Football: The Strongest Hexagon Warrior

The Lusail Stadium can accommodate 1 fans, and the last round of 8 match was packed.

Ten minutes before the game, the two teams came to the player tunnel from their respective locker rooms.

The main players stay in the player tunnel, while the substitute players go directly into the court and sit on the bench.

Martin has familiar former teammates in Switzerland.

I didn't get a chance to say hello during the warm-up, so I had to postpone it until before the game started.

Ricardo Rodriguez was Martin's teammate when he played for Wolfsburg. The two of them once played on each side as right backs.

Not to mention Xhaka, the quality midfield partner who created the Arsenal dynasty, and the relationship between them is very good.

In the player tunnel, the two chatted for a while with their shoulders linked.

Switzerland captain Xhaka put his arm around Martin's shoulders and said, "Captain, you have to play more cautiously, give me some face, and don't let us lose too badly."

"You really think so?"

Martin looked at Xhaka suspiciously.

"I don't know what your abilities are."

Xhaka shrugged and said: "So... I know the team's position very well."

If the referee Cesar Ramos hadn't reminded the players of both teams to prepare to enter the field, they would probably have continued chatting for a while.

The on-site director will naturally not ignore such shots.

"They are the founders of the Arsenal dynasty and are the best players. Now they are playing for their respective teams in the World Cup and naturally have a lot to talk about."

CCTV5 commentator He Wei said: "But the game is about to start. If the two want to continue chatting, they have to wait until the game is over."

Following the referee team, players from both teams walked to the player tunnel. Reporters in the mixed zone blocked on both sides by the cordon kept pressing the camera button to save the wonderful scene for post-match material.

After a series of pre-match procedures were completed, players from both sides stood on each side, waiting for the game to begin.

"Beep~"

Just after nine o'clock in the evening local time, referee Cesar Ramos blew his whistle to signal the start of the game.

"aoaoaooaoooo——"

As soon as Gonzalo Ramos kicked the ball to B Fee, the fans at the Lusail Stadium gave a deafening cheer.

The Swiss team, whose overall strength was obviously weaker than that of Portugal, was very clear-headed and the entire team retreated to the half court.

It was obvious that the Swiss team planned to park the bus in the first half and see if they could tie Portugal like Morocco tied Spain in 120 minutes, so as to gain an advantage on the psychological level.

As the captain, Xhaka worked extremely hard. Not only did he have to coordinate the entire game, he also had to run at all costs to defend Martin.

Judging from past game experience, if they want to tie with Martin's team, the first thing they need to do is not to give him any chances, even passing and receiving the ball must be limited as much as possible.

Although Xhaka also knows that it is very difficult to limit the physically fit Martin throughout the game, he hopes to give it a try and challenge his limits.

It would be great if we could limit Martin's performance, but there is no way to limit him throughout the game.

Many things can be achieved as long as you try hard.

"The Swiss team defended really well."

CCTV5 commentator He Wei said solemnly: "Ten minutes into the game, the Portuguese attack led by Martin simply couldn't find even a glimmer of an attacking opportunity."

“But I think the fans watching on TV are not worried at all like me that the Portuguese team led by Martin will not be able to score. As time goes by, Switzerland, who are defending with all their strength, will definitely expose problems on the defensive end…”

Guest commentator Xu Yang gives a thorough analysis.

The Portuguese fans at the Lusail Stadium were in high spirits and the cheers were tremendous.

Swiss fans were terrified, fearing that they would suddenly lose the ball at some point in time.

Captain Xhaka ran at all costs in order to limit the frontcourt attack organized by Martin.

Devoting too many manpower to marking Martin did have some effect, but as time went on, other Portuguese players who were capable of taking on important responsibilities, such as Bruno Fernandes and Antonio Silva, created good scoring opportunities respectively.

It’s a pity that the finishing touch was a little bit off, otherwise we would have taken the lead.

The Swiss fans in the stands breathed a sigh of relief.

As a loyal fan of football, I know what it means for Martin's team to be in the lead.

Twenty minutes had passed and the score on the scoreboard had not changed.

Switzerland got an attacking opportunity from the backcourt and quickly passed the ball to Shaqiri on the forward line through three passes and two back passes.

The player once known as the 'Swiss Messi' has had some setbacks in his development but is strong enough to rival a rugby player.

He took the ball on the left side of the attack, cut inside and shook off Ruben Dias and shot directly. The ball he kicked was so powerful that it slightly went off the outside edge of the right goal post, which immediately caused a sigh of regret among the Swiss fans in the audience.

