Cao Baiming's eyes flashed as he saw the ball's trajectory.
The second bounce had been calculated, landing right at the feet of the Croatian sniper, Brozović, at the edge of the penalty box!
This must have been planned! He was positioned to receive the ball!
Before the ball even hit the ground, Cao Baiming sprinted with all his might, covering the distance in a few strides and positioning himself in front of Brozović before the ball could bounce!
Then, before Brozović could react, he passed the ball wide to the flank!
At this moment, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers from the Dragon Country fans! Because they saw someone already running forward!
"Wu Lei! It's Wu Lei's chance! The goal is wide open!"
Cao Baiming's accurate, missile-like pass landed perfectly three meters in front of Wu Lei. Already at his top speed on the wing, Wu Lei had started his run in advance!
It was now meaningless for the Croatian team to chase after them!
The goalkeeper stopped running, having completely given up.
Facing the last defender, Wu Lei didn't need to get close. He unleashed a long-range shot directly at the empty goal!
With no goalkeeper to defend, even from over forty meters away, hitting the target was not difficult! He was confident in his long-range shooting ability for this match!
The ball soared through the air, arcing like a rainbow before finding the back of the net!
"Wu Lei!!! An assist from Cao Baiming! This has completely extinguished the Croatian team's last glimmer of hope!"
Livaković sat on the pitch, no longer willing to get up.
He hadn't expected the Tang Country team to score again at this point in the match!
At this moment, the Croatian team was utterly despairing. The fans couldn't bear to watch anymore, and many had already shed tears at the sidelines, mourning their team's inevitable elimination.
The Tang Country fans, on the other hand, were ecstatic. Their opponents were indeed unfortunate, but football was a cruel sport!
With only a few dozen seconds of stoppage time remaining, and after the goal celebration, the referee blew the final whistle as soon as the ball was returned to the center spot.
Cao Baiming was filled with regret; his sure goal had not even been taken. If only he had had ten more seconds!
However, with Wu Lei's goal, their objective had been achieved in another way.
"Congratulations to the Tang Country team! They have defeated the previous World Cup runner-up, the Croatian team, and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals!!"
The commentator, inadvertently mentioning "runner-up" again, caused the fans to complain good-naturedly while being overjoyed.
"Cao Baiming with a hat-trick of assists, he is once again the biggest contributor for the Tang Country team in this match, but the performances of other players were also commendable!"
"From defense in their own half to linking up play in midfield, organizing attacks, and even finishing up front, Cao Baiming's all-around freedom-player style remains unique in the world, impossible for anyone to imitate!"
"He is already the world's best!"
"This is the first time in the history of our Tang Country team that we have successfully reached the World Cup quarterfinals! We have surpassed ourselves, broken free from historical shackles, and let us thank these young men on the field, they have created a miracle!!!"
On the field, all the Tang Country players rushed towards Cao Baiming, excitedly gathering in the center of the pitch, on the verge of tears. Many of them hadn't expected to break their previous records so easily.
Meanwhile, the Croatian team was already in disarray, sitting in their positions with helpless gazes fixed on the sky, tears of regret streaming down their faces!
It was only when the coaching staff came to greet them that they slowly stood up.
As Cao Baiming walked past them, he could feel an overwhelming wave of negative emotions.
Indeed, for a player, what could be more heartbreaking than being eliminated from the World Cup after such high hopes?
Moreover, they were the previous runners-up. Even though their team's paper strength wasn't particularly stellar this time, they should at least have reached the quarterfinals. None of them probably expected to be knocked out in the Round of 16!
Now, the Croatian team had officially joined the ranks of the eliminated in the World Cup, alongside Italy and Germany, and Uruguay, who had made that cardinal mistake. They weren't alone!
As the players happily walked off the pitch, Cao Baiming suddenly felt a presence behind him.
Turning around, he saw Modrić walking onto the pitch from the bench, handing him his jersey.
Cao Baiming also took off his jersey and exchanged it with him. After a brief handshake, they embraced.
For a full two seconds, Cao Baiming could feel Modrić's heart pounding. Had he not rested enough in the ten minutes he spent on the bench, or was it nerves?
He had no way of knowing, but from the look in the other man's eyes, he could see the profound disappointment.
Despite his icy heart, Modrić still managed a polite smile and expressed his gratitude to Cao Baiming.
The result of this match sent shockwaves through the football world once again.
This time, there weren't as many fans losing money. The support for both teams was already evenly split, and the outside world was increasingly recognizing the terror of the Tang Country team.
This day was long overdue; the Tang Country team had finally awakened.
At this very moment, in the temporary coaches' lounge of the Portuguese team in another part of the city, Santos, as if struck by lightning, jolted up from his computer screen.
"WTF!!!!!!!!!!"
Santos held his head in his hands, grateful that no one could see him in that state.
However, more than surprise, he felt fear!
Compared to this enigmatic Tang Country team, he would have preferred facing the Croatian team in his next match!
This Tang Country team was simply too terrifying. They had been underestimated from the start, and no one knew their true ceiling. After so many matches, the world had finally seen the truth.
No one wanted to be their enemy! Even a Portuguese team with a five-star luxury lineup had to be wary of them!
Santos's Portuguese team possessed a midfield configuration that was unparalleled in the entire World Cup, even rivaling the six-star Samba team, as well as France and England.
Since Luís Figo's return, his synergy with Bruno had become increasingly exquisite. The two seemed like a perfect match, working in tandem to create unpredictable plays on the flanks.
Furthermore, the forward and defensive lines were also star-studded. Compared to this Tang Country team, their entire squad's total market value dwarfed theirs by tens of times.
If you were to remove Cao Baiming from the Tang Country team, it would be a thousand times more.