From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 892: One Person Suppresses a Team

Portugal began to suppress the Netherlands, and the Five Shields also frequently created opportunities.

First, Bruno made a cross from the left, but Ronaldo failed to get the ball. Then, Bruno made a wonderful pass to Guerrero, whose shot went wide. Then, Bruno and Ronaldo cooperated again, and Danilo Perreira made a long shot, which went slightly wide. Then, Bernardo Silva made a cross from the right, and Jota headed the ball to Ronaldo, who made a long shot that was saved by Stekelenburg.

The Netherlands rarely created opportunities. The only shot was in the 55th minute, when the Netherlands counterattacked but could not enter the Portuguese penalty area. Wijnaldum's long shot from 25 meters outside the goal failed to create a threat.

Portugal began to take advantage of the field.

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Beep!
With the referee's crisp whistle, Danilo Pereira stopped helplessly. Turning around, he saw Weghorst lying on the ground and stepped back with a wry smile.

The Dutch center forward pulled his teammate's hand and climbed up from the ground. He just wanted to dribble past Danilo Pereira, but he didn't expect the Portuguese midfielder to be so tenacious that he didn't let him squeeze past him, and he almost lost the ball in the end. Weghorst was not stupid either, he simply followed Danilo Pereira's little move and fell to the ground.

The Netherlands got a free kick opportunity in the frontcourt.

This is not really a lie, because Danilo Pereira really did make a small move, but he missed a good offensive opportunity.

Danilo Pereira retreated back into the penalty area and helped to create a wall.

As the team's defensive midfielder, he began to feel the changes in the Netherlands' tactics in the first and second half, as well as some new problems that came with it.

De Boer used a 5-3-2 formation at the beginning, with De Jong in the midfield, and Frenkie de Jong and Wijnaldum in the front. However, these two players are not defensive but offensive players, and their positions are somewhat leaning to the sides. Depay and Wighorst actively retreated to participate in the midfield defense.

Theoretically, there is no problem with this style of play. This is why, although Portugal's offense was impressive in the first half, it was difficult to create excellent scoring opportunities. De Boer's understanding of defensive tactics is really excellent.

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Of course, the Netherlands' tactics worked in the first half, thanks to the fact that Bernardo Silva on the right was not excited enough. If Bernardo Silva was in good shape and played with Bruno on both wings, the Netherlands would not be able to stop Portugal's attack.

But no matter what, in the first half the score was 1-1, Portugal had a certain advantage, but the Netherlands was not completely powerless to fight back.

In the second half, De Boer replaced Van Aanholt, who performed poorly on the right in the first half. Even the right center back Blind was replaced by Wijndal and Ake. At the same time, he also asked Frenkie de Jong to actively return to defense and strengthen the defense against Bruno.

But then a new problem arose, that is, the middle road was too thin, especially the area in front of the penalty area.

Frenkie de Jong played deep, which might not seem like a big deal, but he was actually crucial to the Netherlands' defense.

Therefore, Santos quickly saw the clues and asked Portugal to start attacking from both sides, letting Danilo Pereira and William Carvalho take turns to create threats in order to attack the Netherlands in the middle.

Danilo Pereira knows that Portugal still needs to work harder to score.

He wanted to atone for his sins, because the goal conceded at the beginning of the first half was related to his loss of position. Fortunately, Bruno relied on his own strength and personal performance to suppress the Netherlands and bring Portugal back on track, which not only helped Portugal, but also helped Danilo Pereira.

The Portuguese midfielder was grateful for this, but he still wanted to atone for his sins, either by scoring a goal or providing an assist.

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Thinking of this, Danilo Pereira looked at Bernardo Silva, who was also standing next to him. He felt that this Manchester City midfielder was not active enough and not excited enough.

Wijnaldum took the free kick, but it hit the wall directly.

The Netherlands tried to grab the ball, but Portugal passed it to the left side and gave it to Guerrero, who quickly passed it to Bruno.

The Dutch players immediately returned to defense and did not dare to stay any longer.

Judging from Bruno's performance in today's game, Wijendaal alone cannot defend the game.

Bruno didn't like fighting. He stopped just after passing the center line, passed the ball back and reorganized.

The Netherlands' defensive transition speed is still very fast.

Portugal had two defensive midfielders in this game, and the ball moved very simply, quickly moving from the left to the right.

After Danilo Perreira got the ball, he chose to stop forward and rushed forward with the ball.

