"Tonali! Tonali! Tonali!"
The Italian fans in the stands had begun to chant Tonali's name rhythmically.
Tonali is now the Italian team's top penalty taker, and his free kicks have a really good hit rate.
Whether it's his Pirlo-like drop ball shooting directly, or playing the coordination routine in training, Tonali can complete the task well.
At this time, the Croatian players had already set up a human wall under the command of Subasic.
After all, there is VAR now. After the referee's review, there is no need to continue to argue - after all, it is not a penalty kick! The chance of being scored will still be relatively small.
Although Croatian goalkeeper Subasic is not as well-known around the world as many famous goalkeepers, his strength is still very strong.
Having said that, Croatia is quite rich in excellent goalkeepers. Subasic in 2018 and Livakovic in 2022 are the kind of goalkeepers who can save the team from fire and water.
Of course, Livakovic is actually in the team now, but the young man is still Subasic's substitute for the time being. This World Cup is not yet his stage.
Now, today's starting goalkeeper Subasic will face the threat of Tonali's free kick.
Of course, the Croatian coaching staff has also done their homework. Croatia also put a lot of effort into defending the opponent's set kicks before the game. Subasic also knows how high Tonali's free kicks are.
He is fast, accurate, and often has the effect of suddenly falling leaves. At the same time, Tonali's free kicks do not always go around the wall and hit closer. Several times, he took advantage of the opponent's goalkeeper's psychology. Catch the opponent off guard, kick the ball into the far corner or just hit a low ball or something.
This is what the saying goes - predict your judgment.
"Did he shoot directly into the near corner or the far corner..."
After directing the wall to block the near corner, Subasic was still beating the drum in his heart and guessing about Tonali's psychological activities at this time.
This is actually the same as in a penalty shootout. Both sides have such a psychological game.
At this time, Tonali was already standing in front of the ball, with Barrera standing next to him. The two York City teammates were talking about something, which also caused Subasic's thoughts to become a little confused.
"Tonali doesn't shoot? Does he move it sideways and let Varela shoot? This is not impossible. This guy's powerful shot is also very threatening. He has scored several times before."
After thinking carefully for a while, Subasic decided to focus more on Tonali.
The main reason is that at this distance, if there is any horizontal coordination, it seems a bit superfluous. It would be better for Tonali to directly kick.
More than twenty meters away from him, two Italian players were discussing with their mouths covered.
Barrera said to Tonali: "I think Subasic will focus on you."
"Yes, maybe we can take advantage of this..." Tonali laughed.
"Then you kick or should I kick?" Barrera asked.
"Don't even kick it. Let De Sciglio kick it, he will never think of it." Tonali replied.
At some point, right back De Sciglio also came over.
But judging from his expression, it seemed that Tonali's conversation with Barrera had nothing to do with him, and he just seemed to be "passing by."
"No problem." Barrera answered quite simply.
This is because the option of De Sciglio shooting is something they have practiced in training. They want to take advantage of the fact that the opponent's goalkeeper will not expect that Italy will let a right back who is not good at free kicks take the free kick...
If Subasic heard their conversation, he might change his mind.
It's a pity that the conversation between the two of them was fast and urgent, and their voices were kept low. Until Subasic has a good ear, there is no way to know the discussion between them.
After the discussion, Tonali and Barrera began to complain to the referee that the opponent's wall was too far forward.
The referee measured the situation with his feet and found that this was the case, so he waved the Croatian wall back.
Then Subasic discovered that the wall was loose, and shouted loudly for the wall to be lined up tighter. The Croatian players moved their steps, and after seeing the referee turn around, they slowly moved forward a little bit...
This free kick took more than a minute to take before it was officially taken.
Tonali took two steps back, straightened up, and waited for the referee's whistle to sound.
Barrera stepped aside and stared in the direction of the goal, looking like he was about to rush forward and take a kick at any time.
And De Sciglio took two or three steps back, as if he was preparing to stay behind to prevent the opponent from counterattacking - it is normal to leave two faster full-backs in the backcourt when setting the ball. Once it's done, it won't make anyone suspicious at all.
Now, the Croatian players forming a wall are staring at Tonali. Such a top free kicker can indeed cause huge damage to every team.
De Sciglio stood a little behind Tonali, and Tonali covered his expression.
After all, De Sciglio has to prepare to shoot. No matter how he pretends, he still has to use his eyes to observe the opponent's goalkeeper's position, and then prepare to step forward and launch a cold arrow.
And with Tonali blocking like this, Subasic only has Tonali in his eyes, and at most Barrera.
When the whistle sounded, Tonali took a run, stopped suddenly when he was running close to the ball, and then swung his right foot!
The human wall jumped immediately!
They know that Tonali takes free kicks very quickly. If they wait until the ball flies out and then take off, it may be too late!
However, Tonali did not shoot. His impressive shooting action just pushed the ball to the side. The ball rolled on the lawn for two rounds and then stopped.
