Seeing that his teammates had already built the Attacking Libero breakthrough lane for him, Leo Lin started forward at once, driving the ball upfield.
Then Spain's defensive line suddenly dropped back as a unit. The elastic retreat instantly opened space in France's midfield.
Leo Lin burst forward with the ball.
Like a tiger charging down a mountain, he flashed past Matuidi.
Kanté, who had been drawn to the other side, hurried back to cover, but he was simply too far away from Leo Lin.
After just three strides, Leo Lin had already carried the ball into the left side of France's penalty area.
He stopped sharply.
His body swayed with beautiful rhythm.
Ball-Heart, Guitar-Soul shone brightly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Leo Lin observed the situation, then used his left foot to pull the ball back and turn, successfully fooling Umtiti.
The angle was tight, but Leo Lin had originally planned to cut the ball back into the middle for Diego Costa.
Seeing that he had been beaten, Umtiti hurriedly stuck out his leg again, trying to block Leo Lin's passing lane.
But his right leg landed squarely against Leo Lin's shin.
"Ah!!!"
Leo Lin imdiately went down.
"Beep!!!"
Pitana blew his whistle.
"Foul!"
"That's a penalty!" Hierro shouted from the sideline in protest.
The French players imdiately rushed over and surrounded the referee. At that mont, only 59 seconds had passed since kickoff.
"That's not a penalty, referee. Umtiti didn't stick his leg out on purpose."
"That wasn't a foul at all. That level of contact couldn't have knocked him down. He's diving, ref!"
Kanté and the others imdiately put pressure on the referee, but Pitana still pointed firmly to the penalty spot and showed Umtiti a yellow card.
"The French players are still protesting, but they should be grateful this wasn't a direct run at goal. Otherwise, Umtiti might have been looking at a red card."
"A perfect start!"
"Just 59 seconds into the match, Spain use their opening tactic, and Leo Lin wins a penalty!"
On the sideline, Hierro waved and shouted, "Leo Lin!"
"Let Leo Lin take it!"
Leo Lin needed goals to strengthen his position in the World Cup Golden Boot race.
His teammates also understood the situation he was in. No one stepped forward to fight for it, and everyone followed the head coach's arrangent.
Leo Lin got up, picked up the ball, and stood in front of the penalty spot.
At that mont, more than a billion eyes around the world were fixed on Leo Lin.
Across Spain, in countless squares, bars, and hos, every screen showing the live broadcast was focused on this match. Everyone was waiting for Leo Lin to take the penalty.
The French fans let out a storm of boos, trying to disturb him.
Lloris kept bouncing and moving along the goal line, while Griezmann continued chattering beside Leo Lin until Diego Costa shoved him away.
"Hoo!"
Leo Lin let out a deep breath. As the referee's whistle sounded, he began his run-up.
His eyes were fixed firmly on Lloris. After three steps, Leo Lin reached the ball.
He raised his foot.
A standard shooting motion.
Lloris judged it early and dived to his left.
But in the next instant, Leo Lin gently slipped his foot beneath the ball and lifted it into a beautiful arc.
"Beep!!!"
"Leo Lin begins his run-up!"
"He shoots!!!"
"Beautiful!!!"
"A Panenka!"
"Lloris was fooled!"
"Leo Lin scores with a Panenka penalty!"
"What nerve!"
"Leo Lin has beco the second player under the age of 20 to score in a World Cup final, after Pelé in the 1958 World Cup final!"
"Congratulations to Leo Lin!"
Watching the ball hit the net, Leo Lin rushed to the sideline, slapped the crest on his chest, pointed one hand down at the ground, and nodded again and again, full of dominance.
Casillas celebrated wildly.
Even if he had been given a hundred chances, he never could have imagined Spain's start would be this smooth.
"His tenth!"
"Leo Lin's tenth goal of this World Cup!"
"I'm going to love him to death!"
"He's too good!!!"
"Cruyff's legendary tactic has reappeared!"
Across the major live streams.
"Every single match, Lin manages to co up with sothing new."
"So this is France? They don't look like much. They're behind right from the start!"
