"Leo!"
"Leo!"
Not starting Rafael Leão against China was certainly an odd move from Santos. Even some of the Portuguese fans at the stadium were getting anxious.
Their opponents were the dark horse team that had beaten Argentina and Spain in succession. Don't blow this!
The camera turned to Santos.
The Portugal head coach was certainly getting on in years, but he definitely wasn't too old to think independently.
"I think Santos must have something in mind."
"Yeah, maybe he wants to use Rafael Leão as a surprise weapon?"
"I don't really agree with that. If Rafael Leão only comes on in the second half, then China can fully use the first half to build an advantage."
Just as the commentators described, after receiving Portugal's starting lineup before the match, Escribá was initially surprised, then immediately made some last-minute tactical adjustments.
Making tactical changes right before a match was a fairly aggressive move, especially in a massive tournament like the World Cup. It took tremendous courage to make such a choice.
But who was Escribá?
This was Saint Es!
Now that this World Cup had reached its final match, how many risks had Escribá already taken? One more made no difference.
Their opponents were Portugal, but China had to go all out in the first half!
"Go, go, go!"
Tang Ye spun while tightly marked by Rúben Neves, received Wang Shenchao's pass, then immediately launched a long ball toward Wei Shihao.
Wei Shihao!
"Fuck!"
Another mistake—Wei Shihao accidentally let the ball slip past him.
"OH!!!!"
Bernardo Silva suddenly changed direction at the sight of it and charged toward the ball.
Wei Shihao was chasing too. From a bird's-eye view, there wasn't much difference in their positions, but Bernardo Silva clearly handled the physical battle better.
Smack!
Bernardo Silva knocked the