Football Feast, Starting From the Acquisition of European Clubs - Chapter 461

Chapter 461 must be taken

On the Croatian side, they took the lead at the beginning of the game, which was never expected by the head coach Niko Kovac.

After being excited, Niko Kovac quickly calmed down. He immediately walked to the sidelines and began to call on the Croatian players to shrink their formation and fight back.

Niko Kovac knows very well that in terms of strength, Croatia is definitely not as good as Brazil.

Now that there is a pie in the sky, let’s hold on to this pie and not lose it.

Seeing Croatia’s adjustment, Chen Ran felt at ease. This Niko Kovac still lacks coaching experience.

It’s not that there is a problem with him shrinking his formation to play defensive counterattacks, but that Modric and Rakitic, who are currently playing midfielders in Croatia, are not full-time defensive midfielders.

Needless to say, Modric, Chen Ran has taken care of him for so many years, and he knows Modric’s technical characteristics like the back of his hand.

As for Rakitic, even at the peak of his previous life, he was not a defensive midfielder in Barcelona. That position belongs to actor Busquets.

Although these two players have certain defensive capabilities, they are actually best at organizing offense and connecting midfielders.

Now that Niko Kovac wants to rely on these two guys as the last barrier in front of the defense, he obviously overestimated their defensive capabilities.

Of course, Chen Ran is definitely happy to see Niko Kovacs make mistakes. It’s just that Modric’s game may be a bit miserable.

Thinking of Modric running over to greet him before the game, Chen Ran could only say sorry in his heart.

“Little Luca, I’m sorry, don’t blame me for being too ruthless.”

As Chen Ran expected, it was less than twenty minutes after Marcelo scored an own goal. After the goalkeeper Cesar hugged Jelavic’s header to attack the goal, he quickly used a strong hand toss the ball to launch a counterattack.

After Kaka received the ball, he immediately turned around and dribbled the ball in the middle at high speed.

After attracting Rakitic and Modric to double-team, Kaka did not continue to dribble, but immediately distributed the ball to Neymar who came from the left to respond.

At this time, Croatia’s right back Srna followed Neymar and received the center.

After taking a few steps, Neymar found that he didn’t get rid of Srna. So he buckled his right foot and immediately took a long shot with his left foot.

“boom!”

The power of this shot is not great, but the angle is very tricky. The ball bounced against the turf and rolled towards the lower left corner of the Croatian goal.

Goalkeeper Pletikosa seems to have a problem with his positioning. When he went to the ground to make a save, he didn’t even touch the ball. He could only watch the ball pass by his hand, first hit the inside of the goal post, and then bounced into the net.

“GOAL!!!”

Relying on Neymar’s long-range shot, the Brazilian team tied the score at 1:1.

“Hahahaha, let me just say, with the strength of the Brazilian team, scoring is only a matter of time.”

“The Brazilian team just broke through and scored from the middle. I feel that the defensive ability of the Croatian midfielder is a bit weak.”

“Can you not be weak? Everyone is familiar with Modric, he is not a defensive midfielder at all. When he was in Crystal Palace, whether it was Chen Ran before or Guardiola now, he would match a defensive midfielder beside him. Help him with the dirty work.”

“Yes, Rakitic is also the core midfielder responsible for organizing offense in Sevilla. The head coach of Croatia asked them to play defensive midfielders. Isn’t this messing around?”

“Hey, it’s only at this time that the importance of the head coach is reflected. If you meet a head coach like Croatia, if you play a good hand and play poorly, no matter how strong the team is, it will be useless.”

Niko Kovac also noticed the problem in Croatia, but he seemed to be hesitant about how to adjust.

Obviously, whether it is Modric, Rakitic or Kovacic, he is reluctant to change.

However, just as Niko Kovac was hesitating, Brazil attacked again.

After Alves on the right passed the ball to Hulk, he continued to insert it at high speed.

This one took away the defensive attention of Croatian left back Vrsaljko.

After receiving the ball, Hulk used his strong body to push Rakitic all the way. Then he swept the ball into the Croatian penalty area with a sweep.

