Before the Italy VS Croatia game started, the first semi-final had already ended.
France VS Belgium, in the eyes of most people, this is a "final that is staged in advance."
After all, compared with Italy or Croatia, the entire teams of France and Belgium are worth much more than the first two.
In the end, in this "most expensive matchup" with a total worth of 1.838 billion euros, the young French team finally reached the final, but the "European Red Devils" who also have a golden generation ultimately left regrets.
At the St. Petersburg Stadium, the French team defeated the Belgian team 1-0 and reached the World Cup final for the first time since 2006!
The two teams, who knew themselves and knew each other well, were cautiously testing the waters at the beginning of the game.
The French team tried to open up the Belgian team's defense by controlling the ball in the opening stage, but the Belgians continued to create threats in the penalty area through defensive counterattacks.
Hazard, in particular, was particularly eye-catching on the offensive end. In just the first 15 minutes, he completed 3 breakthroughs and nearly scored 2 shots on goal. Belgian defender Alderweireld scored in the penalty area. The shot with his feet went straight into the blind corner. If it weren't for Lori's high block and low block, France might have fallen behind in the score in the first 20 minutes.
However, it was the French team that broke the deadlock first. In the 50th minute of the game, France's Griezmann took a corner kick. Umtiti flicked his head in front of Fellaini and the ball flew into the near corner. France led 1-0.
This is also the crowning moment of Umtiti's career!
By the way, now that everyone thinks of Umtiti, they probably think of him just lying down and getting paid at Barcelona...
After sending this assist, the 27-year-old Griezmann once again proved that he is the real core of this star-studded French team.
Another data shows that in the knockout rounds of the previous 6 international competitions (World Cup and European Cup), "Little Grid" has scored 7 goals for the French team. He is undoubtedly the most stable link in this young team. It looks like There is no forward who can be as versatile as him.
"This is the World Cup for set pieces." England football legend Lineker lamented that set pieces have once again become the key to the game.
This is of course also because in Italy's match against England, Pan Yi's team also broke England's defense through free kick tactics...
The Belgian team was not without opportunities. After 60 minutes of the game, Mertens made several threatening crosses and almost helped his teammates score.
"Little Monster" Lukaku participated in 20 goals in the Belgian team's last 13 games, scoring 17 goals and 3 assists. However, he was completely restricted by Kante and others in this game. Living.
In the end, the Belgians failed to change the score and had to accept the fate of being eliminated.
However, even so, after breaking into the top four again, the "European Red Devils" have tied the team's best record in 32 years with the golden generation of De Bruyne, Hazard, and Lukaku!
But now, the regrets they left can only be made up for four years later...
As for the French team, they can sit back and enjoy a wonderful game, and then see who will come to the Luzhniki Stadium to compete with them for the championship of this World Cup! ——
On the evening of July 11, Luzhniki Stadium.
As the largest and best stadium in Russia, the Luzhniki Stadium is of course responsible for the most important events, including a semi-final and the final.
The Italian team stationed their camp very close to Luzhniki from the beginning, which obviously showed Pan Yi's confident attitude - they came to the World Cup to win the championship!
Now, they have indeed reached the semifinals.
And if they can advance further to the finals, the Italians will no longer need to waste time on travel and can just wait for the finals here.
Of course, first they have to get through Croatia.
When the head coaches of both sides announced their starting lineups, it was not particularly surprising that Dalic had no changes in this aspect. He had been rotating every game before, and even made a complete 3-4 against England. The -2-1 Pan Yi actually used a regular formation this time, which is really surprising.
"Did Guardiola call Pan Yi and persuade him not to play hard in key games?" Lineker joked with a smile, which aroused knowing laughter from the Italian fans in front of the TV.
But for Italian fans, no matter whether Pan Yi adopts rotation or not, their confidence in Pan Yi will not change in any way.
Defeat Croatia, join France in the final, and then, like in 2006, once again step on the body of the Gallic Rooster to reach the top podium. This is what all Italian fans are thinking.
Today, Italy wore their traditional pure blue home jersey, while Croatia wore their same traditional red and white plaid uniforms. There was no conflict in the colors of their home uniforms.
"I originally thought you would come up with another strange formation to deal with me."
When shaking hands with Pan Yi before the game, Dalic teased Pan Yi.
