After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

Argentina kicked off first.

Messi gently passed the ball to Alvarez beside him, and Argentina began their first passing sequence.

However, the England team, like a precision machine with a pre-programmed sequence, launched their highly targeted high-pressure pressing from the very first second.

Kane is like a striker; he was incredibly strong today, even more so than he is in the league.

Following the tactical plan, Kane charged directly towards Argentina's central defensive pairing of Otamendi and Romero.

Behind him, England's midfield and attacking chain quickly unfolded.

Argentina attempted to pass the ball to their midfield metronome, De Paul.

But Bellingham pounced on him like a white lightning bolt, his strong body putting immense pressure on De Paul, forcing him to pass the ball back.

"England's pressing was very aggressive from the start!" He Wei commented. "Their goal was clear: to cut off Argentina's organization at the source."

"That's right," Xu Yang chimed in. "Look how tightly they've contained De Paul. Bellingham and Henderson have been very tight on the passing options around De Paul and Messi today. It's a perfect example of their pre-match tactical plan."

For the first 25 minutes of the match, the game was completely controlled by England's pre-set rhythm.

The court seemed to be divided by invisible lines, and a fierce battle unfolded near the center line.

The ball bounced and rolled violently in the air and on the grass for most of the time, with the sounds of bodies colliding echoing around it.

Declan Rice, the tall England defensive stalwart, almost never took his eyes off the short figure wearing the number 10 blue and white jersey.

Messi tried to drop back to midfield to receive the ball, but Rice immediately followed closely behind, using his tall stature to put strong physical contact on Messi and constantly disrupting Messi's balance with reasonable collisions.

When Messi tried to enter England's key 35-40 meter zone, Rice's defense became even more tenacious.

At the same time, Kyle Walker or Stones would always drop inside at the right time to create a double-team defense.

"Rice! Another successful defense! He's practically become Messi's shadow!" He Wei exclaimed. "It's very difficult for Messi to get the ball. Rice doesn't give him any easy chance to turn and face the attacking direction. England's midfielders and defenders defended Messi too well. Messi is still at a physical disadvantage."

"This is the key tactic for England's defense today," Xu Yang analyzed. "Southgate won't let Messi receive the ball comfortably and will cut off his connection with his teammates. Messi can only drop very deep now, which allows him to get the ball, but he's too far from the goal, so the threat is naturally smaller."

The camera panned to the sidelines, where Argentina's head coach, Scaloni, was seen pacing anxiously with a furrowed brow and his hands in his pockets.

He anticipated England would target Messi, but he didn't expect them to execute the plan so decisively and efficiently.

Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate stood expressionless at the edge of the technical area, his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly satisfied with the team's tactical execution in the opening stages of the game.

Argentina's attack has become bogged down.

Messi was tightly marked, and De Paul began to make more passing errors under the constant harassment of Bellingham and Henderson.

They can only rely more on the two flanks, especially Tagliafico on the left and Di Maria who occasionally switches positions, to find a breakthrough.

However, England's full-backs Luke Shaw and Walker are extremely capable individually and are not at a disadvantage in one-on-one defense.

Tagliafico's cross was easily headed away by Maguire.

"Argentina's attack is failing them," He Wei said. "They seem to have no way to break through; England's defensive formation is just too good."

"It's like punching cotton," Xu Yang likened it. "Argentina needs change, they need someone to step up and break this deadlock. But England's defensive discipline today was truly top-notch."

Seeing that their aggressive attacks were not working and that the players' physical condition was reaching a bottleneck after nearly half an hour of high-intensity pressing, the England team made proactive adjustments.

The time has reached approximately 28 minutes.

England's formation began to consciously retreat to a more defensive posture. Yan Yuan called on his teammates to make runs and stop the extreme high pressing. Instead, they ceded control of the midfield area to lure Argentina's formation forward.

"The England team is now playing a deeper formation, and Yan Yuan is giving instructions more and more frequently," He Wei observed. "This is intentional; it seems they are preparing for a counter-attack."

"Yes, Southgate's tactics are very layered," Xu Yang agreed. "First, wear you down, then wait for you to push forward, leaving space behind you, and then use the speed of Yan Yuan and Saka to attack. Argentina's defense is currently pushing quite high, so we really need to be careful."

Argentina did indeed begin to control more possession of the ball, and their formation gradually moved forward.

The ball moved around more in England's half, but still struggled to penetrate the penalty area.

Messi attempted a one-two with McAllister, but the ball was cleared by the alert Stones the moment it entered the penalty area.

The climax arrived suddenly in the 31st minute!

De Paul's attempt to pass to Messi, under pressure from Henderson, was slightly weak and was intercepted by Kane, who had tracked back to the edge of the penalty area!

Kane didn't even stop the ball; he astutely observed that Argentina's collective pressing forward had created a huge gap behind right-back Molina.

Just as Molina was about to make a forward run to join the attack, a white figure wearing number 7 shot off from near the center line like an arrow.

