Because France National Team knows very well the consequences of insufficient physical strength.
The last time World Cup and France won the championship, they relied on their abundant physical strength.
Their opponent, Croatia National Team, defeated Denmark on penalty kick in the quarter-finals, Russia on penalty kick in the quarter-finals, and England in overtime in the semi-finals.
After playing for 120 minutes in three consecutive games, Croatia was completely exhausted when he finally faced France.
France National Team was waiting for work and easily won Croatia 4:2.
This time, it's their turn.
Three days of rest left them unable to fully recover their physical strength.
Even the young Mbappe felt that there was something wrong with his physical fitness.
Griezmann, who is 32 years old, and Karim Benzema, who will turn 35 in a few days, have already tried their best in the group stage.
Therefore, in the first fifteen minutes of this game, France National Team's offensive was very sharp.
Spain's defense has always been their weak point. Faced with France National Team's indiscriminate bombardment, they seemed a little confused.
But Spain's defense still blocked France National Team's three attacks.
Fifteen minutes later, France National Team's offensive naturally weakened.
Spain National Team took the opportunity to take control of the midfield.
Of the frontcourt trio of France National Team, only Mbappe still has the energy to return to defense, while the other two have already started walking in the frontcourt.
Although France National Team has a luxurious midfield and frontcourt, but now that their physical strength is an issue, it is difficult for them to organize offense and defense in the midfield.
Li Mingyu was in the midfield and began to run and pass frequently, completely revitalizing Spain's midfield and frontcourt.
In the 20th minute, Li Mingyu was in the frontcourt and used a fake move to get past Kante's defense.
But Kante reacted very quickly and leaned against Li Mingyu with his body, making him unable to speed up at all and had to pass back again.
Kante is the midfield general of Premier League's powerful team Chelsea. He mainly defends fiercely, and his explosive power and stealing ability are among the top few players of Premier League.
Li Mingyu played against Chelsea when he was Barcelona, and I was very impressed with Kante.
At that time, Kante caused huge trouble to Li Mingyu in the midfield. In the last round of the group stage, Li Mingyu was completely restricted by Kante in the first half. Although at the beginning of the second half, Barcelona took advantage of a mistake by Chelsea and scored a goal, it cannot conceal the fact that Li Mingyu was completely suppressed by Kante in that game.
This season, when Premier League comes to the arena, Manchester City has not yet met Chelsea, and it is not clear how strong Kante is now.
But in today's game, Li Mingyu still felt the huge pressure from Kante.
When I saw Kante, Li Mingyu, I thought of France National Team, a midfielder from the past.
Makelele.
He is also from France, he also plays for Chelsea, he has the same midfielder, the same skin color, and the same fierceness.
In fact, Makelele is now Chelsea's technical mentor.
Kante can be said to be a steel midfielder trained by Makelele himself.
Back then, Makelele, one person could support the backs of Real Madrid and Chelsea.
In that era, which top frontcourt did not suffer under the feet of Makelele.
France National Team is a team rich in defensive and sweeping midfielders.
Vieira, Makelele, Matuidi, Kante, etc., these are the classic midfielders produced by France National Team.
This is a feature of France National Team.
If Spain National Team's passing and control is completed through the front midfielder, then France National Team's offense and defense start from the midfielder position.
Although Spain National Team, driven by Li Mingyu, controlled the rhythm of the midfield very well, when the football reached France National Team's half, it was as if it was stuck in a quagmire and it was difficult to move forward.
However, Spain National Team is not in a hurry. He keeps the ball at his feet and grasps the rhythm of the game. This is Spain National Team's style.
The ball is at my feet, I can go as fast as I want and as slow as I want.
However, France National Team is definitely not willing to defend so passively and play according to the opponent's rhythm. It is estimated that France National Team's players will be dragged to death by Spain in about forty minutes before the second half.
Karim Benzema and Griezmann, who had taken a short break, also came back to participate in the defense. This time, Spain's passing rhythm was interrupted.
By the thirty-fifth minute, the deadlock was being broken.
Spain National Team successfully stole the ball in the midfield, and Li Mingyu intercepted Rabiot's pass.
