The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 299 unveils the prelude to the dynasty's collapse!
In the Spanish locker room.

Ramos had obviously seen Gaio score, and he bit his finger, remaining silent.

His style on and off the field is completely different.

However, what happened in the blink of an eye tonight made him feel very uncomfortable.

The words he said to Gaio before the match now feel like slaps back at him. He doesn't know how he'll face Gaio next time they meet.

Will you still say you can stop him next time?
Then the other party replied, "You were sent off with a red card in 28 seconds?"
Ramos knew without a doubt that this was the fastest red card in World Cup qualifiers history.

28 seconds? What can you do in that time?
While Ramos remained silent, the TF1 commentators were excitedly shouting on the locker room TV.

It's a good thing he doesn't understand French, otherwise he would have smashed the TV.

"28 seconds!! Just 28 seconds into the game!! Ramos' red card has broken the record for the fastest red card in World Cup qualifiers and the main tournament!!"

"The previous record holder? Uruguay's Batista from the 1986 Mexico World Cup! He was sent off with a flying tackle on Strachan in the 54th second! This record stood for 27 years without anyone breaking it, but tonight Ramos completely broke it in an almost insane way!!"

"Ramos 'gifted' a penalty and a red card, and Gaio accepted it all! A free kick opened the scoring! 1-0!!"

"The Corsican volcano erupted at the Stade de France! This goal was lava! It was revenge! It was a declaration—Spain's nightmare was ignited by their captain himself!!"

"Playing with one less player! Trailing by one goal! Spain's title defense has been plunged into an abyss by Gaio and Ramos in less than a minute!"

"Remember this moment! A red card in 28 seconds + a goal in 5 minutes! Gaio's name, along with this epic and dramatic opening, has been etched into history."

Stade de France.

Spanish fans could never have imagined that this crucial match would start like this.

drop!
Kuipers signaled for the game to continue.

After Spain kicked off, Busquets and Alonso moved back, but they still maintained control of the midfield, avoiding easy through balls and crosses. Even with one less player, Spain still wanted to break through France's space with their passing and possession.

This is their habit from the past few years.

This tactic helped them win three major championships.

After his initial excitement, Deschamps remained composed and repeatedly signaled to his players to retreat and maintain their defensive formation.

The key to the French team's success is still counter-attack!
Spain's passing and possession game was rather sluggish due to the aging of their midfield core and the absence of key defensive players.

What's more, they're down to one player now.

For a time,

The pace slowed down immediately; the French team stopped pressing forward, and the Spanish team stopped taking risks with their attacks.

Neutral fans were falling asleep watching.

It's too dull.

Many fans complained, "Spain's performance isn't as sharp as before. I don't think they'll do very well in next year's World Cup."

Such remarks will soon be met with condemnation.

"How could that be? Don't you even know why this match went so well? With a full squad, Spain is still the absolute favorite to win the World Cup. I'm optimistic that they will successfully defend their title next year. I'm ready to go all in on them. The past few years have already proven that Spain's full squad has no weaknesses."

"The key point is that this was so ugly. Iniesta dropped back to pass a safe ball. Is Spain going to hold onto a 1-0 lead like they did against Finland in the last game? The crucial point is that this time it's not Spain that's in the lead!"

On the field.

Gaio had been carefully observing Spain's passing and possession, as well as the body language and condition of the opposing players. He could indeed sense that after winning three consecutive championships, the team had lost its fighting spirit.

They were behind and played very slowly.

Gaio simply stopped running and just strolled ahead.

France is in the lead.

Spain isn't worried, so why are they?
Gaio had a fairly good understanding of this Spanish dynasty's army, which was on the verge of collapse.

Spain has managed to save face at this point.

In fact,
In the past, many people thought that Spain's elimination in the group stage was the beginning of the end of the Spanish dynasty. But in Gaio's opinion, it was the Confederations Cup final in Brazil this summer that symbolized the beginning of the collapse of the Spanish dynasty.

In that Confederations Cup final, despite Spain dominating possession, they failed to stop Brazil's three counter-attacks and were defeated 0-3.

