Team Spirit

Chapter 251 The Panenka Penalty, Pendulum Summer

After the match, the Italian players all looked listless during their interviews.

Buffon: "I don't know what happened with that ball. I did everything I could, but the power of that ball was beyond imagination."

“Lu is truly a monster. Keep in mind that it was already the 120th minute, and his stamina is even better than Gattuso’s.”

Gattuso is the physical limit that Buffon knows.

In response, Lu Kai said, "That must have been an accident. I wasn't confident about that shot either, but I knew I had to score it."

"Buffon was the first goalkeeper to save a free kick. He's really strong, and I think he's the world's best goalkeeper this year!"

Gilardino: "Lu was as strong as ever, he was unstoppable. But Ashley Young's performance surprised me more."

"He is the X-factor in this game."

Ashley Young smiled without showing his teeth: "After all, he's the deputy dog!"

Gilardino: "But I'm really curious, what exactly did Ashley Young eat back then?"

Ashley Young: MMP!

Pirlo, still half-asleep, said, "We controlled the tempo of the game, but that's football; sometimes victory belongs to the braver one, and Lu did just that!"

Lu Kai reciprocated: "Pirlo is definitely one of the strongest midfielders in the world this season. He has turned the Italian team into a cohesive unit."

Cannavaro kept shaking his head in front of reporters: "There's nothing you can do. When the player you're defending is Lu Kai, it's already a success if you can hold him to just one goal."

"Because you can't expect a super player who scores 69 goals in a single season to not score."

Lu Kai smiled slightly: "Cannavaro is the best defender in this World Cup, without a doubt. He has redefined the player in this position, and he is the best defensive leader this year!"

Totti was somewhat indignant: "If I hadn't been injured, we might have been the ones to win the game. But that's how it is in sports; there are always things that don't go as planned."

Lu Kai: "Totti, Del Piero, Toni, and Gilardino have all demonstrated their abilities in this tournament."

"Considering the recent troubles the Italian team has encountered, it is truly remarkable that they have been able to unleash such fighting spirit. The whole world should applaud them."

"They are the best team in this tournament!"

Goodness, Lu Kai awarded all the titles—best, best, number one in the world—by himself.

Then the problem is coming.

Why did the Italian team, which boasts so many "world's best" players, lose to the English team?
"Lu Kai!"

"Lu Kai!"

"Lu Kai!"

The fans on the sidelines were chanting Lu Kai's name.

This may be the only answer.

Ashley Young was quite unhappy about this, after all, this was the second time he had delivered a brilliant performance in this World Cup.

In an interview, he reminded everyone: "People are talking about Lu's free kick, but I need to make everyone realize that the best player in this game is someone else!"

In this match, Ashley Young scored a goal, forced an own goal, and won a crucial free kick, winning the Man of the Match award by a margin of 0.1 points, surpassing Lu Kai who had one goal and one assist.

Reporters, alerted by Ashley Young, swarmed around him: "What exactly did you eat? Was it bird droppings?"

"Are you afraid to open your mouth and speak because you didn't smear the milk chocolate clean?"

"Could there still be chives stuck in your teeth?"

vomit!
Ashley Young was triggered by the group of reporters' horrific memories and vomited on the spot.

……

Sky Sports: "England storms into Berlin! Lu Kai's powerful knuckleball seals the victory in extra time!"

Bild: "Ivy League suffered a heartbreaking defeat! Grosso and Lu Kai tied, but Ashley Young was unstoppable, playing like a complete madman!"

Dongqiudi (a sports website): "Ashley Young was the best player of the game and has successfully ascended to the throne! From now on, please call him the King of Poison!"

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Although Italy lost, they are still proud. Lu Kai bluntly stated that the Italian stars have led everyone out of the shadow of the Calciopoli scandal!"

Football News: "China's football power has led England to the top of the world! It is suggested that the Chinese national team should focus on players from the Green Gunners system, and qualifying for the World Cup is not a dream!"

"Mundo Deportivo: England's narrow victory over Italy, dragged into extra time and exhausted, makes their chances of winning the final uncertain!"

Mundo Deportivo: "Beckham's red card and Joe Cole's injury leave England severely weakened, potentially turning them into a gift in the final!"

The Clarence: "After forty years, England has reached the World Cup final again, but they may be the weakest World Cup final team in the world!"

England won by a narrow margin this time.

In the final, not only were Beckham and Joe Cole, two absolute starters, left out, but also...

Lampard, who came on as a substitute in the semi-final, also experienced physical discomfort after the match and was eventually diagnosed with a minor muscle strain, ruling him out of the final.

This leaves England with a severe shortage of players for the final.

On the other side, the French team and the German team are engaged in a historic battle.

No one expected that the team that made it to the finals would be the French seniors, who were the least favored before the competition.