"Damn, I really want to shoot for Barrera!"
Subasic's nerves tightened and he immediately stared at Barrera next to Tonali, preparing to pounce on the ball.
But at this moment, De Sciglio rushed up from behind, swung his right foot while running, and hit the ball hard!
His foot was caught in the middle and upper part of the ball, so the ball would not fly up. Instead, it flew forward suddenly close to the ground, and then flew suddenly under the jumping wall!
This time, it was really beyond Subasic’s expectations.
Under such circumstances, even if Subasic's reaction was beyond ordinary people's, it would be difficult for him to respond in time!
He only had time to turn around and saw the ball scurrying along the lawn like a snake into the near corner of the goal!
De Sciglio, whose sight was blocked by the wall, could not see whether the ball went in. However, when the Italian fans behind the goal raised their arms like a forest, he knew that he was the first in the World Cup. A goal has been born!
De Sciglio raised his hands high and roared, then turned around and hugged Tonali. Barrera rushed over from the side, opened his arms and hugged the two of them in his arms.
Off the court, Pan Yi waved his fist fiercely and then high-fived the assistant coaches. All Italy's substitute players rushed out of the bench and cheered loudly on the court.
"Aha, so what if they beat us? We still scored first! The Croatians are no match for us!"
The Italian fans were so proud now that they even waved international friendly gestures at the Croatian fans opposite.
"One to zero! Italy surprisingly takes the lead!"
Lineker also shouted in surprise and joy:
"Croatia had an absolute advantage in the first fifteen minutes, but Italy scored in the first threatening attack of the game!"
"Balotelli counterattacked and created a free kick opportunity. De Sciglio opened the scoring for the team under the cover of Tonali! This was only Italy's first shot in the game, but they were already five years ahead. Croatia with a foot shot!”
"Efficient, surprisingly efficient! After Pan Yi took office, he simply brought the Italian tradition of defensive counterattacks and emphasis on set-piece tactics to an extreme!"
"And Italy also has a tradition that it can often win without having an advantage. For example, in the 1998 World Cup, 10 against 11 and Cameroon 3:0 was a very typical example. Obviously, Pan Yi's team This Italian team also has this characteristic!”
"Today they were suppressed by Croatia for the first fifteen minutes and couldn't even breathe. However, with just a counterattack and a free kick, they took the lead in the 20th minute! Efficient! Extremely efficient! Compared with the advantages on the scene. , superb efficiency is the strongest way to win! Obviously, Pan Yi knows this very well!"
On the sidelines, on the Croatian coaching bench, Dalic's eyebrows furrowed.
He could only shake his head and sigh in response to this free kick. There was really nothing he could do about it. Subasic couldn't blame him.
When the opponent's free kick is taken by Tonali, how can you take your eyes away from him?
No one would have thought that the Italians would kick this ball with De Sciglio, who was not particularly good at shooting, and also kicked a ground ball.
Dalic could only praise in his heart. Pan Yi is really good at messing with people's mentality in this regard - you just can't guess who will complete the last shot of each of their set kicks. hit!
On the other side, after the celebration, Pan Yi quickly calmed down from the excitement.
After all, there are still more than 70 minutes in the game, and a one-goal lead doesn't mean much.
The opponent's offense is still very strong, and now is not the time to relax.
After one side scores the first goal, the psychology of both sides will undoubtedly be greatly affected at this time, which will also affect the trend of the next game.
However, no one can predict where the game will go.
The leading side may take advantage of the victory to pursue and expand its lead, or it may relax for a moment and be immediately tied or even overtaken. In either case, it has happened countless times in countless competitions in world football.
Therefore, at this time, the coaches of both sides need to promptly remind their players to focus and make corresponding adjustments so that the game can always proceed according to their own ideas.
Of course, since the coach does not use a controller to control the players after all, even the top head coach sometimes cannot really control the direction of the game.
"In the 20th minute, Italy leads Croatia 1:0!"
"Since Pan Yi took over, Italy has always been able to take the lead in the game."
"And in these leading games, except for being tied by the tenacious Mexicans, they won all the other games."
"So, facing the equally tenacious Croatians today, can Pan Yi still win? Let's wait and see!"
This is a German narrator.
Since the German team has gone home early, for the remaining games, the Germans just have a fun mentality, or a neutral fan mentality.
For neutral fans, of course they hope that the more intense and exciting the game is, the happier they will be.
It’s not a big deal to watch the fun!
In today's game, Croatia's attack was very fierce before, but Italy scored on a counterattack.
After this situation occurs, the game will often be more exciting and intense. As a neutral fan, what you want to see is nothing more than such a wonderful game.
These neutral media and fans were not disappointed.
After losing the ball, the Croatian players were indeed psychologically affected to a certain extent. After the kick-off, they were caught off guard by Italy's fierce interceptions and quick counterattacks in the midfield.