If we can take the lead, we will have a lot of room for maneuver in the rest of the game.

The director restored the entire exciting process.

Every commentator was amazed by Shaqiri's performance and believed that the Swiss team, which was obviously weaker than Portugal, might really score the first goal at the Lusail Stadium.

However, during Portugal's subsequent attack, the commentator, who was like a fence-sitter, quickly moved over.

Martin's activity area is closely guarded, but his passing can give a huge boost to Portugal's attack.

Many times you don't even need to face the goal to create good opportunities.

Look... William Carvalho passed the ball to Martin who was returning with his back to the goal just after passing the center circle.

Xhaka and Sow immediately came forward, one on the left and one on the right.

Martin, who had a wide field of vision, naturally caught sight of the two people approaching, but he didn't care. He swung his left foot while running and sent the ball to his own attacking left side without stopping.

The live director switched the camera, just in time to see Felix running forward at high speed along the left sideline and passing Martin's well-placed diagonal pass in the direction of travel in front of him.

There was no defensive player nearby.

Right center back Akanji pressed forward immediately, Felix lowered his left shoulder and used the outside of his right foot to push the ball to the right and cut inside!

Then, he made a diagonal pass to the ribs at the moment when Akanji's center of gravity was pulled back.

Forward Gonzalo Ramos accelerated and left Scher behind, appearing at the passing point on the left side of the penalty area.

This striker who came from Benfica's youth training was extremely calm in the penalty area. He kicked the ball with his left foot while running. The ball went right under the crotch of Sommer and fell into the empty goal without anyone guarding it.

1:0

Portugal took the lead.

Gonzalo Ramos, who scored the goal, was extremely excited. He rushed towards Felix, who made his debut in Benfica. At the same time, he waved to his teammates such as Martin who created a great opportunity to come up and celebrate the goal.

The entire Lusail Stadium instantly became a sea of ​​joy for Portuguese fans.

Swiss fans sighed as if they had become wilted eggplants.

The Swiss players on the field were also full of frustration.

Captain Xhaka pursed his lips and shook his head.

He knew that there would most likely be no accidents in this game.

Portugal, which is leading in the score and led by Martin, is completely invincible.

Want to equalize the score?

Intensifying the offense would certainly create a chance to tie the score, but as Martin's former teammate, he knew the possibility of this would be low.

The problem with strengthening the offense is that the defense is bound to be empty.

Martin has outstanding personal abilities. He can pass, break through, and shoot, and all his abilities are at their best, making it impossible to defend against him.

The ball just lost was due to too much focus on Martin, which led to insufficient defense in other areas.

Martin, with his back to the goal, seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He passed the ball directly to the defensive gap without stopping, allowing Felix to win a one-on-one opportunity.

The defense is passive, and it is difficult to defend against the Portuguese attacking players in a one-on-one situation.

The director restored the whole wonderful process. CCTV 5 commentator He Wei said loudly: "Martin seemed to have a God's perspective. He caught the Swiss team's weak side and sent a long pass. Watching Martin play football is really enjoyable."

"Feel the same."

The game resumed. The Swiss team, which was behind in the score, did not rush to strengthen its defense but focused on stability, waiting for the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

What was unexpected was that problems arose on the defensive end before the offensive opportunity came.

B 席 received the ball on the right and suddenly moved it to the middle, using his superb footwork to rush towards the penalty area defense line.

Ricardo Rodriguez, who was fighting and retreating, had no choice but to kick down B席 who had pushed the ball away while retreating.

The referee on duty blew the whistle decisively, indicating that Ricardo Rodriguez had committed a foul.

"There is nothing we can do about Ronaldo's foul, but the hidden dangers left behind by the foul are also huge."

As soon as the screen switched to Martin, CCTV 5 commentator He Wei raised his voice eight octaves higher: "As everyone knows, Martin is famous for his ability to take free kicks as penalties! Fans who often watch live games must know that two years ago he became the professional player with the most free kicks in football! Including those who retired!"

"It seems that Sommer is in danger of guarding the goal."

Guest commentator Xu Yang said solemnly.

The broadcaster gave the location of the foul as 24 meters away from the goal.

The fans in front of the TV held their breath, ready to wait for Martin to score a wonderful direct free kick.

Sommer, who appeared on the broadcast screen, first put his hands on his hips, sighed helplessly, and then walked to the right goal post to direct the human wall.

He seemed to know the final result and arranged the position of the human wall casually. After making sure the near end of the goal was blocked, he retreated to the far end of the goal.

