Croatia's goal disrupted Belgium's tactical approach; they had expected to at least control the midfield in the early stages of the match.
This was also why Belgium deployed players like De Bruyne, Hazard, and Fellaini.
However, Croatia's midfield was too formidable.
Although Belgium's players were also excellent, their potential was more evident.
As of now, they couldn't compare to players like Suker, Modrić, and Rakitić, who were already in their prime.
This led to a significant reduction in Belgium's control of the midfield, which in turn reduced opportunities for their front line, making the game passive.
Of course, Belgium had anticipated some of this, but they hadn't expected Croatia's counter-attack to be so decisive.
Especially Suker's potential on the left wing was too troublesome.
If you ignore Suker, he can go it alone on the wing!
If you mark Suker, you'll inevitably have to commit a lot of defensive power, which would lead to a scene like Rakitić's goal.
"We need some support on the left!" Alderweireld shouted loudly.
From this attack, he understood that it would be very difficult to limit Suker on his own.
Even with the help of the defensive midfielder, Suker's dribbling was still hard to contain.
They had also considered fouling him, but Suker always managed to pass the ball before a foul could be committed.
"Go up and stick to him, limit him immediately!" Lombaerts shouted from a distance, a remark that almost made Alderweireld's nose crooked with anger.
Stick to Suker?
Was his agility and speed faster than Suker's?
Once Suker got past him, he wouldn't be able to catch up even if his legs were smoking.
Furthermore, Suker's dribbling ability was very strong, but he also engaged in wall passes.
Mandžukić's repeated retreats were all to cooperate with Suker.
Alderweireld had to guard against this.
In summary, Suker's dribbling style was too much; close marking could lead to fouls, but it also increased the risk.
As long as he was beaten, Suker would have a wide-open space, and with Suker's ability, that would be another goal.
However, Alderweireld didn't dare to say anything; after all, the other person was an elder, so he could only endure it.
After Croatia scored, both teams' players returned to their own halves, waiting for the game to restart.
"With Rakitić's goal, Croatia is currently leading by one goal away from home, which is very bad news for Belgium. Fortunately, there's still a lot of time left, and they must make adjustments!" The Belgian commentator said gravely.
But while that was true, Belgium did have enough time to make adjustments, but Croatia could also continue to attack.
Croatia was not a team satisfied with just one goal.
Their objective in the game was quite strong.
One goal was just the beginning; such an early goal would certainly make Croatia seek a more stable score difference.
Bang!
"Intercepted again!" The Belgian commentator covered his forehead.
He saw that after De Bruyne passed the ball to Lukaku, the latter was immediately surrounded and pressed by Vida and Vukojević. The ball repeatedly bounced off Vida's and Lukaku's shins, eventually flying to the right side and being controlled by Srna.
Hazard quickly surged forward, trying to press.
But compared to his excellent dribbling skills, he was a bit weak defensively.
Srna merely performed a pull-back move, and he easily got past Hazard, then steadily passed the ball to Modrić, who came to receive it.
Modrić received the ball and turned, giving Srna a thumbs-up during the process.
After Modrić turned, he didn't feel too much pressure, so he advanced two steps. Only when the opponent pressed him did he pass the ball forward to Rakitić.
Rakitić also had his back to the goal, but at the moment of receiving the ball, he made a horizontal pass to Perisic on the wing.
After Perisic received the ball, he tried to dribble along the wing, but he couldn't unbalance the opponent's center of gravity several times in a row, so he could only pass back again.
Rakitić immediately received the ball again, then made another horizontal pass to Modrić, who continued to pass to Suker on the wing.
When the ball reached Suker's feet, Belgium's entire defensive line suddenly contracted rapidly, and two players simultaneously rushed towards Suker.
Suker merely glanced briefly, then immediately took his stance and struck a direct pass with his right foot.
A large transfer from left to right, the ball was steadily brought down by Perisic.
Seeing this, Belgium hurriedly rushed towards the right side again.
Their entire defense was constantly being pulled around by Croatia, making them look very disheveled.
"Be very careful of Croatia's continuous movements and transfers. They are very good at using the width of the field to create gaps in the central area, and the moment a gap appears, whether it's Rakitić or Modrić, their through balls can create deadly threats!" The Belgian commentator dared not be careless in the slightest.
The entire stadium also entered a tense atmosphere. Belgian fans felt extremely anxious, as they had no initiative when the ball wasn't at their feet.
Croatia was still controlling the game, constantly shifting the ball between the left and right sides, relying on Modrić, Suker, and Rakitić as key points, thereby stretching Belgium's defense.
After a while, Belgium started to struggle.
Being passively moved back and forth like this would eventually lead to mistakes, and once that moment occurred, Croatia would immediately surge forward.
