The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 181 It's a pity there's only one Gaio.

Gaio walked onto the court with his teammates.

He became the focus of the entire event.

"Geo!"

At the Stade de France, tens of thousands of fans chanted his name and waved their arms at him.

Since Henry and Trezeguet faded from the French national team, the attack has been a weakness of the team until the emergence of Gaião.

This gives fans hope for the French team's attack.

Being down by one goal is not too late.

drop!
The referee blew the opening whistle.

Belarus quickly retreated and formed a deep defensive position after France kicked off the ball.

This is the tactical arrangement by midfielder Kondratiev.

Everyone back on defense!

Holding onto this one goal is the goal for everyone in Belarus in the second half.

The ball reached Gaio's feet.

He tried to advance down the right flank, but as soon as the ball reached his feet, he was surrounded by three players.

Poutillo, Bressan, and Rodionov, who scored in the first half.

They were all around him, preventing him from moving forward.

Behind this defensive line, Vikostov is also watching with predatory eyes.

Apart from Gaio's defensive role, Belarus basically had one player responsible for one other player in other areas.

This clearly shows Kondratiev's fear of Gaio.

Gaio's sudden emergence at this summer's European Championship truly stunned many people.

As a coach in these smaller football nations, Kondratiev greatly admires France's ability to consistently produce top-tier players.

Before them came Zidane, Henry, and others, and when the French team was almost without a generation, Gaio emerged out of nowhere.

On the field,

After Gaio passed the ball, Poutillo, who was defending Gaio, deliberately didn't hold back and bumped into Gaio.

Gaio staggered a bit and pushed Putillo along with him.

Putillo fell to the ground dramatically.

Covering his face.

Ah!
He screamed in agony.

However, the referee ignored it; he saw it clearly and realized that Putillo's performance was a bit too much of a performance.

Shhh!
The French fans in the stadium didn't hold back their boos, booing Poutillo loudly.

Poutillo currently plays for Freiburg in the Bundesliga and is considered a rotation player. He has some ability, and he was the midfield core of Belarus in this match.

He wanted to provoke Gaio's emotions and make Gaio lose his temper, for example, by pushing him in this hand, intending to make Gaio win the hand.

Gaio completely ignored him.

Keep moving around, keeping an eye on your teammates' positions and the ball's location.

Putillo waited a while without any response, then got up dejectedly.

French fans could clearly see that the French team's attack became more threatening after Gaião came on.

The most important reason is that Gaio attracts too much defensive attention.

Ribery is thriving on the left wing.

Bang!
At the 50th minute, Ribery cut inside and took a very high-quality shot, but unfortunately it went slightly wide of the goal.

Two minutes later, Giroud received a pass from Valbuena in front of the goal and poked the ball into the arms of goalkeeper Velenko.

Gaio's side remained quiet.

But in other positions, things finally came alive.

TF1 commentator: "The French team is finally showing some attacking potential. They were too complacent in the first half. We still have time. Although Gai hasn't made any significant contributions yet, his ability to draw defenders away from the field is immediately effective."

It really worked immediately.

But this is not the situation Deschamps wanted to see.

He needs someone to free up Gaio; the French team also needs a threat.

Currently, they are only relying on Ribery.

in addition,

He hopes that Belarus's defensive intensity will not last long, and that the poor defensive habits typical of the Belarusian league will not reappear.

Belarus's leagues at all levels are often characterized by high scores, with four or five goals being quite common, earning them the nickname "the big-ball league."

Some fans analyzed that the main reasons were the loose defense and aggressive attack, and some even joked: "You don't need to buy lottery tickets to watch the Belarusian league, just bet on the total number of goals."

Hey!
Suddenly, gasps of surprise rang out from the scene.

Gaio received the ball again on the wing. Facing Bressan, he swept his foot outwards from the sideline, shifting his weight to the outside. Bressan instinctively followed up.

But the next moment,
Gaio pulled the ball back sharply, pushed it, and quickly cut inside.

Cow's tail!
Bressan was startled, but he had already lost his balance and couldn't keep up with Gaio's pace.

On the other side, Putillo lunged forward.

The attack was fierce, and Gaio immediately realized that the momentum was aimed at him. He then lowered his shoulder and accelerated towards the inside.

Putillo quickly got the hang of it.

But just as he was about to touch Gaio, Gaio suddenly spiked the ball and poked it forward with his right foot.

Speed ​​up and catch up.

Putillo was still able to keep up, turning his body and stretching out his leg to intercept.

