Soccer: I have the attributes of Messi in his Prime

Chapter 653: We Are the Champions! (Final Chapter)

The French team's four-man defense on the wing failed, allowing the ball to be pushed into a dangerous area near their penalty box.

The atmosphere on the field shifted dramatically. Just moments ago, the French players were brimming with confidence, but now they were starting to panic. They had worked so hard to score one goal back and couldn't afford to let the other team score again.

So, when Lin Quan dribbled past N'Zonzi, Pogba rushed over from the side and knocked Lin Quan to the ground, committing a tactical foul to stop Spain's ground attack.

Of course, Pogba had to pay the price for this.

The referee immediately showed Pogba a yellow card. It was clear that he had aimed directly for the player, and the yellow card was fully justified—some might even say he got off lightly.

Lin Quan rubbed his shoulder. Pogba had put a lot of force into that collision, almost as if he were afraid Lin Quan wouldn't go down. If it had been another player, they might have injured their shoulder and been forced to leave the field.

"Lin, are you okay?"

Iniesta was nearby when it happened and saw how hard Pogba had hit him. Worried, he asked Lin Quan if he was injured.

"It's not a big deal. Do you want to take the free kick, or should I?"

Since Iniesta hadn't had a shot on goal since coming on, Lin Quan thought he'd let him take this opportunity.

"I'll take it," Iniesta replied after a brief hesitation, accepting Lin Quan's offer. He really wanted to score in his farewell match for the national team, giving his international career the perfect ending.

"Alright, I'll set you up," Lin Quan nodded, standing beside Iniesta, making it hard for the French players to guess who would actually take the free kick.

"Spain has earned another free kick near the box, with both Lin Quan and Iniesta standing over the ball," the commentators said excitedly when Spain got the free kick. Earlier in the first half, Lin Quan had already scored two goals from free kicks—could he do it again in the second half?

If Lin Quan managed to score again, he would make World Cup history, becoming the only player to score three free kicks in a single World Cup match and four goals in a World Cup final!

"Considering Lin Quan's brilliant performance in the first half, I think Iniesta is just there to feint. Lin Quan will be the one to take the kick!" Most commentators leaned toward Lin Quan, not only because his free kick ability was superior, but because everyone wanted to witness history being made.

By this point, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was so nervous that his palms were sweating. He completely ignored Iniesta and kept his focus locked on Lin Quan. In Lloris's mind, there was no way anyone but Lin Quan would take the kick.

Lloris told himself he absolutely couldn't let this guy score a third free kick—it would be humiliating!

During the previous free kicks, Lin Quan had already shown his full range of techniques. Although Lloris wasn't 100% confident he could stop Lin Quan's shot, he felt much more prepared than before.

Lin Quan began his run-up, but Iniesta didn't move!

Just as expected, Iniesta was a decoy.

Many people watching had the same thought, but as Lloris braced himself to stop Lin Quan's free kick, something unexpected happened—Lin Quan ran over the ball without touching it.

Damn it! He'd been tricked!

Lloris was caught off guard and quickly shifted his focus to Iniesta, who was now winding up for a shot. With a powerful kick, the ball soared into the air, curving gracefully like a full moon as it descended toward the French goal.

Lloris stretched with all his might and managed to get his fingertips on the ball, altering its trajectory just enough for it to strike the post and bounce out of bounds.

Iniesta shook his head with a smile from a distance—he knew his free kick wasn't quite up to Lin Quan's level.

"Not bad, Iniesta, that was a great shot!"

"Wow, didn't know you had that in you, Iniesta!"

"Who would've thought, really impressive!"

Despite missing the goal, Iniesta's teammates showered him with compliments—no one criticized or blamed him. Iniesta rarely took free kicks, as he wasn't the main set-piece taker for either Barcelona or the national team. For a player not known for free kicks, managing to get such a good shot off was quite impressive.

Lloris's save was also outstanding—if he'd been just a fraction slower, or if his high-ball handling had been even slightly off, it would've been nearly impossible to stop the shot.

"Thanks, everyone. Thanks so much!" Iniesta smiled, feeling completely satisfied even though the ball didn't go in. With such wonderful teammates, what more could he ask for?

On the French side, they were filled with relief. After narrowly escaping another goal, the French players crowded around Lloris, hugging and high-fiving him. Despite conceding three goals, Lloris had pulled off some fantastic saves, earning the love and frustration of French fans alike.

