Chapter 640: Breaking into the World Cup Final, Charging Towards the Championship!
Trailing by two goals, it seemed like the game was slipping away from the England team. Even though there was still plenty of time left, breaking through Spain's defense was not going to be easy. And scoring just one goal wouldn't be enough—they needed at least two. That task seemed too difficult.
On the sidelines, Gareth Southgate couldn't sit still anymore. He subbed out the underperforming Raheem Sterling and brought on Jamie Vardy. Sterling had wasted several good chances to score in this match. If he had managed to convert even one of them, England wouldn't be in such a tough spot now.
Of course, it wasn't entirely Sterling's fault—after all, his style is sometimes referred to as "happy football."
Once Vardy came on, his impact was immediate on the frontline. With Vardy drawing the defense, Harry Kane found it much easier to play.
Vardy is the type of player who blossomed late in his career, and his journey to the top is one of the most inspiring in football. In his early years, Vardy was cut from a professional club's youth system due to his height. He later worked while playing semi-professional football. At the age of 25, Vardy was still playing for an unknown club in League Two, which is the fourth tier of English football and the lowest level of professional football in England. Below that, teams are mostly amateur.
For a 25-year-old playing in such a low league, most would end their careers in obscurity, forgotten. But Vardy was lucky—his talent wasn't overlooked. Leicester City, then a Championship side, signed him for £1 million. Over the next few years, Vardy helped Leicester gain promotion to the Premier League and almost created a miracle in the 2015-2016 season.
What stands out most about Vardy is his fighting spirit. On the pitch, it's as if he never tires, constantly attacking and pressing with relentless aggression.
In the 72nd minute of the second half, Vardy's tireless pressing created a golden opportunity for England. Unfortunately, Kane's one-on-one shot was saved by Spain's goalkeeper, David de Gea, and England missed their chance to pull one back.
De Gea had studied Kane extensively while playing for Manchester United. As one of the Premier League's top strikers in recent years, Kane's reputation loomed large, especially for goalkeepers. It was no surprise that De Gea had him on his watchlist. Thanks to this preparation, De Gea was able to predict Kane's movements based on his habits, making a crucial save.
Kane was deeply apologetic for missing the chance, gesturing to Vardy with a regretful expression. But Vardy didn't mind and threw himself right back into pressing.
Around the 70th minute, the Spanish players, especially some of the veterans, began to show signs of fatigue. In contrast, the young English team had no such issues, with Vardy, the only non-'90s player, still full of energy since he had just come on. Their fitness gave them an increasing advantage in midfield battles. Vardy, using his stamina, frequently engaged in physical duels with Spain's defenders, further draining their energy.
This physical advantage, combined with Vardy's aggressive play, boosted England's morale. As a result, the game's momentum began to shift towards England.
A noticeable change was that England's possession rate started to increase, and at certain points, they even seemed on the verge of overtaking Spain in terms of ball control.
"It's a brilliant tactic, the kind that's almost impossible to counter. But, unfortunately for the English, time isn't on their side."
In the stands, France's head coach, who had already secured a spot in the final, watched the game unfold. Seeing England's frantic counterattack, he couldn't help but sigh.
It was already past the 75th minute, and only now was England starting to build up momentum. It was too late. Plus, trailing by two goals was too large a deficit to overcome.
What's more, Spain was only temporarily under pressure—they hadn't been completely overwhelmed. And let's not forget that Del Bosque still had several substitutions left to make.
As Deschamps thought about this, he glanced over at Spain's bench. Sure enough, Spain's substitutes were already dressed and equipped, listening to Del Bosque's instructions, preparing to come on.
In the 77th minute, Spain made their first substitution. Thiago came on, replacing David Silva.
This wasn't a like-for-like substitution. After Thiago came on, Lin Quan shifted to the wing, leaving the central position for Thiago. Spain's formation shifted to a 4-2-3-1.
Although Thiago was positioned as an attacking midfielder, his role was more defensive than offensive. In defense, he played in front of the two defensive midfielders, acting as the first line of defense, disrupting England's build-up play and buying time for his teammates.
Spain's two defensive midfielders, Busquets and Koke, complemented each other well. Busquets had excellent positioning and football intelligence, while Koke had great stamina and a wide coverage area. Together, they formed a solid defensive duo. If their stamina was at its peak, it would be very difficult for any team to break through their defensive wall.
Even with their stamina slightly diminished, they could still perform at 70-80% of their usual level, which was enough to stop most attacks.
After Thiago came on, Spain's defensive strategy changed significantly. They focused on cutting off the connection between England's forwards and midfielders. No matter what Harry Kane or Vardy tried up front, as long as Spain could cut off their supply from midfield, they were unlikely to score.
"England's weakness is that they lack a strong central midfielder. If they had Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne, things would be much easier for them."
"Haha, dream on! If De Bruyne were on this England team, they'd be unstoppable!"
A De Bruyne and Kane combination in midfield and attack would be terrifying. Add Vardy and England's youthful squad to the mix, and they would be unstoppable in open play.
While Spain's defense had improved with Thiago's introduction, England still maintained control of the game. Isco's drop in stamina and his struggles in physical duels meant Spain's left-wing attack had stalled.
Having only defense wasn't enough. Constantly being pressed by the opposition wasn't good for Spain, whose players were starting to tire. They needed to push the action back upfield and relieve the pressure on their defense.
With that in mind, Del Bosque used his second substitution, bringing on 34-year-old veteran Andrés Iniesta to replace Isco.
