Griezmann rushed to the sideline and broke into Les Bleus' victory dance.
The French players sprinted toward him, roaring in celebration.
Equalizing so quickly was enough to wipe away the tension and unease that had still been lingering in the minds of the French players.
...
World Football News.
"Beautiful!" Zidane pumped his fist.
"What a finish!"
"Now that is a Counterattack!"
Henry, another French legend invited as a comntator, also let out a long breath of relief.
"As a Sky Sports comntator, I often watch Lin play in the Premier League. This guy is constantly in outstanding form across all kinds of matches."
"Scoring right at the start proves just how sharp Lin is today."
"But we have Kylian Mbappé, another young player blessed with extraordinary talent!"
"This match is nowhere near over. Nowhere near!"
Leo Lin was thinking.
Eleven minutes into the match, every single French Counterattack had co from a pass by Pogba.
As long as that genius midfielder received the ball and turned, even the through balls he played on instinct were incredibly dangerous, and he could always find the space behind Spain's defense.
From the sideline, Zubizarreta called out to Leo Lin.
"Leo, tell Thiago that once Pogba carries the ball past the halfway line, Thiago takes him. Before he crosses the halfway line, you take him. We can't give that guy any more space!"
Leo Lin nodded and quickly returned to the pitch to pass on the tactical instruction.
Only 11 minutes had passed since kickoff, and both sides had already scored.
According to FIFA's backend statistics, real-ti global online viewership had already reached 1.3 billion, and it was still rising at a terrifying rate.
The sheer quality of this World Cup final had drawn countless viewers in.
After play resud, France continued to rely on their defensive counterattacking approach.
Deschamps's razor-sharp counterattack was extrely threatening, while Spain beca more cautious and kept their shape more stable.
Although the starting formation had been listed as a 4-2-3-1, as the match went on, comntators from around the world began noticing the changes in Spain's positioning.
"When Spain attack, David Silva moves behind Diego Costa and takes up the Attacking Midfielder position, while Asensio lurks high on the left."
"Diego Costa keeps moving between the center and a slightly right-sided position."
"And Leo Lin keeps switching between midfield and the right wing!"
With his experience, Derek Rae quickly saw what was happening. This was a rotating pattern between the Wing Back and the wide Attacking Midfielder.
"Leo Lin's tactical movent has changed again."
"When David Silva moves inside from Right Midfielder to the Attacking Midfielder position, Leo Lin pushes forward toward the Right Winger position under Thiago's cover!"
"He is stretching space out wide and frequently combining with Thiago in one-twos and two-on-two moves."
This was the arrangent made by Hierro and Xavi. The reason for it was to make life even harder for Kanté.
Kanté was responsible for marking Leo Lin. When Leo Lin stayed central, that was within Kanté's zone as a Defensive Midfielder.
But once Leo Lin used his explosiveness to push forward into the Right Winger position, Kanté had to follow him closely, which forced him away from the top of the penalty area.
As a result, only Matuidi was left in front of France's penalty arc.
And what he had to face was the repeated impact of both David Silva and Thiago.
With this clever switch, Spain had gained a greater advantage at the top of France's penalty area.
In the 19th minute.
"Spain's shape has changed again. David Silva drops into the middle to receive, and Kanté has followed Leo Lin out of the midfield area."
"The Magician controls it and turns. Pogba is tracking back!"
"A quick square pass to Thiago. Thiago drives forward, pressing up to the top of the box!"
"He shoots!"
"A brilliant save from Lloris!"
"Through their tactical adjustnt, Spain have won a corner on the right side of the attacking third."
David Silva stepped up to take it, while Leo Lin moved to the near post, ready to receive.
Clearly, this was another carefully designed tactical corner.
France sent Matuidi and Kanté to the near post, ready to block Leo Lin and David Silva at any mont.
David Silva nodded at Leo Lin, then swung his foot.
"Bang!"
A long diagonal pass.
Not to Leo Lin.
Thiago, waiting near the top of the arc, received the ball.
He raised his foot as if to shoot.
The French players hurried forward to block.
Matuidi's attention was completely drawn to Thiago.
"Smack!"
Completely unexpected.
Thiago shaped to shoot, but passed instead!
The ball skimd past Matuidi and was slipped toward the right.
Leo Lin, who had just been pretending to move on the right to receive David Silva's corner, had already used his teammates' cover to exploit the gap Matuidi left when he stepped out to block Thiago. He successfully received Thiago's through ball.
One on one.
Lloris rushed off his line.
Leo Lin was utterly calm.
"Bang!"
A placed finish.
From a tight angle, he drove the ball through Lloris's legs.
"Swish!!!"
Spain had taken the lead again.
"Oh!"
"My!"
"Goodness!!!!"
Torres was so shocked he beca a reaction on the spot.
"He's scored again!"
"An incredibly sharp corner routine, clearly rehearsed in detail!"
"Lin! A brace in the World Cup final after just 19 minutes!"
"Have you ever seen a young player this good?"
"If he isn't a genius, then who on earth deserves to be called one?"
After slotting the ball ho, Leo Lin sprinted toward the sideline, pointed at Raúl and David Villa, and leapt up.
This was the corner routine the two of them had painstakingly studied and designed, and at this mont, it had paid off.
Spain were united as one. The players on the bench and all the starters embraced tightly.
Deschamps was furious. He was deeply unhappy with the defensive lapse. Leo Lin had been left almost completely unmarked.
"Lucas!" Deschamps roared at Lucas.
"When Kanté follows Lin out wide, you have to move into the middle and cover the space Kanté leaves behind!"
"Don't leave anyone free again!"
"Everyone! Stay fully focused! This is the World Cup final!"
Deschamps was furious.
The fans watching the live broadcast had also spotted the problem.
"Spain are truly playing this like a World Cup final. They were switched on from the very first minute. But for France, only Pogba, Griezmann, and a few others seem fully in the match. The rest need to shake off their nerves as quickly as possible."
"That early goal gave the Spanish players an extra boost. They're playing brilliantly."
"This match could very well beco Leo Lin's true breakout performance, the ga that makes him a legend."
No one had expected Leo Lin to score twice in the opening 19 minutes. Not even Leo Lin himself.
In the stands, Maria was already in tears. Sitting beside her were her father, Guardiola, and Guardiola's close friend Klopp.
Beside Klopp sat none other than Barnett and Delores.
The broadcast cara swept across the stands. Aside from those major figures, many prominent nas from other fields had also co to watch in person.
As a sports expert, Derek Rae recognized most of them.
"As the broadcast cara pans across the stands, we can see Guardiola, Liverpool manager Klopp, Sir Alex Ferguson, boxing legend Mike Tyson, French football legend Michel Platini, UFC champions Black Dragon and Oliveira..."
"So many major figures from so many different fields have co to watch this match in person!"
"This grand spectacle has only just begun!"
"I have a feeling, and I believe all of you feel it too, that everything still to co will be even more thrilling!"
"This final may very well be lifted high into World Cup history as one of the most extraordinary of them all!"
...
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