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As Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal boarded their plane and arrived at Lisbon Airport;
As Lance was sweating profusely with Belgium, diligently preparing on the field…
Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Mineiro Atlético Club Training Center.
Argentina was also taking the upcoming quarter-final match very seriously.
After their routine strength and cardio training in the gym early in the morning, the coaching staff did not rush into field training. They first took the team to the tactical meeting room for their daily review of the opponent's tactics and each player's characteristics.
From goalkeeper Courtois's small habits to the weaknesses of defenders Kompany, Vertonghen, and Vermaelen, each person was meticulously analyzed in detail, even De Bruyne's touch point when passing, the angle of his arm swing, and the small detail of looking up to observe before passing were all covered.
Everyone thought Argentina was a group of hot-headed, reckless individuals, but in reality, they were able to become the World Cup's best defensive team through their overall cohesion.
A large part of the credit goes to the hard work of the coaching staff behind the scenes.
If anyone didn't take it seriously, didn't pay attention during training, or didn't put in effort in defense, there was no need for the coaching staff to act; the team's soul, Messi, would be the first to sternly invite him for a mate tea.
No teammate present dared to offend Messi.
Therefore, the entire Argentine squad, whether in tactical discipline or match attitude, was among the top tier of the 32 teams.
"This person, everyone, what are your thoughts?"
After each opponent was reviewed, it was time for the young, handsome Eastern face.
Seeing this person, the Argentine players all showed expressions of pain.
In the video footage played, Lance's defensive end was not even mentioned; on the offensive end, he was almost unstoppable, as if he was in a superposition of poaching and dribbling breakthroughs, making it very difficult to restrict him at any single point, because he could always find the opponent's weaknesses and create goals in unexpected ways.
Especially his first two goals against Portugal, his solo dribbling runs, his decision-making in critical moments, and his sixth sense for danger were simply unresolvable.
Messi's brows were tightly furrowed.
He clearly saw that, facing Pepe's defense, this player seemed to have activated 'Spider-Sense' like Spider-Man, anticipating danger without vision and making evasive maneuvers in advance, while also completing a dribble.
Unbelievable!
If it were Messi himself, he could only react at the last moment after seeing the opponent's defensive move, completing evasive dribbles through perfect ball control and the world's fastest touch frequency.
If the opponent's move was unexpected, or came from outside his field of vision, Messi would still be unable to dodge; he was human, not a Marvel superhero.
But Lance was different!
Terrifying!
And that wasn't all.
The first two goals showed his skill in dribbling breakthroughs, twice cutting through the Portuguese defense on his own.
How to explain the third goal?
Portugal had already started to 'park the bus,' limiting his breakthrough space.
Even Messi found it difficult to deal with such dense defense.
How did Lance manage to escape and shoot amidst Portugal's crowded ranks?
After the coaching staff concluded their tactical meeting, Messi stayed behind, repeatedly replaying Lance's decisive goal against Portugal many times.
There were slow-motion shots from multiple angles, every detail of his touch was clear.
Messi mused that if he were in top form, performing at 100% perfection, he might be able to achieve such an effect, but he wasn't very confident in doing so; the unpredictability of actual combat was too strong.
In the final seconds, Messi probably wouldn't dare to gamble the team's fate on that shot.
He didn't know whether to say Lance was lucky, or that young people were daring, or that he was truly highly skilled and brave.
In any case, Lance was already a world-class superstar.
One World Cup made his value surpass Gareth Bale, becoming the world's 5th player with an estimated value exceeding 100 million.
Only behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, and ahead of Bale, Suárez…
Even so, Messi still felt that the public was still underestimating this kid!
That's right! Underestimating!
Messi simply couldn't see through what this guy's true ceiling was!
This was the most terrifying part.
...
Belgium Training Base.
Like Argentina, they had also been working day and night to study Argentina's weaknesses these past few days.
The quarter-final knockout stage had quickly begun, and the big battle was getting closer and closer, the atmosphere in Belgium became increasingly tense.
Germany made the first move, easily defeating France 1-0.
Since being the World Cup runner-up in 2006, France had fallen into an awkward period, with internal strife leading to their elimination in the group stage of the 2010 South Africa World Cup.
Currently, this new France showed a hint of resurgence, with core players like Ribéry, Benzema, Giroud, Valbuena, Matuidi, Evra, etc., and rising stars like Griezmann and Pogba.
Especially with the exposure of the Monaco youth academy, a talented star under 16 years old emerged, signaling a period of talent explosion for France in the future.
2014 was not their year to make a strong push, making it difficult to match the strong Germany.
Henry watched the match, shaking his head and smiling bitterly, then turned to Lance next to him and complained:
"Lance, if you meet Germany, you must help us get revenge!"
Lance just scratched his head.
Germany?
Unless it's the final, they won't meet!
Belgium should first get past Argentina.
On the other side, host Brazil eliminated Colombia 2-1.
As a strong contender for the championship, a team hoping to lift the World Cup trophy on home soil, Lance could tell at a glance that this Brazil was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
They had a very difficult time against Colombia, almost being overturned by James Rodríguez.
Facing Germany, they might really replicate the famous scene from the original timeline, losing by a large margin.
Unfortunately, professional players are strictly prohibited from participating in any form of betting, including guiding family and friends to participate.
Even if it couldn't be traced back to Lance, his personal strict professional ethics would not allow him to touch even a bit of gambling.
Otherwise, that single world-shocking 7-1 score would be enough to make one financially secure for the rest of their life.
Another strong contender for the championship, the Netherlands was already a bit exhausted. They played a hard-fought match against Costa Rica, only narrowly advancing to the semi-finals through a penalty shootout.
This was the "Uncrowned King" Netherlands, always displaying their dominant aura in the group stage, fighting strong opponents with exaggerated scores, but becoming more and more sluggish as the tournament progressed, as if Ultraman's red light came on after the group stage.
Three matches concluded.
By the time fans in the home country finished watching the Netherlands' penalty shootout, it was already close to 3 AM, in another hour, it would seamlessly connect to the highly anticipated Belgium vs. Argentina match!
"Sleep? No way! I'm staying up all night to cheer for Lance!"
"Crush Messi!"
"Oh my god, in my lifetime, I can actually watch a Chinese person vs. Messi in the World Cup!"
"The World Cup dream that the National Football Team couldn't achieve, Lance is fulfilling it for me."
"Can they win?"
Many fans who stayed up until 4 AM were anxious.
Facing Argentina, would be the biggest test for this Belgium!
Even more dangerous than Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal!