Chapter 625: Messi Unable to Save the Day, Argentina Eliminated
On June 29th, at Kaliningrad Stadium, the highly anticipated clash between England and Belgium was about to begin. Players from both teams were on the field for their final warm-up.
Belgium's midfield maestro, Kevin De Bruyne, finished his drills and walked to the sidelines to hydrate while scanning the stands as if searching for someone.
Someone had called him before the game, telling him they would come to watch the match live and encouraged him to give his best. De Bruyne was eager to see if the caller was joking or if they had really come.
After looking around for a while, he finally spotted the person. This guy was sitting in the front row near the field.
De Bruyne smiled, tossed his water bottle aside, and strode confidently toward the person.
A cameraman adjusting his broadcast lens noticed De Bruyne's actions and, out of curiosity, followed his path with the camera.
What he saw surprised him—a familiar face in the stands: Lin Quan and Pep Guardiola, sitting together.
Without a second thought, the cameraman quickly adjusted his camera to capture them, broadcasting their image on the stadium's big screen.
Initially, the crowd hadn't noticed Lin Quan, but after seeing him on the screen, they let out a gasp of surprise.
Was Lin Quan here to scout his opponents?
Both Belgium and England were among the strongest teams in this World Cup. Belgium, nicknamed the "Red Devils of Europe," ranked in the top five of FIFA's standings.
Meanwhile, England, after their dismal performance in the last World Cup, had bounced back this year. Having already qualified from the group stage, they were hoping for a run to the quarterfinals or even further if luck was on their side.
But then, De Bruyne appeared on camera, walking over to the barrier and chatting with Lin Quan.
The conversation seemed pleasant, and before parting ways, they bumped fists, with Lin Quan making a fist gesture as if to wish De Bruyne good luck.
Seeing their interaction, the crowd quickly understood: Lin Quan was here to support a friend!
With that, the fans who had been a bit worried—especially those supporting Belgium and England—could finally relax.
"Lin and De Bruyne have such a good relationship!"
"Of course! These two have been close since their days at Werder Bremen, nearly five or six years ago now."
"As far as I remember, they've never really been apart, have they?"
"Well, kind of. After De Bruyne left the Bundesliga, he returned to Chelsea but was benched for a season before joining Manchester City."
"They're the type of pair that makes each other better. Without one, it's hard to say if the other would have reached these heights."
Many nodded in agreement. De Bruyne was Lin Quan's best partner, setting him up with countless assists and precise passes.
And Lin Quan was De Bruyne's ideal attacking partner. Without him, De Bruyne's assist numbers would have likely dropped significantly.
Sometimes, when strikers aren't reliable, even if you serve them the perfect chance, they still manage to mess it up.
(One particular striker whose name starts with "S" can vouch for this firsthand!)
The game soon kicked off, and after some cautious probing, both teams started launching fierce attacks on each other's goal.
On paper, both squads were very strong, and based on their ball possession, shot counts, and dangerous attacks, it was clear they were evenly matched.
"This is an interesting game—it feels like either team could win!" Guardiola commented casually, leaning back after watching for a bit.
"Yeah, neither side is holding back. Their tactics are very aggressive today, with lots of attacks and shots. It's all going to come down to who can seize their chances," Lin Quan agreed.
With both teams having already secured their spots in the knockout stages, the players were playing without pressure, allowing them to fully unleash their abilities.
In the first half, England seemed to have more control, but Belgium's attacks were more threatening. England's defender Gary Cahill even had to make a critical clearance—without it, Belgium would have taken the lead.
However, Belgium began to ramp up the intensity in the second half. They pressed harder in midfield and quickened their offensive pace, trying to capitalize on England's mistakes.
This tactic quickly paid off. In the 51st minute, Marouane Fellaini intercepted the ball in midfield and passed it to De Bruyne.
De Bruyne took a quick glance and then sent a pinpoint pass—a "surgical strike"—that threaded through three England players, cutting open the defense and allowing Eden Hazard to score.
Most of the credit for this goal went to De Bruyne, as his pass was nothing short of brilliant.
Even Lin Quan and Guardiola, sitting in the stands, couldn't help but cheer in unison, along with the crowd, who were equally impressed.
As Belgium took the lead, their fans started chanting Hazard's and De Bruyne's names nonstop, proud of the exceptional players their country had produced.
Trailing behind, England launched a fierce counterattack, with Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy delivering several dangerous shots on goal.
England played like mad dogs, showing the ferocity of the "Three Lions."
In the 66th minute of the second half, Marcus Rashford found some space outside the box and launched a powerful shot, bringing the score to 1-1.
If the game had ended at this point, England would have benefited the most.
Although both teams had the same goal difference and total goals scored, England had fewer yellow cards. This slight advantage would allow them to top the group and advance to the knockout stage as the first-place team.
