Lukaku didn't high-five his teammates; instead, he knelt down and slammed the turf with his fat, black hands.

He was unwilling to accept it.

The opportunity was so close, yet he'd blasted it away.

Piqué was a bit stunned, feeling like he was watching a gorilla pounding the ground.

De Gea was still shaken...if that powerful, small-angle shot had been on target, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

On the other side.

Belgium's morale soared.

They hadn't expected Spain to adopt such a low defensive posture, and their defense was so weak.

Courtois turned to face the stands, excitedly raising his hands, signaling for the fans to cheer even louder.

In a pre-match interview, he had said, "Tonight, I will make everyone respect me!"

He would use a big win to trample Spain underfoot!

A massacre!

A shutout!

...

At the Samara Arena.

The tourists cheered and jumped for joy.

A game with such an aggressive start was definitely worth the ticket price.

In the live broadcast room.

-【I'm Li Kang, and I'm panicking.jpg】

-【Belgium is creating threats in the penalty area so easily? Spain is not looking good.】

-【No way, Belgium's FIFA world ranking fluctuates between first and second. Coach Martinez has also learned from the game against Japan. Their attack in this game might be more concise!】

-【The over is a lock, Lukaku is in god mode today, he will definitely score a lot of goals!】

-【Judging from this attack, Spain's defense can't handle it at all. I suspect that without Li Mingdeng, Spain wouldn't even be able to beat Russia.】

-【I originally thought Li Mingdeng could be crowned king, but reaching the quarterfinals is not bad. Football is a team sport of eleven people.】

-【Regret is also a kind of beauty.】

...

Far away in the suburbs of Moscow, at the French team's base.

Deschamps sat in front of his computer, his expression solemn, not at all like the coach of a national team that had just advanced to the semi-finals.

Just yesterday, France eliminated Uruguay 2-0 with goals from Varane and Griezmann.

"Bosque, tonight's deployment is risky."

"Why is he using Li like this?"

...

At the Samara Arena.

Li Kang and Thiago exchanged a few gestures.

Both of them were from the same youth training camp and understood each other's intentions easily.

The game resumed.

De Gea took the football tossed to him by a ball boy.

At this World Cup, a commentator once said: "Except for the Chinese football team, everything else is here."

This included Chinese ball boys.

....

"Spain's two center backs are standing at opposite corners of the penalty area."

"They both have good footwork and don't need midfielders to receive the ball at the top of the arc."

"I heard that in 2019, FIFA will abolish the rule that 'the attacking team from a goal kick, except for the goalkeeper, is not allowed to receive the ball in the penalty area'."

"After the modification, the establishment of backcourt attacks in world football will set off a new tactical storm."

"I'm really looking forward to it. There will be a new batch of ball-playing defenders with higher tactical weight."

"Pay attention to the starting positions of Carvajal and Azpilicueta. They are pushing up to the central midfielder position. This detail tells us that Spain will be more aggressive in the autonomous attacking phase of this game."

...

De Gea kicked the ball to Ramos.

Two-hundred-pound Lukaku quickly rushed over.

The slimmed-down version of Lukaku from two years ago used to have the most top-notch arc-pressing ability. He is definitely a genius striker in terms of pressing: the pressure during the opponent's backcourt attack is not necessarily to win the ball, but to delay the opponent's attack.

"If Ramos is a faucet."

"Then Lukaku's arcing run is aimed at changing the direction of the water column."

"The pressing awareness is too good, the broad shoulders seem to have eyes."

"In the process of the arcing run, while putting pressure on Ramos, who is holding the ball, he cuts off the passing connection between Ramos and Thiago."

"Yes, the weight of two hundred pounds covers a wider area..."

"The latest version of the Southampton youth training academy textbook has a sentence: from attack to defense, you can't react after losing possession of the ball, but every time a teammate holds the ball, you must start preparing for the possible loss of possession."

"I estimate that after the new rule is modified next year, the research content of modern football will break away from the details of the two stages of autonomous attack and transition attack, and instead study: how to reduce the change time of these two stages."

"Indirectly, it will promote the development of blurred player positions."

The two commentators talked for a long time.

The audience only saw Lukaku running around blindly, and Ramos had already passed the ball to Thiago in front.

This is a special skill of the Bayern midfielder: top-notch strong-side synergy awareness in ball-playing, the brain can handle the information of the pressing side, the ball-holding side, and the passing route in advance, and appear in a relatively safe receiving area in time.

...

Thiago's body is leaning as if he is going to pass to Azpilicueta, who has transformed into a midfielder.

Snap!

Small swing of the leg!

Forcibly sends a pass with an unreasonable posture!

The football did not fly to the wing, but skimmed along the grass towards Li Kang in the middle!

"Li Kang is almost being pushed by Witsel..."

"Beautiful."

"Elegant ball control in a back-to-goal position."

"Why didn't Li Kang pass the ball right away? Azpilicueta is going to push up and then retreat!"

"This retro style of play is slowing down the team's attacking rhythm too much."

Diego Costa and Morata understood.

One moved forward, preparing to head the ball.

One pulled back, with a tendency to support.

Li Kang's purpose in pausing.

Is to attract Belgium's defense to shrink quickly.

...

Li Kang and Witsel "fought" for three seconds.

God's perspective, controlling all the information on the green field.

Dribble and turn.

Get rid of.

Pass the ball.

"Beautiful switch!"

"Carvajal didn't push forward too early, he reserved room for acceleration!"

"At this time, the two wings of Belgium are very spacious!"

"Li Kang, a master-class rhythm control."

Belgium's defense is top-notch.

It is almost the top configuration of Manchester City + Tottenham.

Their reaction was very fast. Before Saúl and Carvajal formed an attacking group, the defense spread out again.

Leaving only Kompany and Alderweireld to play a 2v2 game with Spain's two forwards.

...

Morata quickly moved towards the right wing.

Spain formed a strong attacking side on the right.

Belgium's defensive focus quickly shifted.

Snap!

Saúl passed the ball back, finding Thiago who was pushing up on the right wing.

The latter touched the ball with one foot.

And passed it to Li Kang, who was running diagonally towards the middle.

"Too magical."

"Spain feinted an attack in the crowded wing space, leaving Li Kang with an open attacking space in the middle!"

"Li Kang's diagonal insertion timing is perfect!"

"It's not that easy to break through the defense!"

"Alderweireld is a top Premier League center-back, he almost formed a favorable position at the same time, blocking Li Kang with Witsel in front and behind!"