Minute 86 of the match.

The fourth official held up the sign at the sideline.

"Spain is going to make two substitutions in quick succession."

"Azpilicueta replaces Alba."

"Diego Costa replaces Morata."

"Judging by the substitutions, perhaps Del Bosque realizes that he can no longer control the game through tiki-taka."

"Well, not tiki-taka, but passing control!"

"The final minutes of regulation time, a battle of wills."

Alba was exhausted and walked a little slowly as he left the field.

Aguero and Higuain quickly "helped" him off.

Argentine fans looked anxiously at the 2-1 score displayed on the LED screen in the air, and the little time remaining.

Taking advantage of this time.

Mignano had Li Kang eat two bites of banana and drink some water by the sideline.

Li Kang didn't expend too much energy maintaining the deconstruction from God's perspective.

Because Argentina's offensive chain was too simple.

But even if it was simple, the attacking group of Messi, Di Maria, Higuain, and Aguero still possessed a very strong threat.

Mignano was full of confidence: "Messi's dribbling data for the whole game is very high, but it shows that there are very big problems with Argentina's advancement and penetration, as long as we cut off the connection between his several offensive points…"

As he spoke.

He suddenly realized: Li Kang's individual data in this game was also very high... Argentina's problems could also be applied to Spain.

Morata walked to the sideline and gave Diego Costa a high-five and a hug.

The latter squatted down, patted the grass on the ground, quickly stepped onto the field, and immediately gestured a few times to convey the coaching staff's adjustments to his teammates.

The game resumed.

Mercado threw in a sideline ball.

Di Maria got rid of Saul's entanglement, received the ball, and quickly passed it to Messi in the center.

The stands once again erupted in a tidal wave of shouts.

The final moment.

Every touch of the ball by Argentina's number 10 was their last hope.

"Messi is here again."

"Messi made the standard 'Messi shoulder feint', Busquets, his club teammate, can't keep up with his rhythm."

"Messi is forcibly breaking through to the center!"

"Spain can't let Messi pass!"

"Messi passes the ball!"

"Thiago's timely foot, the ball bounced back, Messi controls the ball again!"

"Pique, Ramos, Koke are surrounding him!"

"Surrounded by big men!"

"A five-man cage!"

The commentator was incoherent.

Messi's physical strength had been exhausted.

Forcing himself to suppress the urge to retch, he broke through despite his passing lanes being blocked!

His unparalleled footwork danced on the green field once again!

Accelerate.

Decelerate.

Accelerate.

Decelerate.

Continuous touches.

Continuous changes of direction in a small space.

The adrenaline of all the spectators in Kazan Arena soared.

The visual impact of a lone rider charging into the enemy lines on the green field was too strong.

"Messi fell!"

"Get up! Chase the ball again!"

"An indestructible belief."

"A thirst for victory!"

"A miraculous breakthrough!"

"Every moment, he is trying to adjust his body balance, his eyes do not leave the ball, using almost superhuman effort to ensure that the game is not blown dead, Argentina's last hope!"

"He is trampled, he is pulled, he is kicked in the shin, yet he still staggers and continues to run!"

"A canine!"

"Pique grabbed Messi!"

"Can't hold him!"

"Messi fell again, this time... he can't get up."

"The Pampas Eagle seems to have stopped soaring at this moment."

Beep!

The referee blew his whistle.

Pulled out a yellow card and walked towards Pique.

Then he took out the foam spray and drew a 'u' at the location of the foul.

Kazan Arena, applause thundered.

In the final moments of regular time, Messi won a dangerous free kick opportunity for Argentina.

Livestream.

The screen was filled with comments.

-

[Pique's defensive movements are usually very clean, but unfortunately, he met Messi.]

-

[Dybala should be brought on for this free kick, let him take it.]

-

[Only 3 minutes of stoppage time? What the hell?]

-

[The net playing time is too high, the substitutions aren't dragging on, and the game is flowing smoothly, these three minutes are probably just for the time Li Kang and Messi were fouled and fell.]

-

[To date, Dybala's free kick efficiency is only behind Li Kang, Çalhanoğlu, and Pjanić.]

-

[No way, is Argentina going to equalize?]

-

[How is that possible? Do you think Argentina takes free kicks like they drink water?]

-

[That's how it is, Messi had 18 direct free kick attempts last season, 7 goals! He's catching up with Willian from back then!]

-

[But the internet says Messi's free kick accuracy is very low.]

-

[That's because Messi often passes on free kicks.]

Sideline.

Del Bosque didn't know when he had returned to the command area.

He was so nervous that even his mustache was trembling.

On the other side.

Sampaoli's mood was like riding a roller coaster.

