The All-Around Center Forward

Portugal was rapidly pressing forward, aiming to disrupt Croatia's midfield passing rhythm.

"Press up! Press up!"

Cristiano Ronaldo directed his teammates, while also running tirelessly himself.

He knew very well that there was a gap in strength between Portugal and Croatia, so it would be better to actively seek opportunities in the first half rather than playing passively.

Moreover, for a team like Croatia, once they controlled the rhythm, the game would only get worse.

The Portuguese players also ran tirelessly, and their high pressing was clearly effective, quickly forming a encirclement.

But the problem was, Croatia's passing remained stable.

This was where the two midfield cores, Rakitić and Modrić, came into play.

Centered around these two, one in front and one behind, the front and back lines were tightly connected.

The wings tucked in, the center forward dropped back, making the entire formation more compact, with distances perfectly maintained.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Croatia's passing frequency had a mysterious rhythm; it didn't seem that fast, but it was all about being reasonable and just right.

Every time Portugal's encirclement was about to form, Croatia would perfectly pass the ball away.

At the same time, they wouldn't let themselves fall into a dangerous situation.

Just as Portugal's overall formation was flattened,

Modrić suddenly ran forward two steps. Cristiano Ronaldo noticed this and immediately called out:

"Defenders, watch your backs!"

Sure enough, the next second, Modrić gently chipped the ball as it came to him.

The ball soared over the defense and accurately landed in the open space behind the right wing-back.

And there, Perisic immediately stepped forward.

With Cristiano Ronaldo's warning, Portugal's left-back Pereira didn't lose his position, immediately catching up to Perisic and blocking his horizontal movement.

At the same time, the lone defensive midfielder also rushed over.

Seeing no space to advance, Perisic slightly frowned. He settled the ball and wasn't in a hurry, simply making a feint. When he realized Pereira wasn't fooled, he straightened up and passed the ball back to Rakitić in the half-space.

Rakitić received the ball, turned, and passed it back to Modrić.

Modrić shifted the ball to the left, and this time, Suker initiated a probing attack.

Unconsciously, eight minutes of game time had passed.

During this period, Portugal had intercepted the ball, but it was only a touch; they couldn't settle the ball and immediately lost possession, while the ball remained firmly under Croatia's control.

"Portugal's situation is not good!"

The Portuguese commentator couldn't help but exclaim.

It was more than just not good; it was suffocating!

For a full eight minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo hadn't even had a single touch of the ball!

He had been passively defending the entire time.

Croatia wasn't a tiki-taka team, but that didn't mean their passing and control lacked threat.

Suker, Rakitić, Modrić – these three were all true number tens!

And behind them, there was a defensive stalwart named Vukojević, allowing them to pass with confidence.

It could be said that Portugal's situation at this moment was much more dire than what the fans saw.

On Croatia's side, Suker constantly moved left and right. He mostly used one-touch passes and didn't dribble much.

After all, the current situation was primarily about probing; compared to attacking, ball control was more crucial.

However, during this process, Suker also felt a bit emotional.

Rakitić, Modrić, Mandžukić, including Perisic—these guys suddenly seemed to have improved their game.

During the European Cup Qualifiers, although they had played together, they were far from reaching this state.

It felt like everyone was particularly confident after receiving the ball. They dared to make moves, and even in complex situations, they could extract the ball in the most concise way.

Modrić dictated the rhythm, although he hadn't launched a threatening attack.

But a few probing attempts had already made Portugal break out in a cold sweat.

It could be said that if this probing continued, Portugal's defense would collapse sooner or later!

Rakitić's dribbling was also excellent, and the most crucial thing was his confidence!

The old Rakitić, although he also liked to hold the ball, wouldn't play with such confidence.

Now, his movements were very fluid, and his midfield escapes were extremely brilliant.

Compared to Modrić, Rakitić played more of a technical role.

It could even be said that because of Rakitić, Portugal's defensive midfielder dared not get too close to Suker's flank.

Once he leaned too much towards the left wing, Rakitić could completely take a step past the defense, and at that point, Portugal's defense would be almost exposed to Croatia's attack.

However,

Suker turned his head to look at his flank.

"It's time to slowly exert some force!"

Thinking this, Suker began to actively drop back a bit.

He still couldn't receive the ball in too advanced a position; once Suker appeared in an advanced position, Portugal's entire defense seemed to react like an emergency, sticking tightly to him.

Therefore, Suker needed to drop back a bit, and he also needed some space to accelerate.

Speed could not only help him break through on the wing.

Sudden stops and changes of direction also gave Suker more options.

As Suker dropped back, Modrić keenly grasped this point. He looked at Suker's position, called for a pass, and shouted to Rakitić: "Go forward! Press up!"

Rakitić was confused but immediately moved forward.

After all, Modrić was the commander!

And when Rakitić moved forward, Portugal's defensive midfielder also immediately followed and stuck to Rakitić.

At this point, Rakitić and Modrić had already formed a passing lane; he couldn't let Rakitić receive the ball in a dangerous area.

And seeing this, Modrić's lips curved slightly.

