Chapter 618: Ronaldo's Hat-trick
After Bruno returned to his most familiar central position, Portugal's attack began to show signs of improvement.
In the 71st minute, Bruno performed a series of stepovers to get past Alba, then passed the ball into the box. Ronaldo's header just missed the crossbar.
The game continued, and Portugal's attacks were relentless, but they always seemed to fall just short of scoring.
Time was ticking away, and it was already the 80th minute. The match had only ten minutes left, plus some added time, giving Portugal just over ten minutes to equalize.
During this period, both coaches made several substitutions. Portugal replaced Guedes with André Silva to strengthen their attack, while Spain brought on Vázquez and Aspas, replacing David Silva and Diego Costa, making offensive adjustments as well.
At the 80th minute, the score remained 2-3. Portugal needed a goal to level the match.
Portugal was now throwing everything they had into their attack, barely considering defense. For them, a 2-3 loss was the same as a 2-4 loss—they would lose the game regardless. Losing to Spain would effectively end their hopes of topping the group.
Could they rely on Morocco and Iran to stop Spain?
They had no choice but to attack with everything they had!
What if they scored?
...
In the 85th minute, Portugal earned a free kick in the attacking third. The distance to the goal was over 40 meters, making a direct free kick unlikely. Ronaldo positioned himself in the box, ready to head the ball.
Including center-backs Pepe and Fonte, Portugal crowded eight players into Spain's penalty area.
Bruno delivered the free kick into the box, and Ronaldo's header was caught by goalkeeper De Gea, who quickly launched a counterattack with a long kick to Portugal's half.
"This is Spain's chance for a counterattack!" shouted the Spanish commentator. "It's a four-on-two! Spain's chance to score!"
At this moment, only Cedric and Guerreiro were defending for Portugal.
Isco sprinted forward with the ball, Cedric moved in to defend, but before he could get close, Isco passed the ball to Aspas. Aspas held off Guerreiro and flicked the ball to Thiago.
"One-on-one with the keeper!"
Thiago received the ball and advanced towards the penalty area.
Santos' face turned pale. He was filled with despair and anxiety. He had done everything he could, but was it all in vain?
Portugal's goalkeeper Patrício rushed out to challenge Thiago.
Thiago feigned a pass to Basques, causing Patrício to dive, then pulled the ball back and gently pushed it towards the empty net.
"Thiago! Open goal!"
"It's over! It's all over!" exclaimed the Spanish commentator with relief.
...
Thiago turned with arms outstretched, ready to celebrate.
His teammates were rushing towards him, ready to celebrate the goal.
This goal would seal the game!
But then, the Spanish commentator's eyes widened. A red figure was chasing back with everything he had. As Thiago shot, the figure slid in, throwing his body at the ball!
"Oh my God! Bruno!" yelled the Portuguese commentator.
Everyone saw Portugal's number 8 slide in, clearing the ball just before it crossed the goal line.
If there had been a Spanish player in front of the goal, it would have been a simple tap-in. But there wasn't!
The Spanish players had been so sure the ball was going in, they had started to celebrate. Basques, who should have been in position for the rebound, was running back, and saw Bruno's desperate clearance. He turned to see Bruno scrambling to his feet and hoofing the ball upfield.
F**K!
Santos punched the air and swore in relief, ecstatic at Bruno's life-saving intervention.
Next to him, assistant coach Ilídio Valle was also shouting, "Bruno saved Portugal!"
...
Santos looked onto the field. After making the crucial clearance, Bruno lay on the ground, gasping for air.
"Well done!" shouted Santos, punching the air.
"That was a world-class goal-line clearance!" exclaimed Andy Gray. "Everyone had given up, but not Bruno. He made a critical save! Although Portugal might still lose today, his save means they only lose by one goal and still have a slight chance to fight for the top of the group!"
"It's not over yet! Portugal is counterattacking!" yelled his co-commentator.
Bruno's desperate clearance hadn't gone out of bounds. Guerreiro managed to keep it in and sprinted upfield.
"Portugal's counterattack! They haven't given up! What are the Spanish players doing? Why aren't they getting back?"
Spain's players had thought the goal was a certainty. Their forwards were celebrating, and their defenders were also either moving forward to join the celebration or standing still with arms raised. The makeshift right-back Alba was even high-fiving Busquets when they heard De Gea's frantic scream, "Damn it! Get back! Get back!"
Only then did the Spanish players start rushing back.
...
Piqué charged out of his own half and launched a fierce tackle at Guerreiro.
Guerreiro jumped to avoid the tackle, but he had already passed the ball to João Mário.
João Mário looked up and saw a lot of open space ahead. Spain's goalkeeper De Gea was frantically organizing the shattered defense, while Ronaldo, André Silva, and Quaresma were sprinting forward.
João Mário sent the ball into the open space ahead of them.
Everyone was trying to figure out who would reach the ball first, or if Ramos, the only defender left in Spain's penalty area, would get to it first. Suddenly, a red figure burst into the frame, sprinting towards the ball.
It's Quaresma!
"Oh my God! It's Quaresma! He's like a red flash!" exclaimed the Portuguese commentator.
Despite being the oldest of the three and not known for his speed, Quaresma had just come on and was full of energy. He might not be the fastest, but his burst of speed was incredible. Everyone saw Quaresma sprint past Ronaldo and Silva to reach the ball.
Ramos rushed out to challenge him. He was Spain's last line of defense besides the goalkeeper.
Santos clenched his fists, his heart racing. Quaresma could be either a hero or a disaster for Portugal. When he's on form, he can be better than Ronaldo, but when he's off, it's a catastrophe.
How would Quaresma perform now?
...
"Beautiful! He beat his man! Wait, he kicked it too far!" shouted the Portuguese commentator.
Quaresma faced Ramos and flicked the ball past him, then sprinted around him: he beat his man!
Santos was thrilled, but then he saw that Quaresma's touch was too strong, and the ball was rolling towards the goal. De Gea was already rushing out.
But then, Quaresma showed everyone his incredible burst of speed, catching up to the ball in just two strides.
"One-on-one!" shouted the commentator. "Quaresma!"
Portuguese fans stood up, holding their breath, while Spanish fans were almost in despair.
Quaresma could shoot directly or dribble past De Gea and score into an empty net. Either way, Spain's goal was in grave danger.
Santos was even more anxious. Quaresma's finishing was... unreliable, to say the least.
Then, everyone saw Quaresma calmly pass the ball sideways.
"Shoot—no, pass! Cristiano Ronaldo! SHOOTS! GOAL!" shouted the Portuguese commentator. "Selfless Quaresma! He didn't shoot himself but passed to Ronaldo, giving his teammate the chance for a hat-trick!"
Realizing the significance, the commentator shouted even louder, "3-3! 3-3! 3-3! Portugal has equalized!"
Andy Gray also erupted with passion, "3-3! The Portuguese captain has scored a hat-trick! Portugal ties with Spain!"
The stands at Sochi's Fisht Olympic Stadium erupted. After a moment of stunned silence, there was an explosion of cheers!
A miracle had happened!
Like a thunderclap out of the blue!
(END CHAPTER)
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