Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 159



Only Noblemtl

#159 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1715629

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Warning to Spain

In the 40th minute of the first half, a corner kick was awarded from the left. The corner kick taken by Hwang Hee was kicked away by a Portuguese defender. Cha Bum-soo was positioned in the arc area, and Kim Si-woong was positioned further behind Cha Bum-soo. Cha Bum-soo, who received the ball, immediately passed it to Kim Si-woong.

Kim Si-woong sent the ball to the left. Hwang Hee caught the ball and crossed it, but the whistle blew. Hwang Hee was adjudged offside.

“Seongguk, relax. I’ll change it right away.”

Bae Seong-guk, who was sitting on the bench, quickly stretched his body.

“Seong-guk, you have to run back quickly after kicking the corner. Don’t lose focus.”

The atmosphere on the bench froze in an instant. Hwang Hee was slightly less focused as the first half was almost over. That’s why he didn’t run back quickly after the corner kick. He was in an offside position when he received Kim Si-woong’s pass.

The substitution with only a few minutes left in the first half was not understood by anyone except Ki-shin and the Korean team bench. Hwang Hee was also substituted with a smile on his face, not knowing what was going on. Hwang Hee, who found out on the bench why he was substituted, lowered his head.

“I’m sorry, Director. I’m sorry to everyone. I sincerely apologize.”

Hwang Hee apologized in a hoarse voice. If the locker room wasn’t soundproofed well, it would have been heard outside.

“I understand that you lose focus when you’re leading by three goals and the first half is almost over. But will the other teams watching this understand?”

The god’s tone was calm. He didn’t seem particularly angry.

“But will the other teams watching us just understand and move on? Or will they think, ‘We lack focus, so let’s focus all our attacks here?’”

The voice of the god grew louder. He felt more frustrated than angry.

“I hope everyone will give their all until the end of today’s game. If we show that we are lacking, we will be attacked intensively by our opponents in the tournament. In the first game, we played against Italy, which has a strong defense, and started off by pretending to be lacking, but the tournament is different.”

From the tournament onwards, you need to show off your strength, even if it is just a show of bluff. It is almost impossible to make your opponents let their guard down by showing a weak performance. A team that lets their guard down in a game where they have no chance can win with their skills without acting. You need to do your best in this game and show your best performance. Only then will Spain not choose Korea in the third round.

“If we show weaknesses in attack or defense today, Spain could finish second in the group in the next match. The first-seeded teams have a chance to decide their ranking in the last match. Today we are not only playing Portugal. We have to make a strong appeal to Spain not to pick us.”

The voice of the coach began to gain strength. The coach must always speak to the players with confidence. Only then will the players believe and follow the coach’s words.

“I hope to send a proper warning to Spain in the second half today. I hope they show how solid our defense is and how sharp our attack is. Hwang Hee is given the task of shouting loudly to wake up anyone who seems to be losing focus in the second half.”

Portugal had a plan to change the situation in the second half. They had to abandon their defensive stance from the first half and go all-out on the attack, but if you suddenly change tactics, you will have a weakness. So after the first half, they had 15 minutes to familiarize themselves with the new tactics.

Before the second half began, the Portuguese players were confident. They thought they would score easily if they used the new attacking tactics. However, when they actually opened the lid, they saw a result completely different from what they had expected.

The Korean team pushed quickly when attacking, which put pressure on the Portuguese attackers to quickly return to help the defense. Park Jung-hyun dropped down and moved like a midfielder, taking control of the air.

Portugal, conscious of Hyun Ki-chul’s speed and breakthrough ability, failed to establish a defensive line based on Park Jung-hyun. So Park Jung-hyun played the role of king in the midfield where there were no tigers. Korea quickly pushed forward through Park Jung-hyun’s air superiority in the counterattack.

Even when Portugal’s defensive line went up a little higher, Cha Beom-soo would make precise long-range penetrating passes. The goalkeeper, who was upset in a one-on-one with Hyun Ki-chul, yelled at the defenders not to raise the defensive line high.

Bae Seong-guk and Choi Gil-su defended like midfielders or fullbacks in defensive situations. When there was a chance to counterattack, Gong Min-hoon and Han Yoon quickly pushed forward. The two Portuguese wingbacks, who had been tired of defending since the first half, could not keep up with the tempo of the Korean team.

The transition between offense and defense was quick, but the offense itself was not hasty. Unless there was a good opportunity, they refrained from shooting and passed the ball. They showed off not only their simple offensive and defensive abilities, but also their ability to manage the game. That is, towards Spain.

Spain, the 1st seed, has no matches in the second round. So the Spanish coach is watching the Korea-Portugal match live. They won the first match by a landslide and have a good goal difference, so they have the luxury of choosing their round of 32 opponents in the last match.

The Korean team that I have watched so far is a team with high concentration in offense and defense and quick transition between offense and defense. Individual skills seem to be lacking a little, but they are tightly united. In the second half, they showed a fast-paced game and showed off their skill in game management. In the last game, they also showed a slow-paced game against Italy.

Gong Min-hoon, who received a pass from Choi Gil-soo, successfully broke through toward the goal line. The defender ran quickly and tried to block the cross. However, Gong Min-hoon deflected it once and crossed with his left foot. This was also the first time he had shown a left-footed cross in the World Cup.

It was a trajectory closer to a shot than a cross, as it slightly missed the foot. The timing of the cross was so exquisite that most players were unable to react quickly. I say most because there were players who reacted quickly.

