Chapter 531: Clash (Daily Transition)

The ball went in!

Spain launched a strong attack from the flank, first breaking the field's balance.

Li Kang fully displayed his variation in rhythm.

He flicked the ball with his instep.

He shot with the outside of his foot.

Turning decay into magic!

An astonishing outswing curve!

Let's look at the replay—wow, an upward arc like a rainbow, then suddenly accelerating during its descent.

His shooting motion is too smooth and elegant!

The European Football Emperor, reigning over the Volga River!

The commentator became increasingly incoherent, trembling all over with excitement.

In his mind, the image of Beckenbauer, the pioneer of the Tive outside-of-the-foot technique, involuntarily surfaced.

The live broadcast room.

Bullet comments flew across the screen.

【Handsome as hell! Is this the legendary Ball King Realm?】

【Li Wudi.】

【An excellent midfielder finds and utilizes space; the Ball King Realm creates space.】

【My grandmother sat beside me watching the match, and even she was stunned by Li Kang and Messi.】

【Score a few more!】

【I saw it—the night sky over Kazan, dark clouds gathering, converging the fortune of all of European football!】

【No, the fortune of world football has now all gathered in the France and Belgium teams; Li Mingdeng and Messi prove their Dao with force, achieving godhood in the flesh.】

【Next, Spain will roll the snowball with their tiki-taka and back-heel passes; how will Argentina respond?】

【Referring to that Morocco match, Spain's midfield and defense possession stability is low, with many mistakes; unless letting Li Kang drop back isn't a waste? The match is still long, letting the attack-defense axis fully go to Sampaoli? That midfield Mei will reach the peak Ball King Realm!】

The camera trembled slightly under the overwhelming sound waves.

The spectators at Kazan Arena gave this goal a warm cheer and applause.

Li Kang and his teammates came to the corner flag area, embracing in celebration.

De Gea also raised both fists in the back; upon seeing Messi's calm expression, he couldn't help feeling that Kazan's night was colder than many places.

The sidelines.

Mininyanuo and the bench players celebrated wildly.

Bosque let out a long breath and instantly regained his composure.

After all, football is an eleven-person sport; the difficulty of winning this edition of the Russian World Cup far exceeds that of South Africa.

The other side.

Sampaoli angrily slapped his own thigh.

He gestured to his players on the field, adjusted the formation, and finally bellowed the simplest words: 'Give the ball to Messi to organize!'

That's right.

In the previous three group-stage matches, he mostly used Messi as if he were Lukaku.

The midfield kickoff resumed.

Higuaín kicked off and passed back to Mascherano.

Argentina's formation changed during the buildup.

It shifted from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2.

Messi withdrew from the front line to midfield.

"Sampaoli's team, during the buildup of their own offense, frequently rotates positions."

"Let Taliàfico move inside to the defensive midfield position, and let Lo Celso push forward!"

"Even Rojo pushed up to the right flank?"

"Too crazy!"

The ball was passed several times on the grass.

They found Messi near the center circle.

The Argentine number 10, originally strolling, stopped the ball, turned, and accelerated.

He advanced with the ball down the middle.

Busquets's mind raced: 'In a confined space, only Di María can have chemistry with Messi; Messi's advancing direction will surely shift toward the left flank—yes, our right flank is Argentina's left flank.'

'Everything is under my control.'

He gestured a few signals.

He directed Spain's formation to shift its focus toward Di María.

It was almost the instant Messi shook off Samuel.

Argentina's attacking support point indeed also leaned toward Di María's side.

"Fake!"

"We've been had!"

"Di María and Messi's sudden inward run drew Spain's defensive focus!"

"Higuaín, off the ball, surged forward!"

"Spain is in danger!"

Piqué and Ramos's quick reaction will not allow a passing connection to form between the Argentine forward and Messi.

Huh?

How did Messi dribble back two steps?

Wow!

Like pulling a scallion from dry ground—a perfect long-pass transfer!

A rainbow-like arc!

The ball speed is too fast!

Precise landing point!

Midfielder Mei's long pass has reached its peak!

Excellent midfielders find and exploit space; the ball king creates space!

Messi used his own pass-and-run to help Rojo create an extremely wide open space on the right flank!

Rojo!

Rojo easily controlled the ball.

The Spanish coaching staff felt a chill, not marveling at Rojo's stop but at Messi's long-pass ability.

Sampaoli hid his hands in his pockets, knowing that at this moment he couldn't just fuck around directing!

Because of Spain's earlier defensive focus, it leaned toward Di María's side.

