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After drawing 1-1 with Portugal, both sides became much more cautious.
It was like two swordsmen circling each other, waiting for the opponent to make a move and reveal a flaw.
In a knockout match, every goal would affect qualification for the quarterfinals.
After 20 minutes, the pace of the game slowed down again.
"The two teams are entangled in a struggle near the midfield, both defending very actively, strictly limiting the attacking players on both sides."
"Lance tries to break through with the ball... Raul Meireles's collision! Foul!"
"Belgium gets a free kick in their own half. Raul Meireles was only verbally warned by the referee. No red or yellow cards have been issued in the match so far."
Watching Lance grimace from the collision, his small frame slowly getting up from the grass, He Wei couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him.
When Lance debuted, he was known for his poor physicality.
No matter how excellent his ball control and dribbling were, as long as he was challenged physically, Lance would easily lose the ball.
This led him to prioritize strength training afterward, and he had improved significantly over the past six months.
When he first joined the club, he was a skinny stick, but now faint traces of muscle can be seen on his upper body.
However, compared to the strong midfielders, he was still at a disadvantage, and with the increased physicality and intensity of body challenges in the World Cup, Lance didn't dare to hold onto the ball for too long without a cheat.
When under pressure, he would quickly pass the ball to avoid being dispossessed.
He had already passed the ball just now, but was still knocked to the ground, feeling like his shoulder was about to fall apart.
"That's disgusting, and that's not a foul?"
Even the usually good-tempered Kevin De Bruyne was enraged, his face flushed red.
He had also been kicked several times by Portugal's dirty defense, especially by Pepe.
"No choice, the referee is from Colombia. Compared to the dirty little tricks and rough fouls common in South America, the physicality in this match is nothing."
The main referee was from Colombia.
Portugal's initiation of the 'war' also made Belgium see red, and they retaliated in kind.
"It's just about who's dirtier, who's afraid of who!"
Marouane Fellaini steps up!
When it comes to dirty play, Marouane Fellaini can definitely sit at the same table with villains like Diego Costa, Nigel de Jong, and Pepe.
During his time at Everton, he had already gained a "small reputation" in the Premier League, causing many technical players in the Premier League to suffer greatly.
Having just joined Manchester United last season, Marouane Fellaini's total fouls for the season reached 80, the second highest in the entire Premier League!
If you count his total fouls from the 2012-2013 season, Marouane Fellaini was definitely number one in the Premier League!
Later, when Marouane Fellaini went to develop in the Chinese Super League, he was also recognized as the "dirtiest in the Chinese Super League," and many "son-cutting tackles" couldn't even compare to him.
Underhanded kicks and elbows were commonplace.
Beep--
In a scramble, Portugal midfielder William Carvalho fell to the ground clutching his face.
Portugal players surrounded the referee to complain, and Cristiano Ronaldo even loudly accused Marouane Fellaini of elbowing, making a gesture for a red card.
The Colombian main referee knew very well that he had been lenient with the officiating from the start of the match.
Pepe had committed several malicious fouls without being carded, so there was no need for Marouane Fellaini to be carded this time either.
The referee only gave a verbal warning, glaring fiercely at those around him.
"Are you questioning my authority? Say one more word and I'll definitely issue a card!"
Portugal players cowered, angry but not daring to speak.
They only got a harmless free kick in the attacking third, about 34 meters from the goal.
"Cristiano Ronaldo, taking the free kick himself, cradling the ball. In the group stage, it was Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick winner that helped Portugal secure a crucial 3 points, which later helped them narrowly advance to the knockout stage."
"Whenever they reached a desperate situation, this team had to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo's performance. His resolute eyes stared at Belgium's goal..."
Looking at Cristiano Ronaldo's expression, Lance suddenly had a strange thought.
"It couldn't be... it shouldn't be, right?"
Lance was also unsure.
After all, in the original timeline, Portugal would have already flown home by now and couldn't be in Brazil.
Belgium's opponent was the United States, whom they easily eliminated to advance.
They were then eliminated by Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, stopping at the quarterfinals and ending their 2014 World Cup journey.
