The All-Around Center Forward

"This is the live broadcast of the 2012 European Cup group b third round match!"

"We are currently at the Warsaw National Stadium in the Capital of Poland, providing live commentary for this match!"

Croatian commentator Krauhić had already arrived at the match venue, sounding the prelude to the game with his most fervent voice.

Currently, both teams' players are in the player tunnel, ready to go.

In the camera's view, their expressions were fierce, and their demeanor was solemn.

Both Croatia and Germany are here to seek victory, so it is bound to be an exciting showdown.

The camera then focused on the Head Coaches of both sides.

One was Löw, and the other was Bešić.

As the camera switched, both Head Coaches looked equally solemn; although they had already appeared, they had been playing with the attitude of defeating their opponents from the very beginning.

Now that this moment had finally arrived, they naturally wouldn't relax at all.

In the player tunnel, the atmosphere was incredibly tense, as if it were about to solidify.

Even the Referee was constantly taking deep breaths to regulate his emotions.

He knew very well that the attention on this match would be the highest in the current European Cup, so he needed to be cautious in his rulings and avoid missed or incorrect calls.

The Referee cannot be the protagonist of the match!

Every Referee who became the protagonist ended up in a terrible situation!

He only needed to ensure the match proceeded normally and smoothly.

"Ready to enter the field!"

The Referee turned his head and shouted.

Srna took a deep breath, tightening the captain's armband on his arm.

After a few days of rest, he had completely recovered, and his condition had also returned to normal.

On the other side, Lahm also looked solemn.

In this match, he absolutely had to mark Suker.

The two captains followed the Referee's steps onto the field, and instantly, the cheers in the stadium roared loudly.

Six hundred thousand fans from both sides were shouting and cheering intensely.

The local Warsaw fans were also immersed in this atmosphere, shouting and cheering loudly.

The starting lineups for both teams are as follows:

Croatia (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Subašić.

Defenders: Srna, Vida, Lovren, Strinić.

Midfielders: Perisic, Vukojević, Rakitić, Modrić, Suker.

Forward: Mandžukić.

Germany (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Neuer.

Defenders: Lahm, Hummels, Badstuber, Boateng.

Midfielders: Reus, Schweinsteiger, Özil, Khedira, Muller.

Forward: Klose.

Bešić glanced at Germany's starting lineup, then looked at Germany's bench.

On the bench were players like Götze, Schürrle, Gómez, Gündoğan, Schmelzer, Podolski, Toni Kroos, and Mertesacker.

One lineup wasn't enough; these players could almost form another lineup.

This was the benefit of the explosion of German youth training!

Anyway, the Croatia National Team had never played such a well-resourced game.

Although Croatia could also be considered to have had a big explosion, after all, their population was small, and their youth training discovery ability was limited, making it impossible to continuously unearth players, let alone have the support of a local League.

However, one lineup was enough.

Although they didn't have a large number of substitutes, almost all of them were elites, and each one had the attribute of tireless running.

One could be used for two, and Suker was used like a mule!

It was enough!

Bešić looked at Germany's starting lineup again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Germany seems to want to play offensively!"

Van Stoyak subconsciously said, "Are they crazy?"

Because of Suker, except for Spain, no matter who Croatia played against, the opponent would adopt a defensive stance, mainly focusing on counterattacks.

Listening to Bešić's words, Van Stoyak also looked at Germany's lineup.

"Reus, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, Özil—these are all passing points, and there's Muller making forward runs, with Kroos as the central forward?"

Van Stoyak blinked: "This midfield lineup is indeed leaning towards offense!"

Bešić nodded: "Let's see how it goes. If it's really like that, Suker should be very happy!"

Upon hearing this, Van Stoyak couldn't help but grin.

Suker almost always played with double-teaming or triple-teaming.

One-on-one had become a distant memory!

If Germany really adopted an offensive stance, Suker would definitely be unleashed.

Bešić was also very curious about how Suker would perform in one-on-one situations if he were unleashed.

The captains of both teams changed to coin toss.

In the first half, Germany kicked off first.