"Beep~"

The whistle sounded and Martin, standing behind the left side of the football, started to run.

Two incremental run-ups, support the body with the left foot, swing the right foot from back to front, and kick the inside of the foot towards the lower middle part of the football in a "cutting" manner.

The football rose from the ground and flew over the heads of the five-man wall with a strong inward arc, flying quickly and sharply towards the upper right corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Sommer had no reaction and could only watch the football fly into the blind corner of the goal.

"Pretty!"

"Another wonderful world wave!"

"Martin scored his 7th goal of this World Cup!"

"If nothing unexpected happens, I will most likely defend the World Cup Golden Boot Award!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei blurted out.

Portugal, who were leading by two goals, celebrated their goal. The Swiss players, who were in the background, knew that they would be unable to turn the tide in the next game, and they shook their heads and sighed.

Even though we guessed we would lose before the game, we still felt unwilling to accept the loss when we actually faced it.

Standing in the visiting team's technical area, Swiss head coach Jakin shook his head repeatedly, put his hands on his hips and sighed.

The Portuguese fans in the audience were ecstatic, cheering wave after wave, cheering for the team that had a high probability of advancing to the quarterfinals.

In addition, Martin's direct free kick went straight to the dead corner, which was very entertaining.

The football that soars from the ground at the foul site to its final landing point is like a rainbow that bypasses the valley, giving a great visual impact to the fans watching the live game on TV.

In the words of many commentators: Watching Martin play football is a pleasure!

Any fan who knows a little about football will understand this point of view.

correct!

After celebrating the goal, the Portuguese players returned to the half court one after another and waited for the Swiss team to kick off.

For the Swiss team, which was two goals behind, there was no way out in the next game, but both the head coach Yakin and the players were thinking about investing more players in the offense without losing the ball.

Portugal, already leading by two goals, was in no hurry to widen the gap further and chose to play it safe.

As a result, a very strange phenomenon occurred when the game was restarted.

No one invested too many people in the offense, and the ball was mostly passed in the midfield, and the occasional pass to the front was a collaboration between several small groups.

Until the end of the first half, the scoreboard still showed Portugal leading 2:0.

Before the second half, Portugal made the first personnel adjustments.

Cristiano Ronaldo replaces Gonzalo Ramos.

Switzerland also made positional adjustments when they were behind in the score.

Comerte replaced center back Scher who had a yellow card, avoiding two yellow cards turning into one red card in the second half.

The second half of the game was exactly the same as the end of the first half and lacked sufficient entertainment value.

The reason is that both sides are unwilling to devote too many people to the attack, so it is difficult to create excellent opportunities when outnumbered.

In the following period of time, the two teams made personnel adjustments one after another to see if changing players could have the same effect as changing knives.

In the 67th minute of the game, Switzerland stepped up its attack, but Portugal, who had been caught in one round, scored a goal through a quick counterattack...

Martin predicted Xhaka's pass to Shaqiri in advance, and then used his superb footwork to break through Feloiler, Sow and Xhaka who were trying to steal the ball, and then attracted Akanji to steal the ball and sent a straight pass to the front left.

Leo, who came on as a substitute, was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins, stopping and dribbling past Martin's perfectly timed through ball.

When bringing the ball to the front of the left penalty area, he used the outside of his right foot to push the ball sideways, creating an angle and passing the ball to the right side of the penalty area.

Martin made a slight adjustment while running, and when everyone thought he was going to shoot, he faked a shot and passed the ball to captain Cristiano Ronaldo who came on as a substitute in the second half.

Shoot the ball!

The kicked football went straight to the lower left corner of the goal.

C Ronaldo was extremely excited after scoring the goal, and his iconic 'siu' was displayed again on the World Cup stage.

The Lusail Stadium once again became a sea of ​​red joy, and the huge "siu" sound was also spread to the whole world through the broadcast signal.

While celebrating the goal, Martin keenly caught the resentful look of his former club teammate Xhaka. He smiled, knowing what the other party wanted to express.

OK OK~

Ming Jin retreats his troops!

For a long time, Switzerland did not create enough chances to score. Portugal, which was leading by three goals, consciously reduced its physical energy consumption in preparation for the quarter-finals to ensure that it had sufficient physical energy for the quarter-final against Morocco.

After the four minutes of injury time, the referee Cesar Ramos decisively blew two short and one long whistle to end the game.

"competition is over!"

"competition is over!!"

CCTV5 commentator He Wei said loudly: "Congratulations to Martin, congratulations to Portugal for becoming the last team to advance to the quarterfinals of this World Cup!"