew his teammate's abilities well.
Hearing Torres's words, Lin Quan understood.
No wonder Reina was so good at stopping Torres's penalties—they used to be teammates, so Reina knew Torres's habits well.
Thinking of this, Lin Quan felt eager to try:
"Let me have a go!"
Reina smiled and gestured for Lin Quan to come over:
"Bring it on!"
Although he wasn't at Liverpool when Lin Quan joined Manchester City and didn't face him in the league, Reina had been following his national teammate.
He noticed Lin Quan's perfect penalty record in the league and cup matches since his Werder Bremen days.
Lin Quan had never missed a penalty.
Of course, this was partly because he hadn't taken many penalties.
But a 100% success rate was still impressive!
Usually, a penalty taker with over 80% success is considered excellent, and over 85% is very reliable.
Those with a 100% success rate are rare, mainly among those who haven't taken many penalties.
For example, Lin Quan's club teammate Yaya Toure also has a 100% success rate, but he has only taken 11 penalties.
Lin Quan placed the ball and stepped back a few paces, looking at the goal.
Reina was ready, slightly bending his knees, prepared to dive at any moment.
He planned to judge the direction of Lin Quan's shot by observing his footwork and rhythm—a method experienced goalkeepers use effectively.
For the first shot, Reina guessed the direction correctly, but Lin Quan's shot was too fast.
Before Reina could complete his dive, the ball rolled into the net under his arm.
"Nice shot, let's go again!"
Reina was excited. Lin Quan's shot went to the bottom left corner, the most reliable spot for most players.
Reina was close to saving it. If he had reacted a bit quicker, he might have saved it!
For the second shot, Lin Quan aimed for the left corner again but changed direction.
Reina guessed correctly again but was still a bit slow.
His reaction was quick, but diving and then dropping his body took time, enough for a fast shot to go in.
So, predicting the direction in advance was crucial!
For the third shot, Reina anticipated Lin Quan would go left and dove early.
However, he guessed wrong, and Lin Quan's shot went to the bottom right corner.
"Again!"
Reina wasn't discouraged, becoming more determined.
He felt he was close to saving one!
Lin Quan nodded and took the fourth shot with a calm expression.
Reina anticipated and guessed right this time.
But this shot wasn't a low one; it was mid-height.
As Reina was diving, the ball flew over him.
Seeing this shot, Reina's face changed.
Mid-height shots are easier to save, and shooting them is risky.
Knowing Lin Quan, he wouldn't take such a risk without confidence.
In other words, he had guessed Reina's thoughts!
"Want to keep going?"
They hadn't finished 10 shots yet, but seeing Reina not calling for another try, Lin Quan stopped and asked.
"Yes!"
Reina gritted his teeth and chose to continue the challenge!
Their competition drew attention, and as the players practicing set-pieces finished, they came over to watch.
"What's going on?"
"Hey, it's Reina versus Lin Quan 1v1!"
"Oh, how's it going?"
"4 out of 4 for Lin Quan, Reina hasn't stopped any!"
As the players watched and chatted, Lin Quan took his fifth shot.
Again to the bottom left, Reina didn't guess in advance, waiting to see Lin Quan's move, but was still a bit slow.
"That was so close, a bit faster, and he could have saved it!"
Villa said nervously.
Casillas shook his head:
"Hard to save. Lin's shot was too fast. Relying only on reaction speed, it's tough to stop such a penalty."
As a goalkeeper, he understood the difficulty.
"So, how do you save such a shot?"
Torres asked curiously.
Only goalkeepers truly understand goalkeepers, so he planned to learn from Casillas. That way, when he takes a penalty in the future, he might use this knowledge.
"By guessing!"
"Guessing?"
Everyone looked at Casillas in surprise.
"Yeah, you could call it anticipating, but honestly, it's guessing, guessing which direction the opponent will shoot!"
"Oh! That explains why goalkeepers often dive the wrong way. When that happens, it means they guessed wrong?"
"Yeah, that's right!"
Reina heard everyone's discussion but didn't say anything.
He had tried guessing before, but it didn't work!
