Chapter 649: The Second Half Begins, France's Attack
"The French team has possession, Griezmann pushes forward, passing the ball to Mbappé on the wing!"
"Mbappé breaks through, getting past Spain's right-back Carvajal. What speed!"
When Griezmann passed the ball, Mbappé was still trailing behind Carvajal by a full body length, but once Mbappé hit top speed, he quickly left his opponent behind, overtaking him in a flash.
This stunning moment left the live audience in awe. Everyone had heard before the match that the French team had a very fast winger, but no one expected him to be this fast.
And Carvajal wasn't just any player—he was Real Madrid's and Spain's starting right-back. But in front of Mbappé, he stood no chance.
"It's like he turned on a nitro boost!"
"Mbappé, you're my Superman!"
"Go, Mbappé, go, France!"
In the stands, French fans went wild after seeing Mbappé leave the defender behind, pinning all their hopes on him.
After getting past Carvajal, Mbappé didn't continue dribbling toward the baseline. Instead, he cut inside, but Piqué had come over to cover, and Koke was also closing in, preparing to double-team him.
Facing this critical situation, Mbappé remained calm, showing his composure as a top player. He calmly dribbled inside, seemingly ready to take a shot from a tight angle. But after advancing along the baseline, he saw an opening and passed the ball to Giroud in the middle of the box.
Mbappé didn't go for glory himself but instead passed to the better-positioned Giroud.
Giroud, surprised by Mbappé's selflessness, rushed the shot and missed the target!
Spain's goalkeeper, De Gea, had positioned himself near the near post, anticipating Mbappé's shot. Giroud shot toward the far post, and if he had hit the target, De Gea probably wouldn't have been able to stop it.
But unfortunately, Giroud failed to capitalize on the chance.
A huge sigh went through the crowd as French fans were visibly disappointed with Giroud's miss.
Mbappé was even more disappointed. If he'd known Giroud was so unreliable, he would've taken the shot himself!
Mbappé could have easily shot, but he saw the goalkeeper closing in and his shooting angle wasn't great. The chances of scoring were slim, so he passed to Giroud, who wasted the assist.
Although this attack didn't result in a goal, France came very close. Spain felt the pressure and started realizing the severity of the situation.
Indeed, the second half was proving to be quite different from the first. The opponent had clearly stepped up their game. Was France truly a team that starts slow but finishes strong?
"Stay focused, stay sharp! Watch your positioning when defending!"
Spain's coach, Vicente del Bosque, broke out in a cold sweat, shouting instructions onto the field to keep his players alert.
With France attacking so aggressively at the start of the second half, Spain needed to stabilize the tempo. They had to weather this storm before launching a counterattack.
If they tried to match France's pace and engage in a back-and-forth, it would turn the game into a high-speed sprint, draining the players' energy and leading to mistakes. It would then become a battle of who could seize the opportunities better.
If Spain's stamina was in good shape and they were either tied or trailing, Del Bosque wouldn't mind a head-to-head battle. But Spain was leading, and they didn't have the stamina for such a fast-paced game.
So Del Bosque had no intention of engaging France in a direct battle of speed.
Spain had to stick to their tactical game plan, maintaining possession and not letting France dictate the rhythm.
Meanwhile, France's coach, Didier Deschamps, was hoping to speed up the game even more.
Everyone knew Spain's squad was aging and would face fitness issues in the second half. Knowing this, Deschamps wanted to exploit this weakness.
If the game could be accelerated into an all-out brawl, Deschamps was confident he could tear Spain apart within 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, from Del Bosque's reactions, it was clear that he wasn't falling for the trap.
No wonder Del Bosque, a coach with two World Cup titles and a European Championship under his belt, was a true legend.
But can Spain really hold steady as they want?
Did they ask for France's permission first?
Deschamps signaled his team to press aggressively!
Unlike the relatively conservative approach in the first half, France was like a pack of mad dogs in the second half.
They frantically pressed the Spanish players, who found it impossible to maintain possession.
Under France's relentless pressure, Spain was forced to increase their passing frequency, often without even clearly seeing their teammates' positions, just passing out of desperation.
In this chaotic state, Spain couldn't maintain their famous possession style, as their space was being severely restricted.
Rushed passes led to lower accuracy, and France's chances of intercepting increased, putting Spain's defense in immediate danger.
"Is Spain's possession game being cracked by France?"
"Yes, they've made a lot of passing errors recently, and a few times they almost lost the ball in dangerous areas!"
The commentators in the stands were shocked by what they were seeing.
For the past eight years, Spain's national team and Barcelona had dominated world football with their possession-based style, winning countless World Cups, European Championships, and Champions Leagues.