Ribery's attack down the right flank completely overwhelmed Germany's left flank.

They charged back and forth repeatedly, and no one could stop them.

Ultimately, thanks to his assist, Henry scored the winning goal against the Germans.

This year's World Cup final will be an aging French team versus a depleted England team!
On July 10, 74,000 people flooded into the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

German fans were very disappointed that they would not be able to see their home team in the final match.

But the results of the top four are not bad either.

The French team drew the home game and can wear white home jerseys.

England, on the other hand, can only wear red away kits.

However, Lu Kai was quite happy about this: "Although I am in Green Gun, I have to say that red has always been the lucky color of Zhongguo people."

"That's why I joined Arsenal when I was a kid; their jerseys are red."

"And the gold number is also something we like, so this jersey will definitely bring me good luck."

Dongqiudi (a sports betting platform) was the smartest, immediately reposting the England team's final poster, but they photoshopped out the England team logo and replaced it with the China team logo.

The news headline is:
"We wish Lu Kai the best of luck in winning his first World Cup title as he competes in the World Cup final!"

Below were several large characters: "Go, Zhongguo Team!"

Chinese fans were both happy and sad about this.

We're happy that we can ride on the coattails of Lu Kai and the World Cup, and not be complete outsiders to this grand event.

Sadly, there are some NTR characters involved.

If possible, everyone would prefer that Lu Kai lead the white-skinned chickens to the World Cup, rather than the British black guys.

After all, the black guys don't speak the same language.

"Hello everyone, this is Radio Station! I'm Huang Jianxiang, and I'll be bringing you the starting lineups for both sides." Huang Jianxiang was particularly excited, "The French team hasn't changed much from before, they're using a 4-2-3-1 formation."

"Henry as the lone striker."

"Malouda, Zidane, and Ribery are the three forwards and midfielders."

"Makelele and Vieira form an invincible defensive midfield pairing."

"The back four consisted of Abidal, Gallas, Thuram, and Sagnol."

"Barthez is guarding the goal."

"Before the match, everyone thought Malouda would be the key player for the French team, and that's exactly what happened. Malouda is one of the best wingers in this tournament, showing a top-notch level of skill."

"But what no one expected was that our Green Gun striker Ribery actually performed better than Malouda! That's just outrageous!"

"To be fair, Ribery was ultimately nurtured by Lu Kai."

“This big game played a crucial role in Ribery’s development. Perhaps next season he will be able to provide real support for Lu Kai, instead of having Lu Kai carry Dartford alone like this season.”

Han Qiaosheng chimed in, "In comparison, England's squad has undergone significant changes, with several players unavailable for the match."

"We will stick to the 4-3-3 formation."

"Lu Kai, Crouch, Ashley Young"

"Barton, Carrick, Gerrard"

Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Carragher

"Joe Hart"

“Lu Kai has moved to the left wing to fill Joe Cole’s absence, thus maintaining the threat of flying on both wings with Ashley Young.”

"Crouch was chosen as the center forward because the French defense is not as difficult to deal with as the Italian defense, especially in terms of height."

"Galas is 1.81 meters tall, Thuram is 1.85 meters tall, and Crouch is a full 2.01 meters tall!"

"Gerrard finally got a starting opportunity in midfield. Speaking of which, Lampard was really unlucky. If he hadn't been injured, he might have been the one to start this game."

Huang Jianxiang smiled slightly at this.

That is impossible.

Most people believe that England's midfield lacks creativity, so they think Lampard, who is more attacking, should be brought on.

However, based on Lu Kai's tactical understanding, Lampard's ranking is lower than Gerrard's, whether it's strengthening offense, defense, or physical confrontation.

The reasons have been stated many times: Lampard is not the playmaker-type midfielder that everyone thinks he can be, capable of strengthening the team's attack.

Huang Jianxiang: "Stanley was very bold in his choice of goalkeeper, re-employing Joe Hart instead of the consistent Robinson." "In fact, according to the information we have from within Green Gunners, Joe Hart has stronger reaction time, is more aggressive in his runs, covers a wider area, and has good footwork."

"His appearance was also to counter the French team's aggressive attack."

"In this match, England will undoubtedly be going to engage in an attacking battle with France."

"Both teams are characterized by their ability to attack from both wings."

"The French team has a better lineup, but the English team is younger."

At that moment, two huge tifos appeared in the stands.

One of them is a huge portrait of Zidane.

Because he announced before the World Cup that he would retire after the tournament.

This is a year earlier than everyone expected.

People hope he can finish his career perfectly and advance bravely with the World Cup trophy in hand.

The other is a huge portrait of Lu Kai.

The new king has been on the throne for two and a half years; let's see him win the World Cup trophy!
Both are reasonable!

With a whistle, the game officially began.

But an accident occurred on the field less than a minute into the game.

After the French team kicked off, the players in the backfield attempted to launch a long ball attack.