This forced left-back Alba to retreat only to the diagonal of the penalty area, in order to block Messi's mid-distance lateral short pass from a few seconds earlier.

Alba's defensive awareness is especially keen, able to find the best defensive position in the left half as the defensive line shifts, but he has a fatal flaw: he is short.

Simeone had already, two years ago, given out the classic tactic for overpowering Alba.

Higuaín moves to the right flank, pressing Alba.

Yes, Argentina's right flank is Spain's left flank.

Rojo, unchallenged, carries the ball deep and lofts a pass!

Higuaín's height and physique overwhelmed Alba, receiving the ball on the right side inside the penalty area.

Higuaín is very strong, but his luck with the national team is sometimes especially bad, leading to him being cyberbullied by Argentine fans; his daughter goes to school and is even scolded by classmates: 'Your dad is a donkey.'

The time to prove himself has come!

His peripheral vision has already caught Messi's forward run!

Smack!

Dribbling and turning, despite Ramos's interference, he sent out a lateral pass!

If the scene were frozen at this moment.

One would see that in the Spanish penalty area, Argentina had formed a three-point-one-line attacking chain: Di María, Messi, Higuaín.

Bosque nervously clutched his chest.

Spanish fans fell into despair.

Suddenly.

A figure darted out.

The connection between Higuaín and Messi was gently severed!

The joys and sorrows of the Iberian Peninsula and the Pampas grasslands are reversed at this moment!

Beautiful!

Li Kang threw himself into the penalty area and timely slid to destroy Argentina's deadly pass.

Oh dear, the ball bounced off Piqué's foot.

Piqué didn't react in time!

Messi seized the ball!

Carvajal and Busquets' covering!

Messi passed the ball back to the top of the penalty area arc, pulling himself out to the flank!

Lo Celso!

The young Argentine substitute lacks confidence, dare not shoot himself, and square-passed to Mascherano!

Spain's defensive line was compressed into the penalty area by Messi's earlier organization!

Argentina reorganized Spain's defensive line, pressing it out into the open space!

Mascherano passed to Messi!

No! No! On the left side of the big penalty area diagonal, Messi's right foot isn't that easy!

Wow!

Messi! Messi! Messi!

The commentator's voice cracked!

Messi leaned his body, took a three-step run-up with the arc, and met the ball.

He kicked.

He swung his leg.

Smack!

The ball rose quickly!

Above the Spanish penalty area, it traced a rainbow-like arc!

It soared over the chaotic red defensive line!

It plunged straight into the upper right corner of the goal!

Looks soft and weak, but actually a powerful shot with the inside of the foot curling with immense strength!

No matter how fast De Gea's reaction is, he cannot touch the ball at such an extremely tricky angle!

Spain's net was lifted.

1:1!!!

Kazan Arena.

Tens of thousands of Argentine fans stood up, facing the blue-and-white number 10 on the green pitch, and made the gesture of worship.

The ball went in!

Expressive!

Art!

Too wonderful!

A divine ball!

A perfect angle, leaving De Gea with no chance—a perfect angle!

Messi!

He took the diagonal between the crossbar and the post as his reference point.

This is Messi!

The team had only been behind for three minutes when he stepped up and equalized the score!

Tonight, Li Kang and Messi's performances make people wonder if football is really a team sport.

Pass, trap, shoot; organize and link; create space; overall tempo.

Kazan Arena, on the middle reaches of the Volga River, colorful flags fluttering everywhere, fireworks lighting the night sky, a gentle breeze blowing along the Kazan River lifts the red No. 6 jersey and the blue-and-white No. 10 jersey.

Live broadcast room.

Colorful barrage comments wildly fill the screen.

【It also blew away my youth; tonight it is destined that a team will leave the World Cup stage.】

【Midfield Messi, single-core to the limit!】

【His physical condition has reached the end of its peak, but his football IQ, organization, defensive reading, short and long passing, and ability to create space have reached perfection!】

【Why isn't this match the World Cup final?】

【Damn, I went to the bathroom and came back, my big 11.5 is alive!】

【In July 2015, Li Kang transferred to Lewokusen; the gears of fate turned quietly, preventing this world from seeing the peak dream dynasty of Li Kang and Messi joining forces.】

Messi celebrated simply.

He only equalized, still hasn't taken the lead.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked back to the midfield circle with his ecstatic teammates.

His stamina can no longer sustain the unmatched step frequency of his youth for long.

Piqué turned to comfort De Gea: 'They just happened to put together a perfect attacking chain. Messi won't make a mistake; his teammates will.'