Xavi's blank stare became a classic moment of that match.

The Spanish team consistently pursued possession in order to keep the ball under their control, minimize the risk of conceding a goal, and reduce the pressure on their defense.

however,
What if the opponent's counter-attacks are very sharp, and they can score with just a few chances, and you can withstand their runs while defending tenaciously?

Then-manager Vicente del Bosque was unable to find a solution.

Just like this match!
This time,
The French team might be able to prematurely set the stage for the collapse of the dynasty!
France's defense was virtually impenetrable against Spain's ineffective passing and control.

Kante in midfield, sometimes marking Xavi, sometimes closely following Iniesta, was a midfield sweeper!
It allowed both Pogba and Matuidi to play very comfortably.

Especially Pogba, he actually doesn't want to do the dirty work, he just wants to show off!

But at Juventus, he had no choice but to defend.

And now,
He really likes this little French guy!
Kanté did all the dirty and hard work; he just had to show off.

This made him even more determined to stay in the French national team and become a starter, so he worked extra hard. He even thought that he would privately contact Kanté when he had time and ask him if he had any ideas about going to Juventus and playing together.

Kante is a gem!

I don't know how Deschamps discovered such a player.

Kante is absolutely every midfielder's dream partner.

Xavi, Iniesta, and others continued to rely mainly on short passes, while Kante was basically making empty runs.

however,
They gradually realized that the more they passed the ball, the further it got from the goal.

The French team is slowly pushing forward!
After several minutes of low-block defense, France gradually pushed forward in a structured manner.

On the Spanish side, Xavi clearly sensed this – an opportunity!

Xavi added a few more steps to his run, and when facing the French defense, he suddenly made a through pass!
The ball was passed straight to the right side of the penalty area, aiming to connect with Pedro who was making a run forward.

however,
Evra had already spotted this path and threw himself out in advance to intercept the ball.

This time, the French team's overall forward press was itself a "trap".

This is also part of Deschamps' training practice; deception and feints are the way of tactics.

Do you think I can suppress it?
Do not,
I just want to provoke you to attack. If you don't attack, how can you retaliate?

The key to the French team's success lies in their rapid counter-attacks down both flanks.

As Evra fell, he consciously intercepted the ball within his teammate's control. The ball was cleared into Koscielny's defensive zone, where he blocked Villa's position, took two steps forward, and passed the ball to Pogba.

When Pogba saw the ball coming, he got really excited!

This is his favorite moment!
Like a commander, deal the cards from the middle and back of the field.

Before receiving the ball, Pogba had already read the situation. When the ball arrived, he turned his back to Alonso who was pressing forward, then pulled the ball back with his long legs, flipped himself to the other side, and performed an unconventional nutmeg.

Pogba instantly left Alonso behind.

Bang!
After flipping him over, he kicked him suddenly!
Another long pass,
The ball once again connected with Gaio. After Pogba passed the ball, he watched its trajectory and thought, "That pass was fucking awesome!"

Actually, Ribery also had space on the left wing, but Pogba felt that Gaião was more capable.

When he was in Italy, he saw the news that Gaio had beaten Inter Milan.

There's another reason Pogba is unwilling to admit: he seems to want to feed Gaio the ball, hoping to build a closer relationship.

But at this moment, no one cared what Pogba was thinking.

All eyes were on where the football would land.

Gaio!

It's Gaio again!

He caught the ball deftly, and the football seemed to be drawn to his foot like a magnet.

Busquets and Monreal joined forces to try and stop Gaio, but Gaio maintained his speed after stopping the ball and faced Monreal's defense.

Gaio leaned his body weight forward to the left, creating the illusion that he needed to use speed to force his way out of their encirclement.

Monreal was indeed taken in by this move and quickly moved closer to Busquets. After all, he had seen Gaio use his speed to slip through the gaps between the two before they could close in.

Therefore, he was also consciously wary of this.

however,
Gaio gently swept the ball along the bottom of his foot from the inside out, using the outside of his foot to cut in. As the ball moved to the right, he used the outside of his foot again to hook the ball in the opposite direction.