"France's worst start of this World Cup. Let's see how they respond!"
The sudden deficit disrupted France's original tactical setup. They needed to pull level as quickly as possible.
Sergio Ramos clapped repeatedly, telling everyone to stay calm. After all, the match had only just begun.
In the 6th minute.
"France carry the ball forward through the middle."
"Pogba drops back to receive it, controls the ball, turns. He looks in good shape."
"A wide switch to the right. They're still looking for Mbappé!"
"One on one against Alba!"
"Sliding tackle!"
"A successful defensive play from Alba!"
In the 11th minute.
"Facing France's high press, Spain are still trying to keep control."
"Sergio Ramos with an accurate long pass from the back, out to David Silva on the right."
"Carvajal is making the run."
"He goes down the line!"
"Great ball!"
"There's a chance to cross!"
"Carvajal!"
"The cross!"
"Umtiti heads it clear!"
"At the top of the penalty arc, it's Pogba again!"
"He controls the first ball and launches the Counterattack with a long pass!"
"Looking for Mbappé!"
"France have a Counterattack chance!"
"Mbappé has huge confidence in his speed!"
"Down the right, one on one!"
"Mbappé keeps carrying it!"
"He accelerates!"
"He beats Alba!"
"There's a chance at the far post!"
"The square ball!"
"Giroud lets it run at the near post!"
"The far post is open!"
"Griezmann!"
"He shoots!!!"
"Beautiful!!!"
"France strike on a lightning Counterattack and level the score!"
"A textbook Deschamps Counterattack!"
"A razor-sharp Quick Counterattack!"
"Almost impossible to guard against!"
"In the blink of an eye, they were already charging into Spain's half."
"It was three against three. Mbappé's Wing Breakthrough turned the situation into three against two, then drew center back Piqué across to cover before he played it into Giroud in the middle."
"Giroud deliberately leaned his body toward Mbappé's pass, successfully drawing Sergio Ramos's defensive attention, then cleverly let the ball run through his legs to find Griezmann unmarked at the far post!"
"Just three seconds earlier, this had been a very good attacking chance for Spain."
"But Carvajal, who had pushed up on the right to attack, clearly could not recover faster than France could counter. Griezmann seized the opportunity."
Derek Rae had seen it clearly. During that French Counterattack, although France's shape had been under pressure, the front three, Mbappé and Griezmann, had stayed behind Giroud the whole ti.
The two of them held wide positions, one left and one right, ready to launch a Counterattack at any mont.
Giroud stayed close to Sergio Ramos and Piqué, making sure he remained level with Spain's defensive line.
He did not drop back. He stayed up front, ready to use his role as a target man.
"After France won the ball in midfield, Matuidi's long pass found Giroud. Giroud flicked it on with his head, using his height to move the ball wide to Mbappé, who then carried the ball forward and launched the Counterattack."
"That is because he is faster, and his explosive one on one Wing Breakthrough ability is stronger."
"A textbook Counterattack. So professional. This is not sothing any team can simply produce."
"On the contrary, I believe this is a super Counterattack tactic unique to France. Deschamps's razor-sharp Counterattack has successfully brought them level!"
"One all! France have equalized in the 11th minute!"
"Before this, the match had been evenly balanced. Spain relied on their opening Attacking Libero tactic, with Leo Lin winning a penalty and converting it himself."
"But France were not discouraged by that. They are incredibly resilient."
"Although those 11 minutes have already set France's record for the longest ti spent trailing in this World Cup, they have now equalized and restored their hopes of winning the World Cup."
On the sideline, Hierro pressed both hands downward, signaling for the players to stay calm.
There was nothing that could be done about it. Hierro knew very well that if you wanted to attack, you had to commit players forward.
That ant it was impossible to give France no space at all. And once there was space, France would have the chance to counter, and they might well create a goal.
This was a match about who could seize more chances. Spain and France were like two top masters facing each other. They seed motionless, but in the blink of an eye, either one could deliver the killing blow.
Precisely because of that, both sides had to be even more cautious, bold yet ticulous, if they wanted to truly kill the match.
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