The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 197 Complete victory over Japan
  The defense did a good job, and the offense was not completely lacking.

While the Japanese team stabilized its defense, it also tried to control the situation, while the Italian side was not in a hurry to attack.

Continuous long-range shots from Yoshihiro Okubo and Yuichi Komano showed the strong fighting spirit of the Japanese team.

Leo made a direct pass from the frontcourt, and Balotelli lost the ball in the scramble between Tanaka King and Nakazawa Yuji.

Yes, Lippi couldn't help but admire the Japanese team's tactical execution when he saw it.

Is that how they beat Denmark?
  Unfortunately, Italy and Denmark are different.

Keisuke Honda took the ball to seek a breakthrough during the counterattack, but De Rossi fell to the ground and intercepted the ball with a flying tackle!

Italy counterattacks quickly!
  Pirlo's long pass accurately found Leo who was penetrating forward!

Leo stopped the ball with his chest and passed Matsui Daisuke. Facing Yuki Abe, who was trying to grab him, he made another light turn to get away!

Leo passed two people and broke through to the front of the penalty area. Japanese defender Makoto Hasebe actively stepped forward to press. Leo turned around with the ball and then passed the ball to avoid the defensive player and send it into the penalty area!

Balotelli overwhelmed the opponent's central defender, leaped high and shook his head to attack the goal!

Japan's goalkeeper Kawashima Eiji fought hard to save, but still couldn't touch the ball.

"Shh!"

The ball crashed into the net!

One to zero!

Italy takes the lead!

Balotelli, who scored, took Leo to the sidelines to celebrate the goal together.

The gap in strength was clearly visible, and the Italian fans at the scene loudly shouted Balotelli's nickname "Super Mario"!
  The members of the Japanese team looked at the yellow-skinned young man who looked somewhat similar to them except that he was much more handsome than them. They felt very complicated.

The young players who have always been in awe of the strong are troubled by the fact that one of their opponents today has such a talented player.

On the other hand, they are happy and admired that Leo, who is also of yellow race, can achieve such brilliant results in European football.

If Leo can do it, doesn't it mean that the Japanese should also be able to do it?

Maybe Japan will have a world-class star in a few years?
  The Japanese team, which lacks forward strength, also relies on the overall attack. They focus on opportunities for set pieces.

Endo Yasuhito took the ball outside the penalty area and was brought down by Marchisio. The referee gave the Japanese team a well-positioned free kick.

Keisuke Honda, who scored a direct free kick against Denmark in the last game, stood in front of the penalty kick.

Without saying a word, the experienced Buffon called out to his teammates to form a wall in the penalty area.

"Come this way! Block the angle from which he can hit the corner!"

Keisuke Honda's free kick skills were indeed good, and he successfully bypassed the wall and dropped into the penalty area, but Buffon was already waiting there and easily held the ball in his arms.

Everything is under control!
  Leo launched a quick counterattack and ripped open the Japanese team's defense with a sharp through ball!

Pepera turned the ball and broke into the right side of the penalty area. His single push shot was blocked by Kawashima Eiji with his legs. Nagatomo Yuto made a timely clearance!

The Japanese team also wanted to counterattack quickly, but was stopped by Marchisio as soon as it reached midfield.

The ball is back in Italy's hands!
  Leo received the pass from his teammate and advanced the ball unhurriedly in the opponent's half.

Now that the Azzurri are ahead, they can slow down the pace of the game.

It is difficult for the Japanese team to steal from Leo's feet, and they can only block Leo's progress through local numerical advantage.

Being double-teamed by three defensive players, Leo still didn't lose the ball and seized the opportunity to poke the ball out.

Pirlo made a long diagonal pass, and Maggio made a pass near the right baseline. Balotelli once again forced the opponent's defender to head the ball slightly wide.

Japan quickly retaliated. Daisuke Matsui's powerful long-range shot from outside the penalty area was saved by Buffon and then flew out of the baseline.

But then their corner kick was taken, and the Japanese teammates who were fighting for the top in the penalty area had no way to seize the opportunity among the Italian defenders.

Throughout the first half, the Japanese team had a lot of crosses, but basically all of them were easily cleared by the opponent.

The Japanese team's forwardless formation is obviously at an absolute disadvantage in aerial confrontation in the penalty area.

The average height of the Italian team is seven centimeters higher than that of the Japanese team.

On average, each person is nearly one centimeter taller than the other person, which is already outrageous.

With such a height disadvantage, it is undoubtedly much more difficult for the Japanese team to score through set kicks.

And if instead of cooperating with set pieces, they directly attack the goal. With Buffon, they also have no chance.

Under the all-round strength crushing, the balance of victory tilted little by little towards the Italian team.

In the 32nd minute, Leo dribbled the ball and broke through diagonally. Nagatomo Yuto was knocked down with a flying shovel.

Nagatomo Yuto was given a yellow card by the referee.

"Andre, you kick the ball, and we will cooperate..."

Leo and Pirlo, the two top free-kick takers in the Italian team, have agreed on who will take the penalty.

Leo and Pirlo stood in the penalty kick position one behind the other.

The goalkeeper of the Japanese team, Kawashima Eiji, was facing a formidable enemy. He knew very well that the two men's free kick skills were extremely good.

When the referee's whistle blew, Leo moved first, but he didn't take off his feet and stepped over the ball.