Meeting Perisic's pass, Modrić gently stopped the ball with his right foot, stopping it about a meter in front of him.

At the same time, his feet immediately connected with a swing, and his left foot powerfully struck the ball.

A long, wide-ranging pass!

The ball wasn't chipped over the Portuguese full-back's head but rather ahead of Suker's forward run.

"Good job, Luka!"

Suker simply estimated the distance and knew the quality of Modrić's pass.

If the Portuguese full-back pressed forward, Suker could control and dribble past him in one go.

And if the Portuguese full-back chose not to approach, Suker could stably control the ball and launch a counter-attack.

Both of these options were dangerous choices given Suker's formidable individual ability.

Just then, Suker saw Coentrão rushing towards the landing spot.

Choosing to win the first touch?

At this moment, something unexpected happened.

As soon as Coentrão started, his foot suddenly slipped, and he fell sideways.

With Coentrão's fall, the defense in front of Suker immediately collapsed.

"Good opportunity!"

Suker's intended ball control action paused. He immediately moved forward, positioning his chest to control the ball. As the ball touched his chest, he slightly twisted his waist, turning his chest towards the attacking direction.

With this turn, the ball also hit Suker's chest and flew past Coentrão towards the attacking direction.

"Coentrão!! Oh my God!! He fell!!"

Suker had already started sprinting towards the ball.

Meanwhile, Coentrão was still scrambling to get up and prepare to chase back.

But by this time, Suker had already surged into the penalty area.

Facing Pepe's block, Suker changed his rhythm, flicked the ball horizontally, created a shooting angle, and unleashed a powerful shot with his right foot.

Bang!

The ball violently struck Alves's shin and rebounded.

And at this moment, on the edge of the penalty area, Rakitić was taking small steps, his gaze fixed on the descending ball.

The moment the ball hit the ground and rebounded, he unleashed a powerful shot!

"Rakitić with the rebound shot!! —"

Accompanied by the roar of Croatian commentator Krauhić, the ball, like a comet, drilled into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Facing such a sudden shot at the opposite corner, Portugal's Goalkeeper Patricio was helpless, spreading his hands in agony.

They had pushed the opponent back as much as possible, but still conceded in the 14th minute!

"Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!"

"Ivan Rakitić's rebound goal! Croatia's midfielder Rakitić helped the team take the lead. After more than 10 minutes of continuous probing, Croatia scored on their first fierce attacking attempt!"

"Coentrão was too nervous. The moment he fell, Pepe and Alves were destined to cover for him. In this situation, Suker still took a shot, pulling the entire defense to the left side. The ball was blocked by Alves's shin, and Rakitić, meeting the dropping ball, unhesitatingly struck it into the opposite corner! A brilliant shot! A brilliant attack!"

Croatia 1:0 Portugal!

At Warsaw National Stadium, over twenty thousand Croatian fans erupted in thunderous cheers.

The moment the goal was scored, their passion was instantly ignited.

They loudly chanted Ivan Rakitić's name, giving a huge cheer to the hero who scored Croatia's first goal.

Rakitić also excitedly ran to the corner flag to celebrate.

He was quickly caught up by Suker and other teammates, who tackled him to the ground.

Suker vigorously rubbed Rakitić's head.

"Lucky guy!"

"Well done!"

His teammates all fully acknowledged Rakitić's shot.

And based on this goal, Rakitić's confidence surged.

After the celebration, Suker pulled Rakitić up, hooked an arm around Rakitić's neck, pointed at Rakitić with his other hand, and pushed him forward.

Today's Suker no longer needs goals to prove himself.

Of course, the more goals the better, but he won't pursue goals as extremely as he used to.

"Portugal's single defensive midfielder problem is starting to show. Veloso is indeed an excellent player, and his defensive awareness is very good, but our attacking intensity has clearly exceeded his capabilities. Trying to build a buffer in front of the backline with a single defensive midfielder is simply unrealistic!"

"Of course, Coentrão's mistake in this attack also played a part, but even without the mistake, Suker's ability would still allow him to break into the penalty area."

Van Stoyak smiled and said, "From the moment Modrić told Rakitić to push forward, the attacking idea was already very clear!"

Bešić, standing nearby, nodded slightly; "Keep playing like this. There's no need to suddenly change tactics, and the morale is high right now. It's good to let these kids find their rhythm!"

Kids?

Van Stoyak turned to look at Bešić.

Excluding Vida and Perisic, the youngest of Suker's group are already 26 years old, and several of them have children.

But presumably, in Bešić's eyes, these guys are still the same group of kids who just joined Dinamo Zagreb.

Van Stoyak nodded and said, "I also think there's no need to change tactics!"

He turned to look at Portugal's coaching bench.

"If anyone needs to change, it's them! We'll watch and react!"

Croatia's players started to drop back after scoring.

Rakitić was exceptionally excited.

"Again! Again! I feel great right now, everything is working! Keep attacking!"

Rakitić looked invigorated.

His teammates on the side were also in high spirits.

With this goal, Croatia's passion was instantly ignited.

If they couldn't curb Croatia at the start of the match and allowed them to score first, that wouldn't be good news.

Portugal's players were well aware of this.