Twice he guessed wrong, and once he even got hit with a half-high shot, meaning the opponent had figured out his thinking and found a solution.
If he kept guessing, the success rate would be low.
But if he didn't guess, he would always be just a little bit off, which was really frustrating!
So, after thinking it over, he decided to keep guessing!
For the sixth shot, Reina guessed the right direction in advance.
His fingers touched the ball, but Lin Quan's shot was too powerful. He couldn't stop the ball; he only slightly changed its direction.
With a bang, the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the goal.
"Too bad!"
"So close!"
A wave of regretful voices came from the Spanish players watching, all feeling sorry for Reina.
After watching for so long, this was the closest he had come to saving a shot!
Reina was a bit disappointed too, but having actually touched the ball boosted his confidence.
"Again!"
Lin Quan nodded, took a few steps back, but didn't shoot immediately.
After scoring six penalties in a row, almost all his teammates were rooting for Reina, making him feel like the villain boss.
Heh, this feeling isn't bad?
Since he's the villain, he should use the ultimate move only villains have!
This time he would use that move!
Reina was watching Lin Quan's every move and suddenly felt Lin Quan seemed different.
It was as if he had an aura of danger, making people hesitant to look directly at him!
Reina shook off these strange thoughts and focused on Lin Quan's every move. He predicted that Lin Quan would shoot to the right based on his support foot.
Reina moved early!
This time, his reaction was faster than before. If he guessed right, he should be able to save this shot!
However, he didn't touch the ball at all. The ball didn't fly to the bottom right corner but went to the top right corner of the goal!
"Wow!"
"Top corner!"
"Did he guess?"
The Spanish players watching were all surprised.
The reason was simple: Lin Quan's shot went to the top corner of the goal.
There are two top corners in the goal. Unless the goalkeeper is standing right under them, it's nearly impossible to save a shot aimed there.
But aiming for the top corner in a penalty is very risky.
Even the best players can miss when aiming for that spot.
The most famous example is the 1994 World Cup final between Italy and Brazil.
Roberto Baggio aimed for the top corner but sent the ball flying over the bar, a moment that left many fans heartbroken.
Of course, some players succeed in aiming for the top corner, but the failure rate is high, so many don't dare to try it often.
However, this was just a team practice, so winning or losing didn't matter. Lin Quan dared to use this risky move, which wasn't too surprising.
With his skills, hitting a shot like that wasn't too hard.
Reina, despite being hit hard, wasn't too discouraged.
"Again!"
He still didn't give up!
He admitted Lin Quan had great skills, but always aiming for the top corner would eventually lead to mistakes.
He just needed to be patient and wait for Lin Quan to miss!
But one shot after another, Lin Quan finished ten penalties and even a few extra, all without making a mistake.
Reina was heavily impacted. Lin Quan kept hitting the top corners, making him not even want to dive anymore.
No goalkeeper in the world can save a well-aimed top corner penalty!
Reina thought he couldn't do it either!
"No more, no more, I give up!"
Reina, deeply affected, didn't want to continue.
In just this short time, all the confidence he had built up was gone, and he even started doubting his ability to save penalties.
"Uh, Lin, from now on, don't hold back on penalties. If there's a penalty, you should take it. It's the safest!"
Xavi, who Lin Quan had once let take a penalty, said earnestly after watching Lin Quan and Reina's duel.
Other players qualified to take penalties also nodded. If someone could consistently hit the top corners, who else should take the penalties?
Everyone wondered if Lin Quan would use this move in a real match!
If he did, they couldn't wait to see the opposing goalkeeper's shocked face!
After a few days of rest, the knockout stage officially began.
The first match was the host Brazil against the Netherlands.
It was an evenly matched game, and both teams played excellently.
In just the 18th minute, Neymar's corner was flicked by Thiago Silva to the far post, and David Luiz used his thigh to sweep the ball into the net.
Brazil led the Netherlands 1-0!
The Netherlands quickly responded. In the 28th minute, Robben cut inside and faked a shot, then passed to Sneijder, who scored from outside the box.
The score was 1-1.
After exchanging goals, both teams played very cautiously, with strong defense.