But in fairness, no other goalkeeper would have done better than Lloris against those shots. You couldn't really blame him—the opposing team had a cheat code in Lin Quan!

Spain earned another corner kick. Learning from their earlier mistake, they placed several players outside the box to control the area in case of a counterattack. If they lost possession, they could quickly shut down any French attempt to break away, even if it meant committing a tactical foul.

With the game nearing its end, Spain's players were willing to risk yellow cards to stop dangerous counterattacks—even red cards were a small price to pay. Spain's coach, Del Bosque, still had one substitution left, so he could easily swap out Diego Costa for a defensive player.

On the French side, the players were both anxious and excited. They, too, remembered how they had scored their first goal on the counterattack. It was clear that launching fast counters when the opposing team pressed forward was the most efficient way to score.

They were only one goal behind now, and if they could equalize, the momentum would be on their side.

Lin Quan and Iniesta discussed their strategy, ultimately deciding that Iniesta would take the corner while Lin Quan stood on the edge of the box, ready to receive the ball. Seeing this setup, the French team sent two players to mark them.

But instead of passing directly to Lin Quan, Iniesta sent the ball to Carvajal, who had made an unexpected run down the flank. Spain now had a 3-on-2 advantage on the wing. Carvajal pretended to drive the ball down the line toward the box, drawing the French defender with him, before passing it back to Iniesta, who had left the corner area. Iniesta then passed to Lin Quan, who immediately made a sharp through pass toward the edge of the box.

Carvajal, sprinting to get ahead of the French defenders, received the ball just inside the French penalty area.

Alarms went off for the French defense as their players, including Lloris, rushed to cover this side of the field. But Carvajal didn't shoot—instead, he tried to pass the ball to Diego Costa, who was in a better position. Costa was wide open after the defenders had been pulled away.

Unfortunately, the ball was deflected by a French player's leg, causing it to go off course. Despite Costa's desperate slide to reach it, he couldn't make contact, and the ball rolled just past the goal line!

The nearby French players were drenched in cold sweat—just inches away from an own goal.

Since the French player was the last to touch the ball, Spain earned yet another corner kick. By this point, the game had reached the 86th minute. Time was running out.

"Should we change tactics? Send the ball straight into the box, or try a passing play again?"

Before taking the corner, Iniesta consulted with Lin Quan and Busquets. The last time they hadn't sent the ball directly into the box because Spain's players were too short to win headers against the taller French defenders. Without a height advantage, scoring via header was unlikely. Plus, losing possession at this stage of the game was dangerous—if the French launched a fast counterattack, all of Spain's efforts could go to waste.

"Let's go for another passing play," Lin Quan decided after a moment of thought, opting for a more conservative approach. This time, however, he planned to handle the ball himself. That way, even if they couldn't score, he could at least control the ball and run down the clock.

With the game winding down, France's players were pressing aggressively, and Spain's players were visibly tired, struggling to keep up with the pace. At this point, Lin Quan was the only one who could reliably hold onto the ball.

"Alright," Iniesta agreed without hesitation. Although he had more seniority, he fully trusted Lin Quan's judgment, treating him as the team's leader.

The French players had learned from earlier mistakes and realized Spain was unlikely to send the ball directly into the box. So this time, they sent even more players to cover the wings, where Spain had been building their attacks.

Seeing this, Lin Quan began to slowly move backward, signaling to Iniesta as if suggesting a change in tactics. The French players marking Lin Quan were a bit confused by his actions, but seeing him move to an awkward position for receiving a pass, they relaxed a bit. As long as Lin Quan didn't get the ball, everything would be fine.

But just as they were breathing a sigh of relief, Lin Quan abruptly changed direction, sprinting forward like an arrow shot from a bow.

The French defenders, focused on watching Iniesta and the ball, were caught off guard. They had followed Lin Quan as he moved backward, with their attention fixed on Iniesta and the ball. Now, Lin Quan's sudden dash left them scrambling to keep up.

This gave Lin Quan the time and space he needed to receive the ball.

Not wasting a moment, Iniesta sent a perfect pass to the incoming Lin Quan. Instead of turning and dribbling, Lin Quan immediately sent the ball toward the baseline.

After taking the corner kick, Iniesta had sprinted toward that area and was perfectly positioned to receive Lin Quan's pass.

The two players had no need for words or even eye contact—their coordination was like that of old battle-hardened teammates.