Another burst of acceleration!
In this one-on-one situation, very few people can keep up with Gaio's pace.

When Gaio rushed out, Monreal was stunned in place for half a second by his own loss of balance.

That half-second was enough for Gaio to leave him a full body length behind!
Wow!

The fans at the scene gasped in surprise.

Cow's tail!
Gaio's dribbling skills always excite the young players. Many of them fantasize about being Gaio, standing on the world stage, easily dribbling past every opponent, including the goalkeeper, and then scoring into an empty net.

But that was the old Gaio.

right now,

As Gaio broke away from Monreal and charged toward the byline, Busquets blocked his path to cut inside, and the Spanish players behind him had already retreated to defend.

But Gaio immediately noticed that his teammates were providing support in the middle and left lanes!
He did not continue dribbling.

Bang!
Gaião delivered a back pass with his right foot, resembling a triangular inverted pass, but the ball headed straight for the center. This was mainly because he was too fast; Giroud in the center, under Pique's marking, wasn't quite as fast.

So Gaio passed it back slightly.

Giroud faced the ball and engaged in a physical confrontation with Pique. Giroud completely blocked the way to receive the ball, while Pique blocked Giroud from turning around.

however,
When Gaio's pass was in place, Giroud pretended to run forward and let the ball pass him by!

This leak,
Not only did they manage to dodge Pique and Alonso in the mid lane, but they also managed to dodge Valdes.

Ribery, who was making a run down the left flank, almost overshot the ball, but luckily he slowed down just in time to watch Giroud shoot and try to get a follow-up shot.

With that slowed down, the ball came right to his feet!

Ribery showed no hesitation in the face of such an opportunity.

One kick!
Swish!
The football flew straight into the near corner and slammed into the net.

Valdes didn't even have time to react before he watched helplessly as the ball rolled onto the field.

2-0!

France's two-pronged attack leads to another goal!
Ribery spread his arms and glided to the sidelines to celebrate, then turned to face Giroud and Gaio who were rushing towards him, and gave them a big hug.

Ribery, whose face was considered rather ugly, was now incredibly excited, shouting at Gaio, "Well done! Well passed! You truly deserve to be our captain!"

Ribery and Gaião hugged, and Deschamps' decision to make Gaião captain was entirely convincing to him.

For the current French team, Gaião is the most suitable player!
In this match, Gaio has already proven why he is the most suitable one.

The fans in the stadium were stunned.

2-0!

Facing an invincible Spain, a team that is unbeaten in 24 matches across all official competitions, France has now delivered its toughest response!
Fight back!

Counter-attack down the flank!

This is France's strongest weapon!

The TF1 commentator got excited again, and after a series of "buuuuut", he exclaimed, "All dynasties have their day of reckoning. Without exception, these dynasties will begin to decline rapidly in a certain battle. So, will the red dynasty of the Matadors begin to collapse tonight?"

Remember this moment!

When Gaio's toes grazed the grass of the Stade de France, he broke through not only Monreal's defense, but an entire era!
Xavi? Iniesta? Ramos? Busquets?

These once unshakeable names collapsed like sandcastles on a beach in the storm stirred up by Gaio!
The twilight of the Spanish dynasty may not have been a gradual arrival, but rather a brutal, magnificent, and ruthless kick into the night by Gaio!

Gaio ushered in the curtain on the dynasty's collapse.

The sidelines of the Stade de France.

Bosque and Deschamps had very different expressions.

Deschamps was overjoyed, his face flushed. Defeating the defending champions meant that the French team was now qualified to compete for the final title!

Bosque, standing to the side, pursed his lips and frowned, his thoughts a mystery.

Perhaps we should wonder why he didn't retire at the height of his career after last year's European Championship?

Perhaps they're debating whether to use the old lineup or a new one to face the World Cup?

Or perhaps you're still reminiscing about Gaio's youthful brilliance when he dribbled past opponents and passed the ball?
No one knows.

But tonight, what's igniting the Stade de France is French blue!

Like the tide, it never stops!
(End of this chapter)