The German Team defeated France to advance to the semifinals first.
This result was not beyond external expectations.
However, no one would have thought that the French Team, with several young talents, would find it difficult to penetrate the German Team's goal!
It's clear how excellent the German Team's defense was!
Of course, Neuer, who made thirteen saves in a single match, also received widespread praise.
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However, the most impressive aspect of this match was not the god-like performance of Neuer, nor the header goal by Hummels, but Mark, who once again scored as a Super Substitute!
It's worth mentioning that with Mark scoring again as a Super Substitute in this match, a specific betting item from many betting companies was immediately adjusted.
That was the odds for Mark Lane to score as a Super Substitute!
You should know that all-powerful betting companies offer bets on everything.
Besides conventional betting items like wins/losses and goals in various sports, things like "Justin Bieber streaking" and "Trump suddenly coming out" are also available for betting.
Of course, the higher the odds, the less likely it is to happen.
Initially, as a Super Rookie called up to the National Team for the first time, Mark was widely regarded as just a mascot to experience the atmosphere of a major tournament.
Most professional football journalists believed he wouldn't get much playing time, let alone score goals in extremely limited minutes.
Therefore, Mark's scoring odds were initially 1:100!
However, in the second-round group stage match against Ghana, Mark's miraculous performance of scoring a brace after coming on as a Super Substitute stunned professional football journalists and caused betting companies to lose a significant amount.
Many Wolfsburg and Bundesliga fans, who had seen Mark in the Bundesliga, had placed bets on him to score.
According to news released by a large betting company, Mark's brace cost them at least a million Euros!
To their surprise, betting companies quickly adjusted Mark's scoring odds, changing them from 1:100 to 1:30.
They also added a new betting item:
Whether Mark could score as a Super Substitute!
However, betting companies thought Mark had only gotten lucky to score in such a short time after coming on as a Super Substitute.
In the third round, he started and scored again!
And it was the only goal of the match!
Again, it was 30 times the odds!
This time, betting companies lost several million Euros again because of his goal!
After he came on as a Super Substitute in the knockout stage to deliver a decisive goal, defeating Algeria, betting companies had to adjust the odds for the third time.
From 1:30 before the tournament, it became 1:4!
The repeated adjustments in betting company odds are enough to show how surprised the public was by Mark's explosive performance.
However, not only betting companies, but also within the German Team and among German fans, no one would have expected Mark to become their biggest discovery at the World Cup!
Six months ago, he was just an unknown player in a Bundesliga team's U18 youth squad;
And six months later, he had become the German Team's top scorer at the World Cup and the key player for the team's advancement to the semifinals!
The name Mark Lane became known worldwide through the World Cup stage!
With goals in two consecutive knockout matches as a Super Substitute, both of which were crucial, Mark's nickname "Super Substitute" became increasingly ingrained in people's minds.
Many compared him to the German Team's Solskjaer, and many regarded him as the German Team's lucky star!
The following afternoon, the winners of the other three quarter-final matches were also decided:
Host Brazil advanced by defeating Colombia 2-1.
However, their star player, Neymar, suffered a back foul from an opposing player during the match and was injured and forced to leave the field.
Additionally, defensive leader Thiago Silva was suspended due to yellow cards, meaning that in the next semi-final match against Germany, both offensive and defensive core players would be unable to play!
This was undoubtedly a huge loss for the Brazil Team.
But for the German Team, it was absolutely great news!
Besides Brazil, another South American team, the "Pampas Eagles" Argentina, also, led by Messi, overcame the "European Red Devils" Belgium, full of talented youngsters!
The "Orange Legion" Netherlands eliminated the "Caribbean Pirates" Costa Rica in a penalty shootout to secure the last semifinal spot!
The semifinal matchups for this Brazil World Cup were officially announced!
They are the "German Team" Germany vs. the "Samba Army" Brazil;
The "Pampas Eagles" Argentina vs. the "Orange Legion" Netherlands!
The clash between Germany and Brazil is also a showdown between the two teams with the most appearances in World Cup finals!
One side is the host, and the other is a strong favorite to win the title.
However, with Neymar and Thiago unable to play, the team's strength was severely affected.
Neymar alone scored four goals, accounting for 45% of Brazil's offensive threat.
He was also the main orchestrator of the entire Brazil Team's offense.
And as the team's defensive leader, Thiago's absence would inevitably lower the team's defensive strength by a notch.
In contrast, the German Team, with its complete lineup, was more favored.
From the group stage to the knockout stage, the German Team also gradually showed signs of being a champion.
Especially in defense, they performed exceptionally well, conceding only two goals in five matches.
And they conceded no goals in the knockout stage!
There's a classic saying in competitive sports: Offense wins games, defense wins championships!
With Germany's ironclad defense, they are not afraid of a Brazil Team without Neymar!
Compared to the five-star Brazil of 2002, or the luxurious lineups of the previous one or two tournaments, this Brazil Team is extremely meager!
Compared to a defense full of stars, the midfield and attack lack a Ballon d'Or winner or a superstar to lead them.
Especially the number nine position, which has always been Brazil's strongest link, is surprisingly an aging center forward who only dominates in the Brazil League.
As the starting center forward, Fred, wearing the number nine jersey, averaged only eighteen touches per game in the knockout stage, had seven shots with zero goals, and his running distance was even lower than that of goalkeeper César!
The funniest thing is that even a certain Chinese Super League player was selected for this Brazil Team.
This shows how ridiculously weak this Brazil Team is.
The reason they were able to reach the semifinals was largely due to the host's home advantage and the team's relatively stable defense.
However, with Thiago suspended and Neymar injured and out of the tournament, the Brazil media also began a frantic emotional hype, extensively suggesting the possibility that the Brazil Team might be stopped in the semifinals in the next match.
Doing so, on one hand, could relieve pressure on the Brazil Team, which had high hopes from the entire nation, and on the other hand, could increase the possibility of the German Team making mistakes due to underestimating their opponent.
However, the German Team here had no time to pay attention to the public opinion created by the media.
Because, as the semifinals approached, the German coaching staff led by Löw also faced a moment of decision:
Should Mark start or be a Super Substitute?!
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