Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 527: The European Championship Knockout Stage Begins

The Italians ultimately did not get their wish; they suffered a 0-1 defeat to Ireland. After the loss, the Italian players were dejected, their heads hanging low, and they were filled with worry. In their minds, they were all thinking: Oh no, we're playing Spain next!

But the fans who witnessed this scene misunderstood the reason for the Italians' sadness. As a result, despite the loss, Italy's reputation on the internet was quite positive.

"This Italian team reminds me a lot of the one under Lippi that won the World Cup!"

"Yeah, it's been ten years; it's time for Italy to rise again!"

...

For Spain, whether it was Belgium or Italy from Group E, neither team would be easy to deal with. So, it didn't make much difference who they faced. After learning that their knockout opponent would be Italy, Bosque and the players didn't think much of it. They simply continued training hard, focusing on preparing for the upcoming knockout round.

On June 22, the last two matches of the group stage took place, and the drama couldn't have been more intense! In the match between Iceland and Austria, Iceland scored first in the first half. Then, they made a mistake, giving Austria a penalty. But Austria failed to capitalize, with Dragovic missing the penalty.

Soon after the second half began, Austria equalized the score. If the game had ended that way, both teams might have been eliminated together. However, in the final moments, Iceland went all out in attack. Their coach made three rapid substitutions, and in stoppage time, substitute Traustason scored the winning goal, securing a 2-1 victory and Iceland's spot in the knockout stage.

The other match was even more of a rollercoaster. In the 19th minute, Hungary took the lead, but Portugal quickly equalized. Just two minutes into the second half, Hungary scored again, pushing Portugal to the edge. At this critical moment, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and scored his first goal of the tournament, bringing the game level again.

However, it wasn't enough for Portugal. Just five minutes after Ronaldo's goal, Hungary took the lead again. At this point, Portugal was on the brink of elimination. In the stands, Portuguese fans were so nervous they could hardly breathe. Many silently prayed, hoping someone on the team could step up and save them from disaster.

It was as if Ronaldo heard the fans' prayers. In the 62nd minute of the second half, he scored his second goal of the game, once again leveling the score! This goal sent the Portuguese fans at the stadium and at home into a frenzy. They chanted Ronaldo's name, practically worshiping him like a god.

It's no exaggeration to say that Ronaldo single-handedly saved the team! Despite both teams' best efforts to change the score, the game ended 3-3. With this draw, Hungary advanced to the next round as group winners with five points and a goal difference of +2, while Portugal, with three draws and zero goal difference, edged out Albania and Turkey to claim the last knockout spot.

Thus, the final list of 16 teams for the knockout stage was confirmed, and the matchups for the next round were set:

Switzerland vs. PolandWales vs. Northern IrelandCroatia vs. PortugalFrance vs. IrelandGermany vs. SlovakiaHungary vs. BelgiumItaly vs. SpainEngland vs. Iceland

When the teams saw their next opponents, the French and English smiled. Their opponents weren't very strong, so their chances of advancing to the quarterfinals were high. The Germans remained unfazed, as if it didn't matter who their next opponent was. The Belgians, on the other hand, were eager for the challenge, seeing Hungary as a good test for their abilities.

As for the Italians, they looked tense—because their next opponent was Spain.

...

With a week to go until the knockout stage, every team used the time to prepare intensely. Spain even went so far as to expel reporters and anyone unrelated to the team from their training sessions, conducting closed-door practices. This piqued the curiosity of the outside world, leading to speculation that Spain was preparing some big surprise.

When the news reached Italy, their suspicions grew: Could it be that Lin Quan has recovered from his injury and is training with the team again?

It turns out their intuition wasn't far off. The real reason for the closed training sessions was that Bosque didn't want the outside world to know that Lin Quan had returned to full training with the squad. As his secret weapon, Bosque wanted to keep this card hidden for as long as possible.

After an internal practice match, both Bosque and the team no longer had any doubts about Lin Quan's fitness. It was clear that Lin Quan was in top form. He even led the reserve team to a 3-0 win against the starting lineup!

...

On June 25, the first round of the knockout stage began with Switzerland and Poland. These two teams were fairly evenly matched: Poland had top-class striker Lewandowski, while Switzerland boasted a solid defense. This made for a tight and tense match.

Poland struck first in the 39th minute of the first half, but Switzerland fought back and equalized in the second half. With neither team able to score again, the match went into extra time. After a goalless extra time period, the game went to a penalty shootout. In the second round, Switzerland's Granit Xhaka missed his penalty, hitting the post. As a result, Switzerland lost the shootout, crashing out of the tournament while Poland advanced to the quarterfinals, awaiting their next opponent.

Three hours later, Wales faced Northern Ireland in a British derby. Thanks to an own goal gifted by their opponents, Wales won 1-0, securing their place in the quarterfinals.

Compared to the group stage, the knockout rounds had a much tighter schedule. Shortly after Wales and Northern Ireland's match ended, Croatia and Portugal kicked off.

Portugal had barely scraped through to the knockout stage, largely thanks to Ronaldo's heroic efforts in their final group match. Croatia, on the other hand, had advanced after defeating the world champions, Spain.

