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"The knockout matches earlier were mostly dull, with both teams playing cautiously."
"Teams focused more on defense, and scores were typically low."
"Today's clash between Belgium and Portugal is the most dramatic and suspenseful knockout match of this World Cup!"
"Belgium took the lead in the 4th minute with a goal from Lance, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the first half to put Portugal ahead, and in the second half, Lance's solo run and goal were breathtaking, forcefully leveling the score!"
"The match is now about to enter injury time, if a winner cannot be decided within 90 minutes, it will go into extra time!"
"If the score remains tied after extra time, it will proceed to an even more brutal penalty shootout!"
He Wei was already a bit nervous.
Other matches involved foreign teams, and there wasn't a single East Asian face among the 22 players on the field. Asian teams had already been eliminated from the knockout stage, so He Wei naturally had no bias; he was just watching for entertainment.
Today was different; although it was also a foreign team on the field, Belgium had a Chinese compatriot!
Lance now captivated the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese fans, and everyone hoped Lance could go further!
Since the National Football Team couldn't appear in the World Cup, at least let a player of Chinese descent carry the hopes of the vast number of fans and go further!
"These last few minutes, can he do it?"
He Wei didn't know; he could only pray silently.
Lance's stamina was one of his few weaknesses, usually playing a full 90 minutes was already his absolute limit, in extra time, Lance would definitely be substituted, completely exhausted.
Furthermore, Portugal had a higher win rate in past penalty shootouts, having eliminated England multiple times in major tournaments, the longer it dragged on, the greater Portugal's advantage.
Paulo Bento knew this well, consecutively substituting Nani and Postiga, bringing on defensive players to strengthen the defense.
"Portugal used two substitutions in the last few minutes, while keeping one substitution for a possible extra time."
"Postiga was replaced by midfielder Ruben Amorim, and substitute defender Almeida replaced Nani!"
"Currently, Portugal only has Cristiano Ronaldo as the lone striker upfront!"
"Belgium has gone from defensive counter-attack to full-on offense, they also hope to end the battle within 90 minutes, but right now… it seems Belgium can't find a good solution!"
… …
Lance's solo run tore through Portugal, dribbling past five players including the goalkeeper to score.
This goal struck fear into Portugal; they were truly terrified.
As a result, Portugal spent the next 20 minutes largely parking the bus and defending stubbornly, even bringing on two defensive players to form an absolute 5-4-1 turtle formation.
Looking at the older player substituted in for the last few minutes, Lance was stunned for a moment.
Ruben Amorim passed by Lance and noticed the handsome youth staring at him, Amorim scratched his head:
"You know me?"
"No, I don't."
"Alright."
Amorim, bewildered, ran back to his own half to defend with the team.
He was very good at midfield organization, but today, his mission had only two parts!
Defend fiercely!
Provide passes for Cristiano Ronaldo!
Actually, Lance felt Amorim's face looked somewhat familiar, then he looked at the name on his back and finally remembered who this was.
In his playing career, Amorim didn't make a name for himself in the top five leagues, only winning titles with Benfica in the Primeira Liga and occasionally appearing for the national team.
People unfamiliar with the Primeira Liga might not have even heard of this name.
However, 10 years later, his name would resound globally.
The future manager of Manchester United, succeeding the popular Erik ten Hag, was this very Ruben Amorim.
Looking at his still relatively young appearance now, Lance found it hard to associate him with the Manchester United manager.
During Erik ten Hag's tenure, Manchester United at least managed to stay in the top few positions, after Amorim took over, Manchester United plummeted to the relegation zone, competing with Tottenham, also in the relegation zone, for the Europa League title…
The future of football as predicted was truly fantastical!
If not for many corroborating details, Lance would have truly believed these predictions were just dreams.
… …
Back on the field, it was difficult to break through Portugal's iron curtain defense in the final minutes.
Although their defense wasn't top-tier, they could compensate with numerical superiority.
Furthermore, the Belgian players were quickly depleting their stamina, two key players, Hazard and De Bruyne, were completely exhausted, Lance himself was also running on fumes.
If it went into extra time, Belgium might indeed be in for an upset!
In the original timeline, playing against the U.S., Belgium still made it to the quarterfinals, if his butterfly effect caused Belgium to stop at the Round of 16, that would be his fault.
A sense of responsibility drove Lance to keep running, relying solely on willpower to hold his ground in the attacking third, trying to find a weakness in Portugal's defense.
The 'monster' within Bachira Meguru also provided Lance with faint support, preventing him from collapsing.
