Anyone strolling along the Neva River during the white nights and gazing toward Krestovsky Island would see a stadium that looked nothing like a stadium.
Saint Petersburg Stadium.
It sat at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland like a spaceship.
The locals liked to call it the Zenit Arena, or the Spaceship.
Officially completed only in March 2017, it was the most expensive stadium in all of Russia, bar none. Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa had designed it, pouring all his visions of the future into the land where Peter the Great had once galloped on horseback.
"Zhuangdian'er TV! Zhuangdian'er TV! Good evening, viewers!"
"We're bringing you live coverage of a Group A match in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup."
"China against Portugal."
"The Asian Cup champions and the European Championship champions are about to face off in this city of white nights."
"This is their first meeting in FIFA Confederations Cup history."
Before the match.
The media around the world had already set the tone.
Portugal's Record ran the headline: "An opening win in the FIFA Confederations Cup, beyond any doubt."
The article confidently declared that the China National Team had only one superstar, Li Luo. The rest of its players were merely Chinese Super League standard.
The United Kingdom's The Guardian was even more direct: "Poor Li, Great Britain will weep for you."
Spain's Marca teased: "A crushing rout is coming."
Of course.
The Sun still had the strangest angle.
It paid no attention to the buzz around the match, instead tracking Li Luo's private life every day. That reporter named Smith had hidden in the river and had even been caught by Lippi twice.
The players' tunnel.
The atmosphere was heavy, charged with tension.
Bernardo Silva gazed admiringly at Li Luo's back, his eyes brimming