Chapter 652: Lin Quan and Iniesta—Unstoppable!
"Lin Quan's goal has ended the match!"
"All of France's efforts over the past few minutes have crumbled in the face of this goal!"
"Time is running out for France!"
Lin Quan's goal set the entire stadium alight. Commentators around the world began rapid-fire narrations, explaining to the global audience the significance of this moment.
By now, the game was approaching the 70th minute. France had finally managed to score a goal, lifting their spirits. But Lin Quan's goal had widened the gap again, and there was even less time left for them to recover.
This made it much harder for them to catch up, especially since Spain, which had been on the verge of being completely overwhelmed, regained their momentum thanks to Lin Quan's goal.
On the other hand, France's previously unstoppable momentum vanished after conceding this goal. With Spain rising and France falling, it seemed unlikely that France could regain their previous form.
This is why so many commentators believed that Lin Quan's goal had effectively killed the match.
Spain's players, realizing the importance of Lin Quan's goal, rushed over to celebrate wildly.
They knew exactly how crucial this goal was for them!
"Quick, make a substitution, right now!"
While his players celebrated, Spain's coach Del Bosque stayed calm. Lin Quan's goal had steadied Spain's ship, but France's attacks had already proven too dangerous for their current defensive setup. So, they needed to strengthen their defense immediately.
Del Bosque brought on Thiago to replace the exhausted David Silva.
Thiago, known for his physicality and versatility as a midfielder, would help strengthen Spain's defense in the middle of the park and reduce the danger France was creating there.
At nearly the same time, France made a substitution of their own.
Didier Deschamps brought on Nzonzi to replace Kanté, who had been playing with a yellow card.
Kanté had been unable to stop Lin Quan during the build-up to the goal, which led to France conceding. As he walked off the field, Kanté was visibly frustrated and filled with self-blame, clenching his fists and hanging his head in silence.
"Rest well, it's not your fault!" Deschamps gave Kanté a comforting hug as he walked off. Deschamps knew how difficult it was to contain Lin Quan—no one could guarantee success against him. Plus, Kanté was limited by his yellow card, which meant he couldn't even commit a tactical foul to stop Lin Quan without risking a red card.
If someone else had been in Kanté's position, they might have been able to stop Lin Quan with a foul.
But Kanté couldn't afford to risk that, as it might have led to his ejection. Playing with only ten men, even with their superior stamina, would severely hamper France's ability to maintain their aggressive attacks. So, it was hard to say if trading a red card for that goal would have been worth it.
Nevertheless, France was in a desperate situation, and Deschamps had no choice but to replace Kanté, even though he was the best player to deal with Lin Quan.
Lin Quan had clearly exploited the fact that Kanté was wary due to his yellow card. Lin Quan deliberately targeted Kanté, knowing that he couldn't risk a foul. If Deschamps didn't react, this scenario would likely happen again.
By bringing on Nzonzi, Deschamps not only wanted to fill the gap left by Kanté but also hoped to use Nzonzi's height advantage to capitalize on set pieces.
With Spain now making defensive substitutions and France's morale shaken by the goal, it was clear that France's attacks wouldn't be as dangerous as before.
France needed to find a new way to break through.
After Nzonzi came on, France's tactical approach changed noticeably.
Griezmann became much more active, not only making more runs to receive the ball but also attempting more shots and dribbles to draw fouls and win set pieces.
Whenever they got a set piece, France's tall players would flood Spain's penalty area, hoping to use their height advantage to score.
This strategy was particularly effective against Spain, as they had far fewer tall players.
With Nzonzi on the field, four of France's players were over 190 cm tall, while Spain only had Piqué to match them in height!
This massive height difference put Spain at a serious disadvantage when it came to aerial duels in their box.
Every Griezmann set piece caused chaos in Spain's penalty area.
However, David de Gea was in excellent form, and his aggressive goalkeeping saved Spain multiple times, keeping the scoreline intact.
As the clock ticked toward the 75th minute, there were only about 15 minutes left of regular time, or 20 if you included stoppage time.
France was starting to feel the pressure—they could sense the danger of losing.
During one of their set pieces, even their goalkeeper Lloris came up to join the attack, showing just how desperate they were.
France was desperate, and Spain was equally on edge.
With France's significant height advantage, Spain was struggling to cope with the constant aerial bombardment.
To make matters worse, Del Bosque had no more tall players on the bench to bring on for defensive reinforcements.
Even if he wanted to match France's height advantage, he simply didn't have the personnel.
Deschamps, too, was feeling the frustration. France clearly had the height advantage and had won numerous set pieces, but they hadn't been able to score.
Time was running out, and if France didn't score soon, their World Cup hopes would be over.
France's players were giving everything they had—Mbappé, Griezmann, Giroud, and others were putting in all their effort.
But luck wasn't on their side; they were always just inches away from scoring.
Though Spain was playing defensively, they were managing better than earlier.
With Thiago on the field, Spain was able to launch better counterattacks thanks to his excellent long-passing ability.
Unfortunately, Lin Quan was being heavily marked and often couldn't get on the end of Thiago's passes.
This left Del Bosque deep in thought on the sidelines.
In the 78th minute, Del Bosque made his second substitution, replacing Isco with Iniesta.
Isco had been almost invisible for the past few minutes. His lack of physicality made it difficult for him to compete against France's bigger, stronger players, and he had gotten lost in France's "forest of muscle."
Additionally, Isco's lack of speed limited his effectiveness on the counterattack.