The Manchester United goalkeeper couldn't refute that.

Looking back at Argentina's entire attacking process just now, Messi organized and linked like a parent, initiating the attack, but if any of Iguain, Rojo, Lo Celso, or Mascherano made a mistake, Spain could seize the chance to counterattack and expand the score again.

On the sidelines.

Minyano and the coaching staff were utterly helpless.

Bosque couldn't help but lightly clap.

The veteran Spanish coach had long held Messi in high esteem.

Even though he is a Real Madrid legend, a die‑hard Real Madrid fan, and has coached many superstars, he spares no praise for Messi.

On the other side.

Sampaoli celebrated wildly, took a few steps, then quickly calmed down.

Even if his former coaching style was still radical, on the World Cup knockout stage he still seems a bit weak.

Just like the team's defense in the two flank areas is weak.

One cannot obsess over attacking for the entire first half; the players' stamina must be considered.

In the stands.

Maradona clenched his fists, his cheeks flushed, and shouted excitedly:

We have to play like this!

A turtle‑shell defense gives no chance!

Give me an all‑out attack!

Attack until death!

As long as we don't put on Agüero!

The Argentine legends around him also got infected, cheering and shouting for the team!

Think back, when Maradona coached Argentina, how many forwards did he start with?

The higher‑up VIP boxes.

Xavi's expression was solemn.

"Li and Messi, on the national team level, don't seem to be going so smoothly."

"A single‑core leading the team ultimately still can't hide each side's problems."

Alonso smiled: 'Enjoy the match, but back at the hotel I still have to do the coaching exam paper.'

The two Iberian legendary midfielders are now both striving to earn their coaching certificates.

Not everyone is as gifted as Tuchel.

Harvey constantly shuttles between Madrid and the Middle East; after obtaining his certification, he will coach the Qatari team Al Sadd.

Alonso will become the head coach of Real Madrid's U14 youth team.

The match resumed.

Time passed second by second.

The situation gradually became dull.

Spain launched a possession press, but due to occasional small errors, it often led to a disconnect between the front and back.

Argentina temporarily lacked the ability to organize transitional attacks, as Sampaoli, through frequent position rotations, sought to offset individual matchup disadvantages, causing a significant drop in the players' stamina.

These potential factors, translated into visual effects, led the audience to wonder: Are Li Kang and Messi gathering power for a big move cooldown?

The commentator's adrenaline also gradually subsided.

"Xiao Yanqiang's defensive attitude is very proactive; after joining Juventus, I haven't seen pigs run, but I've eaten pork!"

"His father's nose is very straight and big, like a smoking pipe; people gave him the nickname: Smoking Pipe."

"After Higuain debuted, fans affectionately called him: Xiao Yanqiang."

"He's gotten much fatter than before; his jersey feels a bit tight, with a faint belly."

The closing stage of the first half.

Both sides finally resumed an expansive, attacking style.

The two cores are no longer strolling.

"Beautiful, Di Maria's body twists like a noodle, with no space left—perfect double-team by Carvajal and Saul!"

"Saul passed the ball to Li Kang."

"Li Kang surged forward, man and ball as one, striding with great strides. Messi is trying hard to chase, alas, he's old, can't keep up with the young whippersnapper!"

Messi gazed at the No. 6 jersey drifting farther away, feeling a bit powerless.

Caballero had little confidence; after playing a year at Chelsea, although he knew Morata's preferred foot was right, he still couldn't figure it out.

Facing a three-man encirclement by the Argentine back line.

He slipped a through pass.

Morata almost instantly kicked into gear at the moment Li Kang passed the ball.

Mercedo was half a step slow.

The Argentine penalty area was like a cake, lightly sliced by the ball's trajectory.

"Legendary connection!"

"Morata!"

"No unnecessary adjustments!"

"Right-footed shot!"

Caballero had little confidence; after playing a year at Chelsea, although he knew Morata's preferred foot was right, he still couldn't figure it out.

Clang.

The ball skimmed past the Argentine goalkeeper's crotch.

It hit the post.

It bounced back, hit Caballero's buttocks, and slowly rolled toward the goal.

Mascherano, lagging behind the defensive line, once again used a splitting motion, risking a groin tear, to clear the ball.

Finally.

The head referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half.

Spain 1:1 Argentina.

Li Kang and Messi each scored a goal.

Why does every football Easter egg chapter get blocked for "content violation"? If you're interested in the 18-19 midfield Messi video, feel free to check it out when you have time.

(End of chapter)