"Goal!"

"Spain launches a fierce attack from the flanks, breaking the deadlock!"

"Li Kang is maximizing his tempo changes."

"Instep pass."

"Outside of the foot shot."

"Turning the impossible into reality!"

"A breathtaking out-swinging arc!"

"Let's take a look at the replay, wow, a rainbow-like ascending curve, suddenly accelerating during the descent."

"His shooting motion is so smooth and elegant!"

"The Emperor of European Football, reigning over the Volga!"

The commentator gradually lost his composure, trembling with excitement.

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall Beckenbauer, the pioneer of the 'tivela' outside-of-the-foot technique.

Livestream.

A flurry of comments.

-

[So handsome! Is this the legendary realm of a football king?]

-

[Li Invincible.]

-

[A great midfielder finds and uses space, a football king creates space.]

-

[My grandma was watching the game with me, and even she was stunned by Li Kang and Messi.]

-

[Score a few more!]

-

[I see it, the night sky of Kazan, dark clouds gathering, condensing the fortune of the entire European football scene!]

-

[No, the great fortune of world football is now concentrated in the French and Belgian teams. Li Mingdeng and Messi are proving the Dao (path) with force, becoming gods in the flesh.]

-

[Next, Spain will pass and control, snowballing their advantage. How will Argentina play?]

-

[Refer to the Morocco game. Spain's midfield and defense aren't very stable in possession, making many mistakes. Unless Li Kang drops back, but that's a waste, isn't it? With so much game time left, handing over the entire attacking and defending axis to Sampaoli? Then Messi will be ascending to the peak of football kings!]

The camera shook slightly from the roaring sound waves.

The audience at Kazan Arena gave enthusiastic cheers and applause for the goal.

Li Kang and his teammates went to the corner flag area, hugging and celebrating.

De Gea also raised his fists in the backfield. When he saw Messi's calm expression, he couldn't help but feel that the night in Kazan was colder than many other places.

Sideline.

Minyano and the substitute players celebrated wildly.

Del Bosque breathed a sigh of relief, instantly returning to his calm demeanor.

After all, football is a sport of eleven people. This year's World Cup in Russia is far more difficult to win than South Africa.

On the other side.

Sampaoli angrily slapped his thigh.

He gestured to his players on the field, adjusting the formation, and finally shouted out a most basic instruction: "Give the ball to Messi to orchestrate!"

That's right.

In the previous three group stage matches, he mostly used Messi as if he were Lukaku.

The game restarted at the center circle.

Higuain passed the kickoff back to Mascherano.

Argentina's formation changed during the build-up.

Shifting from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2.

Messi retreated from the forward line to midfield.

"Sampaoli's team has frequent player rotations during the establishment phase of autonomous attacks."

"Pulling Tagliafico inside to the defensive midfielder position, pushing Lo Celso forward!"

"Even Rojo is pushed up to the right flank?"

"Too crazy!"

The ball was passed several times on the grass.

Finding Messi near the center circle.

The Argentine number 10, who had been walking around, stopped the ball, turned, and accelerated.

Dribbling forward through the middle.

Busquets' brain raced: 'In a small, confined space, only Di Maria can create chemistry with Messi. Messi's advance will definitely change direction and favor the left flank. Yes, our right flank is Argentina's left flank.'

'Everything is under my control.'

He gestured a few times.

Directing Spain's formation to shift its center of gravity towards Di Maria.

Almost the moment Messi got rid of Saúl.

Argentina's attacking support points also shifted towards Di Maria's side.

"Fake!"

"Fooled!"

"Di Maria and Messi's instantaneous inward runs have attracted Spain's defensive focus!"

"Higuain pushes forward without the ball!"

"Spain is in danger!"

"Pique and Ramos reacted quickly and won't allow the Argentine forward to establish a passing connection with Messi."

"Huh?"

"Why did Messi take two steps back?"

"Wow!"

"A thunderbolt from a clear sky, a perfect long pass!"

"A rainbow-like arc!"

"The ball is too fast!"

"Precise landing point!"

"Midfield Messi's long pass has reached its peak!"

"A great midfielder finds and utilizes space, a football king creates space!"

"Messi used his own passing and running to create an incredibly open right flank for Rojo!"

"Rojo!"

Rojo easily brought the ball down.

The Spanish coaching staff felt a chill in their hearts, not marveling at Rojo's ball control, but at Messi's long-passing skills.

Sampaoli hid his hands in his pockets. He knew that at this moment, he couldn't give wild instructions!