Despite countless attempts, no team had ever truly cracked the possession game.
But today, France seemed to have found a way.
Deschamps would probably laugh if he heard the outside commentary. So many teams had failed to crack Spain's style, but why was he succeeding?
The reason was simple: France could run harder and withstand more physical contact than Spain.
Deschamps had targeted Spain as France's biggest competitor long before the tournament began, and for years, he'd been studying Spain's tactics and style.
By watching numerous match replays and studying individual players, he concluded that Spain wasn't great at running and struggled in physical contests.
As it happened, these were France's strengths.
So naturally, he was going to exploit these weaknesses to the fullest.
And judging by the current results, the strategy was working brilliantly.
Spain's players weren't used to this aggressive style of play. Instinctively, they opted for safe, conservative passes, leading to a series of horizontal and backward passes.
With France pressing high, Spain's passing space was shrinking.
Soon, Spain's possession game completely fell apart.
In such a tight space, with so many players concentrated in one area, trying to maintain possession was just handing the ball to the opponent.
Under immense pressure, Spain resorted to long passes from the back, which weren't aimed at anyone—just desperate clearances.
But this was merely a stopgap measure.
Soon after, France regained possession with just a few passes, bringing the ball right back to Spain's penalty area.
Now, the game was the opposite of the first half. Spain had gone from attacking France's goal to defending desperately.
"Am I seeing this right? France is completely dominating Spain!"
"It's incredible, especially since they were the ones getting dominated in the first half. Who could've imagined that in just 20 minutes, the situation would change so dramatically?"
The commentators were stunned. If France had been dominating any other team, it wouldn't have been so shocking.
But the fact that France was suppressing Spain, a team that had won two World Cups and three European Championships, a team that had dominated world football for nearly a decade, was unbelievable.
Young fans, who hadn't watched Spain during their glory years, had never seen them so passive.
"Pogba with the pass, Mbappé breaks through on the wing, he's past the defender, he shoots!"
"De Gea!"
"Spain's goalkeeper steps up once again, tipping away Mbappé's powerful shot with one hand."
In the commentary booth, the announcers were shouting praises for De Gea's heroic save.
However, De Gea, having made the save, leaned over, hands on his knees, panting heavily.
For the past few minutes, Spain's defense had been under constant siege, and De Gea had gone from a spectator to the busiest player on the field.
France's attack had been relentless, giving Spain no time to breathe. De Gea had lost count of how many shots he'd saved, with efforts from Mbappé, Giroud, and Griezmann all requiring intervention.
"De Gea!"
"De Gea!"
"De Gea!"
In the stands, Spanish fans were chanting De Gea's name in admiration.
But just a short while ago, De Gea hadn't been so beloved by Spain's fans.
Before him, Spain's goal had been guarded by the legendary Iker Casillas, a figure adored by fans for his flawless performances at both club and national level. Casillas was their golden hero.
In comparison, while De Gea had shone for his club, his performances for the national team hadn't been as consistent, even making some blunders that had led to criticism.
But in this crucial match, De Gea had risen to the occasion, delivering a string of brilliant saves that erased any doubts about his abilities.
"Spain is playing too passively. They haven't mounted any meaningful counterattacks recently. If they keep getting pinned back like this, they're bound to concede eventually!"
In Sky Sports' commentary box, Gary Neville was smug. He'd predicted at halftime that France would come back in the second half, and now their performance was proving him right, much to his satisfaction.
"Yes, Spain needs to launch some dangerous counterattacks to make France's defense feel threatened. If they keep allowing France to press like this, they're too passive."
Martin Tyler, ignoring Neville's smugness, began offering advice to Spain:
"I think Spain should adjust their tactics. They could push Lin Quan further forward and rely on long balls for counterattacks."
From the current situation on the field, Spain couldn't control the midfield, nor could they organize any meaningful attacks through it.
In that case, there was no need to keep Lin Quan in the midfield. Push him forward to maximize his threat, forcing the French defense to be more cautious.
Unlike the older, tired Spanish players, Lin Quan was still young and full of energy, as shown by his sprints. He was the only one with the stamina to challenge France's defense.
"Long balls and crosses? Would Spain really lower themselves to use such a simple, rough tactic?"
Andy Gray, sitting nearby, expressed his doubts. This tactic was common in the English Premier League, especially among lower-ranked teams.
Compared to the more elegant and complex possession style, long balls and crosses were seen as crude and unsophisticated. Top teams and football powerhouses usually avoided such tactics.
Moreover, was Lin Quan even tall enough to be effective in a long-ball strategy?
(Chapter End)