He initially criticized Messi for not falling to the ground to complain to the referee about the foul, but now he was grateful and praised Messi as an envoy sent by God to save Argentina.

Green field.

Ramos helped De Gea organize the wall. The Spanish coaching staff's preparations were very thorough, and they had analyzed the free kick characteristics of the Argentine players in detail.

Li Kang did not appear in the wall, he was assigned to a position near the far post.

From God's perspective, he constantly deduced the shooting path of the free kick.

Messi and Di Maria stood in front of the ball.

Argentine defenders Rojo and Otamendi also ran to the Spanish penalty area.

"The game has reached the 92nd minute."

"It should be extended by a minute or two…"

"Argentina has a great opportunity for a free kick in the attacking third."

"Can they tie the score?"

"Caballero is gesturing excitedly with Sampaoli from afar?"

"The goalkeeper should go up too."

"It may be the last offensive opportunity."

"Okay, Caballero is going up too."

Buenos Aires, **Plaza.

Countless Argentine fans gathered together, forming a vast "sea of people."

They looked up at the giant LED screen and cheered for the team.

Last chance.

Last hope.

Messi's free kicks have improved since the 2015/16 season.

As of July 2018, in terms of overall accuracy, he may not be as good as the new generation of free kick masters.

However, in Barcelona's set-piece tactics, the coach often asked the players to carry out complex ground combinations, rather than letting Messi directly end the attack with a shot, especially that guy Enrique.

"This Spanish wall is very particular, Li Kang has been arranged to stand at the far post…"

"Messi's expression is very calm."

"Run-up."

"The angle between the supporting leg and the ground…"

"The direction of the body…"

"Perfect!"

"Shoot!"

"Inside of the foot curve!"

Pa!

The football left the ground.

Bypassed the wall.

Violent spin.

Beautiful arc.

Terrifying downward momentum.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

The Iberian Peninsula and the Pampas grasslands, joy and sorrow intertwined.

De Gea was stunned, he misjudged, his ultimate reaction arc could only let him symbolically reach out his hand towards the direction of the shot…

All eyes were fixed on the trajectory of the football.

Argentine fans couldn't help but celebrate in advance.

Spanish fans felt like they had fallen into an ice cave.

A line between life and death.

Not only De Gea possessed the ultimate reaction arc.

In front of the Spanish goal, the Spanish number 6, who was originally close to the far post, slammed his feet on the grass and stretched his body to the extreme in mid-air!

Clang.

The football was grazed and hit the post.

Bounced to the outside of the goal.

Silence... Kazan Arena was silent for a few tenths of a second, and then burst into a tidal wave of sighs.

"Fate!"

"Li Kang's head caused Messi's free kick to deviate from its trajectory!"

"A clearance on the goal line... at this moment, he was possessed by the souls of Arsenal's Gibbs, Paris' Thiago Silva, Chelsea's David Luiz, and Bayern Munich's Hummels."

The commentator was completely incoherent.

Spain's crisis was not resolved.

No phantoms appeared in Li Kang's line of sight, the shadows in his brain spread crazily, and the deduced red lines from God's perspective and the ultimate reaction arc produced a subtle reaction!

"Aguero's shot!"

"This time it was blocked by Azpilicueta!"

"It bounced to Diego Costa's feet!"

"Spanish players are rushing out!"

"There's no one in the Argentine half…"

"Long ball, Diego Costa should kick a long ball, time is almost up, don't lose possession!"

"Still passing!"

"Passed to Thiago!"

"Clear it out quickly!"

"Oh, Thiago passed to Koke again!"

"Wow!"

"Empty goal!"

"Koke's lob shot was mishit, fortunately, it turned into a long-range clearance!"

No one expected.

Li Kang was still full of energy in the final moments, he shook off the retreating Argentine players at an incredible speed.

His momentum was like a rainbow.

He went straight in.

Koke's 'long-range clearance' let the football roll past the center circle.

Messi tried his best to chase back, but he couldn't catch up, he could only watch Li Kang's back… as he completed the shooting action.

The football drew a perfect parabola in the air.

Finally, it fell into Argentina's goal.

3-1.

Everything happened too fast.

The offensive and defensive transitions reversed the situation.

The Pampas Eagle finally broke its wings in Kazan.

The commentator was stunned, and then shouted incoherently: "Argentina, don't cry for me."

The camera swept across the faces of the players on both sides.

The seven thousand square meters of green field carried the joys and sorrows of countless people tonight.

The football was placed back in the center circle.

Higuain's eyes were red as he kicked off.

Beep!

Beep beep~

The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Spain 3:1 Argentina.

(End of chapter)