It's like Yan Yuan and Kane have a telepathic connection!

He appeared when Kane needed him most!

"Kane intercepts the ball! Yan Yuan starts his high-speed run! England's chance has arrived! Look at their counter-attack!" He Wei's voice rose instantly, filled with tense anticipation.

Kane raised his head, and without even making any adjustments, swung his right foot and delivered a precise long pass that was over forty meters long.

As if guided by eyes, the ball traced a low, flat arc and landed precisely in the open space behind Argentina's right-back Molina.

"Yan Yuan started too fast! No one on the Argentine team can catch up with this expensive English Phantom supercar!" He Wei spoke at an astonishing speed, using very cool adjectives.

Yan Yuan displayed his explosive power to the fullest.

Argentina doesn't have a player with top-level speed like Mbappe.

He quickly outpaced Molina, who was trying to catch up, and overtook him on the outside, striking straight into the heart of Argentina's defense like a red lightning bolt.

Another center-back, Romero, desperately tried to chase back, but Yan Yuan was simply too fast, and he could only watch helplessly as the white number 7 figure receded further and further away.

"He's out one-on-one with Yan Yuan! Facing his club teammate Martinez!" He Wei's voice was almost hoarse.

Argentine goalkeeper Damian Martinez decisively rushed out of his goal to try to narrow the shooting angle.

In a flash, Yan Yuan demonstrated his exceptional football intelligence and calm demeanor.

He dribbled into the right side of the penalty area, but instead of shooting, he calmly observed Martinez's movements.

Yan Yuan and Martin were both playing a game of strategy, one trying to guess how the other would shoot, and the other trying to guess how the other would make a save.

Just as Martinez lowered his center of gravity and prepared to dive for a save, Yan Yuan used the instep of his right foot to unleash a low shot with an extremely tricky angle.

The ball's speed wasn't explosive, but the angle was too extreme.

It skimmed along the grass and rolled swiftly towards the far corner.

Martinez lay on the ground, stretching to his limit. He could even feel the airflow from the rolling ball with his fingertips, but he was just a little bit short.

Under his desperate gaze, the ball struck precisely the inside of the side netting at the far end!

"Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He Wei's passionate shout, which lasted for more than ten seconds, instantly ignited the passion of all the fans waiting in front of their screens.

"31st minute! England scores! The goal scorer is number 7, Yan Yuan!!! A classic counter-attack! A perfect individual performance! England leads Argentina 1-0!"

"Beautiful! That was such a calm goal!" Xu Yang excitedly added, "Look at Yan Yuan's positioning, his timing was perfect, and most importantly, his explosiveness was terrifying! Kane's long pass was also masterful! Most importantly, Yan Yuan was so calm facing Martinez! Although they are club teammates, at this moment, Yan Yuan is clearly superior to Martinez!"

After scoring, Yan Yuan did not ecstatically celebrate. As he ran, he pointed at Kane, who had provided the assist, with a confident and composed smile on his face.

The English players rushed up and surrounded him.

The England fans' stands at Lusail Stadium instantly transformed into a sea of ​​white cheers!

On the sidelines, Southgate finally couldn't contain his excitement and celebrated with a big fist pump.

Scaloni helplessly spread his hands, then slapped his forehead hard, feeling extremely disappointed with the goal conceded.

After conceding the goal, Argentina tried to launch an immediate counterattack, but England's defensive formation remained exceptionally intact.

The final stage of the first half turned into a half-court offensive and defensive drill.

Although Argentina dominated possession, they struggled to create clear-cut scoring opportunities.

In the 43rd minute, Messi attempted a long-range shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball flew high into the stands.

This was one of Argentina's few shots on goal in the first half.

In the 45th minute, McAllister had a chance to shoot in a scramble, but his shot was easily caught by England goalkeeper Pickford.

"Pickford caught the ball, McAllister missed a valuable opportunity, and Argentina's attack still seems to lack solutions," He Wei summarized.

After one minute of added time, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

"Beep—beep—beep!!"

The England players high-fived each other, walking towards the tunnel with relatively relaxed expressions, carrying a one-goal lead.

Yan Yuan and Kane walked and talked, clearly satisfied with the progress of the first half.

The Argentine players appeared somewhat frustrated and anxious, with Messi walking quickly into the tunnel with his head down.

"The first half is over! Thanks to Yan Yuan's counter-attack goal in the 31st minute, England is temporarily leading Argentina 1-0!" He Wei summarized, "Throughout the first half, England's tactics were executed very successfully, completely limiting Messi, and taking the lead through an efficient counter-attack."

Xu Yang commented, "England's performance today was nothing short of superb. Their defense was layered, and their attack was threatening. Argentina seems completely unable to contain Yan Yuan. We'll see what adjustments Scaloni makes in the second half, and how England responds. The suspense in this final is far from over!"

In the first half, England dominated with their tactical discipline and sharp counter-attacks.

But everyone knows that Argentina, with Messi, will not give up easily.

The fiercest battle will unfold in the second half.