"I couldn't think of anything more eye-catching, so I simply stopped doing it." Pan Yi smiled and shrugged.
Dalic also laughed and patted Pan Yi's shoulder happily.
Of course he knew Pan Yi was joking.
As far as the entire world of football is concerned, if Pan Yi can come up with more effective tactical formations, no one dares to say that he is first when Pan Yi says he is second.
Even Guardiola, who has always been known for his neat work, admitted that he was like a younger brother in front of Pan Yi.
So Dalic also knows very well that since Pan Yi uses a regular formation to deal with him and does not use any bells and whistles, it is more about "internal strength".
In terms of on-the-spot command experience, Dalic is of course much inferior to Pan Yi, but he is not afraid at all.
He also hopes to have a good competition with the world's number one coach who has been extremely prosperous in recent years!
And the game started soon.
From the beginning, Croatia really showed their excellent technical qualities. They had the ball at their feet and launched a tidal wave of attacks into the hinterland of Italy.
After the game started, the most active player offensively was not Modric, Mandzukic, or Croatia's two full-backs, but Croatia's right back Vorsaljko.
Perhaps thinking that Italy has a tradition of left backs pressing forward and cutting inside, Dalic asked Fossalico to participate more in the attack from the beginning to suppress Italy's left wing, so from the first minute, Fossalico He seemed extremely active offensively.
This Croatian first right back who has been in Serie A for many years and has now become the main force of Atletico Madrid is indeed quite good in offensive ability.
After controlling the ball back and forth in the frontcourt, Modric still accurately handed the ball to Fossalico who inserted on the right under the pressure of Varela, and then left the opponent Spinazzola one-on-one. one.
Fossalico used his body to force a breakthrough, and Spinazzola's speed and reaction worked. Before he forced a breakthrough, he destroyed the ball with his feet and blocked the ball out of the baseline for a corner kick.
This corner kick in the third minute set off a frenzy of Croatia's offense.
Modric took a corner kick, Mandzukic grabbed a hook shot in the penalty area, but Bonucci blocked it with his body, and then De Sciglio made a big kick.
The ball that was cleared was grabbed by Lovren in front of Chiesa. Brozovic quickly passed the ball to Rakitic after receiving the ball. Rakitic immediately distributed the ball to the wing before retreating. Modric.
Modric made another pass, and it turned out to be Fusaljko diving into the penalty area, but the ball missed the near post!
"Hell, let them grab the first spot in the penalty area twice in a row!" Pan Yi's roar sounded from the sidelines.
He gestured to the court with the "two" sign, emphasizing how something like this shouldn't happen.
The Croatian's offense was indeed world-class, even the well-prepared Italians were a little confused.
However, Croatia's attacks continued one after another.
Mandzukic took the ball in the frontcourt and used his body to protect it before passing forward. Perisic almost succeeded in countering offside. Under Bonucci's interference, he pushed the shot in the penalty area and was blocked by Donnarumma with his legs.
Rebic got the ball outside the penalty area and passed it across. Modric shot from 30 meters away from the goal and the ball went over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Rebic passed the ball again, and Mandzukic suddenly shot hard from the penalty area line. This shot was of a very high level, but it was still a little on target, and Donnarumma flew to block the ball. come out.
The first ten minutes passed quickly. In these ten minutes, Croatia shot five times, three times in the penalty area, twice in the goal frame, and was blocked once. They had the upper hand.
And what about Italy? The number of shots on goal was a pitiful one, a zero.
The Croatian fans at the scene were excited by their team's outstanding performance. They kept shouting, hoping to see their team score in the next second.
The Italian fans were in a daze.
In these ten minutes, Italy was firmly suppressed by Croatia.
Just being suppressed is nothing more. When playing against Germany and England, Italy was suppressed by each other to varying degrees;
But the problem is, at that time, it was just suppression on the scene. The opponent had very few shooting opportunities, but what about now? Ten minutes, five shots! All are of high quality!
The average frequency of a shot in two minutes is more than 70% of the ball possession rate!
"Is Croatia so powerful?" All Italian fans suddenly thought of this question.
When the gap between ideals and reality is too large, everyone will probably find it difficult to accept it. This is what Italian fans are like now.
