The All-Around Center Forward

"Remind them about the left wing!"

"They'll break through from the left wing!"

Germany had a strong defensive presence on the left wing, which meant that every time Suker received the ball and turned, he was met by a dense crowd of opposing players.

There was almost no space to break through.

Suker also tried to break through in tight spaces, but after several attempts, he could only pass back.

He simply couldn't get through!

Chain defense wasn't unique to Italy; Germany was also adopting various advanced tactics and integrating them into its own play.

"Suker is having trouble breaking through!"

Klausevich frowned, "He could try a switch!"

Exactly!

Suker did just that!

When unable to break through, Suker directly made a wide switch to the other side.

But what was striking was the speed of Germany's defensive line's shift.

The moment Suker kicked the ball, almost like robots, everyone quickly turned their heads and shifted to the right wing.

By the time Perisic controlled the ball, these German players had already successfully taken up their positions, blocking the breakthrough space.

"What a fast defensive shift!"

Van Stoyak couldn't help but clench his fists nervously.

This Germany in the group stage was completely like two different teams.

Bešić also squinted his eyes at the field, and after a moment, he shouted, "Focus the ball on Rakitić!"

With breakthroughs difficult on both the left and right wings, this required using another route to break through when Suker attracted the defense.

Perisic wasn't the type of player skilled at breaking through; his technique wasn't particularly outstanding.

Therefore, this task fell to Rakitić.

Rakitić's face lit up; he knew it was his time to shine.

Receiving a pass from Modrić, Rakitić turned and immediately dribbled the ball forward, pushing the attack.

As soon as he started running, he immediately felt pressure.

Schweinsteiger and Khedira sharply closed in.

The two defensive midfielders began to close the door.

Rakitić gritted his teeth, intending to force his way through.

But just then, Schweinsteiger suddenly stretched out his foot and poked the ball away.

"Success!"

Löw clapped his hands on the sidelines, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Regarding Rakitić's advance, this was a problem they had considered before the match, and they ultimately decided to use the defensive midfielders' double-teaming to cut off Rakitić's attacking path.

Just like Mourinho and Ancelotti once defended Messi.

This kind of tenacious marking by the defensive midfielders would make Rakitić very frustrated.

"Damn it!"

Rakitić pounded the turf, got up, and fell back again, joining the pressing.

He ran directly into his own half, even in front of the penalty area, and, with Vukojević, intercepted Özil's pass.

He truly did what he said: he lost the ball, he won it back.

After winning the ball, he immediately turned and sprinted back.

"Rakitić is coming again, his performance in this period is very active!"

Rakitić sped along, once again receiving a pass from Modrić.

Germany still chose to close the door.

But this time, Rakitić suddenly turned sideways, towards Suker's side.

Since Schweinsteiger was charging towards him, Suker's side must be open.

Suker also saw this, preparing to receive the ball.

"No!"

Suker was startled, and he immediately sprinted forward, actively moving to receive the ball.

But in this process, Lahm raised his body, and the two collided heavily.

The ball hit Suker's foot and flew out of bounds.

Suker steadied himself and turned to look at Lahm.

Lahm also exhaled, finally having defended it.

Suker frowned!

Defensive linkage!

As Schweinsteiger moved closer to the center, Lahm was always ready to tackle or intercept.

What he needed to do was cut off the passing lanes between Suker and Rakitić.

And also...

Suker turned his head and looked behind him; Reus leisurely ran towards the frontfield.

When Lahm pressed forward, Reus actually dropped deep to cover for Lahm.

Even if Suker got past Lahm, he would be blocked by Reus, and there would also be Schweinsteiger coming to assist, forming a combined defense.

"Germany has made thorough defensive arrangements on the left wing!"

Modrić leaned over and said.

He also saw the problem; after the group stage, Germany was truly defending the left wing tightly.

Suker nodded solemnly.

This time, Germany was indeed well-prepared.

On the sidelines, Bešić also frowned, looking at the field.

The situation was a bit unfavorable!

Their offense was somewhat difficult to push forward.

To put it bluntly, Germany had accurately identified Croatia's relatively weak right-wing attacking ability, and thus used pressure on the left wing to affect Croatia's offense.

Even if it wasn't Rakitić in the center, he would be immediately cut off from Suker.

Moreover, their positioning was too close, making it impossible to create enough tactical transfer characteristics.

To be honest, in this European Cup, Perisic was indeed a bit of a drag.

His characteristics were not fully displayed.

"Should we make a substitution?" Van Stoyak asked.

He knew what Bešić was thinking.

Bešić pondered for a moment, "Wait a bit longer, it's only 15 minutes, too early!"

Bešić had to admit that this time Germany accurately hit Croatia's relatively weak spot, causing his tactics to fail to pose a threat.

At the same time, Germany used this point to constantly create opportunities on the field.

Hoo~~~

Bešić took a deep breath.

Indeed, these top European coaches were all formidable; their instincts were incredibly sharp.

Let's stabilize for now!

The situation on the field remained very intense.

Germany and Croatia were fiercely battling each other, constantly seeking various attacking routes to break through.

