Chapter 638: Teach the English a Good Lesson!
"Our defense held up?"
In the stands, English fans had been anxious as they watched Lin Quan effortlessly slice through their team's players like a hot knife through butter. Many of them had already braced themselves for the worst, but to their surprise, Lin Quan suddenly decided not to press forward and passed the ball back instead.
"Heh, did he finally see the power of our iron defense? Even Lin, who's so good at dribbling, can't break through!"
Realizing what had just happened, the English fans in the stands erupted in cheers, as if their team had achieved some great accomplishment.
On England's sideline, coach Gareth Southgate finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Lin Quan abandon that attack.
"It seems our plan is working!"
Lin Quan was Spain's biggest threat, and as long as they kept him under control, Spain would struggle to score. If England could keep defending their goal like this, they'd have a fighting chance against Spain. Their strategy now was to fortify their defense and wait for a chance to counterattack. If they could score a goal or two on the counter, victory would likely be theirs!
The mere thought of leading his underdog English team to eliminate tournament favorites Spain in the World Cup semifinals filled Southgate with excitement. This was a golden opportunity for him to make a name for himself as a coach.
...
On Spain's sideline, Vicente del Bosque let out a quiet sigh after watching Lin Quan pass the ball back. It was the most reasonable decision, but still, a little disappointing.
Southgate was quite something; no wonder he had been a defender in his playing days. Under his guidance, England's defense had improved significantly, and this was giving Del Bosque a headache. England's defensive setup was tough to crack, and with Southgate's defensive expertise, they had clearly put in a lot of preparation for this match.
Del Bosque had a sinking feeling that this game was going to be much harder than expected. He even felt a creeping fear of a potential upset!
"No, it's still too early. We're the ones controlling the game, so we can't give up that easily!"
Looking at Lin Quan's presence on the field, Del Bosque regained his confidence. As long as Lin Quan was in the game, he felt a strange sense of calm.
Southgate, meanwhile, had been sneaking glances at Del Bosque's reaction. Seeing how composed Del Bosque remained, seemingly unfazed by the situation, Southgate couldn't help but admire him.
No wonder he was one of the world's top managers; that poise alone was something Southgate knew he still had to learn.
Although this attack had failed, Lin Quan wasn't discouraged. In fact, it only fueled his determination. He'd encountered teams parking the bus against him many times, whether in club or international play. In most of those games, he and his teammates had eventually found a way through.
The bus may be hard to break, but it's not invincible. No matter how perfect a defensive tactic is, it's still executed by people—and people have weaknesses. His job now was to patiently find a crack in England's defense and strike at the right moment.
In the next few minutes, Lin Quan tried several long-range shots from outside the penalty box, hoping to draw England's players out of position. But this tactic wasn't working. England's forwards Kane and Alli were too tall, and with them standing in front of him, getting a shot past them was difficult. Even if he managed to get a shot off, the ball would often ricochet off the crowded defense and come back out.
Even when he did manage to beat them with a shot, England's goalkeeper was well-prepared, making it hard for Lin Quan to score unless he hit a near-perfect shot.
During this time, David Silva, Busquets, Piqué, and even Ramos all had a go at shooting from distance, but none of their efforts posed any real threat.
Seeing that Spain's long-range efforts weren't working, the English players grew more relaxed. Their confidence in their defense increased. It seemed Spain really couldn't break them down.
When the long shots didn't work, Lin Quan shifted his focus to set pieces. Spain had plenty of attacking opportunities, and England committed quite a few fouls in defense, giving Lin Quan several free-kick chances. But those also yielded no real results.
England had clearly prepared for this. Their players were careful not to commit fouls in dangerous areas, so any free-kicks Spain got were either too far away or at awkward angles.
Moreover, England's players were so tall that their defensive walls were highly effective, often forcing Lin Quan's shots over the bar.
Seeing that free-kicks weren't working either, Lin Quan started whipping crosses into the box, hoping his teammates could get on the end of them. But Spain's team was lacking in height, with only a few players like Diego Costa, Ramos, Piqué, and Busquets standing over 180 cm. Even they didn't have a real height advantage over their English counterparts.
Most of the crosses were easily cleared by England's tall defenders, leaving Spain with nothing to show for it.
By this point, Spain had tried all the usual tactics to break down a packed defense, but none had worked.
This left Southgate feeling completely at ease. He even stopped standing on the sidelines to watch the game and sat back down on the bench, jotting down notes, seemingly recording his thoughts on the match.
From Southgate's perspective, the longer the match went on, the more it would play into England's hands. Spain's players were older than his team, and they might start to struggle physically in the second half.
As long as England could hold out until then, they could exploit their fitness advantage in the second half to launch a few high-quality counterattacks. And if they managed to score, the game would be theirs.
Even if they couldn't score, dragging the game into extra time would still favor them. In short, the longer this game dragged on, the better England's chances.
"The situation seems to be tilting against Spain. We've now passed the 30-minute mark, and Spain has had 11 shots, only 2 of which were on target, neither posing any real danger. England's defense is like a fortress of steel, leaving the Spaniards frustrated."
Even the TV commentators could see the predicament Spain was facing.
"They'd better score before halftime, or the second half could be very difficult for them."
