Chapter 498： champion

Chapter 498 Ball King

It's Aguero!

I saw that he appeared at the point where the ball landed in time, and lightly blocked it with the arch of his left foot. The ball was refracted and was directly hit into the goal of the England team.

At this time, the goalkeeper Pitford, who had just made a save, had no time to react, and could only watch the ball fly into the net from in front of his eyes.

"GOAL!!!"

With Aguero's supplementary shot, Argentina led England again 2:1 at the last moment of the game.

At this moment, the Argentine fans and Russian fans in the entire Luzhniki Stadium suddenly exploded. The two fans, regardless of each other, hugged and cheered together, as if they had won the World Cup.

In the same stadium, the fans from England fell into dead silence.

Time is running out, and England's chances of a comeback are slim.

On the sidelines, Southgate sighed helplessly in his heart when he saw that the team was scored by Argentina again.

Although he was mentally prepared for this situation, he still couldn't accept it at this time.

Soon, shortly after the game re-kick-off, the referee Cakir from Turkey blew the whistle for the end of the game.

In the end, with Messi's goal and Aguero's lore goal, Argentina defeated England 2:1.

While successfully qualifying for the World Cup finals, Chen Ran also got a "Level One Chicken Blood Card" from the system.

In another semi-final, the French team beat Belgium 1-0 and got another ticket to the World Cup final.

"Good guy, after the European Cup final two years ago, Chen Ran and the French team met in the final twice in a row."

"It's a pity, I wanted to see Chen Ran lead Argentina to compete for the World Cup championship with Belgium, where he left not long ago."

"No way, although the current group of Belgian players is very capable, the new head coach Martinez selected by the Belgian Football Association is too far behind Chen Ran. He is not an opponent of Deschamps at all. This group of good players is blind."

"I don't know how the coach Didier Deschamps, who once again led the French team to the final, feels now?"

"How do you feel? I guess the person Deschamps doesn't want to see now is probably Chen Ran."

"Hahahaha, the one upstairs really hit the nail on the head, and spoke out what Deschamps was thinking."

"France lost to Belgium in the European Cup final two years ago. If the French team loses to Argentina again this time, then Deschamps' name will be added to Chen Ran's list of sufferers."

"It's okay. Even if he is included in this list of sufferers, Deschamps will not feel lonely, and Mourinho and the others are there to accompany him."

"The bamboo shoots upstairs!"

As judged by the fans, if Deschamps wants to say which team he least wants to meet in the final, it must be Argentina coached by Chen Ran.

Because Chen Ran's past coaching performance has repeatedly proved that as long as he leads the team to the finals, the championship trophy will eventually fall into his hands without exception.

With such a terrifying record, even Deschamps is confident in the strength of the French team, but he is still a little bit apprehensive.

After all, just two years ago, the French team led by him had just lost to Belgium coached by Chen Ran in the final of the European Cup.

Although the team has changed from Belgium to Argentina, that man still stands there like a mountain, insurmountable.

In order to defeat Argentina coached by Chen Ran, Deschamps prepared for two years.

For this reason, he also updated the French team's lineup. Many veterans have now faded out of the French team's squad and are replaced by some fresh blood.

They are more talented and more energetic, making the already outstanding French team to a higher level, and giving Deschamps a lot of confidence to wrestle with Chen Ran again.

Center Giroud

Left midfielder Matuidi, midfielder Griezmann, right midfielder Mbappé

The defensive midfielder Kanter, the defensive midfielder Pogba

Left back Lucas Hernandez, center back Umtiti, center back Varane, right back Pavard

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris

As for Argentina, although they have reached the finals, Chen Ran did not continue to adopt the tactic of three central defenders and five defensive defenders this time.

On the contrary, Chen Ran arranged a 442 formation for Argentina with a more balanced offense and defense.

Forward Aguero, Forward Higuain

Left midfielder Di Maria, central midfielder DePaul, central midfielder Mascherano, right midfielder Messi

Left back Acuna, center back Otamendi, center back Romero, right back Molina

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez

"Boss, if we play a 442 formation, is it safer to bring Mascherano back and continue to partner with Otamendi as a central defender?"

Seeing Chen Ran's starting lineup for the World Cup final against France, Simeone asked with some concern.

"What? Diego, are you worried about Romero?"

"Yes, boss."

Chen Ran saw through his true thoughts at a glance, and Simeone had nothing to hide, so he simply continued talking.

"Romero's recent performance is good, but he is only in his early twenties this year. Let him directly serve as the main central defender in the World Cup final, and there is only one Otamendi by his side. I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on."

"Diego, your idea is not wrong. However, I can tell you a piece of news in advance, that is, Romero will usher in his peak state in the final."

"Boss, is the peak state you mentioned, the peak state you mentioned when you were coaching the Crystal Palace Club?"

As an old man who has followed Chen Ran for many years, Chen Ran's ability to accurately judge the player's state is no secret to Simeone.

"That's right. So, Diego, you should now understand why I would safely let Romero be the main central defender in the final, right?"

"Understood, boss."

For Chen Ran, the finals of each competition are not as difficult as the previous semi-finals or even quarter-finals.

Because of the huge negative effects, Chen Ran dared not use the "Level 1 Chicken Blood Card" in the previous competitions, but in the finals, he can use it without any scruples.

For example, this time, Chen Ran threw out all the hole cards he had accumulated for a long time.

He first gave Messi, Di Maria, Romero and Otamendi a "Level 1 chicken blood card" respectively.

Then Higuain and Aguero were given a "Level 1 Sight Card" respectively, and Mascherano was given a "Level 1 Recovery Card".

