Chapter 305: Lin Huang, the Strategic Player!
During halftime, Coach Bosque indeed adjusted the team's tactics. Although he didn't switch to a defensive counterattack just because of Costa Rica, he chose to substitute Xavi with Xabi Alonso to enhance midfield control. Regarding the front line, if Spain could score another goal before the 70th minute, he planned to replace Torres with Pedro and shift to a false nine formation.
The false nine was a tactic originally played by Spain, but recently Germany had also started adopting it, learning from them. However, Bosque felt that the German take on the false nine was somewhat amiss. They lacked the multitude of top midfielders that Spain had and didn't have a striker like Lin Huang. Forcing a false nine formation, Germany seemed to lose their traditional strengths.
Bosque couldn't understand what Coach Löw was thinking. The football ecosystems and tactical philosophies of Spain and Germany are very different. Blindly copying Spanish tactics, was he not afraid of leading Germany down a dead-end? He guessed that the German Football Association, seeing Spain dominate globally with possession football and envious of their success, desperately wanted to clinch another World Cup and decided to imitate regardless of the consequences.
To this, Bosque could only say that the Germans don't even know how they're courting disaster! Possession football was indeed dominant a few years ago, but it has clearly weakened since then. After being studied and targeted for so long, the strengths and weaknesses of possession football have been fully exposed. Bosque wasn't even sure if Spain could maintain their dominance after this World Cup, as their golden generation would gradually retire from the national team.
In this situation, the German team abandoning their tradition to mimic Spain puzzled Bosque greatly. "Play well in the second half, don't be careless, don't underestimate the opponent. We are only 45 minutes away from advancing to the semifinals, and because of this, we need to be doubly vigilant, not to fall at the crack of dawn!"
Spain had had it too easy so far in this World Cup, so Bosque repeatedly emphasized to his players not to relax or underestimate their opponents. Such mistakes could be irreparable, and it was worth emphasizing a thousand times before the match.
On the other side, in Costa Rica's locker room, Coach Pinto was repeatedly pulling his hair. Spain's number 30 was too troublesome; if they couldn't limit him, many tactics were risky. Since they were behind in the score, Costa Rica would definitely need to increase their offensive efforts in the second half. However, Pinto was most worried about how to prevent Spanish counterattacks during their offensive pushes.
Spain had used counterattacking tactics during the group stage, and their counterattacks were effective and sharp. One moment their opponents might be attacking, and the next, the ball could swiftly move to just outside their own penalty area, leading to a quick and dangerous counter.
Despite not being the strongest team, Costa Rica had done well due to proper tactical application and a united team amplifying their strengths and covering their weaknesses. But in this match, their advantages were not coming into play, while Spain seized every opportunity to exploit their shortcomings.
"We'll play like this!" Eventually, Pinto chose the least risky offensive tactic among the options. The fifteen-minute halftime quickly ended, and the players returned to the field. Costa Rica indeed intensified their attack right from the start, aiming to catch Spain off-guard while they were still warming up into the second half.
Some teams start slow, and launching a sudden attack at the beginning could lead to quick goals. Spain was such a team; they often started poorly in major tournaments but improved as the game progressed, as seen in the World Cup four years ago in South Africa.
However, Costa Rica underestimated the current Spanish team. Under Bosque's guidance, Spain's issue of starting slow had improved significantly, and now deep into the quarterfinals, Spain was fully alert. Relying on Spain being off their game was a far-fetched hope.
"Exactly as the coach predicted, they started with a strong attack!" Seeing the opponents' aggressive start, the Spanish players were not surprised. They sharpened their focus, strengthened their defense and interceptions, and didn't give Costa Rica any chances.
Costa Rica's offensive capability was not strong, and with Spain prepared, their aggressive tactics quickly faltered. Minutes passed, and the momentum of the Costa Rican players waned while the Spaniards regained control of the game, returning it to their familiar rhythm.
On the sidelines, Coach Bosque glanced at the time; five minutes had passed in the second half. He wondered if the Costa Rican coach would give up so easily. From the looks of it, they seemed to have stopped their offensive, yet they were the ones trailing in the score. If they didn't attack, victory would surely be Spain's.
"There must be something else they're preparing, so we can't let our guard down!" Bosque didn't take pride in successfully containing the initial assault; instead, the unusual behavior of the opponents made him uneasy.
Once the game returned to their rhythm, Spain's attacks became fierce. In the 53rd minute, David Silva made a quality cross from the sidelines near the baseline. Torres finally got to the ball, but unfortunately, his shot went straight to Navas. Navas quickly took the ball and launched it to a teammate on the flank, hoping to capitalize on Spain's attacking moment with a counter.
However, Spain was prepared; Alba rushed over and disrupted the counterattack, preventing Costa Rica from succeeding. The Costa Rican coach frowned; he had noticed that when Spain's forwards initiated attacks, they still left four to five defenders back. With such defensive intensity, countering was extremely difficult because the Spaniards clearly anticipated this tactic.
In the first half, because Costa Rica focused mostly on defense, Spain's forwards struggled to create a numerical advantage, thus failing to launch threatening attacks. But the second half was different; as offensive pressure shifted to Costa Rica, they had to choose between attacking and defending. This choice significantly weakened their defense, allowing Spain, even without pushing everyone forward, to frequently threaten with their forwards.
This put the Costa Rican coach in a tough spot. Indeed, relying on past tactics like cutting wood with a dull knife wouldn't work! He had thought the opponents would press aggressively as in the first half, allowing his team to use quick counters to threaten Spain's goal.