...
Back on the pitch, Lin Quan was deep in thought after seeing his team's efforts repeatedly fail. The problem wasn't that England's defense was too good, but rather that they had too many players packed in the box. Especially with those five defenders standing there—it was a huge headache.
He needed to figure out a way to disrupt England's defensive shape, to force them out of position and create chaos.
After thinking for a moment, an idea began to form in his mind: attack down the flanks, draw the defenders out, and exploit the gaps they leave behind as they move.
When he shared his plan with David Silva and Isco, both of them agreed to go along with it. After all, they'd tried everything else, and this seemed like their best option now.
As before, Lin Quan was the one driving the ball forward. England's defense was so crowded that even with Spain's technical skill, it was hard to keep the ball under such intense pressure. Lin Quan, however, was the perfect choice for this—his ball control was unmatched, and he could dribble, pass, and create chances.
The ball was most dangerous at his feet, making him the ideal player to draw the opposition's attention and create space for his teammates.
This time, Lin Quan was advancing down the center of the field, with Lingard and Alli as the first line of defense in front of him.
Though fans often joked about calling Lingard "The Prince," Lingard seemed to have an unrealistic sense of his own abilities. While Alli dropped back into position, Lingard charged forward with confidence—only to be cleanly dribbled past by Lin Quan.
"Haha! The real Prince just thrashed the fake one!"
"Wow, Lingard was that bad? He charged up looking so confident, and then—nothing?"
"Hold up! Lingard's the most aggressive forward, the hardest-working midfielder, and the most selfless striker out there!"
"Bro, that's some impressive spin. Lingard should give you a thumbs-up for that one!"
"Wait, isn't Lingard the forward who doesn't score, the midfielder who can't pass or create, the winger who's too slow, and the defensive mid who forgets to defend? How did you manage to turn all of that into strengths?"
"Hey, guys, we've got a straight shooter here—let's give him a hard time!"
Lingard himself was a bit confused on the pitch: How is this guy so fast?
He barely even registered Lin Quan's movement before the Spaniard was past him. He had to admit, Lin Quan was amazing.
But Lingard wasn't ready to give up just yet. He quickly chased after Lin Quan, determined to catch up. Lingard might not excel in much, but his work rate was second to none. Anyone who's watched him play knows he loves to run, and he can keep running.
Alli cursed under his breath as he saw Lingard get beaten, and immediately called for backup from his teammates. They'd learned from their earlier success that the best way to deal with Lin Quan was to double or triple-team him. One-on-one would just serve him up a free lunch, as Lingard and Sterling had just proven.
Lin Quan saw Alli's reaction and was thrilled. This is exactly what I want—bring more people!
As several English players swarmed towards him, Lin Quan quickly passed the ball to the right flank.
The ball reached David Silva just as he came into Lin Quan's field of vision.
Ashley Young, who should have been marking that area, had been drawn out of position by Lin Quan, forcing Henderson to step in and cover.
As Henderson moved to Silva, Diego Costa began pulling wide to the right, as if ready to receive a pass and drive forward himself.
This movement prompted England's two central defenders to shift toward Costa, cutting off his passing lane. Normally, with two central defenders and two midfielders drawn out of position like this, England's defense would be in real trouble. But with their five-man defensive setup, they still had plenty of players to cover.
David Silva saw that although England's defense had been partially pulled out of shape, it wasn't fully compromised. He quickly passed the ball to the wing, where Carvajal was overlapping into space, while Silva himself sprinted into the box, drawing left-back Rose with him.
Seeing Rose leave his mark, Ashley Young abandoned Lin Quan to press Carvajal, hoping to prevent the cross.
The moment Young moved, Lin Quan accelerated, bursting forward from behind.
Alli saw Lin Quan's sudden burst of speed and panicked. He reached out to grab Lin Quan's jersey, trying to stop him, but found that he couldn't hold him back. Lin Quan shook him off like a wild horse breaking free from its reins.
At that very moment, Carvajal sent in the cross.
With Diego Costa and David Silva both making runs into the box, most of England's defenders were focused on them. But Carvajal's cross wasn't aimed at the center. It was sent toward the edge of the box, just outside the right corner of the penalty area.
There, wearing Spain's number 10 shirt, Lin Quan arrived right on time, meeting the cross with a perfect volley without letting the ball touch the ground.
The ball shot towards the goal like a missile, whistling through the air.
England's goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, was caught off guard and scrambled to dive for it, but he was too slow. The ball had already rocketed past him into the back of the net.
In the 37th minute of the match, Spain broke the deadlock and took a 1-0 lead.
The English players on the field, the fans in the stands, and even Southgate on the bench were all left dumbfounded. Their once-impenetrable defense had just been breached!
Lin Quan didn't start celebrating immediately after scoring. He waited until he was sure the ball was in the net and the referee had blown the whistle to confirm the goal. Then, he sprinted off in celebration toward the Spanish fans.
As he celebrated in front of the Spanish supporters, Lin Quan couldn't help but evaluate England's performance in his mind:
"England's defense has some merit, but not much."
"I hope after seeing that goal, they'll realize where the weaknesses in their defense are and correct them."
"Well, I guess you could say I just taught them a good lesson!"
End of chapter.