Finally, in order to ensure the fairness of the game penalty, Chen Ran also used a "Hawkeye Guardian Card" casually.

"Damn it! Chen Ran has been letting Argentina's defense and counterattack be overwhelmed in the previous games. Why did he not let Argentina defend in the most critical World Cup final?"

After Argentina's starting list was announced, there was an immediate uproar. Whether it is fans, media or professionals, there have been heated discussions on this.

"It is estimated that Chen Ran is planning to win by surprise. After all, offense is what Argentina is best at."

"The above is correct. Although Chen Ran has practiced defensive counterattacks in Argentina for two years, there are some things in his bones that cannot be completely changed in a short while."

"I think Chen Ran's sudden change is a bit risky. The Argentine players are used to the previous defensive and counterattack tactics, but they don't use them in the final. Can the players adapt?"

"What the upstairs said makes sense. And Chen Ran let Romero, who is only in his early twenties this year, serve as the main central defender in the World Cup final. Can this little guy take on this burden?"

"In fact, Romero performed well in the first few games. I don't think it's a big problem to let him continue to participate in the final as the main central defender."

"Upstairs, don't ignore the fact that in the previous game, Romero had Mascherano and Otamendi to help him defend. But now Chen Ran adopts a 4-4-2 formation, By his side, Otamendi is the only one left, so the difficulty is completely different."

"It's really like this. The four-back formation and the five-back formation have completely different requirements for the ability of the defenders."

"I said that you guys upstairs are just worrying about it. We can all see such a simple truth. How can Chen Ran, such a chicken thief, not know?"

"Huh? That's right, it's impossible for Chen Ran not to see it."

"Then you have to take a good look at it. Why did Romero gain Chen Ran's trust and serve as the main central defender in the final of the World Cup in Argentina."

For the French team, when Deschamps saw Argentina's starting lineup, he was also taken aback by Chen Ran's formation, because it was completely different from what he expected.

In Deschamps' prediction, Argentina will naturally continue to use the defensive counterattack tactics that have been adopted since this World Cup.

Now Chen Ran's sudden change of formation immediately caught Deschamps by surprise.

However, upon watching, Deschamps' heart turned from surprise to joy.

Like most people's judgment, Deschamps also believes that it is too risky for Chen Ran to use Romero, who is just in his early twenties, as the main central defender of the four-back formation.

Of course, Chen Ran is willing to take risks, and Deschamps is naturally wishing for it.

For the French team, this is a big advantage that can be used.

Therefore, Deschamps immediately called his assistants together to urgently study how to exploit this big loophole in Chen Ran's formation.

July 15th, Moscow, Luzhniki Stadium, gathered the eyes of fans from all over the world.

In the final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the match between Argentina and France officially began.

Compared with the French team, Argentina has a small advantage.

Their semi-final against England was held at the Luzhniki Stadium, so Argentine players are more familiar with this stadium.

When the referee Aguilar blew the whistle to start the game, Argentina, uncharacteristically, immediately launched a fierce attack on the French team's defense without any temptation.

This action not only caught Didier Deschamps and the French players by surprise, but even the fans did not expect that Argentina, which had been conservative for so many games, would play so vigorously today.

Fortunately, Deschamps' reaction was also very timely. He hurriedly shouted on the sidelines for the French players to shrink their formation and retreat. In any case, let Argentina's first round of offensive be pushed past.

After all, some head coaches will let their players attack for a while at the beginning of the game, and then start to shrink the formation to play a defensive counterattack. It is not uncommon for Deschamps to see similar tricks.

Just when Deschamps was guessing whether Chen Ran was also using this tactic, the French team's defense was broken through.

Left back Lucas Hernandez, just 22 years old this year, performed well last season and helped Atletico Madrid win the Europa League championship, and was recruited into the French national team by Didier Deschamps to replace the older Ever pull.

Today, he is facing the best football player on the planet, Messi.

After using the "Level 1 Chicken Blood Card", Messi, who is at his peak, feels as if his body has returned to when he was in his twenties, and his whole body is full of energy.

Super high frequency of movement, constantly changing directions, made Lucas Hernandez dizzy.

By the time Lucas Hernandez was going to try to foul and bring down Messi, Messi had rushed past him one step ahead of time, not even giving him a chance to foul.

After discovering that Lucas Hernandez had been passed by Messi, central defender Umtiti had no choice but to rush out from the penalty area to intercept Messi.

Messi immediately played a fried ball, and after shaking Umtiti's center of gravity, he flicked the ball with his left foot.

The ball passed between Umtiti's legs. Umtiti wanted to block the ball with his legs but was a step slower.

In addition, he wanted to turn around and chase Messi immediately, but when his center of gravity was unstable, he tripped himself and fell to the ground like a wooden stake.

After passing Lucas Hernandez and Umtiti consecutively, at this time, Messi has already dribbled into the French team's penalty area.

The other central defender of the French team, Varane, has two Argentine forwards Higuain and Aguero to take care of, and he simply can't keep up.

Seeing that Messi was about to single out the French goalkeeper Lloris, at this time, Kanter rushed back from the midfield in time to block between Messi and Lloris.

Messi also knows his Crystal Palace teammate Kanter very well. As one of the best defensive midfielders in today's football, this is definitely a difficult opponent.

However, thinking of what Chen Ran told him before the game, Messi was full of confidence again.

"Leo, today's World Cup final may be the best game in your career."

"So, I will give you the 'right to fire freely', you can kick as you want."

"You just have to remember that today, you, Lionel Messi, are the best footballer on the planet."

"You are the king of the ball!"

(end of this chapter)