However, after all, they are also a fighting nation with excellent psychological quality. After quickly stabilizing their position, they began to attack more from the midfield, directly hitting Italy's back, using the speed and dexterity of the two wide players to attack Italy's behind.
Strinic and Fossaljko did not stop their assists because of Italy's counterattack just now. With Modric and Rakitic moving closer to the center, their assists also appeared extremely active, and Two Italian full-backs who are also very capable of assisting started a fight.
First, Strinic came up with an assist and then hit a long shot that tested Donnarumma's reaction nerve. Then Vosalico, who came forward with an assist, sent a beautiful cross to Perisic. Unfortunately, Perisic Odd header high.
Not to be outdone, Italy launched a counterattack.
Spinazzola stepped forward to assist. After the midfielder ran out of space, he received Verratti's pass and used his speed to force a breakthrough.
Despite Strinic's interference, he still passed the ball into the penalty area. Barrera flicked forward, and Balotelli followed up and hit the goal directly. The ball hit Lovren and went out of the baseline.
Under Pan Yi's instructions, Italy did not hold on after taking the lead.
When defending, they concentrated their efforts in the midfield and used crazy pressing to force the opponent to make mistakes, while also squeezing the space for the opponent's two forwards to move.
This is also Pan Yi's move that surprised the opponent. He made you think that I would stick to it after scoring a goal, but instead played a counter-routine.
This forced Mandzukic to often return to the midfield to get the ball, leaving only Perisic or Rebic at the front, using speed to contain Italy's two central defenders.
Such adjustments in Croatia also achieved considerable results. Mandzukic was very active in the next ten minutes.
He is not a forward who can only score goals. His technical and organizational skills are also quite good, and he also has excellent cooperation with Modric in the midfield.
Mandzukic's two consecutive long shots were a great threat, but Donnarumma also played to a very high level in this game, making two consecutive beautiful saves to prevent Mandzukic's long shots.
However, such wide range of movement also increases the burden on Mandzukic.
Perhaps the shooter's injury did not heal. In the 36th minute, Mandzukic suddenly fell to the ground without being hit, and was carried off the field on a stretcher while clutching his thigh.
"Mandzukic is injured! The Croatian team doctor is checking his injury. Maybe the injury he suffered in the last game has not fully healed... This is a big blow to Croatia. He is Croatia's goal scorer so far. The player with the most players is also the most threatening player in the frontcourt. If he goes off the court, Croatia's offense will be greatly affected."
Pan Yi watched Dalic's actions from a distance.
He saw Dalic frown and stand up from Mandzukic, then turned and called Kramaric from the bench.
"Tell them, the full-backs go up and compete with them in the midfield!" Pan Yi turned to Evani and said.
Because he was not sure whether Mandzukic could play before, Pan Yi also prepared for a long time how to deal with Mandzukic when he was not on the court when arranging tactics. Kramaric playing center is one of them, so he also Be able to come up with ways to deal with it immediately.
Although Kramaric's impact on the court is not as good as Mandzukic's, including his fulcrum role and header ability, he is stronger in his agile movement, delicate ball stopping, and precise left foot. Some people even compare him to Croatian football. The legendary forward Davor Suker in history is the one who "can play the violin with his left foot."
Although his direct threat to the goal has decreased since he came on the court, his control in the midfield has become better.
Together with the four Croatian midfielders who are already technically sophisticated, and a tough midfielder sweeping behind them, this midfielder's technical ability and control can be said to be the best in the world.
Compared with such a midfielder's skills, Italy is obviously unable to compare, but Italy naturally has their advantage, and that is their running ability.
Although Croatia has always been known for its strong running ability, as Pan Yi said at the beginning, the different directions of the two knockout matches determined that Italy has an advantage in physical fitness!
Increase running, strengthen pressing, disrupt their offensive rhythm, and bring the entire game into a chaotic battle. This is Pan Yi's way of coping!
However, although Italy's mad dog-style full-court press put a lot of pressure on Croatia's offense, Croatia's frontcourt cooperation has indeed reached an extremely high level.
Several technical players avoided the real situation and continued to use tacit passing and running to tear apart Italy's defense, and also created many good opportunities.
Under Bonucci's tight marking, Perisic still had two shots, but failed to achieve much effect due to Bastoni's replacement and interference.
Italy continued to use counterattacks to delay the opponent's attack. Balotelli's several unreasonable personal breakthroughs also caused a lot of trouble for Croatia's defense.
There were many exciting offensive shots in the following time, but the defense of both sides was equally good. Although the fans in the stands enjoyed watching it, after the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the score was still 1 :0, Italy leads.
However, it can be seen from the expressions of the players on both sides that this score is mostly temporary.
All of them feel dissatisfied with desire!
In the first half, both sides actually got a lot of opportunities, but they just failed to grasp them. In the second half, with the decline in physical fitness of both sides, there will be more opportunities, not less.
Therefore, everyone can see that the real contest may not really begin until the second half...