Since Spain's previous defensive focus had shifted towards Di Maria's side.

It caused left-back Alba to only be able to retreat to the corner of the penalty area: to prevent Messi's mid-range lateral short passes from a few seconds ago.

Alba's defensive awareness is particularly keen. He can find the best defensive position in the left half of the field as the defensive line changes, but he has a fatal flaw: he is short.

Diego Simeone had already given a classic routine to crush Alba two years ago.

"Higuain goes to the right, squeezing Alba."

"Yes, Argentina's right flank is Spain's left flank."

"Rojo is undisturbed, dribbling deep and chipping the ball!"

"Higuain's height and physique overwhelm Alba, getting the ball on the right side of the penalty area."

Higuain is very strong, but his luck in the national team is sometimes particularly bad, causing him to be cyberbullied by Argentine fans. When his daughter goes to school, she is even scolded by her classmates: "Your father is a donkey."

The time to prove himself has come!

He had already scanned Messi's forward path!

Pa!

Dribbling and turning, he sent a cross pass under Ramos's interference!

If the scene were frozen at this moment.

It would be found that Argentina had formed an attacking chain in the Spanish penalty area: Di Maria, Messi, Higuain.

Del Bosque nervously covered his chest.

Spanish fans fell into despair.

Suddenly.

A figure dashed out.

The connection between Higuain and Messi was gently severed!

The joys and sorrows of the Iberian Peninsula and the Pampas grasslands were reversed at this moment!

"Beautiful!"

"Li Kang threw himself into the penalty area, timely sliding tackle disrupting Argentina's deadly pass."

"Oh no, the ball bounced off Pique's foot."

"Pique didn't react!"

"Messi stole the ball!"

"Carvajal and Busquets are covering!"

"Messi passes the ball back to the arc of the penalty area, pulling himself to the outside!"

"Lo Celso!"

"The young Argentine player lacks confidence, doesn't dare to shoot himself, and passes it horizontally to Mascherano!"

"Spain's defense has been compressed into the penalty area by Messi's previous orchestration!"

"Argentina is reorganizing the Spanish defense in the open space outside!"

"Mascherano gives it to Messi!"

"No! No! Messi's right foot on the left side of the penalty area's corner isn't that easy..."

"Wow!"

"Messi! Messi! Messi!"

The commentator's voice cracked!

Messi leaned his body, took three steps in an arc, facing the ball.

Raising his foot.

Swinging his leg.

Pa!

The ball rose quickly!

Outlining a rainbow-like arc in the Spanish penalty area!

Crossing the chaotic red defense line!

Falling straight into the upper right corner of the goal!

A seemingly soft and weak, but actually powerful instep curve shot!

De Gea's reaction arc, no matter how fast, couldn't touch the extremely tricky angle of the football!

Spain's net was rippled.

1:1!!!

Kazan Arena.

Tens of thousands of Argentine fans stood up and made a 'worship' gesture towards the blue-and-white number 10 on the green field.

"Goal!"

"Freehand!"

"Art!"

"Too wonderful!"

"A celestial goal!"

"Perfect top corner that De Gea had no way to stop!"

"Messi!"

"He uses the diagonal of the crossbar and post as a reference point."

"This is Messi!"

"The team was only behind for three minutes, and he stood up and equalized!"

"Tonight, Li Kang and Messi's performance makes people wonder if football is really a team sport?"

"Passing, stopping, dribbling, shooting, organizing connections, space creation, overall speed..."

"Kazan Arena, in the middle reaches of the Volga River, colorful flags fluttering, fireworks lighting up the night sky, the breeze on the Kazanka River gently blowing, blowing up the red number 6 jersey, the blue-and-white number 10 jersey!"

Livestream.

Colorful comments frantically dominated the screen.

-

[My youth is also blown away. Tonight, one team is destined to leave the World Cup stage.]

-

[Midfield Messi, single-core limit!]

-

[His physical fitness has reached the end of its peak, but his football IQ, organization, reading of the defense, long and short passes, and ability to create space have reached perfection!]

-

[Why isn't this game the World Cup final?]

-

[Damn, I came back from the bathroom, and my 1/1.5 is alive!]

-

[In July 2015, Li Kang transferred to Bayer Leverkusen. The gears of fate quietly turned, so that the world didn't see Li Kang and Messi join forces to create the peak of the Dream Team dynasty.]

Messi celebrated simply.

It was just an equalizer, not a lead.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked back to the center circle with his elated teammates.

His stamina could no longer support the unparalleled pace of his youth for a long time.