This made it extremely difficult for either side to score again, and the 1-1 scoreline remained until the final whistle.
The game went into extra time!
However, during extra time, both teams missed several good chances due to fatigue, and the 1-1 score persisted until the end of extra time.
The game went into a penalty shootout!
Seeing the first knockout match go into a penalty shootout, the fans were all standing, nervous and praying.
The Spanish players watching this match felt a sense of admiration for Del Bosque's foresight.
Indeed, extra penalty practice was the right decision!
Before the shootout began, Van Gaal made a bold decision, replacing the excellent Cillessen with backup goalkeeper Krul.
Clearly, this substitution was aimed at the penalty shootout!
Brazil's first player was a bit surprising. Everyone thought Neymar would go first, but instead, it was defender David Luiz.
Luiz had good skills and a stable mindset. His powerful shot helped Brazil score the first point.
Krul guessed the direction right but was a bit slow.
The Netherlands' first player was their forward Van Persie. He hit a low, tricky shot, but it was slow, and Cesar reacted quickly, diving to save it!
Van Persie held his head in disbelief.
The tens of thousands of Brazilian fans in the stadium erupted in celebration. The Netherlands had missed their first penalty, so if Brazil scored their next four, they would advance to the next round!
However, the Brazilians' joy didn't even last half a minute.
The second Brazilian to take a penalty, Willian, made a wildly inaccurate shot, missing the goal entirely and sending the ball out of bounds!
Now, it was the Dutch fans' turn to cheer.
Just half a minute earlier, they thought their team was doomed, but fate had played a joke on them.
The second Dutch player to take a penalty was Robben. He tricked Cesar and struck a powerful shot to level the score.
Both teams were back to square one!
Next, it was Brazil's turn again. The third player was Marcelo.
He aimed for the middle of the goal, hitting a half-high shot.
Krul guessed wrong, and though he reacted quickly and got a hand on it, he couldn't stop the ball from going into the net.
2-1, Brazil was temporarily in the lead.
The third Dutch player, Sneijder, calmly slotted his penalty into the goal.
2-2, both teams were back to square one again.
Brazil's fourth player was Hulk!
Krul guessed correctly and saved his shot!
The Brazilian fans in the stadium held their heads in disbelief, their faces full of shock.
They had missed!
If the next Dutch player scored, the Netherlands would take the lead!
The pressure was now on Brazil's goalkeeper, Cesar. If he couldn't save at least one of the last two penalties, Brazil would be out of the tournament in the round of 16.
The fourth Dutch player was Kuyt. He was both excited and nervous.
Cesar, experienced as he was, noticed his nerves and started bouncing on the goal line to unsettle him.
This tactic worked. Kuyt, affected by the distraction, was less decisive in his shot, allowing Cesar to guess the direction and save it!
Cesar's excellent performance brought Brazil back from the brink.
Neymar was the last Brazilian to take a penalty. He took a deep breath and touched the grass.
Instead of taking a straightforward shot, Neymar used a change in pace during his run-up to trick the goalkeeper before kicking the ball.
Krul was caught off guard and couldn't adjust in time, watching helplessly as the ball flew into the net.
With this, Brazil had taken all five penalties, scoring three and missing two.
The pressure shifted to the Netherlands. If their last player missed, they would be eliminated!
The last Dutch player was their defender Vlaar.
Perhaps because he was a defender, his penalty was of poor quality. He used the inside of his foot for a weak shot that lacked power and precision.
Such a shot was no challenge for Cesar, who correctly guessed the direction and saved it!
3-2!
Brazil won the penalty shootout against the Netherlands, avenging their loss from four years ago and advancing to the quarter-finals.
Brazil was one step closer to their sixth World Cup title!
They needed to win just three more matches to reach the podium!
However, these last three steps were bound to be incredibly tough!
After the match between Brazil and the Netherlands, it was time for Spain to face Mexico.
Perhaps influenced by the previous match, Spain was awarded a penalty just five minutes into the game.
Seeing Lin Quan step up to the penalty spot, the Spanish players were filled with anticipation.
(This chapter ends)
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