Suker bounced continuously in his own half, and the fans in the stands called his name, but Suker ignored them, focusing his energy on the match.

Suker tried hard to concentrate, preparing to face this big battle.

Soon, the whistle blew, and the match began.

Germany kicked off first.

"The match has begun! The third round of the 2012 European Cup group b group stage, Croatia versus Germany, this match concerning the fight for the top spot in group b has officially started!"

After the kickoff, Germany quickly passed back, while Croatia directly pressed forward, implementing high pressing.

From the very beginning of the match, Croatia immediately put on pressure.

Facing Germany, they wouldn't try to test or conserve energy; instead, they would directly crush them.

Croatia's high pressing was intense, but Germany's passing options were also excellent.

With excellent midfielders like Reus, Schweinsteiger, Khedira, and Özil, their ball-holding and advancing capabilities were guaranteed.

Schweinsteiger dropped back to help the defensive line distribute the ball.

Germany's overall formation was also deep, and by continuously passing, they managed to get the ball out before Croatia.

Seeing that the high pressing couldn't contain Germany's offense, Croatia immediately retreated, setting up a positional defense, and also eased their pressing.

"Switch to the wing! Muller is preparing to make a forward run!"

Muller immediately nodded, constantly moving with his runs, looking for opportunities to make forward runs.

He knew that once he made a forward run, his awesome teammates would be able to thread the ball through!

Just then, Muller slightly dropped back, then suddenly turned and ran.

"Pass it over!"

Muller roared.

Özil saw this and tapped the ball with the outside of his left foot, sending it through the ribs area.

However, just then, a figure suddenly ran horizontally.

With a whoosh, a sliding tackle.

Srna had accurately judged the ball's trajectory and intercepted it with a kick, passing it to Vida.

"Captain! Awesome!"

Vida roared and immediately made a transfer.

Slap!

Srna stood up and high-fived Vukojević forcefully.

"Beautiful interception!" Vukojević praised.

This time, Srna had helped him out.

Srna said in a deep voice, "Concentrate!"

Vukojević immediately nodded.

Germany's attack didn't work, which immediately put them into a counter-pressing mode.

"Srna! A brilliant interception! He accurately anticipated Özil's passing lane! Now the situation has changed, Croatia has possession, and Germany is pressing!"

The two teams once again engaged in a fierce midfield battle.

One side pressed, the other controlled the ball.

In this process, there were constant physical confrontations and brilliant dribbles.

Suker stood on the left side of the half, becoming more and more puzzled.

There was no one around!

Unbeknownst to him, whenever Suker played, there would inevitably be a shadow following him, marking him throughout.

In fact, Suker had already gotten used to it.

Confrontation before receiving the ball!

Confrontation after receiving the ball!

And during dribbling, he would encounter triple-teaming from the opponent, etc.

These were all part of Suker's daily match routine!

Now, suddenly, there was no one around him, and Suker immediately felt refreshed, though also a little frustrated.

Fearing a trap, Suker didn't hold the ball for too long.

Instead, he constantly probed with one-touch passes.

Suker received the ball, passed back.

Suker received the ball again, passed horizontally!

With two consecutive passes and receptions, Suker didn't encounter too intense confrontations or double-teaming; overall, it was very relaxed.

Suker moved up a bit more.

"Stop probing!"

Van Stoyak yelled from the sidelines: "They won't mark you!"

Suker's eyes lit up!

Van Stoyak roared: "Dribble past them!"

Damn it!

Suker licked his lips!

I haven't gotten arrogant, but you guys have.

Suker rolled up his sleeves, ready to go.

Suker didn't wait in the front; instead, he actively dropped back to receive the ball near the midfield line.

At this moment, the ball had already been passed to Rakitić's feet.

Rakitić controlled the ball with his back to the opponent, holding off Schweinsteiger while looking for a passing option.

"Pass it over!"

At this moment, Suker roared from the left wing.

Rakitić immediately heard him and passed the ball without any hesitation.

However, the pass was not good; it was interfered with by Schweinsteiger during the pass, requiring Suker to drop back a few more steps to receive the ball, which put Suker in a back-to-goal position.