Hyun Ki-chul had received many crosses like this at Atletico. So his body moved on its own. He thought about heading, but Gong Min-hoon’s ball suddenly sank. Hyun Ki-chul improvised and chose his chest instead of heading.

The ball that hit Hyun Ki-chul’s chest went straight into the goal. Instead of trapping the ball with his chest pressed up, he bounced the ball away with force. Hyun Ki-chul, who had a hat trick, went to the audience where Korean fans were gathered and celebrated.

The Portuguese manager finally admitted his mistake and took action. He dropped the two wingbacks and brought in a fullback who was good at defense. A stable defense is necessary for an attack to gain momentum, just like the Korean team.

Tanks need to be in siege mode to have strong firepower. Even elementary school kids in Korea know this. In the first game, the Korean team showed a defensive attitude, so it was a mistake to underestimate them. It was also a problem that Italy was too burdensome, so they tried to win big in this game. It was a mistake to be greedy and try to get first place in order to avoid Spain.

Korea played the first game defensively, prepared to draw with Italy in the worst case scenario. Portugal became greedy for first place after Korea beat Italy. If they beat Korea by two or more goals and draw the next game, they can take first place in the group. Spain will also choose Korea over Portugal, so they wanted to advance to the round of 16 easily against Canada, which was in second place in the group.

As Portugal strengthened its defense by dropping two wingbacks, Ki-shin dropped Park Jung-hyun and brought in Chae-woon. Korea, which changed its formation to 4-5-1, focused its attacks on the center. Thanks to this, Portugal’s two fullbacks often participated in the attack, but their attacking power was significantly lacking compared to the two wingbacks who were replaced.

In the 80th minute of the game, Han Yoon scored the fifth goal with a free kick. Cha Beom-soo has not been good at free kicks since the World Cup. The score of Cha Beom-soo’s free kick suddenly disappeared, and Ki-shin was momentarily confused. Just as Black’s cross score was not visible and Gong Min-hoon’s shooting score was not visible, Cha Beom-soo’s free kick also seemed to have suddenly lost its stability.

However, if you stand in front of the ball and make a gesture, you will attract the goalkeeper’s attention. Han Yoon’s left-footed free kick grazed the near post and became a goal. The ball grazed the goalpost, so the goalkeeper could not jump with all his might.

After scoring a goal, Cha Beom-soo was taken off and Yoo Jae-beom was brought on. When Cha Beom-soo was replaced, the Korean team showed greater concentration. In the absence of Cha Beom-soo, Gil Seo-jun commanded the defense and Yoo Jae-beom commanded the offense.

In a battle between spear and shield, the shield smashed the spear. In terms of starting lineup, offensive tactics, defensive tactics, game management, and player replacement, Korea was superior in every aspect. Experts also began to give new evaluations of the 3-seeded Korean team.

Korea, which has already taken first place in Group L, is likely to face Canada, which is almost certain to take second place in Group L, in the round of 32. Many experts have concluded that if the Korean team maintains the level they showed against Portugal, they will have no problem making it to the quarterfinals.

Korea, which has already secured first place in Group 1, has already moved to LA, USA. The round of 32 matches for the team that played group matches in Canada will be held in the US. If they win in the round of 32, the round of 16 matches will be held in Mexico.

The quarterfinals will be held in Mexico, the semifinals in Canada, and the finals will be held in New York, USA. Of course, this is for the Korean team. Teams that played group matches in Mexico or the USA will have different schedules.

In the third round, Italy beat Portugal 1:0. Italy scored a goal in the 80th minute of the second half on a counterattack. If it had been a draw, Italy would have finished second on goal difference, so Portugal pressed hard in the second half. Italy boasted an unwavering defense and scored a goal in a counterattack to decide the game.

Spain won 8:0 against Democratic Republic of Congo. In order to finish second in the group, they had to lose to Democratic Republic of Congo by a score of 2:0 or more. The Korean team is also in a tough situation and there are many eyes on them, so they didn’t take a shallow approach and won a big victory against Democratic Republic of Congo.

LA has a lot of Koreans, so it feels like home. The Korean team that arrived early received a grand welcome. Even the coaches wear clothes with the Taegeukgi on them, so most of them get a free ride. However, the atmosphere of the players was calm.

Cha Beom-soo did two hours of free kick training every day. He also did one hour of basic training. He only did three hours of individual training every day, excluding team training. No one could be too excited watching him.

Kim Si-woong only did basic training. Many players agreed with the idea that basic training can help you control your condition. Through basic training, which I had done when I was young and gradually neglected after becoming a professional, not only my condition but also my mindset gradually changed.

Kishin talked to Virginia for more than an hour every day. Virginia was pregnant with her second child last year. Her due date was close to the finals date. Feeling sorry, Kishin called Virginia every day to relieve her stress.

Behind Virginia, Miracle could be seen pulling Shingi’s ear. Shingi, who resembles his mother in skeletal structure, is larger than his peers. Shingi did not flinch no matter how much Miracle tormented him, as if he did not know pain.

It was a call that relieved Virginia’s stress, but also relieved Gishin’s tension. Gishin pretended not to be, but he was very nervous. That’s why he reacted strongly to Hwang Hee’s small mistake. It was an impulsive decision, but the team atmosphere actually improved. It was thanks to Cha Beom-soo’s good encouragement. He made the team atmosphere stronger with actions, not words.

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