Umtiti rushed toward Iniesta, trying to stop him, but Iniesta had already passed the ball before he could intervene. Meanwhile, Lin Quan had already completed his turn and was sprinting forward to receive the pass inside the box.

Umtiti was out of position, Varane was blocked by Piqué, and Lin Quan had a brief moment to shoot.

Without hesitation, Lin Quan took the shot. N'Zonzi, seeing the attempt, immediately slid in to block it.

For most players, this would have been a clean shot. But N'Zonzi, with his long legs, had an incredible reach. Just before Lin Quan could complete his shot, N'Zonzi's slide took him down.

The referee blew his whistle immediately, awarding a penalty to Spain and showing N'Zonzi a yellow card—a yellow card plus a penalty, or what's known as a "yellow-pen combo."

In fact, the referee had shown some leniency. Had he been stricter, he could have issued a red card and sent N'Zonzi off.

The French players surrounded the referee, pleading for mercy—not for N'Zonzi, but hoping he would overturn the penalty decision. This penalty would be the nail in their coffin. Down by one goal, giving the opponent a penalty seemed like the end for France.

But the referee didn't budge. If he canceled the penalty, people would suspect foul play.

"You take it, Iniesta," Lin Quan offered the penalty kick to Iniesta, who hesitated before finally accepting the kind gesture.

Facing France's goalkeeper, Iniesta remained calm, outwitting Lloris with a change of pace before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

France's goal had been breached once again, bringing the score to 4-2.

With the game in the 87th minute, this was a lethal blow to France's hopes.

Even though this was the fourth goal, Spain's fans erupted into wild celebrations.

Surely this was it, right? France couldn't possibly come back now, could they? Even with stoppage time, there were only about eight minutes left—could France really score two goals in that time?

To the Spanish fans, this was more than just a celebration of a goal—it was a celebration of their soon-to-be World Cup victory.

Some fans, already prepared for this moment, pulled out replica World Cup trophies from the stands, hoisting them high in premature celebration.

Sure, celebrating early wasn't usually a good idea, but with the game almost over, it seemed safe enough.

France's morale was truly shattered this time.

Why? Why was it that every time they clawed back a goal and saw a glimmer of hope, the Spanish team would quickly crush it?

This had happened again and again, torturing them.

If Spain could score so easily, why didn't they just score four goals in the first half and be done with it? At least that way, France could have died quickly, instead of clinging to hope and fantasy, only to have it repeatedly crushed, leaving them disappointed and ultimately hopeless.

This way of losing was too cruel!

When Spain finished celebrating, the game had reached the 89th minute. France desperately tried to attack, but Spain's tactical fouls interrupted them. With so little time left, Spain's players who hadn't received yellow cards could freely commit tactical fouls to break up France's rhythm.

These constant fouls made it impossible for France to find the same attacking flow they had earlier. While they earned several free kicks, they didn't have any top-tier set-piece takers, and with their nerves frayed, their free kicks were mostly ineffective.

The 90 minutes of regular time quickly ended, with six minutes of stoppage time added.

The Spanish coach, Del Bosque, protested to the fourth official, and the Spanish fans voiced their displeasure, feeling that six minutes was a bit too long

Meanwhile, the French side felt the extra time was far too short—they needed more.

But even with six minutes, they couldn't score.

Instead, Spain caught them off guard with a counterattack. However, Diego Costa, exhausted by this point, lacked the energy to finish, and was taken down just outside the box by a retreating French defender, giving Spain another free kick.

The free kick was in a great position, and when Lin Quan stood over the ball, both sets of fans grew tense.

The Spanish fans were eager to see Lin Quan complete his hat trick of free kicks, while the French fans dreaded the possibility that this goal would make them the background for a new World Cup record.

Sure enough, Lin Quan calmly chipped the ball into the top right corner with a simple "falling leaf" shot. Lloris had guessed the right direction, but the shot was too perfectly placed for him to reach.

The score was now 5-2. Lin Quan had scored four goals in the final, breaking the World Cup final goal-scoring record and becoming the first player in history to score four goals in a World Cup final.

A few minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle, and in front of fans worldwide, the Spanish national team once again lifted the World Cup trophy, completing an unprecedented World Cup three-peat.

Lin Quan, with his extraordinary performance throughout the tournament, claimed both the Golden Boot and the MVP awards, along with a host of other honors.

With the departure of veterans like Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso, and David Silva, Spain's golden generation had officially come to an end.

But a new era of brilliance, led by Lin Quan and other young players, was just beginning!

(The End)