Many Italian fans clamored before the game to beat them three or four times just like they did against Germany and England. Now of course it is difficult to accept the scene of Italy being passively beaten.
Although Croatia has always been considered a strong team between the first and second tier in Europe, it is a small football country after all, so it cannot compare with Italy.
Now that Italy is so fierce and has killed Germany and England, how can it be beaten by Croatia...
“When did Croatia become so powerful?”
"Go to F***ing Croatia, destroy that kid, and shovel that bastard away..."
The fans in Italy started cheering the team with loud shouts and crude curse words.
Of course, the Italian players on the field will not let themselves go as much as the fans.
They maintained enough sense. After all, head coach Pan Yi had been emphasizing to them before the game, "There is absolutely no weak team that can reach the semi-finals." "Their frontcourt stars are even more famous than you are." "More", "Opponents who underestimated them have paid the price, such as Argentina."
Now, Pan Yi's words have been verified, and Croatia has indeed shown strong midfield control.
This also made the Italian players truly realize that this game will never be solved easily.
Like the players, the Italian coaching staff also remained calm and rational.
Although Croatia's fierce attack completely suppressed Italy and created many opportunities, they failed to score after all.
Such intense suppression will also consume a lot of Croatia's physical energy. After all, Italy's pressing in the midfield is also very fierce. Considering that the opponent has played two consecutive 120-minute high-intensity games...
As long as Croatia's offensive rhythm is slower, Italy's counterattack can be launched. After gradually being suppressed, the situation will definitely change.
There are ninety minutes in a game. No team can suppress its opponent forever, and no team has no chance at all from beginning to end.
How to turn an advantage into a victory, how to reverse the situation in an unfavorable situation, this is the most charming point of football!
Sure enough, after withstanding the opponent's wave of attacks, Croatia's offensive rhythm slowed down 15 minutes later, and Italy also began to rebound.
However, Croatia's foot skills are indeed good. They are still firmly controlling the ball and looking for opportunities.
They kept passing back, and the ball got deeper. Strinic, who was holding the ball, saw that Italy's defense moved forward a certain distance, and immediately passed the ball behind Italy before Insigne could press forward. Perisic came in from behind Bonucci!
The Italian fans screamed in the stands, but Italy's defense, which has been tested for a long time, will not be penetrated by the opponent's easy direct and long passes. Bonucci returned to the defense in time and took a few big steps. He caught up with Perisic who had just received the ball, and then the two became tangled.
Perisic forced a speed to break away from Bonucci's defense, but Bonucci was not slow at all and immediately got involved, while constantly bumping into Perisic with his body in a measured way.
The two tangled forward for a while and saw that they had entered the penalty area. Perisic fell in the penalty area after colliding with Bonucci again.
"Penalty kick -" the Croatian fans shouted.
"Flip -" the Italian fans shouted.
"Fuck you diving -" the Croatian fans continued to shout.
"Fuck the penalty kick -" the Italian fans were rude.
The two sides exchanged heated words, but the referee had given his own judgment.
He did not call Bonucci a foul, nor did he call Perisic a diving foul. Instead, he called a foul on Perisic - when he fell, he also tripped Bonucci, and the two fell in the same embarrassing situation. .
"Hurry up and take the free kick!" Pan Yi shouted from the sidelines.
At this time, the players from both sides came to their senses and the game could continue. De Sciglio reacted the fastest. He picked up the ball and put it on the ground. Then he passed the ball to Tonali in front before Mandzukic came up to block it. Tonali Lee looked up and saw Balotelli standing on the right, seemingly still thinking about something.
After Strinic sent the long pass, he ran up to assist. Balotelli was now unguarded, and Vida, who might interfere with him, was still in a relatively far position.
Tonali didn't think much, he immediately raised his right foot and made a long pass!
At this time, God Ba seemed to break free from his own world and began to run.
The sober Bashen is definitely world class!
He accurately judged that Tonali's pass had an advance amount, which meant that he could chase the ball, and then everything would be smooth sailing!
Sure enough, after Balotelli passed the opponent's defender, the ball was already flying in the air towards the front of his running.
As for Croatia's defense, Strinic just made an assist and Lovren reacted slowly. Only Vida returned to the defense in time and barely ran away with Balotelli, who was still some distance away. A parallel.
All eyes were focused on these two people.
