Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

The referee glanced at Gabi.

According to the standard, Gabi should also receive a yellow card, because he was the one who actually initiated the fight.

But the referee found a balance.

His whistle was loose, and both Portugal and Spain actually benefited from it.

They all avoided receiving a lot of yellow cards.

However, three minutes later...

Spanish fans went wild.

In the 79th minute, Arteta and Iniesta combined to advance to the vicinity of the penalty area. Arteta's pass was blocked by Fonte, and the ball fell to Torres.

Torres passes back to Gabi.

Gabi, the engineer, made a through pass.

Iniesta broke the offside trap, sprinted forward, and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He dribbled down the left flank and fired a low shot from a tight angle to score.

This was an extremely close goal.

It was full of luck.

But Spain scored.

Two to one.

They took the lead once again.

Viorante, on the bench, clutched his head.

Guardiola, watching from the stands, smiled.

This is football.

Just because you've planned everything doesn't mean things will necessarily go according to your plan.

Portugal made almost no mistakes in this match.

Is their defense bad?

it is good.

But they conceded the first goal.

This is very anti-scientific.

Similarly, after Spain scored their first goal, given their style of play, it was almost impossible for them to concede.

As a result, Quaresma unleashed a powerful outside-of-the-foot shot that sent the stars flying, conceding a goal to Spain, who were considered unlikely to concede.

This is also anti-scientific.

Now, the Portuguese have resorted to fouling tactics, even provoking the Spanish players' anger and causing them to lose their temper, making their passing and possession aggressive.

This is a potential problem for the Spanish team, as the Portuguese have actually been slowly gaining the upper hand.

However, it was precisely at this moment that Iniesta scored a goal.

All three goals hit the football expert right in the waist.

Football tactics are a combination of technique and rationality.

But its results are often exactly the opposite.

That's the charm of football.

The first round of the 2022 World Cup group stage match between Portugal and Ghana was the ultimate manifestation of this contradiction.

In the first half, the only truly threatening player in Portugal's midfield was Otavio. Portugal, struggling to break through the opponent's defense, needed more players with Otavio's style. However, the Portuguese coach substituted Otavio with a slow and dark-skinned player instead.

From a technical standpoint, this personnel change was nothing short of disastrous.

But less than a minute after the substitution, Portugal scored.

outrageous.

At this very moment, the Portuguese U16 team on the field encountered such an absurd situation.

They were so close to victory, but suddenly their fortunes took a sharp turn for the worse, and Iniesta delivered the fatal blow.

Eighty-first minute.

Before the Portuguese team could recover, Iniesta easily broke through their defense with his dribbling and short passes with his teammates. Arteta had the ball outside the penalty area, and it looked like he was about to pass it in again, with Torres likely to be one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

At a crucial moment, Portugal's right-back Bosingwa made an excellent defensive play.

However, he also received a yellow card as a result.

The Spanish team no longer strongly demanded that the referee give Bosingwa a yellow card.

Because they've already taken the lead.

If it's still a draw, they'll definitely surround the referee again.

The free kick was taken by Iniesta.

His free-kick technique is very good.

But perhaps Iniesta's touch was also affected.

The shot failed to clear the wall.

Portuguese center-back Fonte leaped high and bravely blocked the shot with his face.

Du Yadi, who was standing nearby, immediately cleared the ball, and then the referee blew the whistle to stop the game.

Fonte's nose was bleeding profusely.

The team doctor rushed onto the field.

Despite multiple tests, Fonte was unable to accurately identify the team doctor's fingers.

When they were pointing at each other, Fonte even pointed at the team doctor's face.

This was a clear concussion, and Fonte was unable to continue the match.

Viorante substituted Angelo for Fonte.

At the same time, Amorim replaced left-back Ribeiro.

Portugal switched from a four-man backline to a three-man backline, adding the versatile Amorim, hoping to challenge Spain in midfield and strengthen their attack.

Based on the current score, it's clear that Portugal is going to lose.

Amorim, Veloso, Dunquet, Mereles, Lorenzo and others pressed aggressively.

Even Ronaldo and Quaresma dropped back to keep an eye on Spain's midfield.

To be honest, from a tactical perspective, Portugal is in danger again at this point.

Because they were completely drawn out by the Spanish team.

The problem is that the Spanish team faced quite a lot of competition today.

Players like Iniesta have shown a noticeable decline in physical fitness.

Although they could still control the ball, their reaction was a beat too slow, and they could only pass it back most of the time, unable to accurately seize the weaknesses exposed by the Portuguese team.

In the 83rd minute, Amorin made a tackle, and Duncan passed the ball to Quaresma.

Quaresma's volley went wide.

His feet were already ice-cold from actively pressing the ball.

In the 85th minute, Iniesta capitalized on a lapse in defense, sending a through ball to center forward Gomez. Gomez, who had dropped back to receive the pass, turned and unleashed a long-range shot, but it lacked quality and was easily caught by Valle.

Instead of falling, Valais quickly launched a long kick.

The ball bypassed everyone and found Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Allegri were racing, and Ronaldo used a deflector to stop the ball more than ten meters away while moving at high speed, and then continued the race.

Allegre's speed was not as good as Ronaldo's, and he eventually lost the chase.

However, just as Ronaldo was about to catch up with the ball, he was met with a flying tackle from the side by Gabi!

Gabby has finally gotten his revenge!

Cristiano Ronaldo rolled around repeatedly, his expression one of great pain.

This foul caused the Portuguese players to lose their composure.

Several players, including Deng Kai, rushed over directly.

Lorenzo, who was the fastest runner, knocked Gabi, who had just stood up, flying.

He came on as a substitute, and he was energetic.

Gabi had just stood up when Deng Kai rushed over again, his acceleration from gravity knocking Gabi over once more.

"Fuck you, jungler!"

Taking advantage of Gabi's dizziness, Deng Kai gained the upper hand in the court conflict for the first time.

The Spanish players also participated in the conflict in support of Gabi.

Players on the bench also participated in the conflict, and they kept pushing and shoving each other.

The referee was also furious.

Become a card master and give cards to whoever you can get your hands on.

On the Portuguese side, Deng Kai, Lourenço, and Amorim all received yellow cards.

On the Spanish side, Gabi, who was brutally assaulted, also received a yellow card for his reckless tackle on Ronaldo. If he had retaliated, he might have received a red card, but the problem was that he was pushed and unable to fight back.

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Meanwhile, Spanish midfielder Arteta, center-backs Nami and Gonzalez also received yellow cards.

Spain made a decisive substitution.

This is also a way to buy time.

This caused extreme dissatisfaction among the Portuguese players.

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.