The referee quickly ran to the sidelines. There was a TV screen here. The referee put on the headphones and said, "I'm in place, it's time to play!"
The video assistant referee replayed the shot of Messi's free kick hitting Li Mingyu in slow motion.
In this replay, the referee clearly saw that when Li Mingyu jumped up, the left hand used to block his face left his body slightly, and the speeding football happened to hit this hand.
However, such a ball depends entirely on the referee's thoughts.
If the referee awards a penalty kick, there will be no objection because Li Mingyu's arm has left his body, blocking the trajectory of the football.
But it would make sense if the referee did not award a penalty kick, because Li Mingyu opened his arms very little, and if the referee thought Li Mingyu was unconscious, he could have ignored it.
However, after watching the replay three more times, the referee took off his headphones.
The whole world's eyes are on this referee.
The referee drew a square in front of him with a serious face, and then pointed his right hand firmly into the penalty area of Spain National Team.
Damn it!
It's really a penalty!
Li Mingyu, who was waiting for the verdict in the penalty area, looked shocked and held his head in his hands, unable to believe that this was true.
Spain National Team's players rushed to the referee, hoping he could give an explanation.
The Argentina National Team players have already started high-fiving each other in celebration.
I never expected that there would be such a gift from heaven!
Thank you Li Mingyu for the gift package.
The referee waved his hand and asked all Spain National Team players to get out of the way. He walked up to Li Mingyu, took out a topaz War God card, and motioned to Li Mingyu.
It seems that the referee determined that Li Mingyu consciously and deliberately blocked Messi's shot when he took off, so he awarded the small package of Topaz War God card + penalty kick.
Looking at the unselfish referee, Li Mingyu couldn't get the other side to change the penalty even though he said it, and seeing the referee's face getting worse and worse, Li Mingyu very wisely left decisively just before the referee was about to continue to take out cards.
Messi carried the football and came to the penalty area of Spain.
The free kick became a penalty, much closer to the goal, and there was no wall.
Messi put the football on the penalty spot, pursed his lips, and had a very serious expression on his face.
This penalty kick is simply life-saving for Argentina.
If this goal is scored, then the two sides will be on the same starting line again, which will stabilize morale for Argentina.
But if the goal is not scored, then Argentina's morale will suffer a serious blow.
For Messi, that is even greater pressure. This is his last World Cup, and he has now entered the finals. He is only Por una Cabeza away from FIFA World Cup Trophy.
Spain Goalkeeper De Gea opened his arms and stared at Messi.
In this world, when it comes to penalty kicks, Messi is definitely one of the best.
Messi looked at De Gea calmly, and De Gea was also observing Messi's body language to determine which direction Messi might kick.
A penalty kick is actually a battle of wits and courage between the penalty kicker and the goalkeeper.
This is a very subtle momentum.
One of the world's top goalkeepers once said this, when I take a penalty kick, as long as I make eye contact with the opponent, I basically know which direction he will kick, and I am sure of it.
Therefore, in many cases, the person who takes the penalty kick will not make eye contact with the goalkeeper.
People who dare to make eye contact with the goalkeeper are basically players who are very confident in themselves.
Like Messi.
Messi has been observing De Gea since placing the ball, hoping to use his eyes or body language to make De Gea make errors in judgment.
The referee responsibly informed De Gea of the prohibition against moving his feet in advance. De Gea nodded, but his eyes were always on Messi.
The referee retreated to the ribs of the penalty area, looked at De Gea carefully, and blew the whistle.
Messi took two steps forward, flicked his left ankle, and pushed the football to the right side of De Gea.
De Gea misjudged the direction and could only watch helplessly as the football hit the goal behind him.
Seeing Messi running wildly with arms up, all Argentina fans in the audience set Lusail Iconic Stadium on fire again.
3:3 flat.
It can be said that this is the most exciting World Cup finals in so many years.
Not only were there enough goals, but the players from both sides did not play conservatively. It was a rare offensive battle.
De Gea took the ball out of the goal and drove it to the midfield with a big kick to vent his frustration.
Li Mingyu also shook his head, Damn, I really didn't handball the ball on purpose. I just saw the ball hitting my face and subconsciously raised my arm. Who knows, the referee actually awarded a penalty kick.
The two sides drew 3:3. After the restart, Argentina National Team's offensive was still very fierce, but it was no longer as determined as when it was falling behind.
The combination of Messi in the frontcourt gave Argentina National Team a slight lead.
Li Mingyu Although the high fever has almost gone away, his slightly weak legs make him really powerless against some balls.
Spain National Team's defense was very tenacious, and it was even more determined to double-team Messi, which put Argentina National Team's offense into trouble.
The two sides traded offense and defense until the 75th minute, but the two sides had not yet been able to break the deadlock again.
The head coaches of both sides also began to deploy their troops at this time.
Enrique thought about it again and again, but still didn't win Li Mingyu. In such an important game, Enrique didn't want Li Mingyu to have any regrets.
Enrique replaced the cramped Fati with Ferran Torres.
Due to an injury last season, Fati underwent a partial meniscus removal operation on his knee. Although the operation was very successful, it still had some impact on Fati.
After Fati was substituted, he did not return to the bench. Instead, he stood next to the head coach, nervously paying attention to every move on the field.
Fati, who is half a year younger than Li Mingyu, is ecstatic that he can participate in the finals of World Cup.
Seeing that his team had the opportunity to win FIFA World Cup Trophy, Fati couldn't contain his excitement.
After the head coaches of both sides were replaced, the playing styles of both sides suddenly became conservative.
After all, it is the last fifteen minutes. At this time, if either side loses the ball, it will definitely be fatal.