The stadium erupted in applause as Iniesta entered the field. The Spanish fans deeply respected and adored this legendary player. Given his age and his form over the past year, this was almost certainly his last World Cup.
Every game he played for Spain was now a precious memory, and this match could very well be his second-to-last for the national team.
After Iniesta came on, Spain's left-wing attack improved immediately. Both he and Lin Quan were ambidextrous, able to play on either side, and they often switched positions, working together seamlessly.
Although Iniesta was older, his vast experience more than compensated for his lack of speed. When Lin Quan looked to combine with him, Iniesta instinctively understood his intentions and kept up with Lin Quan's rhythm. Whether it was positioning, passing, or supporting play, the two of them played in perfect harmony.
Their masterful teamwork left the opposing players floundering, unable to keep up with their tempo.
In the 79th minute, Lin Quan received a pass from Iniesta and drove into the right side of the penalty area. The English defenders, already disoriented by the Spanish duo's movement, had lost track of their defensive positions. As soon as they saw the ball at Lin Quan's feet, they instinctively rushed toward him.
Seeing an opportunity open up in the middle, Lin Quan feinted as if to push forward but instead slid a pass into the box.
Diego Costa saw the ball land at his feet and thought he could extend his scoring streak. However, in his excitement, he overhit the shot, sending it flying way over the bar.
He was less than ten meters from the goal, yet somehow managed to blast the ball into the stands—a shocking miss.
"My bad, my bad!"
Diego Costa blushed with embarrassment, cursing himself internally for wasting such a golden opportunity while hurriedly apologizing to his teammates for the misfire.
In truth, Lin Quan could have taken the shot himself but chose to trust Costa, only for Costa to send the ball skyward.
"I'm guilty, I deserve punishment!"
Although Costa's shot didn't hit the target, it rattled the English defense. This time, luck was on their side, but next time, it might not be.
As a result, England strengthened their defense around Lin Quan and Iniesta, but it soon became clear that trying to contain both players at the same time was a nearly impossible task.
With Lin Quan helping to draw the defenders' attention and ease the pressure on Iniesta, the veteran midfielder seemed to wind back the clock to his peak, playing with the energy of six or seven years ago!
The more they combined, the better they played together, with their moves becoming more synchronized and spectacular each time.
Fans in the stadium, as well as those watching the match on TV worldwide, were left in awe, mesmerized by the dazzling interplay between the two players.
"This one-touch passing is brilliant!"
"My vocabulary fails me—I can only say 'Wow!'"
"Is this the power of Iniesta and King Lin combined? Terrifying!"
"Ha! And this isn't even peak Iniesta. If it were the unstoppable Iniesta from his prime, the game would be even more explosive!"
"Sigh, watching them play like this reminds me of those old Barcelona days, when Messi and Iniesta would combine just like this on the field."
"Yeah, those were the glory days for Barça fans!"
Although Barcelona is still a strong team, they no longer belong to the elite tier of world football. Like Spain's national team, they're facing the problem of an aging squad, with no replacements for the fading core players.
"If only Xavi were here too! With King Lin, Iniesta, and Xavi together, we'd be recreating the cosmic team of old!"
With Lin Quan and Iniesta leading the charge, Spain shifted from defense to offense, regaining control of the match. England's backline was under immense pressure, and they were forced to pull players back from the frontline to reinforce their defense.
And so, as the battle on the pitch intensified, time continued to tick away.
By the 85th minute, the score remained 2-0. By this point, hardly anyone still believed that England could pull off a miracle.
Although Vardy and the others were still fighting hard, their goal was simply to score a consolation goal to save face. However, Spain's defense remained solid, denying them even that.
In the end, the match concluded with a 2-0 victory for Spain. They secured their spot in the World Cup final without much trouble.
This marked the third consecutive World Cup final for Spain. They had won the previous two and lifted the trophy. Now, the question was whether they could make history by winning an unprecedented third straight title.
As for England, their World Cup journey wasn't quite over. Before the final, they would face Belgium, the other semifinal loser, in the third-place playoff.
After the match, Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard rushed over to Lin Quan, eager to swap jerseys with him.
"Uh, why don't you two play rock-paper-scissors for it?"
Lin Quan smiled as he took off his jersey, holding it in his hand. It was an awkward situation—he only had one jersey and couldn't exactly tear it in half to give it to both of them.
"No need, it's fine. He was here first. Go ahead and give it to him,"
Harry Kane graciously stepped aside, giving Lingard the chance to swap jerseys with Lin Quan.
Lingard happily completed the swap and even borrowed a camera from somewhere, along with a photographer, to take a photo of the two of them together.
Lingard planned to take the jersey and photo home as a keepsake. He already had the perfect name for them—"The Two Kings of Lin!"
He's King Lin, and I'm King Lin too, so it makes perfect sense to call us the Two Kings of Lin!
After the final whistle, Del Bosque adjusted his attire and, beaming, walked over to the England bench to shake hands with Southgate.
"Congratulations on reaching the final! I hope you do well in the final match!"
Southgate, though disappointed, offered his congratulations.
Between France and Spain, England would much rather see Spain win the championship.
If Spain did win, it would be a historic moment for the World Cup, and they could at least say they witnessed history being made.
"Thank you. Your players are excellent, and they're so young. I'm sure they'll achieve even greater things in the future."
Del Bosque's words were sincere. In fact, he was somewhat envious of England's young squad.
Eight years ago, when he led Spain to the South African World Cup, his team had been just as youthful.
But time waits for no one.
The veterans from that golden generation of Spain had mostly faded away. (End of Chapter)