Their faces were all grim!

Before the match, they had prepared themselves mentally, but they didn't expect to concede a goal after only 14 minutes.

Croatia's sudden change of pace and breakthrough caught them off guard.

Veloso looked even more helpless!

He couldn't do anything!

As Rakitić moved forward from the central axis, he had to restrict Rakitić, with no time to worry about Suker.

If he chose Suker, then Rakitić would have a clear shot at the goal.

"We've put too much attention on Suker!"

Veloso spoke up; "Hold your positions, don't mess up the defense!"

Hold your positions?

Coentrão looked at Veloso, are you trying to kill me?

As Suker's teammate at Real Madrid, he knew better than anyone the threat Suker posed on the wing.

One-on-one, he simply couldn't defend him!

"Veloso, you must pay more attention to the left side, we cannot let Suker slip past!"

Coentrão reminded him.

The subtext of this sentence was, if you don't move closer to the left, I'm going to die trying!

Veloso was also in a difficult position!

If he moved closer to the left, who would defend Rakitić in the center?

Just then, Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly spoke up; "I'll drop back more! Let's play with a deeper formation."

Hearing this, everyone looked at Cristiano Ronaldo.

Their eyes were full of helplessness.

They knew very well that Cristiano Ronaldo was the most threatening counter-attacking point in the front field.

But in the current situation, Cristiano Ronaldo dropping back along the wing was the best option.

This would both help Coentrão relieve pressure and prevent Veloso from being led by the nose by Rakitić.

They also wanted to say something.

But in the end, they couldn't say anything, though they felt a faint sense of guilt in their hearts.

The difference between Croatia and Portugal was more about the players other than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo could offset one Suker, but they couldn't contend with the remaining Croatian players.

Soon, the match restarted.

After Portugal kicked off, they only had six passes before Rakitić stole the ball.

After completing the tackle, Rakitić immediately dribbled forward, and with his teammates on both sides unable to follow up, he directly took a long shot from outside the penalty area.

A powerful shot, the ball grazed the goalpost and flew out, giving the Portugal Goalkeeper a cold sweat.

Rakitić also grimaced, a bit regretfully.

Suker watched Rakitić's performance, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Portugal was still very strict with his defense, but this also allowed Rakitić in the middle to find space to play.

Suker turned to look at Modrić.

Although the two hadn't played together for a long time, their chemistry was still there.

With just a look, Modrić understood what he meant.

"Concentrate the passes to Ivan!"

At this moment, Rakitić was in fiery form. Since Portugal wanted to restrict Suker, they would use Rakitić to pry open Portugal's defense.

Rakitić also looked excited.

I'm going to be the main!

Bang!

For the remainder of the time, Rakitić was incredibly active.

He continuously passed, dribbled, and broke through in the middle, repeatedly disrupting and wearing down Portugal's defense.

On camera, Portugal's defenders were gritting their teeth and holding on.

They had committed too much defensive power to Suker, making it impossible to fully restrict Rakitić.

Moreover, Rakitić was in red-hot form in this match!

"Come! I'll be your wall!"

Mandžukić squeezed his feet, lowered his body slightly, and used his back to firmly hold off Pepe, then made a sideways pass to meet Rakitić's incoming ball.

But before Rakitić could catch up, Pepe suddenly roared:

"Damn it!"

Pepe quickly retreated, dodging Mandžukić's pull as he fell, and then suddenly slid, kicking the ball away a step ahead.

But he still failed to clear it, the ball was received by Suker on the left, who immediately passed it back to Modrić to continue organizing.

Rakitić saw this and dropped back again to actively receive the ball.

On the field, Croatia formed a siege.

"Portugal is playing too passively!"

The Portugal commentator's brows were tightly furrowed.

He had thought Croatia would be difficult to play against, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult.

In the entire first half, they only had two shots on goal.

Among them, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't have a single shot on goal.

His mood at this moment could be summed up in two words: stifled!

He felt too stifled playing.

Forget about attacking, their passes couldn't even exceed five touches.

Moutinho, Meireles, Nani, and others, who usually performed brilliantly, seemed to have gone silent.

Cristiano Ronaldo also tried long-distance runs.

But under Vukojević's defensive coverage, he completed two consecutive tackles.

The last time, after Cristiano Ronaldo was dispossessed, he was so angry he was stomping his feet.

He couldn't find anyone to pass to!

His shots were too far from the goal!

He felt as if he had been isolated.

"Ronaldo doesn't seem to have recovered yet!" Van Stoyak smiled and said; "They are targeting Suker, and we are certainly targeting him too!"

Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't find teammates, and it wasn't because his teammates weren't trying to receive the ball.

Instead, Croatia was intentionally encouraging Cristiano Ronaldo.

If Cristiano Ronaldo was in the front field, it would be fine, but to try and push the ball forward from the backfield, once he ran a certain distance, all his passing lanes were completely cut off by Croatia.

At the same time, relying on Vukojević's high pressing ability, they quickly completed tackles.

At this moment, Portugal's fans looked at the field, and they suddenly felt suffocated!

So far, they hadn't had a single threatening opportunity!