No one expected Ribéry to make that pass.
The Spanish players' attention was completely focused on the center.
In the instant Alba hesitated, Julien broke free and pushed forward into the right side of the penalty area.
Without stopping the ball, he met the ball directly: a volley.
Bang!
Whoosh!
Spanish fans' hearts skipped a beat as they all looked toward the goal.
Casillas' concentration was sharp. Originally positioned to defend the center's follow-up, he quickly adjusted to the near post when the ball shifted right.
Julien had no time to adjust this shot—it was a volley taken in haste.
The ball headed straight for the near post!
Casillas pushed off and dove, his fingertips touched the ball, changing its direction as it grazed the post and slid out for a corner.
Phew!
Spanish fans' hearts settled back down. Julien's shot had truly made them sweat.
Seeing the ball miss, Julien clenched his fist hard, somewhat regretful.
Then he gestured toward Ribéry with appreciation.
On the sideline.
When Deschamps saw Julien's opportunity emerge, he first felt joy, then disappointment.
He sighed toward the sky before applauding the players. At least after returning for the second half, France had seized the initiative.
They were no longer like in the first half, struggling to cope with Spain's attacks.
Of course, this also had to do with Spain's two forced substitutions.
France increased their pressing intensity, which also gave Spain counterattacking opportunities. Iniesta cleared the ball, and Xavi played a long pass straight behind France's defensive line.
Unfortunately, this Spanish team lacked pace.
Fàbregas was pinned firmly behind by Koscielny, and possession returned to France.
Some Spanish fans shook their heads slightly at Fàbregas' performance.
At this moment, far away at Colney in London, Wenger was watching this match.
There were quite a few Arsenal players involved.
When he saw this scene, current Arsenal player facing former Arsenal player, he pressed his lips together, his mind was stirring with memories.
But these emotions quickly dissipated. He had come to terms with it.
For Wenger, the main focus of this match was still Julien.
Wenger had never given up his efforts to sign Julien.
He knew Julien's market value was now large, and signing him would cost considerable money. But although Arsenal was poor, they weren't unable to afford transfers.
Gritting their teeth, they could manage several tens of millions.
Unfortunately, his affection fell on deaf ears. Julien seemed never to have responded to Arsenal's offers.
Of course, what consoled Wenger somewhat was that Julien hadn't shown any interest in approaches from giants like Real Madrid, Juventus, or Chelsea either.
Everyone knew Julien was Ligue 1's jewel. But neither Julien nor those around him had shown the slightest interest in any particular club.
What the media was reporting now was basically gossip fabricated by journalists themselves.
Wenger couldn't help wondering, "Where will you go?"
At the Calderón Stadium.
After France gained more possession, Julien's opportunities to touch the ball increased accordingly.
Gradually, Alba was finding it difficult.
Defensive players naturally follow attacking players' rhythm. In the first half, because Spain's overall possession was high, Julien had few chances to receive the ball.
But now the momentum had shifted.
Things were different.
Whoosh!
Another cry of alarm from Spanish fans.
On the flank, facing defense from both Alba and Pedro, Julien feinted past Pedro in an instant and cut through the gap between them, trying to move inside.
Alba fouled from behind, tripping Julien to stop the attack.
Whistle!
Referee Brych showed no mercy, it was a whistle and a yellow card.
The TF1 commentator's voice rose with excitement: "They're alive! France has come to life. Deschamps may have already figured it out—extreme three-defensive-midfielder defensive systems don't work against Spain.
What took Mourinho two years to figure out, Deschamps has accomplished the transition in just forty-five minutes.
Today's Xavi and Iniesta are no longer who they were years ago. Facing the pressing and impact from these young French players, they can still protect the ball, but it's hard to produce those stunning plays of old.
And the best news for France is that both flanks are thriving!
Substitute Juan Fran can't contain Ribéry, and on the right, Julien is gradually becoming the focal point of the entire match, emerging from his first-half invisibility!"
Bang!
France's free kick was taken.
Giroud headed powerfully toward goal. The pace was good, but the angle too straight, Casillas caught it.