A false shot! The wall formed by Japanese teammates in the penalty area was shaken. Pirlo immediately followed up with a ground ball and went straight to the far corner of the goal!

Because Nagatomo Yuto was shorter, he was worried that the opponent's free kick would fly over his head, so he jumped up with all his strength.

But this just gave Pirlo the opportunity to hit his spot with a ground-breaking slash!
  Pirlo's free kick passed through the feet of Nagatomo Yuto who was struggling to take off!
  Kawashima Eiji rushed in the opposite direction and failed to intercept the ball with his legs. He watched in despair as the ball passed him and crossed the goal line.

Two to zero!
  The Italian team expanded its lead through a free kick opportunity!

Pirlo scored his first goal of this World Cup!

Pirlo seemed very happy after the goal. He smiled, high-fived and hugged Leo to celebrate.

Two goals behind, the Japanese team has no way out!

Head coach Takeshi Okada conveyed an instruction to the Japanese players on the field to attack with all their strength!

Italy has strengthened its protection of the midfield, as they do not want to give their opponents a chance to counterattack.

Yasuhito Endo passed a free kick from the left, and Chiellini headed the ball first to clear the ball.

The first half entered stoppage time. Daisuke Matsui made a diagonal pass from the right, and the unguarded Keisuke Honda's left-footed volley from the top of the arc in the penalty area missed the left post.

Italy ended the first half with a score of 2-0!

After the start of the second half, Takeshi Okada replaced Daisuke Matsui and Yuki Abe with Shinji Okazaki and Kengo Nakamura.

However, the Japanese team still couldn't find any way to deal with Italy's reinforced concrete defense.

Lippi replaced Pirlo in the 60th minute of the game to prevent the midfield master from recurring injuries.

Since the goal is to defend the title, the subsequent games must be more difficult each game. Pirlo is an indispensable guarantee for the Italian midfielder.

After Gattuso came on as a substitute, Japan saw what it means to be a "butcher".

A fierce tackle knocked Honda Keisuke, Japan's most offensive threat, to the ground.

Xiao Huangmao wailed on the court with a face of pain, and the Japanese team doctor rushed to the scene.

However, it seems that Keisuke Honda's injury was not serious, and he returned to the field after simple treatment by the team doctor.

It's just that his frequent dribbling before can no longer be seen. Every time he receives a pass, Honda quickly throws it out to his teammates like a hot potato.

Gattuso grinned, and this was the deterrent he gave his opponents on the court.

It may be useless to meet a tough player like Leo, but it is still easy to scare the players who are young.

In the 78th minute, Leo passed the ball through the defender and passed directly. Balotelli's shot from the left side of the penalty area was blocked by Yuji Nakazawa!
  However, the Japanese team defender's clearance ball was not far away. Leo accurately judged the landing point and controlled the second penalty before everyone else.

Facing the guard of King Tanaka from outside the arc of the penalty area, Leo flicked a dunk to his right to get out of the way and hit the goal directly!

As expected, King Tanaka was fooled and stretched out his legs to intercept!

Leo pulled the ball back with his right foot, accelerated away from the opponent and broke through to the small penalty area!
  Facing the goalkeeper who abandoned the goal alone, Leo calmly fired!

A lob shot passed over the head of Kawashima Eiji and fell into the goal.

Three to zero!
  Italy sealed the victory!

The Japanese team still didn't want to give up. Nakamura Kengo's long shot from outside the penalty area was blocked by Thornton.

Yasuhito Endo took a corner kick, and Shinji Okazaki's header from the edge of the penalty area went wide.

In the face of the absolute strength gap, any efforts are meaningless.

In the 84th minute, the Japanese team used up all substitutions, and Keiji Tamada replaced Yoshihito Okubo.

The Italian side also made adjustments immediately, and Palombo came on the bench to replace Leo.

Leo, who had one goal and one assist in this game, enjoyed applause from the Italian and neutral fans at the scene when he came off the field.

In fact, if you look carefully, there are also fans of the Japanese team among the people applauding Leo.

The people of their nation are like this. They worship the strong and like to bully the weak. They have no small details and no sense of justice.

As long as they can be defeated, the Japanese will be more loyal than the dogs raised at home.

At this point in the game, it has actually entered garbage time.

Leo picked up a bottle of energy drink "TonTonTon" and took a big sip.

The game was coming to an end, and the Japanese team knew that there was no hope of reversal, but they still wanted to score a goal to save some face.

In the 93rd minute, Yasuhito Endo passed a free kick from the right, and Yu Nakazawa passed the ball with a header. However, Tanaka Hatano failed to catch the ball on the right side of the penalty area and missed an excellent scoring opportunity!
  At the end of the game, Italy defeated Japan 3-0 and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup!

At the post-match press conference, Italian coach Lippi was beaming during the interview, and he seemed to be several years younger.

“No team is weak if it can reach the knockout stages of the World Cup.

So we were able to successfully defeat Japan and advance to the quarter-finals today. I am very satisfied with the team's performance.

Leo? His performance no longer requires too much praise from me. It is obvious to everyone that he is the top midfielder in the world, and there may not even be one among them.

Next opponent? I must admit that Spain is very strong.

The team they built based on the two giants Barcelona and Real Madrid is absolutely top-notch in terms of the individual abilities of the players and the overall technical and tactical level of the team.

But I believe in my team members. You will know who wins and who loses after we play! "

(End of this chapter)