Chapter 628: He's Not Just Playing Football—It's Pure Art!
"In the first half, you played very well. I'm proud of you!"
It seemed that after his loud outburst earlier, Del Bosque entered the locker room and immediately praised the players. The defenders who had been nervous about that defensive slip-up in the 37th minute sighed in relief. It looked like the coach wasn't going to harp on it.
"But… we can do even better!"
It turned out their relief was premature. The words before "but" weren't the main point—the words after "but" were.
"Our defense can be better!"
As expected, Del Bosque first brought up the team's defensive issues. Russia didn't have many attacking chances in the first half, so the Spanish defenders had been a bit complacent, with several of them actively joining the attack. When Russia launched a counterattack, they looked a bit disorganized.
Luckily, Russia's finishing ability wasn't strong. If they had been up against a more clinical team, like France, Spain could have conceded from that first-half Russian attack. Del Bosque spent a lot of time instructing the players to focus on defense, and the defenders listened attentively, knowing how close they'd come to making a costly mistake.
While Del Bosque emphasized defense, Russia's coach was emphasizing attack in their locker room.
"Based on what we saw in the first half, Spain's defense isn't as solid as we thought. We absolutely have a chance to break through their defense!"
Russia's coach said this, and the attacking players nodded in agreement. They had experienced Spain's defense firsthand and noticed the gaps. Spain's formation was very advanced, leaving space in the back, which would be ideal for Russia to exploit with quick counterattacks from the wings.
However, the problem was that they couldn't easily win the ball from Spain's players. Even when they did, Spain's immediate pressing made it hard to pass the ball quickly and safely. Many times, Russian forwards would sprint forward after seeing their teammates win the ball, only for the ball to be lost, leaving them exhausted from fruitless runs.
To solve this, they needed to adjust their outlets for passing. If the midfield couldn't do it, maybe the defenders should step up and try.
The 15-minute halftime break quickly ended, and both teams returned to the field.
As the second half began, Spain continued their first-half strategy, suffocating Russia's players with their relentless possession and passing. The Russians felt like a noose was tightening around their necks, leaving them gasping for air. They struggled to win the ball from Spain, whose pass completion rate was over 95%, making it nearly impossible to take possession.
Frustrated, the Russians started getting more physical, with their fouls and tackles increasing sharply. Although the referee showed some leniency toward the host team, the blatant and frequent fouls couldn't be ignored. In the 54th and 59th minutes, the referee handed out two yellow cards to Russian players, finally bringing the rough play under control.
By now, the Russians were also hesitant to commit fouls. Spain was dominating possession in their half, and every foul gave Spain a free-kick opportunity. Each time, Spain carefully planned their set-pieces, sending long balls into the box for their tall players to contest or shooting directly when the free-kick was closer.
Although they hadn't scored yet, this strategy was draining time and keeping Russia's defense on high alert. Their goalkeeper was constantly under pressure.
What's more, Lin Quan's free-kicks were getting sharper with each attempt. He nearly scored twice—one shot hit the crossbar, and the other was saved by the goalkeeper. These close calls rattled the Russian players, who became increasingly afraid to foul near the 30-yard zone around their box.
Sensing this fear, Spain ramped up the pressure. After the 65th minute, taking advantage of Russia's tiring defenders, Lin Quan began to shine. He started taking more risks, attempting dribbles past players.
Against a tight defense, individual brilliance can often break through, and Lin Quan's dribbling began to destabilize Russia's backline, creating opportunities.
In this match alone, Lin Quan attempted 12 dribbles, completing nine and failing only three times. Counting his teammates, Spain had successfully dribbled past opponents 22 times up to this point.
However, Lin Quan's earlier dribbles had mostly occurred in midfield, with fewer near the penalty area. Now, he was directly targeting the Russian box.
Initially, Russia's defenders were cautious of Lin Quan's dribbling, but after 60 minutes with no real danger near their box, they had let their guard down. When Lin Quan suddenly attacked, they were caught completely off guard.
They had heard of Lin Quan's dribbling skills, but they hadn't expected him to be this good. Even in a crowded penalty area, with little space to move, Lin Quan quickly shifted the ball, cut, changed direction, and dribbled past players at lightning speed.
In front of his quick feet, the Russian defenders seemed to be moving in slow motion, unable to keep up with his rhythm. Stopping him required more than one defender—at least two or three had to close him down. Even then, they often failed.
The fans in the stands were stunned:
"Is this what it's like to be the best player in the world? It feels like he's not playing football—it's pure art!"
"So, he wasn't even trying before!"
Seeing the Russian players struggle to contain Lin Quan, many fans felt a bit sorry for them.
"They're being toyed with!"
In the 77th minute, Lin Quan once again dribbled into the penalty area, taking on one, two, three, four defenders…
The crowd collectively held their breath, eyes wide open, fixated on the flash of red darting through the box.
Lin Quan had sliced through Russia's defense, and by this point, he was on fire. With only the goalkeeper to beat, he had a clear chance to shoot—but instead, he chose to dribble past the goalkeeper as well!
The Russian players and fans were left speechless, while the rest of the crowd gasped in awe.