William Carvalho understood the hint and immediately moved to the right to fill the gap left by Danilo Perreira. Guerrero also moved his position closer to the middle, still using the double defensive midfielder configuration.

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Danilo Pereira dribbled the ball across the center line, glanced at Bernardo Silva on the right, and quickly passed the ball.

The two had a tacit understanding. Bernardo Silva stopped the ball and dribbled it to the middle, but Dumfries tightly entangled him. Bernardo Silva chose to pass it to Ronaldo who was retreating to receive the ball, but Ferdinand was behind him. The Portuguese captain had no chance and knocked the ball back to Danilo Pereira. Danilo Pereira ran to the empty space, stopped, looked up and looked ahead, and quickly made an overhead pass, sending the ball directly behind De Vrij and into the penalty area.

Bruno had been lying in ambush in the area between Wijndal and De Vrij. As soon as Danilo Perreira received the ball, he started to move and cut diagonally behind the Dutch defense line at the fastest speed.

At the moment Danilo Perreira passed the ball, he was just a little behind De Vrij and not offside.

The Dutch center back turned slowly and was rushed over by Bruno, but Wijndal chased Bruno all the way and refused to give way, and the two of them ran diagonally into the penalty area at the same time.

Bruno rushed over at the fastest speed. He had to deal with Wijendal beside him, judge the landing point of the ball, and pay attention to Stekelenburg who decisively left the goal to attack...

All the fans in the audience screamed in surprise at this moment, and even Sky TV commentator Andy Gray couldn't help but get excited.

"Portugal successfully beat the offside trap and Bruno rushed into the penalty area to see if he could stop the ball."

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Under the gaze of all the fans in the stadium and the attention of countless spectators around the world, Bruno blocked Wijndal with his body and decisively swung his right foot first.

This kind of ball is very difficult to stop, it can even be said to be very difficult to stop, but if it is stopped well, it is basically a classic.

Stekelenburg left the goal and was waiting for Bruno to stop the ball. He subconsciously thought it would be a long stop. While Wijndal used his body to interfere with Bruno, he was also waiting for him to stop the ball.

This is not a mistake. He just needs to stop a little bit wider and Vijendal's interference will be effective, and Stekelenburg will be able to get the ball easily.

All of this seems complicated, but in fact it is decided in an instant. It comes from the players' usual accumulation and the tacit cooperation between Wijndal and Stekelenburg in daily training.

But Bruno obviously surprised them this time, because he stopped!

Danilo Perreira's overhead pass from 30 meters away was stopped by his light kick. The football seemed to be stuck to the back of his foot, as if it was filled with water and could not bounce, and fell down along Bruno's right foot.

This surprised both Stekelenburg and Wijendal.

No, the two of them reacted quickly and rushed over immediately.

But they were fast, and Bruno was one step faster than them. He took the lead with his right foot and poked the ball to the right after it landed.

Although Stekelenburg fell to the ground and tried to catch the ball, he was still a step too slow.

After Bruno shook off Wijndal, he quickly chased after him and easily shot the ball into the empty goal!
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"Wow!!!"

"Oh my God, what a wonderful goal!"

"Bruno scored an offside goal in the 56th minute and once again broke through the Dutch goal."

"This is a very exciting goal and a very morale-boosting goal!"

"It's so unbelievable!"

"I really can't describe how I feel at this moment. Bruno is constantly causing accidents."

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After scoring the goal, Bruno clenched his fist and roared in the Dutch penalty area, then turned and rushed out of the penalty area, all the way to the bottom of the Portuguese stand, and directly rushed to the billboard, roaring at the Portuguese fans in the stands.

The shouts of crazy Portuguese fans also swept in like a tsunami. The fans in the front row rushed out, some pulled Bruno's hands, and some hugged his thighs...

Behind them, the Portuguese players also caught up, especially Danilo Pereira, who excitedly hugged Bruno from behind.

He is so excited!
Not only because of the assist, but also because this goal helped Portugal reverse the Netherlands.

"Portugal's attack was very well thought out, but the more important thing was Bruno's stop."

Andy Gray took advantage of the live TV broadcast and repeatedly replayed the moment Bruno stopped the ball in slow motion from various angles. He praised Bruno's stoppage repeatedly.

"We can see that he clearly released the force when he stopped the ball, which was crucial because it made the ball look like it was becoming very heavy and would not bounce back. Bruno then reacted very quickly and poked the ball first, leaving Stekelenburg empty-handed."

"It can be said that stopping the ball and then stabbing it were the key to this goal."

(End of this chapter)