However, Gaio has already gained momentum.

After receiving the ball with his left foot, he quickly flicked it to his right foot to avoid Poutillo's outstretched leg, while simultaneously pulling the ball back to his left foot with his right foot and accelerating forward.

The whole process was incredibly smooth.

Wow!

This one-two pass stunned the entire stadium, leaving fans gaping in disbelief, with some even exclaiming in surprise.

Kislyak and Vikostov quickly surrounded them.

Bang!
But this time, Gaio did not choose to continue his breakthrough, instead passing the ball across to Valbuena.

Valbuena and Gaio have played together like this in training.

He didn't stop the ball.

Straight pass and diagonal cut!

Gaio then accelerated twice, using his speed advantage to cut in from behind Viktorov.

The football is perfectly positioned!

Belarus's two-layered defenses have collapsed!
Gaião is positioned near the left side of the six-yard box, facing goalkeeper Verenko directly.

The latter made the attack.

Gaio moved with incredible speed, even performing two stepovers while dribbling the ball, as he observed Verenko's shift in center of gravity.

Just as Velenko couldn't resist trying to save the ball and started to move,

Gaião unleashed a powerful left-footed shot into the near corner.

With his center of gravity shifting, Verenko didn't have time to make a save. He awkwardly stretched out his left foot and slightly grazed the ball, but didn't change its direction.

Swish!
The football went into the near corner of the net.

1-1.

boom!
The crowd erupted in cheers from the French fans. Gaio had scored again!

As Gaio saw the ball go into the net, he turned and ran toward the corner flag with his arms outstretched. On the way, he put his hands to his ears, as if listening to the cheers of the fans.

French fans certainly wouldn't let him down.

He shouted his name with all his might—"Gaio!!"

“Allez Les Bleus! Allez La France!
Allez Gueho, on va gagner!”

The fans were also chanting the classic core slogan of the French team: "Go Azzurri! Go France!"

However, the fans changed the last sentence to "Go Gaio, we will win!"

To the corner flag area.

Gaio once again opened his arms to welcome the cheers of the home fans.

French fans chanted "Allez Gueho" over and over again.

"Gaio, go for it!" Even Giroud, who came to celebrate, joined in the fans' chants.

Everyone had a smile on their face.

With the ball in the net and more than half an hour remaining, they were confident enough to turn the game around.

Courtside.

The two head coaches had completely different expressions.

Deschamps shouted in celebration.

Kondratiev walked to the coach's bench with his head down, and after sitting down, he shook his head slightly.

He was very dissatisfied with the defense against Gaio. In his opinion, either Putillo or Bressan should have fouled Gaio much earlier.

But no one has managed to do it.

The French players' celebrations didn't last long; they wanted to seize the opportunity and turn the game around.

The French fans, on the other hand, were ecstatic after Gaio scored the goal, especially one as spectacular as Gaio's.

They started doing the wave in the stands.

The fans held hands and jumped around.

They sang the classic song "Qui ne saute pas n'est pas franais".

The lyrics consist of only one line, repeated repeatedly to the beat of the dance: "If you don't dance, you're not French, hey! hey! If you don't dance, you're not French!"

The entire stadium of the Stade de France suddenly resembled a surging blue sea.

The waves are rough.

With Gaio's goal, the French team gained an increasingly dominant position on the field.

Seeing how difficult Gaio was to defend, Belarus inevitably increased their defensive focus on the right flank.

However, Ribery on the left wing also found his rhythm.

In the 65th minute, Ribery broke into the penalty area alone. In a one-on-one situation, he changed his footwork and created space in an instant before unleashing a powerful shot.

Football in the net!

2-1,

France turned the tide and won the game.

The fans at the scene cheered and were extremely excited.

During the European Championship, Ribery was questioned by the media about whether he was getting old and whether his career had declined.

right now,

He continues to prove himself to be the irreplaceable starter on the left flank for the French national team.

The French players embraced each other.

The score reversal came much sooner than they expected, and everyone felt a little more relaxed.

Kondratiev stood on the sidelines, his face grim. No one could be happy to see such a scene.

The World Cup qualifiers.

too difficult.

now,

The excited French fans sang "La Marseillaise" again.

Whether it's during the opening national anthem, when the French team is dominating the game, or when the team is in a difficult situation, the Marseillaise, as a passionate battle song, is always the best cheering song for French fans to support their home team.

The singing was passionate—

"Arm yourselves, people! Form your own army! Forward! Forward!"