As a result, most people favored Croatia to win this match. However, the game turned out to be far more intense than anyone expected. Both teams failed to score in the first half and again in the second half. The game went into extra time.

In the first half of extra time, neither team could find the net. As the second half of extra time played out, it seemed inevitable that the match would go to penalties. But then, a former Barcelona and Inter Milan outcast, often mocked by many, stepped up: Ricardo Quaresma.

In the 116th minute, Croatia found a golden opportunity following a mistake by Pepe. Perisic's header hit the post, giving Portugal a lucky break. Portugal then launched a counterattack, with Renato Sanches pushing forward and passing the ball out wide to Nani. Nani crossed the ball, Ronaldo's shot was saved, but Quaresma was right there to head in the rebound, sealing the victory for Portugal with a simple tap-in.

Both teams had performed poorly. Maybe their strikers were off-form, or perhaps the defensive intensity was too high. Either way, the 20+ shots taken by both teams in the first 90 minutes didn't produce a single shot on target. In the end, Portugal was just a bit luckier. If Perisic's header hadn't hit the post, the story might have been very different.

But that's football—luck always plays a part. Croatia's journey ended in the Round of 16, and they were left to wonder what might have been. Meanwhile, Portugal, led by Ronaldo, pressed on.

...

On June 26, the knockout stage continued with France taking the field. Perhaps due to overconfidence, France gifted Ireland a penalty just two minutes into the match. Ireland gladly accepted and converted the penalty to take a 1-0 lead!

Many French fans had just found their seats, only to discover their team was already trailing. They were stunned, as were the French players and coach Didier Deschamps. The angry French fans even began booing their own team, shouting: What kind of garbage football are you playing? Do you want to embarrass yourselves in front of millions of viewers at home? Show some pride!

At halftime, the usually calm Deschamps let loose, tearing into his players for a full 15 minutes, his rage continuing until the break ended.

Maybe it was Deschamps' hairdryer treatment, or perhaps the players' pride kicked in, but France launched an intense counterattack in the second half. In the 58th and 62nd minutes, Antoine Griezmann scored twice, turning the game around.

With the French team fighting back and reclaiming the lead, the home crowd erupted in joy, proudly waving flags and cheering for their team. In the end, Ireland simply couldn't withstand the pressure from the tournament hosts. Their center-back even received a red card for a foul, reducing Ireland to ten men.

With the lead and a man advantage, France easily saw out the match, winning 2-1 to advance to the next round.

Having won the game, the French celebrated gleefully, boasting about their victory. However, the Germans remained unfazed, commenting: Now, let's show you what a real team victory looks like!

Germany went on to score goal after goal. Despite missing a penalty, they thrashed Slovakia 3-0. Slovakia was completely overwhelmed, spending most of the match pinned down by Germany's relentless attacks.

Seeing Germany's dominant display, the French fans stopped smiling. Both teams had won, but Germany's win looked effortless. And to think Slovakia was considered stronger than Ireland!

Now the French had something to worry about: If they struggled this much against Ireland, what would happen when they faced Germany?

As the French fans were still reeling from Germany's performance, Belgium, known as the "Red Devils of Europe," delivered their own masterclass, showing the world what "easy wins" truly looked like.

Facing Hungary, the top team from Group F, Belgium put on an absolute clinic, winning 4-0! Belgium's scorers included Alderweireld, Batshuayi, Hazard, and Carrasco. They fired off 26 shots, utterly demolishing Hungary.

Hungary was no pushover either; finishing first in their group was proof of their quality. But their luck ran out when they faced Belgium, arguably the strongest runner-up from all the groups, second only to Spain.

Belgium's attack was unstoppable, with the likes of Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Carrasco all clicking in perfect harmony. There are very few teams in Europe capable of defending against such firepower.

Poor Hungary. Even though they had more possession and managed 15 shots, their efficiency was nowhere near Belgium's. Hungary simply didn't have a player like De Bruyne, who could deliver surgical, pinpoint passes to unlock the opposition's defense.

After Belgium's emphatic victory, their reputation skyrocketed, and their odds of winning the tournament shot up, placing them third, just behind Germany and Spain.

Interestingly, even though Spain lost to Croatia in the group stage, their odds of winning the tournament increased. This was largely due to the appearance of Lin Quan, who, despite only sitting on the bench, significantly boosted Spain's chances.

Whether Spain's odds will rise further depends on how they perform in their next match.

After Belgium's thrashing of Hungary, it was time for Spain to take the stage. On June 26 at 7:00 PM, in Saint-Denis, France, Spain and Italy kicked off their highly anticipated match.

This game was undoubtedly the highlight of the knockout round. The reason was simple: Spain and Italy were the finalists of the previous European Championship, and both teams were among the favorites to win this year's tournament.

For football fans, this match was a top-tier spectacle.

As a result, tickets for the game were in extremely high demand. They sold out quickly, and by the time the match started, the stadium was packed to capacity. Tens of thousands of fans filled the stands, eager to witness the action.

In the player tunnel, the Italians wore serious expressions, their eyes fixed on one player standing on the other side. That player wore the number 10 jersey.

(End of Chapter)

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