At 21:00 on the evening of July 1, the World Cup 1/8 finals between Argentina and Denmark officially began.
Everyone thought this game was a highly disparate game with no suspense, including Velarde and his teammates.
Unexpectedly, the Danes seemed to have sent out a 541 defensive counterattack formation, but instead they used the right to kick off the ball to start a blitz. First, a cross from the wing caused Otamendi to push the ball over the baseline and give the opponent a corner kick.
Then, in the corner kick attack, both sides failed to grab the spot, and the ball fell into the penalty area, causing chaos.
In the chaos, the Danish center back No. 13 Zanka, who stepped forward to participate in the corner kick attack, stabbed the ball into the Argentine goal.
At this time, the time on the big electronic screen had only reached the 58th second.
"Ouch!!!"
"The ball went in!!!"
"Oh my god, the Danish team blitzed Argentina in the opening game and caught Argentina off guard."
"Denmark scored in the first minute and led Argentina 1-0."
“It definitely caught everyone by surprise.”
Indeed, even the Danish coach Halled, who formulated the opening blitz plan, did not expect that his plan actually achieved results. He successfully scored a goal in the first 58 seconds, leading the powerful Argentina.
Halled and all the Danish coaches and substitute players couldn't help but rush to the corner kick area and celebrate wildly with Zanka and others who rushed from the field to the sidelines.
The Danish fans in the stands were also screaming, roaring, and shouting wildly to vent their excitement.
Originally, they came with the mentality of being beaten by Argentina, but they didn't expect that it was them who scored first, and they scored in 58 seconds of the opening, which was simply too fast.
Even if it was reversed by Argentina later, this goal was worth it.
Of course, the Danes on the field definitely don't want to be reversed. They want to win, advance to the quarterfinals, and continue to stage a Danish fairy tale.
Therefore, after the game restarted, Denmark retreated decisively and began to defend with their buses. Moreover, in order to avoid being used by Velarde and Messi to use their personal skills to break through or create free kicks, they must increase their running intensity to ensure that as long as Velarde and Messi get the ball, at least two people can pinch them at the same time. Be careful, there are others who can arrive in time.
This requires strong physical fitness and tacit cooperation to achieve, but today's Denmark may have successfully completed the defensive plan with a successful blitz at the beginning and a strong belief in winning the game, and kept the score of 1-0. for more than half an hour.
However, when Argentina's indiscriminate bombardment lasted for more than half an hour, Denmark finally failed to hold on and made a mistake in the 37th minute. Midfielder Christensen was unable to defend Messi's breakthrough. Shen tripped Messi.
Although Christensen immediately reached out to pull Messi up as a friendly gesture, the referee did not allow the game to continue because of his action and blew the whistle for Christensen's foul. Although no card was played, Argentina was given a free kick opportunity from the left side of the frontcourt, about 27 meters away from the goal.
Willard had already taken two free kicks before, but one was in a far position and the other was far away. Both were saved by goalkeeper Schmeichel and failed to score.
This time, the distance was right, the position was right, and the angle was right. Villard finally did not waste any more opportunities and successfully sent the ball into the near-end dead center with a powerful full-moon scimitar kick. Although Schmeichel made predictions and prepared in advance, he still couldn't reach the ball because the angle was too tricky and the speed was too fast. He could only watch the ball hit the net in despair.
Argentina finally equalized the score with a free kick from Velarde.
After the score became 1-1, Argentina finally felt more stable. As long as it is a draw, Argentina can be patient with the opponent, because under the attack of Argentina's strong overall strength, Denmark will definitely become worse in physical condition in the later stages. And when the time comes, Willard's physical advantage will be even more evident.
Denmark did not panic because the score was equalized, because dragging the tie into overtime and a penalty shootout was their ideal ending, so that they would still have a chance to try their luck in the penalty shootout. Schmeichel Jr. is also considered a world-class goalkeeper. Denmark is not afraid of penalty kicks. Instead, it is their chance to defeat the powerful Argentina.
Therefore, in the next game, the Danes continued to defend tightly and never let up, successfully dragging the 1-1 score into the halftime break.
During this break, Bauza gave instructions to let Velard go to the front and use his skills together with Messi to strengthen breakthroughs and create dangerous situations or free kick opportunities.
Regardless of whether it is a sports game or a set piece, Villard and Messi are likely to break the game. Of course, it would be better not to play overtime, let alone a penalty shootout.
So, after a 15-minute rest, after the start of the second half, Willard stepped up his offensive efforts in the frontcourt. It's not that he didn't attack before, but it was not as strong as in the second half. Now, under the instructions of the head coach, he has increased the frequency of dribbling breakthroughs.
As a result, the Danish team could no longer bear it.
Because Willard has better skills than Messi, is stronger, and is faster, one person will definitely not be able to guard him. Two people have a chance, but they must cooperate well. If you can't steal the ball tacitly, you will still be defeated by Willard one by one.
In addition, they were worried about Willard's free kick, which caused the Danish players to be timid when defending. Even with a large number of people and a big iron barrel array, they were unable to defend it.
Willard kept trying and finally broke through in the 58th minute.
He passed two people on the right side of the frontcourt and then hit the wall with Aguero who was responding. Then he broke into the right rib of the penalty area, received Aguero's return pass and blasted a shot from close range, hitting a speed exceeding 100 world waves.
Goalkeeper Schmeichel didn't even make a save. He only saw a shadow flying past him. He reluctantly stretched out his hand and found that the ball had already been scored.
Velarde scored twice again, helping Argentina reverse the score 2-1.
At this time, the Danish team was passive. Because this is a knockout round, if you lose you go home, there is no chance to make amends, and this is still the second half. Therefore, after the game restarted, the Danish team could only attack and strive to equalize the score.
But Argentina slightly shrunk their formation, allowing the Danish team to expose more gaps in the backcourt, and gained more space to counterattack.
In the 74th minute, the Danish team still failed to score, but Argentina was assisted by Di Maria at this time and Messi succeeded in a volley from the back point, extending the score to 3-1 and sealing the victory.
In the remaining ten minutes, although the Danish team made substitutions and counterattacks, Argentina had Willard in the backcourt, and Denmark did not have the luck they had in the first 58 seconds, and could not score again until the end of the game. a ball.
After 3 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game. Argentina reversed Denmark 3-1 with Velarde's brace and Messi's goal and advanced to the quarterfinals. Argentina's opponent in the quarterfinals is the host Russia.
Willard's number of goals in this World Cup has reached 8. If Argentina can reach the final and win the championship, then Velarde still has three games left, and it is entirely possible to break the world record of 13 goals set by French star Fontaine in a single World Cup.