Saint Iker got up and shouted to his teammates, throwing the ball to Ramos.
Spain's predicament was most keenly felt by the players themselves.
Spain could control the ball in small spaces relying on individual ability, but France's aggressive pressing prevented them from linking up.
And Spain's attack lacked anyone with pace to punish France's high defensive line.
This meant Spain's defense could hold temporarily, but their attack had fallen silent.
The time reached 60 minutes.
The score remained 1-0.
Deschamps substituted Gonalons off and told the entering Valbuena: "Pass more to the flanks, keep an eye on Julien's position. Their number 18 has a yellow card, he'll be cautious defensively, that's an opportunity."
After speaking, Deschamps patted Valbuena.
France completed the substitution.
Del Bosque still had one substitution remaining but hesitated to use it.
Tonight's two injuries had truly disrupted his tactical arrangements.
At the same time, Del Bosque's eyes fell on Julien, his heart was filled with worry. As an experienced coach, he could see Julien was gaining momentum.
Bang!
Three minutes later, Valbuena fired a shot inside the penalty area, but in pursuing the angle too much, he hit the post.
Whoosh!
French fans held their heads, faces full of surprise.
How did that not go in?!
The move originated from Julien on the right breaking through Iniesta and Alba's defense, driving to the byline. Ramos was forced to cover, leaving a gap in his defensive zone that the advancing Valbuena met with Julien's cutback pass.
Julien got up from the ground. Just now, with that opportunity, he suddenly thought of Griezmann. If only this French team had a Griezmann right now...
But Julien just thought about it.
The current Griezmann wasn't yet that "commander + problem-solver + metronome + hub" all-around midfielder role.
He was now merely a natural-footed winger at Real Sociedad, occasionally trying the "inverted right winger" role.
He still needed to grow. France had to wait for him to meet Simeone, then meet Deschamps.
These two coaches would position him as a second striker, officially unlocking Griezmann's talent nirvana path.
The match continued.
Spain had another counterattack opportunity.
Fàbregas pushed a right-footed shot from the edge of the area, but the ball hit Sakho and went out for a corner.
Xavi took the right corner, Ramos rose above Sakho in the center to head powerfully, but it went over the bar.
Many French fans laughed at this scene: "Del Bosque's false nine has been cracked by Deschamps."
Some fans understood this clearly, in fact, Deschamps hadn't cracked the false nine; rather, France's two flanks were too strong.
Suppressing Spain's wing attacks left Spain's defensive and attacking lines were disconnected, and unable to link up.
And Xavi and Iniesta were aging now; they no longer possessed that peak ability to carry the ball forward quickly through the center.
But France was still trailing.
After Spain's attack came up empty, France attacked again.
Julien received the ball on the right. Facing three defenders, he saw Giroud pull out.
Bang!
A long pass.
Giroud pulled away, received the ball, and crossed from the left side of the box. The unmarked Cabaye volleyed high from the right side of the six-yard box.
On the sideline, Deschamps watched attack after attack fail to produce a goal, his expression was grave.
Two minutes later, Valbuena passed, Ribéry shot low from the edge of the area, but his final step lost footing, causing the shot to go wildly off target—it could only score if the goal were at the corner flag.
Deschamps was already considering further tactical adjustments.
On the other side, Del Bosque made his final substitution.
He withdrew the exhausted Iniesta.
Torres came on!
Five years later, Torres appeared at the Vicente Calderón Stadium once again.
All the Atlético fans in attendance rose to applaud him collectively.
Once Atlético's little captain.
The golden boy of countless Atlético fans: Torres.
However, his first touch left fans slightly disappointed.
In Spain's counterattack, Xavi played a through ball.
Torres on the wing used his pace to drive forward—If he got past his man and Spain would have a chance.
But he knocked Xavi's brilliant pass out for a throw-in.
Seeing Torres enter, Deschamps abandoned thoughts of substitution and kept waving for increased attacking.
Because with Iniesta off, though Fàbregas dropped back, Spain's midfield control would inevitably weaken.