In the penalty area, Diego Costa used his body to block the Croatian central defender Lovren behind him, and at the same time knocked the ball with his heel, trying to play a trick to stop and pass.

Diego Costa’s move was completely beyond Lovren’s expectations, and the ball passed between his legs.

Then Diego Costa turned around, ready to bypass Lovren and directly face Croatian goalkeeper Pletikosa.

Lovren knows very well that goalkeeper Pletikosa is left behind him. If Diego Costa is allowed to pass, his own goal will be in danger.

So, in the process of Diego Costa turning around, Lovren grabbed Diego Costa’s jersey tightly and did not let go.

Diego Costa is not a good stubble either. After feeling Lovren pulling his jersey, he lay down on the ground.

“Beep!”

The referee Nishimura Yuichi’s whistle blew decisively. He quickly ran to the place of the foul. While awarding Brazil a penalty kick, he also showed Lovren a yellow card.

“Oh!”

The entire Sao Paulo Arena suddenly boiled.

Croatia’s players surrounded referee Yuichi Nishimura, trying to explain that Lovren’s actions were not enough to throw Diego Costa off balance.

However, Nishimura clearly only believed his own eyes, Lovren did have a pulling motion on his hands.

This World Cup has not yet introduced the video referee system. In that fleeting moment, no one can judge whether Lovren’s actions will cause Diego Costa to fall to the ground.

The referee’s penalty is the final result.

Diego Costa, who made the penalty kick, held the ball in his arms without hesitation.

After setting up the ball, Diego Costa rushed straight up and made a burst shot.

Diego Costa’s shot angle is not tricky, and Croatia’s goalkeeper Pletikosa also judged the right direction.

Even Pletikosa’s hand has already reached the ball.

However, because Diego Costa’s shot was too powerful, even though Pletikosa threw the ball, he still couldn’t change the direction of the ball’s flight, and could only watch the ball fly into his home helplessly again net.

“GOAL!!!”

Relying on Diego Costa’s penalty kick, before the end of the first half, the Brazilian team had overtaken Croatia 2:1.

“Good guy, Croatia’s defense is a bit weak, and it was overtaken by Brazil so quickly.”

“Hahahaha, it’s not that Croatia’s defensive ability is not good, but that Brazil’s offensive power is too strong.”

“It’s actually Croatia’s head coach Niko Kovac who is too indecisive. If he puts on a defensive midfielder immediately after being equalized by Brazil, then the second goal may not be conceded.”

“That’s right, Rakitic’s small body can’t support Hulk at all. Otherwise, Hulk would not pass the ball to Diego Costa’s feet, let alone a penalty kick later.”

“From this point of view, it is indeed a good move for the Brazilian team to invite Chen Ran to be the head coach.”

Shortly after Diego Costa scored a penalty, the referee Nishimura Yuichi blew the whistle to end the first half.

During the intermission, because the Brazilian team achieved a lead in the first half of the game, the entire locker room was full of laughter.

Marcelo, who scored an own goal, also ran to thank Neymar and Diego Costa.

This was the first time Marcelo participated in the World Cup. Unexpectedly, he scored Brazil’s first own goal in the history of the World Cup. The child was almost crying.

The game went smoothly, Chen Ran did not make too many adjustments except to encourage the players to make persistent efforts in the second half of the game.

And on the Croatian side, coach Niko Kovac now no longer has to worry about who to replace.

Because Croatia is now behind, the main task has changed from defense to offense.

So, he replaced Jelavic with striker Mandzukic who played for Bayern Munich, and asked the team’s formation to move forward as a whole, trying to get the score back.

As soon as the second half of the game started, everyone saw that the Croatian team’s formation was obviously shifting, and they launched a fierce attack on the Brazilian team.

However, it is completely different from Niko Kovac’s employment in the midfielder position.

Chen Ran arranged two defensive giants, Fernandinho and Ramirez, in the midfielder position of the Brazilian team.