France National Team's lineup suddenly stagnated and began to shrink back crazily.
However, how could Li Mingyu, who had finally seized the opportunity, let go of such an opportunity.
"Start 'Assault'."
Li Mingyu turned on the plug-in directly in the middle circle.
One step on the accelerator, two steps to start, and three steps to peak.
When Kante faced the powerful Li Mingyu, there was no better way.
He already wanted to stretch out his hands to stop Li Mingyu's breakthrough, even if he got the topaz War God card.
But Li Mingyu, who had reached the peak of speed, shook his body and freed Kante's stretched arms.
Kante staggered two steps and looked at Li Mingyu's retreating figure in horror.
Damn it, what did this kid eat in a year?
You know, a year ago, Li Mingyu couldn't help but feel embarrassed in front of Kante. With a slight lift of his small body, Li Mingyu flew out.
Now he reached out to stop the opponent, but he was forced to break free. This was the first time in Kante's career.
After breaking through Kante's defense, France National Team's back line was basically useless.
Because their defense line has been torn apart by Morata and Ferran Torres.
Li Mingyu easily passed Kimpembe's defense. As soon as his feet entered the penalty area, Li Mingyu directly raised his feet and fired a long shot.
Facing this powerful long-range shot, goalkeeper Lloris could only watch the ball and sigh.
This ball made all France National Team's plans before the game come to nothing.
Not only did they not score first, but Spain National Team scored first.
The whole world knows what a terrible team Spain is after taking the lead.
At this time, the camera turned to Mbappe.
Young Mbappe has a trace of unwillingness on his face.
This time, the lineup of World Cup and France National Team can be said to be very luxurious. Mbappe and France National Team are both here to defend the championship.
However, the difficult schedule in the group stage almost overturned their position as the defending champion.
Although they made it to the knockout rounds, who knew that in the first round they would face Spain National Team, who was waiting for work and was gaining momentum.
This Spain National Team team has a very balanced offense and defense. Although the defense is the weak point, this is also relative.
As long as you let Spain's midfielder control the rhythm, then the weak points of Spain's defense can be ignored.
Just like France National Team, there are three world-class forwards, but they can't get the ball, how can they threaten Spain's defense?
After scoring the goal, Li Mingyu rushed to the edge of the field and performed a handsome sliding kneel, full of domineering.
Spain fans cheered for their hero with warm applause and cheers.
Catherine saw Li Mingyu's goal in the stands and jumped up with excitement.
The flashing car lights on his chest made the fans nearby stop cheering for Li Mingyu.
Although Bella was also very happy, she was reserved by nature and used elegant applause to celebrate this wonderful goal for her cousin.
France National Team's players seemed a little sluggish, and Li Mingyu's goal dealt a huge blow to their confidence.
After the restart, France National Team was very impatient and eager to equalize the score, which caused their offense to fall into a one-on-one fight.
Mbappe tried to use his speed to attack Spain National Team's defense.
But Spain National Team's defense against Mbappe was very targeted. A defender stood in front of Mbappe, making it impossible for Mbappe to run fast. Behind him, Pedri was always waiting for an opportunity to steal.
Sometimes, Busquets would even come over to take care of him.
Mbappe's two consecutive passes were easily blocked by Laporta, and together with Pedri, they intercepted the ball at his feet.
Mbappe fell to the ground after being intercepted twice and appealed to the referee.
However, the referee from Asia ignored Mbappe's complaint and made a gesture to ask him to get up quickly.
Mbappe, who could not suppress his temper, pushed Pedri to the ground from behind during a counterattack, causing a confrontation between the two teams.
The referee Shahad Mirdasi from Saudi Arabia rushed over with a livid face and separated the players from both sides.
"Busquets, tell your players to step back, yes, step back and go back to your positions!"
"Lloris, step back, don't talk, step back to your half, and don't cause trouble for me."
The referee asked the captains of both sides to leave with their players in English with a heavy accent.
Lloris grabbed the chattering Mbappe and quickly left the scene.