The head coaches and players of both sides understand this very well, so substitutions are basically all match-up substitutions. The physical balance of each position must be maintained and a sudden collapse of one position cannot occur.
The fans in the audience and the fans in front of the TV were equally excited.
There are still fifteen minutes left, maybe the champion of this World Cup will be born.
Fans from both sides in the stands sang their national anthems loudly to cheer for the players below.
On the court, whether it is Argentina or Spain, they cherish the control of the ball very much. If there is no chance, they would rather give up the offensive opportunity than hand over the ball at will.
After all, as long as the football is at your feet, the opponent will not have any chance.
Time is passing slowly, and fans all over the world are waiting. Looking at this, the possibility of overtime is very high.
The fourth official took out a sign indicating that there would be three minutes of stoppage time in the second half.
Spain National Team finally took possession of the ball, and Li Mingyu firmly controlled the ball in the midfield.
Moreover, Argentina's players did not dare to rush forward rashly for fear of losing their defensive position.
Two minutes passed and the countdown came to the last minute.
The referee kept looking at his watch.
Li Mingyu was also slowly calculating the time in his mind. He planned to take a shot before running out of time to see if he was lucky enough to win.
However, Li Mingyu did not let Argentina National Team feel the murderous intention coming.
Li Mingyu continued to cooperate with Pedri on the wing. Argentina's players did not go out and just stood there waiting for the end of the game.
The referee has already put the whistle in his mouth, and there is probably not much time left.
After Li Mingyu received the cross pass from Pedri, he suddenly pulled the ball and shook the careless Paredes away, and then Li Mingyu quickly moved forward.
This sudden situation made Argentina fans, who were already waiting for overtime, stunned.
Messi, who was some distance away from Li Mingyu, was frightened and shouted, "Quick, guard against him!"
Argentina National Team's defense line all pounced on Li Mingyu.
Although Li Mingyu was very sudden, Argentina National Team's defensive formation was not chaotic.
This is equivalent to Li Mingyu challenging Argentina's entire back line by himself.
Li Mingyu rushed forward two steps and immediately raised his foot to shoot from a long distance.
However, before the defenders could block the gun with their bodies, they saw Li Mingyu stagger and throw himself to the ground.
"Oh no!"
Off the court, the head coach Argentina was so angry that he kicked away a mineral water bottle.
At this time, the three minutes of stoppage time have actually arrived.
However, due to Argentina National Team's foul, this is a free kick in the frontcourt. The referee will only blow the whistle to end the game after giving the free kick to Spain National Team.
This gives Spain National Team a chance to kill Argentina National Team!
Argentina National Team's players all surrounded the referee. They thought that Li Mingyu was suspected of diving with this ball, and the game time had expired. The referee should declare the end of the ninety-minute game.
However, the referee ignored the Argentina National Team player's appeal. Not only did he resolutely award a free kick, but two yellows turned one red. Paredes, who already had a topaz War God card, was ejected directly from the field by the referee.
For Argentina National Team, this is simply adding insult to injury.
Even if Spain National Team didn't score this goal, then in the next thirty minutes of overtime, Argentina National Team would have to fight ten against eleven.
However, the Argentina people haven't thought that far yet. They must ensure that the goal is not scored before they have a chance to play overtime.
Li Mingyu picked up the football and stood at the penalty spot with a firm look on his face.
This position is directly opposite the goal, about thirty-five meters away from the goal.
For Li Mingyu, this distance has already entered his range.
Argentina National Team formed a human wall of six people, blocking almost the entire front.
However, Argentina National Team pays great attention to guarding other Spain players. After all, as a veteran of tactical free kicks, they are naturally afraid that Li Mingyu will try to treat them the same way and do the same to them.
Li Mingyu stepped back twelve or three meters. It seemed that Li Mingyu was going to use his Power Free Kick to end the game.
Faced with such an opportunity, even Li Mingyu couldn't help but feel his heart beating crazily.
As long as I can score this goal, I will become a hero, defeat Argentina, and win FIFA World Cup Trophy.
What a wonderful script this is!
Li Mingyu stood on the spot and did two vertical jumps to tense up the muscles in his legs.
If it were in the past, Li Mingyu could be said to be more than 70% sure about this kind of ball.
But today, my slightly weak legs greatly reduced my chances of winning.
The referee spent nearly half a minute making the players on both sides behave more civilized in the penalty area.
With the referee's crisp whistle, the whole world fell silent.
Whether Li Mingyu can beat Argentina with a direct free kick and once again help Spain lift FIFA World Cup Trophy depends on the next few seconds.
No one could have predicted in advance how difficult these few seconds would be for these two teams.
Li Mingyu started to run with small steps.
The fans in the stands all held their breath and clasped their hands together, either praying that the goal would definitely be scored, or praying that the goal would never be scored.
God: It's so hard for me!
Ronaldo in the box did not expect that this game would be so dramatic.
At the last moment, there may be a buzzer beater. This is a real buzzer beater. Regardless of whether the ball can be scored or not, the referee will directly blow the whistle to end the game.
Argentina National Team can only defend this shot with all their might so that they can have a chance to play overtime.
Seeing Li Mingyu's familiar steps, Ronaldo showed a strange expression.
This young man not only knows his own stunts, but also learned Roberto Carlos's free kick moves in a decent manner.
If Power Free Kick of Li Mingyu was kicked out with the left foot, it would be exactly the same as Roberto Carlos.
From small steps to high-speed running, Li Mingyu is getting closer and closer to football, and the hearts of fans all over the world are lifted.
Argentina Goalkeeper Damian-Martinez is the most nervous person on the entire court.