One of them is now Manchester City’s main midfielder, and the other is Chelsea’s main midfielder.

Being able to secure the position of the main midfielder in the two strong teams of the Premier League, the defensive ability of these two guys can be seen.

With the two of them as the last barrier in front of the defense, plus the two top central defenders Thiago Silva and David Luiz, Croatia’s offense looks huge, but it is really threatening There are not many opportunities.

After 70 minutes of the game, Chen Ran saw that the physical fitness of the players on the field had declined a bit, so Chen Ran replaced Hulk with Oscar and Kaka with Coutinho, and prepared to use the two young futures to continue the impact Croatia’s defense line.

The two little guys didn’t disappoint Chen Ran either, it was less than ten minutes after they came on the field.

Oscar first picked the ball from the right and passed the Croatian left-back Vrsaljko, and then sent the ball into the penalty area with a cross.

Diego Costa overwhelmed Croatian central defender Joel Luka to grab the ball and hit the goal with a powerful head shake.

It’s a pity that Diego Costa hit the ball a bit straight, and was punched out of the penalty area by Croatian goalkeeper Preticosa.

Outside the penalty area, Coutinho suddenly rushed out.

Before Modric made a clearance, he took the lead with a stab shot from his toe.

The power of this shot is not great, but like Neymar’s shot in the first half, it bounced against the turf and rolled to the lower right corner of the goal.

At this time, the Croatian goalkeeper Preticosa had just finished making a save and had not had time to return to his position.

By the time he found Coutinho’s shot and reacted, it was already a step too late, and the ball flew from his hand into the net again.

“GOAL!!!”

Brazil led Croatia 3:1 with Coutinho’s poking shot to secure the victory.

“First conceding one goal, and then scoring three goals in a row, it is indeed a five-star Brazil.”

“Actually, Croatia had a chance to score points in this game.”

“That’s right. If that Niko Kovac immediately switches to a defensive midfielder after scoring a goal, it is not a problem to get at least one point, not to mention three points.”

“Hehe, who made Croatia choose Niko Kovac as the head coach? Consider yourself unlucky.”

“Judging from this game, the Brazilian team looks like a champion.”

“Fuck! You’ve only played one game, and you dare to draw conclusions?”

“Exactly. This is just the opening game of this World Cup. You should see the performance of other favorite teams before drawing conclusions.”

“No need. Brazil has Neymar, Kaka, Diego Costa and Hulk in attack and Fernandinho, Ramirez, Thiago Silva and David Luiz in defense .”

“In addition to the two full-backs Marcelo and Alves with strong assist capabilities, and Chen Ran’s on-the-spot command. As long as the Brazilian team plays normally, it will be difficult for other teams to **** the championship trophy from them.”

“Ahem, if you want me to say it’s better to keep a low profile. You know how to save character?”

“clear!”

At 1:2, the players on the Croatian field were still able to attack with all their might.

But as soon as the Brazilian team scored the third goal, the Croatian players were like a deflated ball. Coupled with the fact that the end of the game is approaching, and the physical fitness is reaching its limit, the rhythm of the entire attack has slowed down.

Finally, when the referee Nishimura Yuichi blew the whistle for the end of the game, the Brazilian team defeated Croatia 3:1 with the goals of Neymar, Diego Costa and Coutinho.

While getting off to a good start, Chen Ran also got an “Hawkeye Guardian Card” from the system.

In another game in this group, Mexico beat Cameroon 1-0.

In this way, Brazil and Mexico have the same three points, ranking first and second in this group respectively.

Four days later, Brazil will play against Mexico directly. The outcome of this game is very likely to directly determine who can advance to the top sixteen as the number one in the group.

As the host, the Brazilian team can only enjoy the advantages of the schedule arranged in advance if they win the first place in the group.

Otherwise, all the arrangements they made before are likely to benefit Mexico in vain.

And the Brazilian team will also meet other favorite teams to win the championship in advance. This is something that Chen Ran and the Brazilian Football Association do not want to see.

So, Mexico must be taken!

(end of this chapter)