After the incident calmed down, the referee said, "Mbappe, come here and stand here."
Mbappe came over with an unhappy look on his face and said, "Sir, couldn't you see the foul they just committed against me?"
As he said that, Mbappe pointed at the footprints on his socks and said angrily, "Look, these were all kicked by them!"
The referee looked at Mbappe coldly, took out the topaz War God card unmoved, expressed his gratitude to him, and said, "Mbappe, you need to control your emotions. You are not playing football now, you are kicking someone. If you do this again, I will send you out without mercy. Do you understand?"
Saudi Arabia The referee Shahad Mirdasi looked at Mbappe with a stern expression. Even if you are the forward of the world champion, so what. In the game where I am refereeing, I am the one who talks.
Mbappe was caught by the momentum of this Asia referee. He opened his mouth and didn't know what to say. In the end, he shook his hand and left angrily and helplessly.
Mbappe's actions in the next game were indeed much more standardized. After all, he also knew that this was World Cup's knockout match. If France National Team lost because he was sent off, then after the game, France fans would be able to scold themselves.
Thinking about the overwhelming curses, Mbappe still shrank back and gave in.
The referee used his dignity to make the players on the court realize who the boss here is.
From then on, the scene of this game became very harmonious.
The first half of the game was spent in this inexplicable harmony.
The score of 1:0 made Spain players return to the locker room with smiles on their faces.
After returning to the locker room, Li Mingyu sat on a chair and began to close his eyes to rest, reviewing the first half in his mind.
In the first half, Li Mingyu did not gain the upper hand every time in the confrontation with Kante.
Kante's defensive ability is definitely the strongest defensive midfielder Li Mingyu has encountered so far.
Fast, powerful, accurate in judgment, commonly known as "black and hard"!
It is difficult for Li Mingyu to use fake movements to shake the opponent away. Even if he uses frequent movements to pull away, Kante will quickly find Li Mingyu's position.
Therefore, Li Mingyu spent a lot of energy in this first half.
The other teammates were constantly discussing some issues in the first half. The atmosphere in Spain's locker room was very harmonious.
After a while, head coach Enrique came in with his assistant coach.
Everyone's voices immediately became quiet, and everyone looked at Enrique.
Enrique made brief eye contact with each player. This is one of his habits.
He hopes that he can use his eyes to sense what the players are thinking now, and also convey his confidence and determination to the other party.
"Guys, the work in the first half was done well, France National Team's strategy failed!"
Enrique praised everyone as soon as he opened his mouth. All of a sudden, all the players showed confident smiles.
In the first half of the game, although there was only one goal, the game was very difficult.
Especially in the first fifteen minutes, France National Team's offense was very fierce. Spain's defense was under pressure. They were jumping back and forth on the edge of losing the ball.
Fortunately, they withstood France National Team's three attacks. After France National Team's momentum faded, the midfielder led by Li Mingyu quickly took over the game.
Moreover, Li Mingyu used a single-handed attack after a steal to help the team lead the score, which became very beneficial to Spain's tactical arrangement in the second half.
Enrique looked at Li Mingyu with admiration. For this young man who came out of La Masia, Enrique admired him very much. No matter how much praise he put on him, it would be pale.
In 4 games, 9 goals have been scored, which many teams have failed to achieve after participating in one or even several World Cup.
This time Golden Boot has basically been locked in Li Mingyu.
Currently ranked second is Messi with 5 goals. The gap of 4 goals is as big as a chasm on the stage of World Cup.
Moreover, with Li Mingyu's state, this ball is definitely not his last ball in this World Cup.
Enrique arranged the tactical ideas for the second half of the game and unified everyone's thinking.
Because of this cup competition format, one game determines the outcome, and the advantage of scoring first is infinite.
Especially for a team like Spain that is good at defensive counterattacks, after scoring a goal, they retreat to defense and engage in quick counterattacks, which will definitely make France National Team very uncomfortable now.
Indeed, now France National Team's head coach Deschamps is standing outside the locker room with a bitter look on his face, thinking about the tactics for the second half with his assistant coaching staff.
And their locker room was as dead as a cemetery.