Chapter 441: Will There Be Good Fortune After Surviving a Great Disaster?

"The first half is over! England leads five-star Brazil 2:0 with two goals from Chinese teenager Li Qing. There are still 45 minutes left in the second half. Brazil must have a chance to equalize the score or even overtake, but this requires Brazilian head coach Tite to adjust the team's tactics during the halftime break."

Just as the referee Ma Riqi blew the whistle to end the first half, the commentator He Wei of Tianchao 5 said in a high-spirited voice: "Brazil has a certain possibility of equalizing the score, but I believe that Li Qing, who has already scored two goals, will definitely have more opportunities in the second half. He is good at taking the ball and counterattacking quickly. When the time comes... let us feel the visual feast from Li Qing again."

The on-site director gave a close-up shot to Li Qing, who was not on camera many times in the first half but played a crucial role. He smiled as in the past, and linked shoulders with his teammates. From time to time, he looked up at the audience. It was unclear whether he was talking about the first half that had just ended, or discussing the beautiful young fans in the audience.

The Brazilian players who were given the ball afterwards all frowned and were worried. It was not difficult to see that they were very dissatisfied with the first half that had just ended, especially Neymar and Fernandinho, who were largely responsible for the goal.

Of course, goalkeeper Alisson was also very sad.

If the first goal was the absolute responsibility of the defensive players, then the second goal was caused by Alisson's position being too forward.

The starting players of both sides entered the player tunnel one after another and entered the locker room from their respective entrances to prepare for the second half. The fans in the audience were relatively free. Some were taking photos and videos to post on social platforms, some got up and moved around, and some went to the stadium store to buy food and drinks to replenish the energy consumed in the first half. However, for the fanatical fans of both sides, they were more likely to restore their fighting power through throat lozenges to prepare for the upcoming game.

The English star in the VIP seat was more comfortable, while the Brazilian star was more solemn. There was an insurmountable gap in front of them. Li Qing has never lost a game since his debut!

For the Brazilian star, they never worry about whether the national team will score, but whether Li Qing will score again.

This... is the key.

If I score one and you score one, what's the point of the goal?

Aren't we still two goals behind?

The premise of equalizing the score is to score goals continuously without losing the ball in defense, which... is a bit difficult for Brazil now.

The offensive line is very luxurious, but the problem is that the talent pool on the defensive end can't keep up.

Marcelo and Fagner are both full-backs with strong offense and weak defense. Thiago Silva and Miranda are indeed experienced in the game, but the decline in physical function caused by age is inevitable.

Although Li Qing is only 17 years old, he is very good at playing football.

Major TV stations used the 15 minutes of midfield time to review the first half that ended. Almost most of the TV stations attributed the credit for England's two-goal lead to Li Qing.

Except for the first goal, which was a good corner kick by Arnold, the second one was completely a reflection of Li Qing's personal ability, and Arnold's corner kick was useless. The key depends on the player who shot.

It's like Arnold took a hundred high-quality corner kicks, and it would be difficult for a Chinese international to head one in even if there was no pressure from the defensive players.

The fifteen-minute halftime break passed quickly, and the players from both sides returned to the court from the player tunnel. The Brazilian players looked relaxed, while the English players who should have been relaxed became more serious.

It is worth mentioning that neither side made any adjustments to the lineup. It is obvious that Southgate and Tite were quite satisfied with their players' performance in the first half.

"Beep~"

With the whistle of the referee Ma Riqi, the second quarter-final of the 2018 Russia World Cup officially began.

England, which had the advantage of kick-off, played more sophisticatedly and deliberately controlled the rhythm of the game by passing the ball.

The Brazilian players, who were two goals behind, were in good physical condition at the beginning of the second half. They adopted high pressure at the first time. Henderson and Dale, the two central midfielders, were not very good at footwork, but Southgate made adjustments during the halftime break. Li Qing, who played as the right winger in the first half, moved to the middle and moved to the front of Henderson and Dale to act as a front midfielder. In other words, England's 343 formation became 352.

Brazil coach Tite frowned, obviously not expecting Southgate to make a subversive change to England's formation.

Logically speaking, even if Li Qing played as a front midfielder, a central midfielder would be withdrawn to keep the formation in the usual 343. Now the formation has become 352. England, which originally relied on the wing to attack, has now started more from the middle, which has caused Brazil's defense to be very awkward.

Li Qing ran to the middle to receive Henderson's pass. Facing Paulinho's defense, he chose to accelerate and dribble the ball directly. Paulinho had no time to react. Fernandinho, who was defending, was very straightforward and kicked Li Qing down from the side.

The referee Ma Riqi whistled, indicating that Fernandinho had committed a defensive foul, and took out a yellow card from his trouser pocket.

England captain Harry Kane, who was about to say something, had to give up and bent down to pull up Li Qing.

He Wei, the commentator of China Channel 5, said loudly: "The referee Ma Riqi finally gave a card. As far as I remember, Fernandinho committed no less than three tactical fouls against Li Qing. It seems... Fernandinho will be in trouble in the second half."

The relaxed brows of Brazil coach Tite frowned again. Fernandinho received a yellow card at the beginning of the second half, which would definitely affect the next defensive action. Without any hesitation, he turned to Casemiro and said, "Carlos, go warm up and come back in ten minutes."

Li Qing stood up and came to the foul site with the football in his arms. He Wei, the commentator of Tianchao Channel 5, changed the subject: "Is Li Qing going to take this direct free kick of nearly 40 meters?"

The broadcaster just gave the straight-line distance from the foul site to the goal, and the commentator Xu Yang said loudly: "38 meters!"

Originally, this free kick was taken by Arnold or Henderson, but because Li Qing stood at the foul site, England coach Southgate had some expectations, as did the English fans in the audience, while Brazilian fans became a little hesitant.

The Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson, standing in front of the goal, suddenly had a faster heartbeat and quickly arranged a human wall.

The three-man wall of Brazilian players was hesitant, and from time to time they secretly moved forward when the referee Ma Riqi was looking elsewhere, but the white foam under their feet was solid evidence, and they had no way to successfully move forward half a step.

"Beep~"

The whistle sounded, and Li Qing began to run up. Because the distance was long enough, he took a four-step run-up. The distance of the last step was very large, nearly one meter. The left foot hit the middle and lower part of the football quickly with the instep. The football that rose from the ground was like a cannon. Neymar, Firmino and Marcelo subconsciously shrank their necks when they heard the crisp muffled sound, fearing that the football would hit their faces.

"wowoowowoooooooo——"

Feeling the exclamation coming to his face, goalkeeper Allison's pupils shrank slightly, and he jumped sideways. His body was very stretched in the air, but the fingertips of his outstretched right arm were still a few centimeters away from the football.

It was these few centimeters that made him unable to reach.

However, just when he was in despair, a heavenly sound suddenly exploded in his ears and swept through his body: "Bang~"

"Oh-My-God!"

Andy Gray, the commentator of Sky TV, exclaimed in disbelief: "It didn't... didn't go in! The goal post of Kazan Arena was Li's sure-fire free kick!"

The football hit the goal post and bounced back, and then was cleared out of the sideline by Thiago Silva who chose a good position.

"Brazil survived the disaster!"

He Wei, the commentator of Tianchao Channel 5, raised his voice by eight octaves, and then changed the subject: "It's just... I don't know if there will be good fortune in the future."