After taking the lead, the French team played even more aggressively.

Seeing that Gaio wasn't receiving the ball much, Belarus relaxed their defense against him, and other positions had to cover for him.

however,
As it turns out, Gaio shouldn't be let go!

Just after the 72nd minute, Gaio saw that only Viktorov and Bressan were marking him on the right wing.

It's a huge gap!

More defenders don't necessarily mean a stronger defense; defense also depends on individual skill.

Belarusian players are not known for their tenacity in defense; this is a result of the difference in skill level.

Right-back Mbiwa overlapped on the wing, and Gaio moved towards the inside.

Mbiwa took Vikostov and Bressan away.

Putillo and Kislyak came towards Gaio, and Mbiwa passed the ball back.

Instead of stopping the ball, Gaio led it forward with a flick of his wrist.

Kislyak, positioned near the middle lane, quickly moved up to block Gaio's cutting-in route.

However, Gaio continued to dribble the ball sideways.

Kislyak tried to pull Gaio away, but Gaio dodged. Putillo then surrounded Gaio and kicked the ball.

Gaio poked the ball away first.

Poutillo's foot touched Gaio's shin, causing him to stumble slightly. He took a large step, regained control of the ball, and continued cutting inside.

And Gaio looked up and glanced at the position of goalkeeper Verenko.

At this moment,
Belarus's defense has been completely drawn to Gaio.

Giroud also draws the attention of the center-backs in the middle.

Bang!
Suddenly, Gaio kicked the ball, but instead of shooting, he lobbed it towards the far post!

Ribery!
Insert forward!

Bang!
He made a run from behind winger Bordachev and full-back Martinovic.

A wide-open space, a powerful shot.

Goalkeeper Verenko's attention was entirely on Gaio, and he hadn't noticed Ribery's position at all.

By the time you looked this way, it was too late!

Swish!
The football hits the net.

Ribery scored twice, and Gaião contributed a goal and an assist.

France 3-1 Belarus!

A deafening roar erupted from the scene.

The first half of the game was dull, but the second half was won too easily.

Ribery beamed with joy after scoring.

He grinned at Gaio↓↓↓

3-1.

Seeing this score, Deschamps on the sidelines was completely relieved.

After celebrating with his assistants, he leisurely sat down on the coaching bench and said to Stephen, "Go and call Jallet and Capoue to warm up. We'll make some adjustments to the midfield later and try out some new players."

Stephen nodded.

Madrid.

Zidane watched from home as France controlled the score and smiled slightly.

Two consecutive wins in the World Cup qualifiers have undoubtedly given them a good start in their quest to qualify for the Brazil World Cup.

but,

Spain is the biggest threat.

The earlier match between Spain and Georgia.

Facing Georgia's "ironclad defense," Spain's dream of a 22-game winning streak in the World Cup qualifiers is about to be shattered.

crucial moment,

Fabregas crossed from the right side of the penalty area, and Soldado, unmarked, swept the ball into the net.

Spain snatched a last-minute victory from Georgia in the 86th minute!

In this match, head coach Vicente del Bosque unusually started Soldado as the lone striker, without using Torres and Villa. The veteran coach's tactical setup paid off at the last minute.

Zidane has seen the schedule.

After this round of matches, the French team will have a bye in the next round of group matches. On October 17, Deschamps' team will face Spain.

He knew that for the French team, the key to directly qualifying from this group lay in the direct confrontation between the two powerhouses.

Of course, if they drop points against other opponents, it will be very difficult for France to challenge Spain given their current situation.

Zidane sighed slightly.

He watched on TV as Belarus used a swarm defense against Gaio and couldn't help but shake his head.

Unfortunately, the French team only has one Gaio.

It's too easy to be targeted.

Belarus's defense and offense were both relatively weak in this match.

But what will be the final result when facing Spain?
Hard to say.

In the 80th minute, Deschamps substituted two new national team players onto the field.

Zidane knew that Deschamps was trying to find players he could use.

He was thinking of a center-back; Varane could be recommended to Deschamps.

And what about Bastia's defensive midfielder, Kante? He seems pretty good too.

However, this remains to be seen.

Only when Bastia faces truly strong opponents, such as their matches against PSG and the Europa League this month, will Kanté's true worth be truly tested.

drop! !

As Zidane pondered, the final whistle and commentary came from the television.

"We won both of our first two group stage matches and currently sit atop the group with 6 points."

(End of this chapter)