The problem was, how to score?
"The match has entered injury time, the fourth official has raised the board, 4 minutes of added time."
"Time is running out for Belgium."
Belgium had not yet made any substitutions; at this moment, Wilmots could no longer hold back, replacing Origi with the "post-up king" Lukaku, then Dembele replaced Witsel, risking an all-out attack in hopes of scoring as much as possible.
Otherwise, Wilmots also wasn't confident of winning in extra time.
Wilmots dared not use the last substitution slot either, Lance was clearly struggling to continue, but he still kept Lance on the field.
His intuition told him that this resolute Eastern boy might just create a miracle!
… …
"Amorim!!! Beautiful!! A through ball pierces the Belgian defense!"
In the 2nd minute of injury time, the situation on the field suddenly changed!
Belgium pushed too high, leaving their defense exposed, Portugal defended their attack, then suddenly launched a quick counter-attack. Cristiano Ronaldo had stayed upfront and hadn't tracked back, the substitute Amorim played his role from his Benfica days, a sublime through ball sliced through the middle, Cristiano Ronaldo beat the offside trap, going one-on-one and charging into the opponent's half!
"What the hell?!"
Lance was stunned! He sprinted back!
Even if it wasn't his direct responsibility, Lance desperately chased back, hoping to contribute.
But Cristiano Ronaldo's stamina was somewhat abnormal, and his speed was already very high, leaving everyone behind!
As Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled into the box, goalkeeper Courtois was forced to come out, the Portuguese fans in the stands had already started cheering!
"Game-winner! Game-winner!!"
Fans supporting Belgium, including Chinese fans, were on tenterhooks, not daring to breathe.
"Could it be…?"
Lance was almost wavering at this moment.
Goalkeeper Courtois's gaze remained resolute!
"That was a goal Lance fought with everything to equalize, how could I let you score so easily!"
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"
The moment Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled into the box, in his excitement, his touch was slightly heavy, Courtois, uncharacteristically, charged forward with great momentum, shouting, and made a desperate sliding tackle at the edge of the penalty area!
Cristiano Ronaldo was startled by his aggression and quickly jumped to avoid it!
"Courtois!!! A beautiful tackle to thwart the attack!!! He saved the one-on-one!!!"
Belgian fans, who had been too scared to watch, looked back at the field with joyful surprise upon hearing the cheers!
But it wasn't over yet!
Courtois's tackle was recovered by the tracking Dembele!
Experienced, full of stamina, and known as the "European Ball Protector King," he skillfully evaded Portuguese players' challenges, dribbling the ball forward!
After this counter-attack, Portugal's formation was already disrupted!
It was a good opportunity!
"Guys!! It's up to you!!"
Dembele knew he wasn't fast, so he didn't hold onto the ball, decisively passing it to De Bruyne upfront!
As the match was about to enter the final seconds, De Bruyne, receiving the ball with his back to goal, had three options:
Safely pass back to center-back Kompany to stabilize the situation;
Distribute to the full-back, attempting to launch an attack down the wing;
Risky diagonal pass to Hazard, though with a possibility of interception;
Portugal's formation was spread out, marking all three routes, to everyone's surprise, De Bruyne chose an invisible passing lane!
Without looking back, he made an imaginative turn and suddenly threaded a through ball down the middle!
A low, slightly diagonal pass, going straight to the top of the penalty area!
"Lance! I know you can do it!"
93:12!
At the very last moment, De Bruyne decided to take a gamble!
Because he knew, the person in front was Lance!
"Ay!! This ball!!"
Time seemed to stand still, amidst He Wei's exclamation, Lance diagonally ran between the Portuguese center-backs, facing the incoming ball, with Pepe still defending him, Lance calmly activated his deadly move!
Nagi Seishiro template activated!
Activated!
S-rank player template possessed!
The flow of time seemed to slow down, Lance faced the incoming ball, and his god-tier first touch allowed him to firmly control the ball on his ankle!!
Held perfectly still!
The world-shocking first touch was not immediately noticed, but Pepe charged in!
Lance seized the opportunity, lightly flicking the ball up, back-heeling it through Pepe's legs with extreme precision, and turning in one fluid motion!
Pepe only felt a blur before his eyes as the red phantom had already flashed past him!
To everyone's astonishment, Lance had already opened up a shooting window!
Seizing the moment the ball slightly bounced off the ground!
Unwavering belief surged into his right foot!
An all-or-nothing volley!
Bang—