"Since the start of the second half, the confrontation between both sides has become even more intense. With increased physical clashes and fouls, the tempers on both sides have flared!"
"Consecutive aerial duels — the physicality is off the charts."
Bang!!
Modrić and Villa collided head-to-head, their skulls smashing together hard as the ball ricocheted off them and flew high into the air.
Modrić felt dizzy from the collision.
As he turned his head, he saw Vukojević contesting another aerial duel with Torres.
But Vukojević had the higher jump.
"Beautiful!"
Vukojević made the clearance. Modrić shouted loudly, but as Vukojević landed, he saw his ankle clearly twist toward the right.
Ah~~~!!!!A scream of agony.
Vukojević collapsed to the ground immediately.
Tweet tweet tweet!!
The piercing sound of the whistle.
The referee rushed over.
Croatia's players immediately surrounded the scene.
Šuker quickly ran over and saw Vukojević clutching his ankle, sweating profusely from the pain.
Soon, the medical team arrived to examine him.
After checking, the doctor shook his head, signaling that Vukojević couldn't continue.
"Damn it!"
Šuker cursed under his breath.
Ultimately, Vukojević hobbled off the field with assistance.
Dujmović came on as the substitute.
"Vukojević has suffered an ankle sprain, which might create defensive issues for Croatia's back line. This is not good news."
"Since the start of the second half, Spain has applied heavy pressure. Especially with Xavi dropping deep more often, they've been able to clear the ball from the back with more ease."
"In the second half, both sides are taking turns attacking and defending."
The Austrian commentator shouted excitedly.
As a neutral viewer, even without supporting either team, this match was thrilling.
And with the fierce clashes, the tension was sky-high.
The local fans in Vienna were treated to a feast.
But for fans of either team, their hearts were filled with anxiety.
Spain was still trailing.
Though Croatia was ahead, as time went on, the momentum gradually shifted toward Spain.
Whether they could hold off Spain's attack became a pressing question.
And now, with Vukojević injured and out, the match's uncertainty increased.
Šuker let out a long breath.
He could still run, and so could Modrić.
But the others were clearly struggling.
Especially Srna and Pranjić, the two full-backs who could no longer support offensive plays.
When they pushed up, they couldn't make it back in time.
As a result, Croatia shifted to a more conservative defensive strategy, determined to hold the scoreline.
But the game's momentum gradually turned against them.
"Just stall them as long as we can!"
Šuker frowned.
The worst-case scenario was if Spain equalized and they went into extra time.
During the 30 minutes of extra time, Šuker could use the stamina recovery card again, while Spain's fitness would be exhausted — giving Šuker the chance to dominate.
For now, the priority was holding the defense.
Especially with Vukojević out and the defensive screen gone, Šimunić, the notorious weak link, became a key concern.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
Croatia began to retreat en masse.
On the other side, Spain sensed an opportunity.
"Substitutions!"
Veteran coach Aragonés made swift changes.
Senna and David Silva came off.
Fàbregas and Xabi Alonso came on.
Seeing this, Šuker nearly cursed out loud.
"So damn aggressive!"
Xavi, Iniesta, Fàbregas, Xabi Alonso, David Silva — no other team could match this elite midfield lineup.
And that's not even counting Cazorla.(Street wont forget)
With the substitutions, Spain's midfield control became even stronger.
Their formation shifted to a 4-2-3-1.
Villa and Iniesta moved to the wings.
Xavi, Fàbregas, and Xabi Alonso formed a midfield triangle.
And Torres stayed up front as the lone striker, providing even more attacking threat.
"Be careful!"
Šuker warned grimly.
He knew this formation and these changes signaled full-blown offense.
Sure enough, once the match resumed, Spain's attacks became sharper, and their midfield control reached terrifying levels.
Šuker had already dropped back to defend.
Even Mandžukić frequently tracked back.
Croatia's defense was compressed deep into their own penalty area, while Spain circulated the ball around the edge of the box.
With quick one-touch passes, Croatia struggled to find chances to intercept.
They didn't dare to recklessly lunge either — one missed challenge and these Spaniards could easily create goal-scoring chances.
So Croatia could only swarm and block, trying to push Spain out of the danger zone.
"Stick with him! Stick with him!"
Šuker rushed at Iniesta, lowering his center of gravity.
If Iniesta tried to dribble past, Šuker was ready to risk a card to stop him.
Iniesta looked at Šuker, then passed sideways without engaging.
Even if he beat Šuker, the Croatian could quickly recover thanks to his explosiveness.
Fàbregas received the ball and glanced at the goal.
He had a chance to shoot — but chose not to. Instead, he pushed the ball forward.
"Fàbregas breaks into the box!"
Croatian fans tensed up.
Fàbregas had barely touched the ball when Modrić rushed in.
At that moment, Fàbregas passed left, sending it to Villa.
Villa controlled the ball and looked up toward the box.
Srna hadn't closed him down in time, and Villa used the outside of his foot to curl the ball into the box.
"Win the header!"
Šimunić leapt into the air. With his 190 cm frame, he rose above the Spaniards and cleared the ball with a powerful header.
But Rakitić didn't reach the second ball in time — Xabi Alonso intercepted it.
Alonso noticed the Croatian goalkeeper was leaning left, and the right side of the goal was wide open.
Without hesitation, he took the shot.
Bang!The ball rocketed toward the goal.
Suddenly, Šimunić appeared in its path, blocking it with his chest.
Ugh!Šimunić grunted and fell backward.
Even though he absorbed some of the shot's power, the ball still deflected toward the right-side space.
Torres sprinted for it.
"Stop him!"
Modrić broke into a cold sweat.
Pranjić quickly followed.
Torres faked a shot to fool Pranjić into blocking. But then he cut and adjusted, firing a fierce right-footed strike.
It was a narrow-angle shot.
The ball squeezed between the keeper and the post!Swish!!
The net rippled.
The entire Happel Stadium fell silent — then erupted with Spanish cheers.
Wooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
"Fernando Torres! A crucial goal!! He's equalized! We're back level and still have time!!"
The Spanish commentator shouted with excitement:"The Matadors never gave up! They've fought back to level terms and pulled the scales of victory back toward us."
"Come on, boys!!"
Croatian fans held their heads in despair.
The joy of the first half had turned into second-half misery.
The current situation was not in their favor.
On the bench, Van Stoyak didn't even look at the field — he was busy scribbling notes.
After a moment, he turned and shouted:"Šimić, Petrić — get ready to go on."
Beside him, Bilić asked in surprise,"You're going to strengthen the defense? Shouldn't we go on the attack?"
Van Stoyak looked surprised, then explained,
"We have to reinforce the defense while preparing a targeted counterattack."
"You're going to push Šuker to center forward to activate his attacking threat?"
"Something like that," Van Stoyak nodded, then added: "But not Šuker. In the final minutes, I plan to bet everything on Dujmović!"
"Tommy?"
Bilić was stunned.