They could not allow this to happen.
"Push up!"
"Push up!" Van Buyten reacted first, telling his teammates to push forward. If they didn't push up, their pressure would be too great.
Belgium's execution ability was still very strong; they immediately started to push forward, and it was a full press, aiming to disrupt Croatia's passing rhythm and ideally steal the ball to launch a counter-attack.
But when Croatia saw this, they casually made a series of back passes, until the ball was passed back to the center circle, maintaining a safe area to avoid any unexpected situations caused by the opponent's counter-attack.
And at this distance, it would be very difficult for Belgium to press again.
"Damn it!" De Bruyne couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Croatia played with too much experience; their organized counter-attack was so casually neutralized by the opponent.
They even declared the counter-attack over without even touching the ball.
"This is truly a headache!" The Belgian commentator's brows were tightly furrowed. Just when they finally mustered the courage to counter-attack, Croatia neutralized them with a move that used minimal effort to overcome great force.
After retreating, Croatia reorganized and advanced again.
The game returned to its previous state, with Belgium once again facing Croatia's relentless assault!
Suker was on the wing, stretching the play to the absolute limit, almost stepping on the touchline, trying to pull Belgium's defensive line as wide as possible.
Alderweireld knew that at this distance, their space would be widened, but he didn't dare to relax his defense on Suker, so he could only grit his teeth and follow him.
At the same time, Croatia passed the ball to Suker again.
Suker received the ball sideways. Before receiving it, he first glanced at Alderweireld and Witsel. Under Rakitić's interference, the two couldn't both press forward this time.
This created an opportunity for Suker.
Suker didn't actively move towards the ball but stood in place, waiting for the ball and also waiting for Alderweireld.
The ball and Alderweireld arrived almost simultaneously.
But at this moment, Suker lightly chipped the ball with his right foot, lifting it into the air over Alderweireld's head.
At the same time, Suker retreated a few steps, intending to use his explosive power to break through from outside the touchline.
But just as Suker was about to accelerate, someone suddenly collided with him.
Alderweireld used the full weight of his body to forcefully tackle Suker to the ground.
Beep!
A sharp whistle sounded, and the game was paused.
"Foul! That's a foul!" Van Stoyak pointed at Alderweireld from the dugout, vehemently protesting.
The Referee ignored him but still walked to where the two had fallen, showing Alderweireld a yellow card.
The defensive action just now was indeed a foul.
Suker was almost about to break free, and Alderweireld directly used a wrestling move to tackle Suker to the ground. This was definitely a yellow card.
If the position had been a little further forward, a little more dangerous, then a yellow card wouldn't have been enough.
Alderweireld also knew it was a foul, so he didn't argue much, immediately got up from the ground and joined the defense.
"A tactical foul by Alderweireld! While this certainly prevented Suker's breakthrough, it's only 20 minutes into the game. Using foul tactics at this stage indicates that they have almost no other way to limit Suker. If Suker insists on breaking through on the left wing, then Alderweireld will continue to be disturbed, and there's even a risk of getting a red card."
The Belgian commentator was distraught.
Although this stopped Suker's breakthrough, foul tactics are a last resort, usually appearing in the latter half of the second half.
At that point, physical fitness and the situation are somewhat rigid, and such actions are taken to break the deadlock or maintain the score.
But now, this game has only just started for 20 minutes!
They can't hold on already, what will they do for the rest of the match?
Croatia got a free kick opportunity, located on the left sideline. Due to the insufficient angle, Modrić took the kick, and Suker had already run into the penalty area to wait for the header.
Suker was still surrounded, with the surrounding defenders maintaining a high degree of vigilance towards him. As long as he moved, it would trigger a reactive response from these guys.
Suker tried to move and found that the surrounding players immediately reacted, especially Van Buyten, who directly hugged him around the waist, not allowing him to move at all.
"Hey!"
Suker immediately protested loudly, and the Referee also quickly ran over to warn Van Buyten.
The latter repeatedly assured, but after the Referee left, he still maintained a virtual embrace with his hands. There was no doubt that as long as Suker moved, this guy's two arms would firmly clamp Suker like pliers.
Helplessly, Suker turned to look at Mandžukić and gave him a wink.
The latter immediately understood.
This meant Suker was going to be the decoy, and Mandžukić would become the main contender for the header.
Modrić also saw this scene. Some things, they no longer needed any communication to understand the intention.
As the whistle sounded.
Modrić quickly took the kick; he was very decisive.
And Suker also immediately rushed towards the middle. Of course, he had already been hugged around the waist by Van Buyten, but even so, he still attracted the attention of a large number of surrounding defenders.