Pique turned his head to comfort De Gea: "They just happened to execute a complete attacking chain. Messi won't make mistakes, his teammates will."

The Manchester United goalkeeper couldn't refute this statement.

Looking back at the entire Argentine attack process, Messi organized and connected like a father and mother, initiating the attack, but if any of Higuain, Rojo, Lo Celso, or Mascherano made a mistake, Spain would be able to seize the opportunity for a counterattack and widen the score again.

Sideline.

Minyano and the coaching staff were extremely helpless.

Del Bosque couldn't help but applaud gently.

The old Spanish coach had admired Messi for many years.

Even though he was a Real Madrid legend, a Real Madrid die-hard fan, and had coached many superstars, he didn't hesitate to praise Messi.

On the other side.

Sampaoli celebrated wildly, ran a few steps, and quickly calmed down.

Even if his past coaching style was radical, he was still a little unsure on the World Cup knockout stage.

Just like the team's defense in the two rib areas.

He couldn't be obsessed with attacking throughout the first half. He had to consider the players' physical strength.

In the stands.

Maradona clenched his fists, his cheeks flushed, and shouted with excitement:

"That's how you have to play!"

"Defensive turtling has no chance!"

"Give me an all-out attack!"

"Attack until death!"

"Just don't put on Agüero!"

The Argentine legends around him were also infected, cheering for the team!

Back then, when Maradona coached Argentina, how many forwards did he start?

Higher up, in a VIP box.

Xavi's expression was solemn.

"Li and Messi don't seem to be doing so well at the national team level."

"Leading the team single-handedly is ultimately difficult to hide the team's respective problems."

Alonso smiled: "Enjoy the game. We still have to do the coaching exam papers when we get back to the hotel."

The two Iberian legendary midfielders are now working hard to get their coaching licenses.

Not everyone is as gifted as Tuchel.

Xavi is constantly traveling between Madrid and the Middle East. After obtaining his certificate, he will coach the Qatari team Al Sadd.

Alonso will become the coach of Real Madrid's U14 team.

The game resumed.

Time passed minute by minute.

The scene gradually became dull.

Spain launched a passing and controlling offensive, but would always be disconnected between the front and back lines due to occasional small mistakes.

Argentina was unable to organize a counterattack for a while, because Sampaoli used frequent rotations to offset the individual mismatches, causing a significant decline in the physical strength of the Argentine players.

These potential factors, translated into visual effects, led the audience to mistakenly believe: Are Li Kang and Messi accumulating power for a big move?

The commentator's adrenaline also slowly decreased.

"The Little Pipe's defensive attitude is very positive. After joining Juventus, he may not have seen pigs run, but he has eaten pork!"

"His father's nose is very straight and big, like a pipe, so people gave him the nickname: Pipe."

"After Higuain debuted, he was affectionately called: Little Pipe by fans."

"He's a lot fatter than before, his jersey is a bit tight, a faint paunch..."

In the final stages of the first half.

The two sides finally resumed their wide-open offensive.

The two cores no longer walked around.

"Beautiful, Di Maria is twisting his body like a noodle. There's no space. Carvajal and Saúl's perfect double-team!"

"Saúl passes the ball to Li Kang."

"Li Kang is charging, man and ball together, strides. Messi is trying hard to chase, oh no, he's getting old, he can't catch up with the young man!"

Watching the number 6 jersey getting further and further away from him, Messi felt a little powerless.

Li Kang broke through the midfield barrier composed of Lo Celso and Banega.

Facing the encirclement and suppression of three Argentine defenders.

He sent a through ball.

Morata started quickly almost the moment Li Kang passed the ball.

Mercado was a step slower.

The Argentine penalty area was gently cut by the trajectory of the football like a cake.

"Legendary connection!"

"Morata!"

"No redundant adjustments!"

"Right-footed shot!"

Caballero wasn't confident. After playing for Chelsea for a year, although he knew that Morata's dominant foot was his right foot, he couldn't figure him out.

Clang.

The ball swept past the Argentine goalkeeper's crotch.

Hitting the post.

Bouncing back, hitting Caballero's butt, and slowly bouncing towards the goal.

Mascherano, who was dragging behind the defense, used a split again, risking anal fissures, to clear the ball.

Finally.

The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

Spain 1:1 Argentina.

Li Kang and Messi each scored a goal.

Why is it that even when the football's easter egg chapter is released, it is blocked for "content violation"? If you are interested in the 18-19 Midfield Messi videos, you can take some time to watch them.

(End of this chapter)