Italy's long pass after a quick free kick was very sudden, but Vida has a high chance of catching up with Balotelli, not to mention they also have a trustworthy goalkeeper Subasic.
Barrera and Chiesa both ran up from behind, and Strinic and others quickly returned to defend. However, judging from the speed of Balotelli's advance, they probably could only catch up with the second attack.
Balotelli stretched his feet to unload the ball. Such a long-distance pass also compromised the accuracy of Tonali's long pass. He had to slow down a little to catch the ball. Just this slowdown, at the same high speed. Vader, who was returning to defense, was already close to him.
After unloading the ball, Balotelli suddenly moved the ball forward and then rushed close to the edge of the penalty area.
After Vidal followed closely, Balotelli knew that he might not be able to get rid of this troublesome opponent with just his speed, so he immediately made an emergency stop and dunked the ball back.
After all, although Balotelli's physical fitness is very good and his speed is good, compared with the real fast horses in the world, such as Bell, he is still slightly inferior.
At this time, Vida also stopped immediately and blocked Balotelli in front.
Vida looks very fierce. If he met him on the road at night, he might think he was a thug from some other street...
But as a defender, he is still very careful.
He was not in a hurry to take the ball because he knew that if the goal failed and was passed, Balotelli would be able to face the goalkeeper directly.
And as long as he stands still, every second that passes will be one second closer to his teammates returning to defense.
Balotelli obviously understands this.
Although for him, every second that passes also increases the possibility that his teammates will come to respond, but it is obvious that Bashen is Bashen, and he has his own ideas.
He wanted to simplify things a little, that is, pass Vader over, and then shoot alone!
So, 0.1 seconds later, Balotelli leaned forward and began to force a breakthrough into the penalty area!
Vida immediately took a big step back, but Balotelli immediately pulled the ball back, then moved the ball horizontally and was about to shoot from the front of the penalty area.
Since it can't get past you, when the space is opened, just shoot directly. The end result will be the same anyway.
Vida didn't expect Balotelli to be so determined, and his defensive actions were a step slower, but he didn't hesitate at all and immediately shoved it down. Even if he couldn't block Balotelli's shot, he still had to knock the opponent down!
However, Balotelli's shot was still a fake. He once again took the ball sideways, and then his supporting foot was hooked by Vida. Balotelli yelled and fell directly into the penalty area.
"Penalty kick——" This time it was the Italian fans' turn to shout.
"Fake...Fake--!!" Croatian fans hesitated for a moment, but immediately followed suit.
Although they did see their own people tripping up Bashen at the scene, they couldn't lose in terms of momentum!
Moreover, this is also a way to put pressure on the referee.
On the field, of course the referee's whistle also sounded, and he ran over.
"The referee blew the whistle! How will he call the penalty? Foul! Vida fouled! But... it's a free kick! It's not a penalty, it's a free kick at the top of the penalty area!" Lineker shouted, "What the hell...how could it be a free kick?"
In this game, Lineker has resumed his identity as a "Pan Yi fan" and began to support Italy unscrupulously.
"Oh, the referee made a gesture to indicate that he wanted to check the VAR... Okay, we have to wait."
The 2018 World Cup was the first time in the history of the World Cup that VAR technology was introduced.
By reviewing the video, the referee can carefully review important decisions such as whether a goal is scored, whether a penalty kick is given, whether a red card is given, and then make the correct decision.
Although wrong decisions are still possible, at least after the promotion of this technology, things like flopping have become much less common.
After all, in slow motion, and doing this for fans all over the world to watch, it does look a bit like a clown.
"Ah, okay, it's indeed a free kick." Lineker said disappointedly when he saw the referee on the field making a gesture to uphold the original decision.
But he did see in slow motion that although Balotelli fell into the penalty area, Vida's foul was outside the penalty area. This penalty was very accurate.
"Not bad, Italy's first counterattack created a pretty good free kick! This may be a wake-up call for Croatia!" Lineker said in the end.
After all, Italy has indeed been suppressed for too long. Even if this is a free kick, it is also a direct free kick opportunity in an excellent position!
"Then, who will take the free kick..."
Lineker seems to be out of ideas with this question.
Because on the court now, Tonali has already picked up the ball and gently placed it on the penalty spot!
(End of chapter)