The deeper the opponent pressed, the greater the threat of their counterattack became. But now, the situation wasn't as they had expected; after making tactical adjustments, Spain had also adapted. Their counterattacks weren't effective, and their defense was weakened because they had to focus on attacking. As a result, Costa Rica's tactical adjustments seemed to put them in an awkward position, being ineffective both offensively and defensively.
Not only did Coach Pinto realize this, but the Costa Rican players on the field gradually noticed it too. The reason was simple: they felt very tired in the second half. It had been less than ten minutes into the half, and many players were already gasping for air. The main reason for this wasn't the normal physical exertion, but because Spain's attacks were so threatening that they had to exert themselves both offensively and defensively.
Trying to manage both ends was leading nowhere, and unsurprisingly, the players were exhausted. This couldn't go on; another ten or so minutes of this, and their stamina would be completely drained. On the sidelines, Coach Pinto paced back and forth anxiously. He wanted to make substitutions now, but it was too early. Moreover, it was too close to the second tactical time point he had planned; substituting now might disrupt their formation and mess up their tactical setup. Thinking this, he decided to wait a bit longer. But before that, he had the substitutes warm up, ready to enter the game at any moment.
On the other side, upon noticing the opponent's actions, Coach Bosque also called several substitutes to warm up. "Costa, Pedro, Koke, you three warm up!" Hearing Bosque's command, Costa and the others quickly stood up from the bench and joyfully ran to the sidelines to warm up.
"Are you planning to put Costa in?" Coach Tony asked, puzzled. Wasn't the plan to play a false nine? Why bring Costa on now? "His injury has just healed, and I don't yet know his current form. I plan to put him in at the 80th minute to see how he plays!" Eighty minutes? Tony checked his watch; it was only the 55th minute, 25 minutes away from the substitution time Bosque mentioned. Calling him out so early to warm up for 25 minutes?
"Getting fully warmed up isn't a bad thing, especially since this kid was unlucky to get injured in the first game of the World Cup. If he gets injured again, it would waste a valuable spot!" Bosque seemed a bit spooked by Diego Costa's injury history. He had brought him into the team hoping that Costa and Lin Huang could form a deadly striking duo. Unfortunately, Costa got injured after just one game and had been recovering since. With the semifinals against Argentina looming, Bosque felt he couldn't risk putting him in the starting lineup without ensuring he's fully fit.
As they chatted, the 60th minute approached. Costa Rica, which had previously withdrawn to their half, launched a fierce attack on the Spanish goal. This surprised Bosque: Was their aggressive tactic not just for the opening stage but planned for specific periods throughout the half? Fifteen minutes into the second half meant they were launching attacks every fifteen minutes?
On the field, the Spanish players were initially pressing Costa Rica's goal. Suddenly, like unleashed dogs, the Costa Ricans swarmed the Spanish players holding the ball, catching them off guard. The ball was quickly intercepted, and Costa Rica started a counterattack. However, the experienced Xabi Alonso, seeing the opponent accelerate, immediately moved to cover their midfield linchpin, Ruiz. This decision proved crucial for Spain.
When the attack reached Ruiz, it was intercepted by Alonso. Ruiz couldn't outmatch him physically, technically, or in experience. He hesitated slightly with the ball, which was enough for Busquets to close in, and soon the ball was back in Spanish possession. Busquets performed a deceptive move, pretending to drive forward with the ball but then suddenly leaping over it. Alonso followed up with a long pass, sending the ball back into Costa Rica's penalty area.
The pass was aimed at Torres, who, tightly marked by a defender, couldn't head it on goal but managed to flick it to a teammate just outside the box. Torres chose to pass instinctively to the player he trusted most—Lin Huang! With the ball at Lin's feet, the chances of scoring were highest. Although Torres had played longer alongside Iniesta, he felt passing to Lin was the safest and most reliable choice. Maybe this pass would even earn him an assist?
However, Costa Rica's goalkeeper Navas wasn't going to let that happen! With quick reflexes, as soon as Torres passed, Navas chose to charge out. By the time Lin received the pass and bypassed the defender to enter the penalty area, Navas had already blocked his path. "Face me, kid!" Lin, using his peripheral vision, saw that Navas had maintained a good position in relation to Costa Rica's center-backs. Lin didn't have enough space or time to break through. Although he could have shot, the chances of the ball being blocked were significant, given the defensive coverage and the closing side defenders. So, he opted to pass—a rational yet unexpected choice. At such a moment, to pass instead of shoot! Did he no longer care about winning the World Cup Golden Boot? Navas felt played.
Lin passed the ball across to the left side of the penalty area, where a figure swiftly moved in and easily kicked the ball into the open goal. The scorer was Spain's number 21—David Silva! Seeing Silva score, Lin glanced at Navas, puzzled by his expression. Did Navas think of him as some kind of mindless brute? If that was what he thought, Lin didn't mind teaching him a lesson: he played with his brain, not with brute force. David Silva's goal sent the Spanish fans into jubilation as if celebrating a festival, while the Costa Rican fans looked devastated, some even shedding tears. They all knew what Spain's goal in the 61st minute meant for the match. To put it bluntly, that goal had effectively killed any suspense in the game.
Thank you all for your concern. I'll update you on my mother's condition. She had an angiography at 1:30 PM today; the coronary blockage is manageable, not severe enough to require a stent. Tomorrow, we'll see what the chief physician says. If all is well, she'll undergo a gastroscopy in the afternoon to check for any stomach ulcers, and then she should be able to be discharged from the hospital. These past few days have really been frightening!
(End of Chapter)