Chapter 885: Ronaldo

“Beep, beeeep——!!!”

The first half ends with the score tied at 1:2.

Tang Ye’s long-range shot was stunning, but Portugal’s strength is truly no joke—they easily equalized and even took the lead.

Pfft!

“You okay?”

Ma Di and Tang Ye clapped hands.

“I feel fine; we should turn it around in the second half. But it depends on Leo’s condition.”

As he spoke, Tang Ye glanced toward Leo’s position.

Though trailing, the situation is still under China’s control.

Of course, Qiantishi the introduction of Leo and Cancelo in the second half doesn’t create more trouble for China.

“Yeah, go for it!”

……

Halftime report: Tang Ye scores from 28 meters to blast open the opponent’s goal; Ronaldo heads in to equalize, then B Fei fires a shot to take the lead—China trails 1:2 at halftime.

【This Santos must be an idiot—he didn’t start Dalot against Argentina, and now he’s not starting Leo against us? Do you even want to win?】

【An idiot’s better—he’s eaten one Euro title for ten years already, or he’d have been benched long ago; he’s got zero real ability.】

【Can Leo not start in the second half? He wasn’t in the lineup because his form’s bad, right?】

【Stop daydreaming, guys—luck won’t help. Even if Leo doesn’t play, Portugal’s other players are still dangerous. Just tell me how to handle this fake winger B Fei .】

【Being behind is truly f***ing painful. So why didn’t we park the bus after taking the lead? Ai Sheng is just handing them chances!】

“We played well in the first half, but it’s not enough—they scored first. If we’d been unlucky, we’d still be losing 0:1!”

Back in the locker room, Ronaldo didn’t seem satisfied with his team’s first-half performance: “I told you two days ago—counterattacks must rely on TY, must rely on TY. So why did you let him run free?”

“Yes, Ronaldo is right.”

B Fei agreed, sounding like he wanted to criticize the entire team alongside Ronaldo.

“We had the advantage, but our advantage should’ve been much bigger—that’s what Portugal is.”

“We’re here to win medals. Are you going to hand the medal to the opponent and wait another four years?”

“You can wait four years—I can’t!”

Shuowan , Ronaldo sat back down: “Rafael (Leo) must come on quickly in the second half. We must dominate them—absolutely dominate them.”

Ronaldo’s authority in the national team is terrifyingly high; what seemed like criticism of his teammates’ performance actually set the substitution plan for the second half within seconds.

“…”

“No retreat. No fear.”

“Let’s go win this damn match!”

“Go!”

Ronaldo came into the third-place match fueled by anger from losing the semifinal.

Not just him—every Portuguese player felt the same.

The players held complex feelings toward the bronze medal—not just desire, but also resentment, or even a unique hatred.

Damn medal—I must take you!

Tang Ye and Ronaldo bumped fists in the player tunnel; at least five photographers clustered ahead, hoping to capture the interaction between the two national team captains.

But unfortunately, neither Tang Ye nor Ronaldo said much—their focus was entirely on the match.

……

“Beep!!!”

“China Central Television! Welcome back, viewers!”

“...In the first half, China fell behind. Now we see Portugal’s substitutions—Cancelo and Leo come on as substitutes!”

“China also makes a change—Fei Nan replaces Wei Shihao, who underperformed in the first half.”

Wei Shihao’s foul in the first half still rankled Portuguese fans, so as China’s No. 11 returned to the bench, he was met with insults from the crowd.

Wei Shihao’s mental toughness was solid—he ignored the opposing fans’ noise, scrolling through Dongqiu Di while watching Leo’s movements on the pitch.

Soon after coming on, Leo made a run that nearly scared China’s fans to death.

“No no no!”

“Damn, watch Leo!”

Zoom in—the camera shows Leo smiling, sprinting while tracking the positioning of his central teammates.

Pass to Ronaldo!

Leo’s play is abstract—his sprint speed and passing IQ are wildly mismatched; he sent the ball straight to Zhang Xizhe.

“Oh!!”

“Leo, that’s a serious mistake!”

Leo immediately handed China a great counterattack opportunity.

Fortunately, China’s counterattack was stopped by Ruben Dias and Pepe—otherwise, he’d have become the team’s villain.

Hmm… Leo and Tang Ye from a few years ago seem like two complete opposites—both have mismatched sprint speed and passing IQ.

But Tang Ye, as the Ballon d’Or winner, is more disciplined—his speed is slowly catching up to the top tier of world football.

“…”

“Leo!”

“He uses his pace to burn Wu Lei on the recovery, and Wu Xi is pushed out wide!”

This is a perfect wide break—China’s defense is on high alert.

Tang Ye is now terrified—he abandons the center and moves toward Leo’s side.

As expected, Leo slows down near the penalty area, giving Tang Ye a chance to close in.

Tang Ye reaches Leo, and together with Gao Zhanyi, prepares to defend.

“Watch right! Watch right!”

As soon as he speaks, Tang Ye lifts his foot and blocks Leo’s cross.

“Wow!!”

A bit stylish—but the rebound quickly bounces back to Leo.

Portugal still controls possession!

Pah!

Another cross—this time Tang Ye isn’t so lucky; he fails to block Leo’s pass.

In the center, Otavio arrives to receive the ball!

Otavio to B Fei !

Why is B Fei in this position?!

The question no longer matters—B Fei delivers his through pass!

Ronaldo!

Boom!

Cutting in past Jiang Guangtai, Ronaldo slams the ball into the top corner.

“Goooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!”

“Ahh!!!”

Ronaldo spreads his arms and sprints toward the stands, ready to repeat his signature celebration to the crowd’s roar.

But terribly, just a few steps in, Ronaldo notices the assistant referee raising his yellow-red flag.

“Hey!?”

“What?!”

“Beep!!!”

The scoreboard still reads 1:2—the goal is disallowed.

“Hey, why?!”

Ronaldo gestures to the referee, asking for a VAR review.

“Was it offside?”

“Oh, let’s check the replay…”

All attention was on B Fei ’s pass—few noticed Ronaldo’s position at first.

But no problem—the replay will show it.

“Hmm… yeah, definitely offside.”

“Less than half a body length offside—damn, that linesman’s eyes are razor-sharp.”

“Yeah, that’s his job.”

The commentator is delighted.

The opponent nearly went up 3:1—thankfully it was ruled out.

Heaven favors China!

If they’d been down by two, we wouldn’t know how to play the rest of the match.

Yellow card: B Fei (POR).

Before the commentator could react, B Fei received a yellow card for complaining to the referee.

This match was truly uncomfortable for B Fei, because he felt disconnected from his teammates.

Leo is not Dembélé, and Ruben Neves is not Tang Ye; his teammates sometimes couldn’t keep up with his thoughts.