Time: July 4, 2014, 1 PM. Location: Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil's premier stadium, home to the world cup trophy, was about to host a heavyweight clash under the gaze of 70,000 spectators:
The Germany-France War!
"Welcome to Sky Sports' coverage of the first quarter-final of the 2014 Brazil World Cup…
"The opposing teams are the German Team and Les Bleus…
"Let's first look at the starting lineups."
For Germany, there were three changes compared to the previous round.
Lahm returned to his familiar right-back position, while Hummels, recovered from illness, partnered Mertesacker at center-back.
Khedira and Schweinsteiger formed a double pivot in midfield, Özil and Müller were on the flanks, and Kroos orchestrated from the center.
And in the center-forward position, it was finally no longer Götze, but Klose!
"It's worth noting that Germany's top scorer, the super talent Mark Lane, is not starting."
"Perhaps Löw trusts the team's veterans more, or perhaps he plans to let this Super Substitute once again attack France's defense in the second half…"
As for France, they lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.
The goalkeeper was Tottenham's Lloris.
The back four were Debuchy, Varane, Sakho, and Evra.
The three midfielders were the combination of Pogba, Cabaye, and Matuidi.
The front three consisted of Griezmann and Valbuena on the wings, with Benzema in the center.
Although the media predicted a narrow victory for Germany before the match.
However, no one expected the situation on the field to change dramatically in just the twelfth minute!
Pogba committed a defensive foul in his own half, giving Germany a set-piece opportunity on the left side of the attacking third.
It was about thirty meters from the goal. Although a direct shot was possible, with Mark Lane not on the field, they could only try a set-piece routine.
After the terrible set-piece routine against Algeria in the last match, the German Team wasn't messing around anymore.
Kroos directly lofted the ball into the middle of the box, and despite Varane's pulling and interference, Hummels headed it in. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced into France's goal!
One-nil!
The German Team had a dream start!
This goal made the German fans in the stands cheer with joy, while the French fans looked as if they had been hit by frost, deflating instantly.
In clashes between strong teams, whoever takes the lead often gains the upper hand.
And taking such an early lead gave the German Team even more psychological advantage.
Seeing the German Team score first, just as in the script, Mark Lane also breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've seen this episode!"
"Good, it seems my little butterfly effect hasn't had too much impact yet…"
If he had started, he might have taken a direct shot from a free kick at that distance.
If he had taken it, that goal might not have happened.
Compared to starting, Mark Lane cared more about whether he could follow the German Team to become World Cup champions!
If his appearance caused the situation on the field to deviate from what he had seen, even leading to the German Team failing to reach the final and lift the world cup trophy, then it would be a net loss for him.
Of course, even if the plot on the field deviated from the original script, he would personally intervene to bring it back to a familiar track.
Ultimately, as long as the German Team lifted the world cup trophy, that was all that mattered.
As for the process, or who scored, none of that was important!
With the German Team breaking the deadlock first, the situation on the field underwent a subtle change.
The German Team slightly retreated its formation, waiting for the French to attack.
And the French didn't hesitate, pushing forward aggressively.
However, compared to the exceptionally talented French team four years later, the current French team's lineup wasn't particularly strong.
Valbuena was performing mediocrely in attack, Griezmann was not yet mature, and Benzema alone couldn't carry the team.
Even so, the all-out attacking French team still created many shooting opportunities.
However, despite France's relentless attacks, they failed to breach the German Team's goal for the remainder of the first half.
Because they ran into a superhuman Neuer!
The Bayern goalkeeper made five saves in the first half alone, thwarting all five of France's shots on target!
With the referee's whistle, the German Team returned to the locker room with a one-goal lead.
After a short halftime break, the second half resumed with a change of ends.
The trailing French players continued to launch attack after attack against the German positions!
It should be known that such a scene would be an absolute fantasy in World War II!
A one-goal difference was not enough for the French to wave the white flag; instead, it was like an oasis in the desert, attracting the French soldiers to constantly charge forward.
As if with just a little more effort, two more steps, they could equalize!
The leading German Team, however, calmly controlled the game, occasionally launching quick counter-attacks using the space left behind by France's aggressive formation.
But because the wingers, Özil and Müller, were not particularly fast, the efficiency and threat of the counter-attacks were not very great.
Many German fans also felt that if the wingers were explosive players like Schürrle or Mark Lane, they might have scored a second goal much earlier.
Raiola, the super agent also sitting in the stands, openly cursed the German coach:
"Löw is an idiot! In this kind of counter-attacking situation, you definitely need to send in a player with outstanding individual ability like Mark Lane!"
"If Mark Lane were on the field, the score would have been extended long ago, no need to keep passing it around here…"
The reason Raiola personally appeared in the stands for this match was simple:
Both teams on the field had clients of his!
On the French side, it was Pogba.
On the German side, it was Mark Lane.
As their agent, Raiola didn't show favoritism to either.
After all, whoever won or lost meant one of his clients would reach the semi-finals.
Actually, before the World Cup began, Raiola never expected Mark Lane to perform so brilliantly.
He had thought it would be good enough if Mark Lane could get some playing time in the World Cup.
Who knew Mark Lane would get playing time in the first group stage match, and then score a brace in the second round!
In the next two matches, he became the key player deciding the outcome!
Such an outstanding performance filled him with pleasant surprise.
"This time, I've struck gold!"
If agents also had a 'Best Signing,' Raiola would gladly call Mark Lane his Best Signing of 2014!
And with Mark Lane's excellent performance in the World Cup, many clubs called him, inquiring about the player's transfer intentions.
Among them, Mr. Wenger of Arsenal, who loves collecting young talents, was the most enthusiastic!
....
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