The cheers of the fans from the sidelines erupted again, and the title "Asian God" echoed in his ears once more.
His lightning-fast speed left all the players of the Croatian team completely helpless. By the time they saw him, he had already dashed into the midfield. When they tried to chase him, just as they started to accelerate, he shot! 138 Reading Network
My elder brother truly thought highly of me, did he really believe I could catch up?
Being so ruthlessly dominated, the confidence of the Croatian team was significantly weakened at this moment.
In the tenth minute, the situation on the field began to change, and the Tangguo team gradually fell into a disadvantage. The head coach Li Gang on the sidelines quickly noticed this. To prevent the situation from worsening, he chose to intervene proactively.
He made two substitutions to inject new blood into the team and simultaneously sought subtle changes in tactics.
Seeing this, Cao Baiming did not hesitate to use the "attack horn" to inspire his teammates.
The situation improved somewhat, and for the next period, both sides basically engaged in an offensive mode, much to the excitement of the fans.
The fans loved to watch intense, back-and-forth attacking battles. Games where teams just defended were meaningless and nobody enjoyed watching them, not just the fans, but the players disliked playing that way too.
However, sometimes there was no choice.
After a few minutes of such attacking play, some fans of the Tangguo team began to show signs of worry.
"Will continuing to be this aggressive cause problems?"
"We're already leading by one goal; perhaps playing more cautiously would be better!"
However, Li Gang clearly had no intention of doing so at the moment. The entire team appeared very confident, so they decided to press their advantage and continue attacking to secure another goal!
Cao Baiming shouted and directed from the field, while also running around to receive passes.
His tackle count and pass count were unmatched on the field, a truly unique presence.
Soon after, the Tangguo team got another opportunity, but it was ultimately wasted by Wu Lei's shot.
However, it was evident that his long-range shooting ability had improved significantly. Cao Baiming was very confident in his heart; as long as they continued like this, there would be no significant suspense in this match.
The situation on the field hadn't changed much, but the attacks came one after another, each one making the hearts of the fans race.
In the thirty-fifth minute, it was Modric again. After making a pass, he unexpectedly surged into the center to receive the ball. After his teammates' attempts failed, he personally took a shot!
His magical outside-of-the-foot strike was even better than Cao Baiming's earlier effort. The goalkeeper was completely helpless, unable to do anything!
"Goal! The score is tied! One-one!"
"Modric's magical outside-of-the-foot shot has helped the Croatian team equalize and boosted their morale!"
Seeing this development, Li Gang prepared to change tactics. But just as the thought crossed his mind, a voice suddenly came from the field.
"Coach, give me a few more minutes!"
Looking up, he saw Cao Baiming himself, running to the sideline to speak with him.
Could this guy read his mind? Li Gang was utterly bewildered!
Since that was the case, he decided to give him a few more minutes. Cao Baiming's expression, coupled with his gesture, gave the impression of complete confidence.
Subsequently, Cao Baiming quickly returned to midfield.
Here, a huge defensive gap was about to appear, something he had already foreseen seconds earlier.
His teammates arrived on the flank, everything perfectly timed. Cao Baiming actively called out and coordinated with several teammates on the flank to execute a play.
The Tangguo team's passing and possession game began!
In the final touch, Cao Baiming himself delivered a through pass forward!
The ball was passed into an empty space where no one was ahead!
Several Croatian players looked back and showed expressions of panic, thinking they had missed someone. But they immediately realized there was no one to receive the pass.
Their hearts eased slightly, but just as they relaxed, they discovered that Cao Baiming himself had already started accelerating!
Ultimately, they had miscalculated one crucial element! This person was Cao Baiming!
He could pass to himself three seconds later!
Upon realizing this, the players in the red and white checkered jerseys began to frantically retreat, their target clear: the ball!
It was the thirty-seven-year-old veteran Modric who reacted first, realizing that every pass from Cao Baiming could not be taken lightly!
In desperation, Modric had no choice but to sacrifice himself, resorting to grabbing with his hands and tugging, while also aiming for Cao Baiming's supporting foot!
It was a blatant tactical foul, designed to buy time for his teammates to get the ball first!
Despite the pulling and dragging, he couldn't stop Cao Baiming. This slender young man, who looked like he weighed less than 150 pounds, was as strong as a mountain!
The referee was watching nearby and had already mentally noted this incident. He couldn't possibly think he could escape such an obvious foul.
However, as an experienced referee, he understood Cao Baiming. He would avoid blowing the whistle if possible, favoring the attacking advantage.
After all, in all his years of officiating, he had rarely seen anyone able to bring Cao Baiming down.
Modric quickly realized he couldn't overpower him. So, he took a step forward and fell onto the field himself, attempting to use his body to obstruct Cao Baiming's progress!
Two seconds later, his teammates managed to gain possession of the ball first, preventing him from receiving it.
The entire Croatian team breathed a sigh of relief!
But the referee's whistle then blew, and a shiny yellow card was held high by the referee as he approached Modric.
Modric smiled easily and was then helped up by his teammates.
He knew he would get this yellow card; it came as no surprise. However, he was even more aware of the consequences if Cao Baiming had managed to get past him and receive that pass.
Regardless of whether it was worth it, it was the only way!
If the first half ended with a two-goal deficit, it would be no different from their World Cup journey being completely over. Overcoming such a deficit in the second half would be as difficult as climbing to heaven, even more so!
The Croatian head coach on the sidelines suddenly held his head, as if a massive boulder had just crushed his heart!
Modric! It was him who committed the foul!
He had already received a yellow card in the previous match, meaning he would be suspended for one game!
Without this core midfield maestro in the team, who would organize their attacks? The others were nowhere near his level!
Modric stood up, contemplating this problem as well.
He knew the situation perfectly, but the most important thing right now was winning this match. If they lost this game, all preparations for the next one would be in vain.