"Is this what they mean by a god descending to earth?"
They felt like they had just witnessed a miracle.
Lin Quan practically walked the ball into the net. After scoring, he cupped his hands around his ears and ran around the field in celebration.
The stadium erupted with cheers, and nearly every fan stood up to applaud and celebrate. Even the Russian fans couldn't help but join in.
Though their team had been reduced to a mere backdrop for this moment, witnessing such a goal was worth the price of admission.
Lin Quan wasn't the only one excited—his teammates were even more thrilled. As he ran ahead in celebration, they chased after him like madmen. Even De Gea, the goalkeeper nearly 100 meters away, raised his fists in the air and charged forward, shouting in joy.
Even the nearly 70-year-old Del Bosque couldn't contain his excitement, feeling his blood rush to his head as his face turned red with emotion.
That goal was a huge morale booster. Even though it wasn't their own goal, every player on the team felt like they'd just had an adrenaline shot.
Before Lin Quan's goal, Russia had already been struggling, but now, there was no doubt about the outcome.
After calming down, Del Bosque made a quick substitution, taking Lin Quan off the field to protect him. The move served two purposes: giving him a chance to bask in the crowd's applause and protecting him from any potential retaliation from Russia's players.
After all, with Russia having been humiliated, who knew how their players might react? If they resorted to dirty fouls and injured him, Spain would suffer a huge loss.
After Lin Quan left the field, Spain's formation became more conservative, and their attacking threat diminished.
Russia, finally catching a break, capitalized on a counterattack in the 85th minute to score a consolation goal. It came after a midfield interception followed by a long ball from a defender that found their forward, who finished the play.
However, it was too little, too late. Spain's tightened defense held firm, and the match ended 3-1.
With the victory, Spain became the third team to advance to the quarterfinals, following France and Uruguay.
Earlier that day, Uruguay had defeated Portugal 2-1. In that match, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score, and his team was eliminated in the Round of 16.
With that, Messi, Ronaldo, and Lin Quan—the three football superstars—were down to just one survivor: Lin Quan.
Messi and Ronaldo, two football legends with huge fanbases and endless media attention, had both been knocked out. With Portugal's loss to Uruguay and Spain's win over Russia, the internet was buzzing with discussions.
"Ronaldo was really unlucky. If he'd scored, maybe he could have saved the day."
"Portugal's overall strength just isn't on par with Uruguay. Ronaldo did his best!"
"Sigh, if Bernardo Silva hadn't missed that open goal, things could have ended differently."
"It's no use saying that now. Ronaldo is 33. By the next World Cup, he'll be 37. Who knows if he'll even be playing? This might've been his farewell to the World Cup."
This realization left Ronaldo's fans heartbroken, while other fans were more philosophical:
"The Messi-Ronaldo era has finally come to an end."
"New talents emerge in every generation, each leading the way for years."
Though no one outright said it, it was clear who the next great star would be.
"Lin, at 22 years old, is already in such incredible form. If he stays healthy, he could dominate world football for another 10 years, meaning he could play in at least two more World Cups. If no other player of his caliber emerges, the next decade will likely belong to Lin."
"That French kid, Mbappé, looks pretty good. He could become a superstar."
"Neymar has matured over the last four years. Maybe he can rise to the top, but we'll see if he can redeem himself in this World Cup."
"France's midfield leader, Griezmann, looks impressive. He might go further."
"Coutinho and Dembélé, who Barcelona paid huge sums for, must have some real talent. Maybe they'll become stars."
Fans scoured the football world for promising young talents, but few stood out.
As European football became increasingly systematic, players grew more well-rounded, like products from a factory assembly line. The number of players with distinct, sharp individual styles was dwindling.
Many began to wonder: after Messi, Ronaldo, and eventually Lin Quan retire, will there still be players like them?
...
After their victory over Russia, Spain's squad returned to their training base. According to the schedule, their next match would take place in seven days.
During this time, they had plenty of opportunities to recover and prepare, as well as gather information on their next opponent.
Ever the understanding coach, Del Bosque gave the players another day off, letting them go out and relax.
They had been in Russia for a while now, and aside from one previous day off, they had almost no personal time. Many hadn't even left the training base, let alone gone out to eat, shop, or sightsee.
It wouldn't feel right to come all this way and leave with nothing. At the very least, they wanted to take some photos, check-in at some local spots, and bring back a few souvenirs to remember the tournament.
Of course, if they could bring home the World Cup trophy, they wouldn't need any other mementos.
...
According to the World Cup draw, Spain's quarterfinal opponent would be the winner between Croatia and Denmark.
After the match ended, Guardiola and Lin Quan planned to watch the game together.
"Who do you think will win?" Guardiola asked before the game started.
"Croatia," Lin Quan replied without hesitation.
He vaguely remembered that Croatia went on to become the tournament's runner-up, meaning they must have won this match.
"Denmark is strong, though. Croatia won't have it easy."
Guardiola, too, favored Croatia, as they had a strong midfield.
However, Croatia had their weaknesses, and with Denmark being a tough European opponent, the game was expected to be a hard-fought contest.
(End of Chapter)