And so, it was.
The moment Alonso received the ball, seeing no passing options, Matuidi dispossessed him.
Spain quickly fell back into defensive positions. Hold out these final ten-plus minutes and they'd win!
France passed the ball two or three times between left and center, seeing no opportunity.
Matuidi passed to Julien.
Even though three men marked Julien. After receiving the ball, Julien didn't immediately start his run. He glanced at his teammates' positions and saw that everyone was tightly marked.
Understanding the situation, Julien hesitated no more.
Someone needed to break the deadlock!
Three defensive players stood before Julien: the retreating Torres, plus Fàbregas and Alba.
Julien lightly touched the ball, observing their positioning.
They too waited for him to start.
Julien moved!
Dropping his shoulder, he drove toward Alba's side, making a sprinting motion.
All three were immediately drawn by his movement.
Fàbregas in the middle shifted toward Alba, planning to cover.
But Torres didn't immediately follow.
Torres still defended with habitual thinking, figuring if Julien broke through on the wing, teammates would defend, so he could stay back to mark others' runs.
However, in a flash, Julien chopped the ball back, his feet moving at extreme frequency, quickly bursting through the gap between Torres and Fàbregas.
Cutting inside!
Whoa!
The stadium erupted in gasps—they hadn't expected Julien to thread through three players.
After Julien broke through, Ramos and Xabi Alonso were less than two meters away, quickly closing in.
Alba and the other two also rushed toward Julien.
In an instant, Julien was surrounded by five players, it was like a spot of blue in a sea of red.
Amidst the encirclement, Julien saw his chance!
Ramos was still some distance away, but Casillas' line of sight was completely blocked by them.
Bang!
Without overthinking, Julien shot!
He curled it toward the far corner.
Ramos instinctively extended his leg to block, Busquets on the other side turned his back trying to block.
But these were all reflexive actions.
The ball carried pace and curve, heading straight for the far corner.
Casillas didn't immediately realize it was a shot. When he saw the ball, it was too late.
He could only turn his head to watch.
Thunk!
The ball hit the inside of the right post and deflected into the net.
Whoosh!
Spanish fans on site held their heads in disbelief. What did they just see?
How did that go in?
Seeing the goal, Julien celebrated on the spot with raised arms, then rushed toward the sideline, raising both hands to the French fans in the away section.
Drawing passionate shouts from French supporters—
"Julien!!"
Teammates rushed over, embracing him. This goal kept their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
On the sideline, Del Bosque shook his head darkly.
Deschamps, seeing Julien's goal, raised both hands and roared. He'd been tense all match, and in the end, it was still Julien who could step up.
And with such an unreasonable goal!
"Magnificent!"
In the stands, Zidane and Morientes couldn't help but applaud Julien.
Julien's movements weren't complex, but every step demonstrated talent, ability, and confidence.
To dare break through against three players at such a moment.
Zidane smiled broadly.
This was the player France needed.
Boom!
Sunset Café Bar erupted in an earthquake-like roar. Bastia fans shouted at the top of their lungs, as if the bar itself was shaking.
"Julien!"
"Julien!!"
Fans shouted the legend's name, but still felt that emotion couldn't be fully released.
So excited!
They were so excited!
This goal embodied their first impression of Julien: top-level technical ability.
At the Calderón Stadium, the celebration didn't last long. Spanish players encouraged each other and returned to the center circle.
Kickoff resumed.
The ball reached Torres' feet, but this match would again see him criticized by the media.
As he tried to break past Debuchy, he slipped, and possession returned to France.
Debuchy passed directly to Julien.
Actually, by this point Julien's stamina had also declined significantly, but he knew the opposition wouldn't be any better.
It was a matter of who could hold out.
Facing Fàbregas and Alba, Julien suddenly accelerated.
Both started moving. But Julien suddenly stopped, cutting inside as Fàbregas reached to pull him, passing to the advancing Matuidi.
Then Julien quickly ran forward, pointing ahead.
Short passing penetration!
He wanted to use Spain's own method to break through Spain's goal!
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