At the same time, Lahm quickly closed in.

Suker easily received the ball and turned his head to glance at Lahm.

Am I afraid of one-on-one?

Suker, with his back to goal, pushed the ball horizontally with his left foot, feigning an inside move.

As Lahm tucked his body in, Suker suddenly stopped short with a V-drag, changing direction again to go down the sideline.

This sudden turn prevented Lahm from keeping up, and in the next second, Suker directly took a deep touch.

Swish!!!

Suker started running!!

Swish swish swish!!!

The sound of strong wind whistled past his ears, and both feet firmly stepped on the grass, the force of each push-off giving feedback to Suker, further increasing his speed with every stride.

"Oh~~~ Suker!! He's charging! The left wing is open!"

Krauhić suddenly stood up, roaring excitedly.

In his overhead view, Suker was using his speed to outpace Lahm on the wing.

Lahm still tried to interfere with Suker, but after only a few steps, a body-length gap appeared between them.

Suker took a powerful touch and burst into the penalty area, and on the left side of the goal, Suker swept the ball along the edge of the six-yard box with his left foot.

Mandžukić strained with all his might to lunge forward but couldn't reach the ball.

The ball went past to the far post.

"Perisic!!"

Bang!

The ball barely grazed Perisic's instep and flew out over the right byline.

"Ah~~~ Couldn't keep up! They were a step too late! What a brilliant pass from Suker!"

Krauhić rubbed his hair in frustration.

Suker's sudden burst of speed was too fast.

Not only did Lahm fail to keep up, but Mandžukić and Perisic also couldn't keep pace.

Perisic only managed to barely touch the ball.

Standing up from the ground, Perisic's face was full of regret.

He wanted to give Suker a thumbs-up but was afraid Suker would scold him.

So he gave a thumbs-up while not daring to look at Suker.

Just then, Suker's voice rang out.

"Don't worry, next time! Adjust your mindset!"

Perisic turned his head in astonishment.

Is that something Suker would say?

Suker retreated, his steps very light.

Germany was being foolish!

With such a large open space on the left wing, such a long runway, Suker could break past Lahm!

Man-marking me!

Who gave you the courage!

Lahm was breathing heavily, his heart pounding.

He couldn't defend against Suker; that speed was insane!

The moment Suker pushed off to accelerate, he felt he couldn't keep up, and within just a few steps, Suker had opened up a body-length gap, directly outrunning him with sheer speed.

"Cannot give Suker room to run, must limit his space!"

Lahm's heart was heavy.

When Suker received the ball again, he saw Schweinsteiger actively running towards him, while Lahm did not close in but remained at a not-too-far, not-too-close distance, watching like a tiger.

This was to limit Suker's running distance, thereby restricting his speed.

Once Suker chose to take a deep touch, Lahm could immediately intercept.

"Not letting me build up speed, huh?"

Suker passed the ball horizontally to Rakitić, then ran forward towards Lahm.

Suker actively sought out Lahm.

"Then I'll stick to you!"

Lahm was extremely uncomfortable.

He tried to create distance, but Suker followed him like a shadow.

At this point, Croatia advanced again, the ball moving down the right wing, pinning Germany back near their penalty area.

However, Perisic had no angle to break through, nor did he try; instead, he passed horizontally to Rakitić.

Rakitić passed back to Modrić.

Modrić had intended to drop back and organize, but suddenly felt Suker's piercing gaze fixed on him.

That look seemed to say, 'Pass it here!'

Modrić dragged the ball horizontally, creating an angle, and threaded the ball to Suker.

Suker still received the ball with his back to goal.

At this moment, Suker and Lahm were both on the right side of Germany's penalty area.

Suker immediately took the ball and turned.

Lahm first turned to confirm the distance behind him, then confidently began to close in on Suker.

Suker dribbled the ball forward with his right foot.

At this moment, Suker suddenly accelerated, then dragged the ball horizontally, and then cut inside.

"Got him!"

Lahm slammed into Suker, both stumbling slightly, but Suker still controlled the ball.

The two battled as they charged into the penalty area.