This caused the fans in the stands to gasp and cheer repeatedly.

"This is too intense! The match has only been going on for 16 minutes, and Croatia and Germany are both engaged in a frantic offensive and defensive battle. There's almost no midfield passing between the two teams; they don't even give us a moment to breathe!"

Klausevich watched the field nervously.

His heart was pounding.

Whether it was Croatia or Germany, their counter-attacks were incredibly swift.

Just three or four simple passes could bring them to a dangerous position.

However, both sides' defenses were very solid, which meant that compared to the attack, there weren't many shots on goal.

Even if there were shots, they were forced attempts that didn't threaten the goal.

But in such circumstances, Germany's offense gradually gained an advantage.

Özil stood with his back to the center circle, constantly turning his head left and right.

Modrić stared intently at Özil, while also observing.

Left or right?

As Modrić observed, Khedira passed the ball to Özil.

Özil gently nudged the ball with the back of his foot, and the ball flew over Modrić to the space behind him.

Reus quickly broke away from Modrić, dribbling the ball forward at full speed.

"Stop him!"

Modrić shouted.

He couldn't keep up.

Strinić immediately rushed forward, but before he arrived, Reus passed the ball towards the center.

The ball traveled along the edge of the penalty area, once again landing at Özil's feet.

The latter looked up to the left, which caused Vida to suddenly stop; the next second, Özil threaded the ball forward.

"Oh no!!"

Klausevich exclaimed.

In his line of sight, Klose had already started to move past the defensive line, rushing towards the ball.

Just then, from the side, a figure suddenly slid in.

Bang!

Srna, like a divine soldier descending from the sky, came sliding in diagonally from the side, directly making a tackle.

He kicked the ball out of bounds just before Klose could reach it.

"Beautiful!! Srna!! He is our lifeline!"

Klausevich felt his brain was lacking oxygen.

The Croatian fans on site also felt a wave of lingering fear.

If Klose had reached the ball, it would have been a one-on-one.

Fortunately, Srna cleared it in time!

"Great tackle, Captain!"

Goalkeeper Subašić excitedly hugged Srna.

If not for Srna's clearance, that ball would have been truly dangerous.

"Srna! Awesome!"

A voice came from afar.

Srna didn't even need to turn his head; he knew who it was.

"Stay focused!"

Srna patted Vida's shoulder.

Vida's expression was a bit awkward; he had hesitated for a moment just now, and that hesitation almost led to Klose's one-on-one opportunity.

However, Özil's glance was too deceptive; he thought Özil was going to pass it wide to Podolski.

Srna: "Next, I'll remind you!"

"If I don't shout, you don't need to assist on the wing; just mark Klose."

Vida nodded quickly, then paused, giving a thumbs-up and stammering, "Ca-captain! Awesome!"

Srna was stunned for a moment; he knew Vida was not a man of many words, and couldn't help but smile, "Play well! Perform well! Strive to use this match to open the door to the Big Five Leagues!"

He knew that Vida was in contact with a Bundesliga team.

If he performs consistently in this match, he might truly be able to return to the Bundesliga.

Moreover, this time he wouldn't be a benchwarmer, but a starter.

Vida nodded vigorously.

On Croatia's coaching bench, Bešić and Van Stoyak also couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks to Srna!"

"He anticipated it! He moved early!"

"That's experience!"

Özil turned his head, constantly looking at Srna, unable to comprehend why Srna hadn't been fooled.

Suker retreated, nudged Srna's chest with his elbow, and chuckled, "It seems the special training with Alonso and Kaka has made you adept at handling these situations."

During Real Madrid's internal training, Alonso and Kaka were both masters of concealed passes.

They would also make these fake observation movements before passing, and Srna would initially be fooled, but over time, he learned to anticipate based on the situation on the field.

Srna didn't respond, but said sternly, "First, defend!"

Suker nodded.

He turned to look at the field, where Germany was pushing a large number of aerial duel players into the penalty area.

This was Germany's opportunity.

But wasn't it also an opportunity for Croatia to counterattack?

Suker thought for a moment: "I won't contest the header, I'll leave it to you?"

Srna was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood Suker's meaning.

Soon, Germany was about to take their first corner kick.

Croatia was also defending tightly, and with Suker not retreating, Mandžukić dropped back to contest the header.

Suker stood outside the arc of the penalty area, occasionally turning his head to look at the opposing defenders.

"Mark him!"

Lahm shouted, pointing at Suker.

Suker pouted.

This guy never forgets to remind his teammates!

So, Suker simply moved higher up, standing on Germany's defensive line.

This instantly increased the pressure on Germany's backline.

At the same time, Özil took the corner kick.

"I got it!!"

Vida anticipated the landing spot and roared.

He forcefully pushed Klose away, leaped into the air, and powerfully headed the ball out.

Rakitić controlled the ball with a hacky-sack-like motion.

"Pass it here!"

Modrić shouted.

Rakitić had his back to Modrić and couldn't even see Modrić's position, but based on the direction of the voice, he sharply flicked the ball with the back of his right heel.

The ball rolled to Modrić's feet.

"Beautiful!"