"Spain has decided to bring on the veteran Iniesta at this crucial moment—this is a bold move!"
"Incredible! Iniesta is an attacking player, but Spain's main problem right now is defense. Wouldn't it have made more sense to bring on a defensive player?"
Spain still had defenders like Nacho, Azpilicueta, and Monreal on the bench. Any of them could have strengthened Spain's backline, which seemed like the logical choice to stop France's attacks.
So many were left wondering about Del Bosque's decision. Why bring on an aging playmaker to strengthen the attack when defense was the priority?
"Lin, the coach asked me to tell you this…"
As soon as Iniesta came on, he found Lin Quan and whispered the coach's instructions in his ear.
"Got it, I understand!"
Lin Quan nodded seriously after hearing Iniesta's explanation.
Del Bosque's strategy seemed crazy at first glance, but Lin Quan believed it had a good chance of working, especially with France throwing everything into their all-out attack.
Del Bosque had high hopes for Iniesta, and the Spanish fans in the stands did as well.
Iniesta was a legendary figure in Spanish football and had played a crucial role in helping Spain win the 2010 World Cup.
Without his game-winning goal in the final, Spain might not have lifted their first-ever World Cup trophy.
Because of his past glories and the fact that he was one of the last remaining players from Spain's golden generation, Iniesta was a beloved figure among the fans.
As he stepped onto the field, many Spanish fans stood up and applauded, giving him a hero's welcome.
They knew this might very well be Iniesta's final game for Spain. After today, they might never see him wear the national team jersey again.
However, before Iniesta could make an impact, France scored.
In the 81st minute, Pogba's long-range shot was saved, giving France a corner kick.
Griezmann delivered the corner to the far post, where Giroud and Nzonzi made runs that confused Piqué and Ramos.
Pogba surged forward, winning the header and directing the ball into the net. De Gea couldn't react in time, and the ball sailed into the goal.
The score was now 3-2, with France closing the gap to just one goal.
This goal was crucial for France. With 15 minutes left (including stoppage time), they were just one goal away from equalizing and potentially turning the game around.
As Pogba celebrated his goal, the French fans erupted into cheers, and even the French president, attending the match, stood up and applauded enthusiastically, clenching his fists in triumph.
Pogba roared in celebration, charging to the sideline and flexing his muscles for the cameras.
"Yes! Let's hear more applause and cheers!"
He was reveling in the moment, loving the feeling of being the hero, the savior of the team.
"Should we make another substitution?"
On the sidelines, assistant coach Toni looked nervously at Del Bosque and whispered his question.
Del Bosque clenched his jaw, glancing over at the French coaching staff, who were celebrating wildly, but he didn't respond.
Spain still had one substitution left, and they were still ahead by one goal.
Bringing on another defender might shore up the defense and help prevent another goal.
But Del Bosque wasn't going to do that.
He was waiting—for the moment when his tactical plan would come to life.
But as France scored their crucial goal, the game suddenly became very dangerous for Spain.
They had no more room for error. Conceding another goal would mean the end for them.
A draw would feel just as bad as a loss for Spain—it would be as good as elimination.
"Just wait a bit longer!"
Del Bosque's eyes were locked onto Lin Quan and Iniesta, as he gritted his teeth and muttered those three words.
As Lin Quan stood in the center circle, waiting for the restart, he recalled what Iniesta had whispered to him earlier.
"Pass the ball to me, then find a safe space. I'll get the ball to you."
Lin Quan didn't ask how Iniesta planned to do it. He chose to trust him—after all, this was Iniesta.
After the restart, Diego Costa passed the ball to Lin Quan, who then played it back to Iniesta.
Lin Quan immediately sprinted toward the French half, while France pressed forward aggressively.
They were eager to win back possession and launch another attack, desperately hoping to equalize or even take the lead.
Matuidi and Nzonzi both closed in on Lin Quan, even though he didn't have the ball. They still chose to double-mark him.
Seeing this, Iniesta didn't pass the ball right away. Instead, he started dribbling forward.
Giroud rushed toward him, but Iniesta executed his signature La Croqueta dribble, gliding past him with ease.
The crowd erupted in applause, recognizing one of Iniesta's trademark moves.
After dribbling past Giroud, Iniesta found himself in a pocket of space, with no defenders immediately around him.
Matuidi, who had been marking Lin Quan, had no choice but to abandon him and rush toward Iniesta.
As soon as Matuidi left, Lin Quan moved toward the wing, following his marker's footsteps.
Iniesta noticed the opportunity and, using Lin Quan's lateral movement to create an opening, delivered a perfectly timed diagonal pass to Lin Quan.
Nzonzi chased after Lin Quan, while Matuidi stuck with the advancing Iniesta.
France's left-back, Lucas Hernandez, also rushed over to close down the space.
Including Giroud, who was tracking back, France had a 4-vs-2 advantage on the wing, with numbers clearly in their favor.
Normally, in such a situation, most players would pass the ball backward.
But this wasn't just any pair of players—this was Lin Quan and Iniesta, the best duo in the world at playing quick one-twos in tight spaces, bar none!
In front of 80,000 fans in the stadium and hundreds of millions watching worldwide, Lin Quan and Iniesta combined brilliantly, using precise one-twos to weave through the four French defenders.
They emerged from the tight space unscathed, stunning the crowd and leaving fans at home in awe.
The world was witnessing the terrifying power of the Lin-Iniesta partnership!
(End of the Chapter)