Chapter 492: Ignore

Chapter 492: Ignore

The World Cup final will be held in Johannesburg!

South Africa is the only country in the world with three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). Unlike previous World Cup finals, which were mostly held in the capital cities, this time the host chose to hold it in the "City of Gold."

The day after the semi-finals ended, the Chinese team and their entourage flew to Johannesburg, accompanied by the players' families and friends.

Excited, thrilled, and nervous emotions intertwined in their minds. From boarding the plane to landing and taking the bus to the hotel, everyone chattered incessantly without a moment's pause.

The coaching staff and team leaders were also anxious at this time. They lacked experience, although Alihan had played in two World Cup finals during his player career with the Netherlands, both times ending in failure.

The calmest person was Wang Feng. Apart from inspiring the team as usual, he didn't say much. Most of the time, he just smiled and listened to the players' chatter.

After experiencing countless finals in major competitions, the heart of the Chinese superstar was as firm as a rock. At this moment, he was even interested in admiring the scenery outside the bus window.

In this "City of Gold," skyscrapers stood tall, the streets were wide and clean, parks and grasslands were visible everywhere, and people of different colors walked leisurely on the roads, their faces glowing with health.

No wonder FIFA and the South African Football Association chose this place as the venue for the final. It should be one of the best-developed cities in Africa and the center of South Africa's economy, culture, and tourism.

The only thing that might not be satisfactory is that Johannesburg's altitude is 1754 meters, relatively high, which is a burden for athletes, especially for the Dutch who come from lowlands.

After the break, Uruguay pulled one back in the 53rd minute. álvaro Pereira and Suárez broke through the defense with a wall-pass combination on the right, and then Pereira crossed to Forlán, who volleyed home from 14 meters out in front of the goal.

This goal ignited the hope of the Uruguayan fans in the stands momentarily, but Spain quickly extinguished their enthusiasm. In the 71st minute, Xavi crossed from the side, and Puyol headed home from before the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner.

4-1! The Matadors secured third place with a thrilling victory and achieved Spain's best result in World Cup history.

After the match, everyone marveled at Spain's formidable strength but also felt sorry for them. If they had shown such fighting spirit in the semi-finals, would they have suffered the sudden death of conceding two goals in three minutes?

Regarding this, Spain's head coach Bosque said, "I don't think we should make such comparisons. We played very smoothly in today's game, but in the previous round, it was very difficult to break down the defensive shell of the Chinese team."

"Moreover, they have Wang Feng, the big weapon. I'm not saying Forlán and Suárez are not good; they are both top strikers in football, but compared to the Chinese superstar, they are much inferior. The most intuitive data is that the two of them together have fewer goals than Wang Feng."

"So the players need to focus more on Wang Feng. On the attacking end, they face setbacks, and on the defensive end, they face extreme threats. In some ways, the Chinese team is much more difficult to deal with than Uruguay."

Uruguay's coach Tabárez did not refute this point. He said, "The Chinese team has made it to the final, while we only got fourth place. There is indeed a gap between the two."

At the same time, he highly praised his country's hero, Forlán. "Diego is truly an outstanding player. I think anyone who watched this game would agree with this sentiment, especially that volley."

Forlán scored five goals in this World Cup. Except for a penalty against South Africa, the other four were all stunning long-range shots from outside the penalty area, a performance that only he achieved!

In recent years, he has been playing in La Liga, winning the Pichichi Trophy in the 2004-2005 season at Villarreal, surpassing Eto'o. After joining Atlético Madrid, he helped the team qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 10 years and won the UEFA Europa League.

With 120 goals in 208 La Liga appearances, although he can't compare to Messi or even Wang Feng in terms of scoring, he is still among the top strikers in European football.

Now, his outstanding performance in the World Cup is bound to attract the attention of some top clubs. However, age has become a bottleneck for Forlán's development. After all, 31 years old is a bit too much for any striker.