Hummels stood in front of the sharp angle of the six-yard box, staring intently at Suker and Lahm approaching him, ready to press forward at the appropriate moment.

Just then, Hummels' vision suddenly went black.

Mandžukić had suddenly rushed over and blocked in front.

"Pass it here!"

Suker looked up at Mandžukić.

Lahm was shocked and angry; he immediately stretched out his leg to intercept, don't even think about passing.

Suker pushed the ball forward with his right foot, then suddenly sharply pulled it back.

The ball actually went through Lahm's legs.

Suker also twisted his body ninety degrees, changing direction behind Lahm to go down the byline.

"Holy crap!"

Mandžukić was completely stunned.

He could even nutmeg him like that?

Germany's defense instantly fell into disarray, and at this moment, Suker had already rushed near the byline, stepping on the ball with his right foot, his body running past the byline, looking up at the penalty area, then gently chipped the ball with his left foot.

A reverse triangle lobbed pass!

The ball was lobbed towards the penalty spot, and there, Perisic suddenly cut across.

Meeting the descending ball, he powerfully struck it with his left foot.

Ding!

The ball hit the right post and rolled out.

"Damn it!"

"Holy crap!"

"What the heck!"

The Croatian players couldn't help but curse.

Perisic immediately turned and rushed towards the ball, but Boateng got there first and cleared the ball out for a throw-in.

"Oh~~~ Perisic has wasted two chances in a row, his luck is just too bad, the second shot hitting the post is truly frustrating!"

Krauhić held his head.

Suker created two chances in a row on the left wing through individual skill, but Perisic failed to convert either of them.

Form is one aspect, and luck is another.

One can only say that this guy is having a bit of bad luck.

Suker also grimaced.

Once was one thing, but he couldn't convert the second time either.

"Go back and practice your shooting for me! Shoot a hundred times!"

Suker shouted to Perisic as he retreated.

Perisic was speechless.

He knew Suker had every right to be angry.

After all, he hadn't been able to convert.

Otherwise, it would be 2:0 by now!

Suker sighed, feeling a bit depressed.

"I'll have to do it myself!"

As the match approached 15 minutes, Germany was in a bit of disarray under Croatia's continuous fierce attacks.

Löw frowned from the sidelines.

Lahm couldn't defend him!

At this moment, Löw was also uneasy.

He wondered if he should have Schweinsteiger help Lahm, or have Reus drop back.

But if they did that, their tactics would be disrupted.

Bang!

The ball was again intercepted by Croatia; it was Modrić who suddenly poked the ball from behind Özil's feet towards the backfield, where it was collected by Vida.

After receiving the ball, Vida immediately shifted it to the wing.

Srna received the ball sideways, dragged it forward, and looked up into the distance.

Suker immediately started to pull wide.

Srna understood perfectly and directly drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Bang!

A 45-degree angled lob over the top, a long pass that traversed the field.

The moment Srna passed the ball, Suker suddenly burst into action.

"Here comes Croatia again, Srna's long pass lobs over Lahm's shoulder into the open space, it's Suker's ball again! Croatia's offense is like a tide!"

Suker charged towards the landing spot, still outrunning Lahm with sheer speed.

Lahm's face was filled with panic; he simply couldn't stop him!

Suker slightly slowed his pace, looking at the ball, and the moment the ball dropped, he slightly pressed down his instep, directly knocking the ball into the penalty area.

A first touch that also served as a dribble, combined with a sudden diagonal run.

Suker swept past Lahm, disrupting Lahm's running rhythm, which meant he couldn't catch up to Suker at all.

And Suker had already burst into the penalty area, and before Hummels could react, he powerfully struck the ball with his left foot.

It was a low shot; as the ball flew towards the goal, it bounced off the ground, just clearing Neuer's outstretched right leg, and flew into the side netting at the far end of the goal.

19 minutes, Croatia's third shot.

Suker scored, Croatia took a one-goal lead!

At the same time, the entire stadium of Croatian fans erupted in cheers.

"Suker!!!!!!!"

Krauhić roared.

The entire stadium of Croatian fans chanted:

"Goal!!!!!!!!!!"