Theoretically, Belgium's performance in 2014 was acceptable; losing to the World Cup runner-up was not shameful and also laid the foundation for four years later.
But Lance couldn't be content.
Having been eliminated by Cristiano Ronaldo once before, he would absolutely not repeat the same mistake!
At the very least, he had to help Belgium achieve the same result as in the original timeline, otherwise, his joining would become a disadvantage?
No way!
Cristiano Ronaldo is a bit far from the goal, 34 meters, and the angle is relatively central. Thibaut Courtois should be able to save it... right?
"It's up to you, Thibaut."
Although his character wasn't great and he lacked brotherhood, Lance still trusted Thibaut Courtois's goalkeeping skills.
In the future, Thibaut Courtois served as the world's number one goalkeeper, and as the starting goalkeeper for Real Madrid, his skill was evident to all.
Beep--
The main referee blew the whistle, Cristiano Ronaldo took his run-up, and shot!
Lance could even see Cristiano Ronaldo's thigh muscles twisting together at the moment of the shot.
Standing in the wall, Lance tried to jump with his teammates to block Cristiano Ronaldo's shot.
But his signature knuckleball still flew over Lance's head, towards the goal frame.
As they landed, everyone couldn't help but look back.
The ball looked like it was going to fly over the crossbar.
"Good thing..."
Eden Hazard, Divock Origi, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, and others all breathed a slight sigh of relief.
No!
Lance's heart sank!
The ball, which was originally flying out of bounds, suddenly dipped!
Thibaut Courtois made an extreme jump to try and save it, his fingertips barely touching the ball, but still unable to stop it!
The ball actually grazed the underside of the crossbar and dropped in!
"What the heck?"
Lance was dumbfounded.
"The goal is in! Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick goal!"
"Before the end of the first half, Portugal scored two consecutive goals to take the lead!"
1-2!
Belgium was actually trailing!
Cristiano Ronaldo could no longer hide his excitement, rushing wildly to the sideline to celebrate again.
It was Belgium players' turn for their morale to start dropping.
"This is the World Cup stage. Everyone thought the struggling Portugal from the group stage would be eliminated, but you can never predict what will happen next! Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice, both goals coming from situations that weren't opportunities, seizing the only chance."
...
In the locker room, the atmosphere was quite heavy.
Marc Wilmots looked at the dejected players and didn't know how to speak.
"It seems the lads' mentality is indeed not good."
"You're still mocking, you scoundrel."
Marc Wilmots glared at Thierry Henry with annoyance.
"Anyway, I'm not your team's official coach. Whether the results are good or not has nothing to do with me. I support France."
"Stop with the sarcastic remarks and give some advice. You were a player before, you should understand their mentality, right?"
"To put it bluntly, it's just a lack of big-match experience, which is normal."
Thierry Henry shrugged, not taking the deficit seriously.
"Their mentality isn't good to begin with. Young players easily crumble when facing adversity. Remember the first group stage match? They almost lost that one too."
"Indeed."
In the first group stage match against Algeria, a 0-1 deficit at one point made Belgium anxious, causing them to miss several chances.
A luxurious squad worth over 400 million was actually held by an unknown Algeria, which was too embarrassing.
Later, thanks to Lance coming on as a substitute, the situation was stabilized, and they qualified from the group stage with a perfect record.
With a 4-minute lead against Portugal in the opening, Belgium players had become a bit complacent, which is why Cristiano Ronaldo's two goals easily shattered their mentality.
"So what do we do?"
"What else can we do? The only key to your team's comeback is already in the squad."
Following Thierry Henry's gaze, Marc Wilmots saw the young man in the locker room trying to communicate with his teammates.
The only Chinese face, seemingly naive like an idol trainee, but in reality, his eyes were firm, his demeanor calm, and he subtly possessed the aura of a team leader.
Marc Wilmots even felt an unethical sense of relief internally: "It's a good thing Christian Benteke got injured, allowing this kid to come up. The Football Association really dug up a treasure!"
As long as Lance was there, Marc Wilmots was confident in overturning Portugal in the second half!