At the same time, Mandžukić had successfully snuck away and rushed directly towards the near post.
As he reached the near post, the ball was just above his head.
Mandžukić barely had to jump, just slightly stiffening his neck, and with a backward glance, the ball deflected into the goal.
In the 24th minute, Croatia scored their second goal.
Mandžukić scored with a header at the near post.
"Goal!!!!!"
"Mario!! Mandžukić!!!—"
"Again, Suker attracted everyone's attention, and then Mandžukić scored the goal. This header at the near post was very difficult, and the angle of the flick was also very large, but Mandžukić still completed the task excellently!"
"Although Mandžukić currently plays more of a target man role in the Bundesliga, don't forget, before Ronaldo arrived, he was Bayern Munich's top scorer!"
"After Suker helped him attract attention, Mandžukić did not disappoint his teammates' expectations and successfully scored the goal, breaking the deadlock!"
"We have scored our second goal, and we are already halfway into the 2014 Brazil World Cup stage! Well done, lads!"
Croatian commentator Klausevich cheered excitedly.
And the entire Croatia was also filled with cheers at this moment.
In less than 30 minutes, Croatia scored two consecutive goals, which was absolutely a perfect start.
Moreover, from the current rhythm, Croatia is playing steadily, they have defended against all of Belgium's attacking points, and are slowly taking control of the situation.
Belgium certainly had threats, but if they couldn't unleash them, they weren't threats.
Apart from a small number of Croatian fans, the Belgian fans in the entire stadium were completely silent.
They watched the field in pain. Although it was only two conceded goals, the situation was already very clear.
In over 20 minutes, Belgium barely launched any threatening attacks.
Hazard, who they had previously praised, was frozen out!
De Bruyne couldn't make his excellent passes, and Lukaku fumbled the ball several times.
All of this led to Croatia firmly controlling the situation.
They themselves didn't have many opportunities, let alone continuous mistakes and errors.
In contrast, Croatia's morale was greatly boosted.
After scoring the goal, Mandžukić slid across the grass with his chest, and when he got up, he hugged Suker tightly.
"World Cup! World Cup! We are going to the World Cup!"
Mandžukić shouted excitedly.
With a two-goal lead, Croatia was already halfway into the 2014 World Cup stage.
And given Croatia's current stability, it would be extremely difficult to defeat them, let alone come back from a deficit. That was even more impossible.
Suker was also very excited. Although it wasn't his goal, his teammates' performance in this match made him extremely satisfied.
In the past, Croatia often had to rely on him to create chances in attack.
But now it was different.
Mandžukić, Rakitić, Modrić, and Perisic, these were all very reliable teammates.
Suker no longer had to desperately burst down the wing; they could win the game more easily.
Just like these two goals!
What if they marked Suker?
They couldn't mark others, and Croatia could still score.
At this moment, the camera turned and Bešić appeared.
Dressed in a gray suit, which looked a bit loose due to his slightly slender build.
But even so, he was still one of the most prominent coaches in Croatia's history.
Although his achievements had not yet caught up with Blazevic, who led Croatia to a World Cup third-place finish in 1998, he discovered Croatia's 'super platinum generation,' and then took over as the National Team coach, winning the 2012 European Cup, and then pushing towards the 2014 World Cup.
These were all contributions made by Bešić.
Undoubtedly, once Bešić achieved the dream championship in 2014, he would become a football godfather figure in Croatia.
At this time, Bešić's expression was still very calm.
This situation was not enough to move him; his goals were much grander.
People acquire different goals at different stages.
In the early 2000s, for Bešić, he just wanted to transform Dinamo Zagreb and manage his own small plot of land.
But as time progressed, everything developed in a direction beyond his expectations.
Time had passed, and 13 years later, he now felt that he could touch the once unattainable dream.
That World Cup trophy that countless people yearned for!
Croatia's first 'star.'
Now was not the time to get excited!
It was only just beginning.
The World Cup had not yet opened; this was all preparation.
Their real battle would be in the 2014 World Cup!
This time, he swore he would not let Croatia have any regrets.
This small country from Eastern Europe was destined to shake the world!
The Croatian players had finished celebrating and were retreating.
Looking at Suker who was retreating, Bešić extended his right hand towards the field.
Suker also saw this scene. He quickened his steps, came in front of Bešić, and suddenly twisted his waist and swung his arm.
Their two palms clapped together heavily, making a loud sound!
"Smack!!!—"
"Well done!"
Bešić rarely praised.
Bešić slowly withdrew his slightly red and swollen palm, but his heart was incredibly joyful.
With a two-goal lead, they had essentially locked down the situation!
Just as he had envisioned before the match, this game was to be won 'steadily'!