Modrić praised inwardly.

He immediately moved higher, and with the outside of his right foot, he powerfully struck the ball.

Go!

A huge arc formed on the field.

Suker's stunt!

The Arc Ground Slash!

Swish!!

Suker burst into action.

He sprinted forward frantically, cursing under his breath.

Damn it!

Is this thing so worthless now?

It's a special skill after all, but now it seems like every midfielder knows it.

"Modrić's pass! The ball arcs past Lahm and Boateng, accurately landing in front of Suker!"

"Suker!!!!"

Klausevich suddenly stood up and shouted, his cheeks trembling wildly from overexcitement.

All the Croatian fans also instantly stood up.

This was Croatia's best counterattacking opportunity so far.

Could Suker seize it?

No!

He definitely could!

Modrić's pass was simply perfect, even better quality than Suker's own Arc Ground Slash.

With intense spin, as it neared Suker, the ball naturally slowed down its rotation, requiring no adjustment from Suker; he simply surged forward!

Bang!

Swish!

Suker took a deep touch, then accelerated again, immediately creating distance.

Watching Suker about to get past him, Boateng anxiously reached out and pulled Suker, even pulling Suker's body off balance, but even so, he couldn't stop Suker.

"Oh~~ My God!! Boateng can't hold him!"

However, Boateng's foul also slowed Suker down, and most crucially, Neuer had rushed out of his goal, charging towards the ball.

"Get out of the way!"

Suker roared, and after a fierce struggle, he accelerated again towards the ball.

Neuer and Suker were both rushing towards the ball.

At this moment, all the fans' hearts were pounding intensely.

"Neuer! You must get there!"

"Suker! Suker!"

Neuer rushed out of the penalty area and slid tackled.

Suker was also about to catch up to the ball.

Bang!

Suker got to the ball first, flicked it, and jumped over Neuer.

At this moment, the German fans' minds went blank.

In contrast, the Croatian fans erupted in a fierce cheer.

"Empty net!!!!!!!!!!—"

Klausevich slammed the table, too excited to contain himself.

Suker caught up to the ball again, seeing Lahm on the goal line.

But a defender.

A defender who couldn't use his hands was as good as non-existent in front of Suker's shooting skills.

Suker swung his left foot, directly hitting it into the near post.

Lahm made a symbolic blocking motion, but couldn't stop Suker's goal.

Swish!

The ball hit the net!

Suker made a turn and ran towards the stands.

What greeted him were the fervent fans, the entire stand like a pulsating giant wall.

The moment Suker spread his arms, the cheers throughout the stadium soared to the sky.

Suker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!—

The Croatian fans almost let out a cheer of faith.

Fierce match?

Attack stalled?

No threatening shooting opportunities?

None of that mattered!

Just one chance!

Just give Suker one chance, and he can convert it into a goal!

Just like this time!

"Suker!! Oh my God! Suker!! God!!!"

Klausevich excitedly kept shouting Suker's name; he wanted to say something, but didn't know exactly what to say, so he could only keep shouting excitedly.

The Croatian players also rushed over one after another, tackling Suker down, too excited to contain themselves.

"Oh~~~" The German commentator held his head, his brows tightly furrowed, a sense of ominousness enveloping his heart.

He didn't know when it started, but they had never won against Croatia in international matches.

They were defeated by Croatia in the 2008 European Cup final.

They were also eliminated by Croatia in the 2010 World Cup.

Now in the 2012 European Cup, they were trailing again.

In such a situation, he couldn't help but recall all the previous instances.

"We can't let Croatia play counter-attacking like this. Once Modrić and Suker connect, with their ability, they'll have a chance to score counter-attacking goals. Our defense should be more resolute, more decisive!"

In his words, the German commentator's meaning was to commit fouls.

After all, normal methods simply couldn't stop Suker.

Boateng had pulled him so hard, yet couldn't drag Suker down, which proved that only by fouling Suker could his counter-attack progression be stopped.

But now, it was too late to say anything.

At 21 minutes, Croatia led Germany 1:0!

Klausevich sat back down in his chair, looking invigorated.

"A brilliant goal. After this goal, we can play a bit more relaxed."

Klausevich couldn't help but praise, "Of course, Suker's goal was crucial, but Modrić's pass was also brilliant!"

"That outside-of-the-foot curl pass, it replicated Suker's famous 'Rainbow Pass,' not only piercing Germany's defense but also providing Suker with an extremely comfortable assist."

"Of course, Suker's performance is also beyond doubt. Facing Boateng's interference and pulling, despite being disrupted, he was still able to adjust quickly and poke the ball before Neuer."

At this point, Klausevich sighed, "Suker's speed! He once again delivered a brilliant counter-attacking play in this manner. Germany, facing Suker's fierce counter-attack and speed, simply couldn't form an effective defensive formation."

"Suker's speed is too fast; they were already in disarray before their formation could even be established!"

"Of course, Boateng could have been more decisive, but in that situation, he judged that he could pull Suker and stop him from continuing his charge. He still underestimated Suker's physicality!"

Klausevich's face was wreathed in smiles.

"Alright, from now on, we can relax a little."