Henry looked back as he made a forward run and collided head-on with Terry, who was undeniably there, and immediately fell to the ground in pain.

Lu Kai smiled and shook his head.

There is no doubt that Terry did it on purpose.

Henry's pain caused panic within the French team.

Wiltord and Trezeguet quickly went to the sidelines to warm up.

Fortunately, Henry was not injured and remained on the field.

In the fourth minute, French center-back Gallas intercepted the ball in the backfield but was dispossessed by Gerrard.

Gerrard passed the ball to Ashley Young, who was involved in pressing, and Young passed it to Barton, who was making a run down the left flank.

After passing back, Barton continued his forward run into the middle.

Lu Kai had already cut inside from the ball and entered the penalty area.

Ashley Young dribbles forward down the left flank, ready to pass the ball at any moment, but his passing lanes are mostly blocked.

Ultimately, the ball could only be passed to Ashley Cole, who was making a run down the left flank.

Cole crosses the ball.

Lu Kai and Crouch compete for a header in the penalty area.

One is tall and the other is strong!
But the French team also had a solution. The 1.9-meter-tall defensive midfielder Vieira returned to the penalty area early and overpowered Lu Kai to clear the ball with a header.

The ball sparked a scramble at the edge of the penalty area.

Zidane controls the ball, a counter-attack opportunity arises.

boom!
Carragher rushed up and brutally brought Zidane down.

We must not give the French a chance to launch a counterattack.

The referee immediately blew his whistle.

Carragher dyed it yellow.

Zidane stood up and looked at Carragher with a fierce look in his eyes.

Because this foul was too aggressive, there is a possibility that he might get injured.

Of course, in the World Cup final, you can never be too fierce.

However, this behavior certainly fueled Zidane's anger.

"Stay calm, this is the last game of my career, I must stay calm!" Zidane kept telling himself.

He has always had a fiery temper, but today he wants to end his career as a "midfield maestro" on a perfect note.

Barthez then launched a long ball.

Henry flicks the ball on with his head on the left.

Malouda chased the ball and cut inside into the penalty area.

Carragher and Terry closed the door.

The three players collided inside the penalty area.

Malouda fell to the ground.

The referee blew his whistle again.

The audience was shocked!

"Penalty! Malouda has won a penalty for France!"

"The English are complaining, and Terry says it was a dive, a normal challenge, and shouldn't have been a penalty."

"The referee was very firm."

"Zidane has arrived at the penalty spot."

The argument between the two sides was to no avail.

The camera focused on a young Joe Hart.

"Huh, Hart's gaze is directed at... Lu Kai!"

Joe Hart and Lu Kai are exchanging glances.

Lu Kai nodded.

Soon, both sides were ready.

Zidane rushed towards the ball, delivering a powerful but gentle touch.

"This is... a spoon penalty!"

Zidane threw a chip shot as a penalty.

He stared intently at the football with a solemn expression.

It's a little too high, but... it should hit the underside of the crossbar and bounce into the goal.

This is an unsolvable spoon point...

"He's in my arms!"

"Joe Hart stood still, jumped up, and plucked the football from mid-air!"

"He caught Zidane's Panenka penalty!"

"This……"

boom!
Bigfoot!

"While everyone was still reeling from Zidane's missed penalty, young Joe Hart launched a long ball and started a quick counter-attack!"

"Lu Kai!"

"Lu Kai immediately accelerated, leaving only Thuram behind for the French team."

"Lu Kai controlled the ball perfectly, without losing any speed!"

“Thuram’s position was about to collapse, so he moved closer to Lu Kai.”

"Lu Kai dribbles the ball at explosive speed, devouring Thuram!"

"Thirty-four-year-old Thuram is getting old after all. He tried to pull Lu Kai along, but Lu Kai didn't give him the chance!"

"Barthez strikes."

"Lu Kai slows down and sways, this is... a pendulum dribble!"

"It's over! Lu Kai dribbled past the goalkeeper and slotted the ball into the empty net!"

“GOAL!!!”

"One to zero!"

"England snatched victory from the brink! After saving a penalty in the fifth minute, they launched a counter-attack and scored, getting off to a dream start!"

"Incredible Lu Kai! He descended to earth like an alien, and the pendulum swung through the entire French summer!"

"Incredible Joe Hart! He caught Zidane's Panenka penalty, as if he had foreseen it! And he scored his first assist of the World Cup!"

"The England team has brought miracles to the world!"

"Zidane, Zidane, why did you choose the Panenka penalty?! He underestimated Joe Hart! He was too arrogant!"

"Joe Hart was clearly stunned and didn't have time to move before he grabbed the ball. If Zidane had chosen any other penalty method, this ball would have gone in."

"From 1-0 to 0-1, that's a difference of two goals!"

"So angry!"

(End of this chapter)