But in the critical moments, De Bruyne stepped up once again. In the 88th minute, he took a free kick and delivered a stunning "knuckleball" shot straight into the goal, helping Belgium regain the lead.
At that moment, the crowd's cheers for De Bruyne drowned out those for Hazard—he had become the undisputed hero for Belgium fans.
A few minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
Thanks to De Bruyne's incredible performance, with one goal and one assist, Belgium defeated England and advanced to the Round of 16 with a perfect record of three wins.
The "Red Devils of Europe" were on fire—perhaps even more so than Spain.
No wonder so many people had pegged them as favorites to win the tournament. After watching this match, even more people would likely share that opinion.
After the game, Lin Quan and De Bruyne went out for dinner together.
"If nothing unexpected happens, your next opponent will either be Japan or Colombia."
The results of Group H wouldn't be decided until the following day, so Belgium's opponent hadn't been confirmed yet.
"It doesn't matter. Whoever it is, we're confident we can beat them," De Bruyne said confidently, fresh off his win against England.
"Colombia and Japan aren't pushovers. Be careful not to stumble. Imagine if you accidentally lose to Japan. That would be interesting," Lin Quan teased.
De Bruyne shook his head firmly. "Don't worry. We won't stop until we've beaten Spain!"
"Oh? That's quite a boast! Are you telling me your goal this time is the World Cup trophy?"
De Bruyne puffed out his chest proudly. "Of course! The championship is the only thing we're after!"
Lin Quan gave him a thumbs-up. "That's the spirit! See you on the field, then!"
"See you on the field!"
…
With the last group-stage match concluded, the list of teams advancing to the Round of 16 was finalized.
One notable omission from that list was Germany, the runners-up from the previous World Cup.
Germany had suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat to South Korea, who were at the bottom of their group, marking the biggest upset of this World Cup.
This loss knocked Germany out of the tournament, making them the first top contender to be eliminated.
Germany's early exit sent shockwaves through the entire German football world.
After the game, head coach Joachim Löw publicly announced his resignation at the press conference, taking full responsibility for the failure.
But whether replacing the coach could solve the deep-rooted problems in German football remained a big question mark.
In contrast to Germany's self-destruction, Argentina, who had been teetering on the brink of elimination, managed to scrape through with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria, securing their spot in the knockout stage.
In that match, Lionel Messi, who had been struggling in the previous two games, finally scored a goal.
Not only did Messi regain his form, but the entire Argentine team seemed to have a different attitude and spirit on the field.
Comparing the previous Argentina team to this one was like comparing two entirely different squads.
As some gamers might say, the "Pampas Eagles" only play well when they're on the verge of defeat!
Of course, Argentina's qualification for the Round of 16 wasn't just down to their victory. It also came thanks to Croatia, who, despite having already advanced, didn't take it easy on Iceland.
Croatia's win over Iceland ensured that it was Argentina, not Iceland, who advanced.
As the Round of 16 lineup took shape, the matchups were also becoming clear.
The knockout stage rules paired the first- and second-place teams from adjacent groups. Group A's winner would face Group B's runner-up, Group B's winner would face Group A's runner-up, and so on.
Under this setup, Spain's next opponent would be the host nation, Russia, while Argentina would face France, Portugal would take on Uruguay, and Brazil would clash with Mexico.
The first match of the Round of 16 would be between the winner of Group C and the runner-up of Group D—France vs. Argentina.
Both teams were considered among the favorites to win the World Cup, with rankings high enough to place them in the top five.
It was a shame that two such strong teams had to meet so early in the tournament, as it meant one of them would be saying goodbye to the World Cup stage after this match.
However, for football fans, getting to watch such a thrilling clash so early was a treat.
And the match certainly lived up to expectations.
From the start, France launched an aggressive attack. Kylian Mbappé constantly tore down Argentina's defense on the flanks, leaving them with no answers.
In the 13th minute of the first half, France intercepted the ball in their own half and quickly launched a counterattack. Mbappé sprinted into the box, forcing Marcos Rojo into a foul. The referee showed Rojo a yellow card and awarded a penalty.
Antoine Griezmann stepped up and calmly slotted it home, putting France ahead 1-0.
The sight of Mbappé charging down the field left the 40,000 spectators in awe. His speed was electrifying, and Argentina's defenders simply couldn't keep up.
The stadium's speed tracking equipment clocked Mbappé's sprint at 39.2 km/h!
When this statistic was announced, the crowd erupted in amazement.
They had expected Mbappé to be fast, but not that fast!
He was like a runaway horse! How could Argentina's fullbacks possibly stop him?
Mbappé was indeed a nightmare to defend against. In just the first 20 minutes, Argentina had picked up two yellow cards because of him and conceded a penalty.
They were completely on the back foot.
But after weathering this storm, Argentina started to mount their own attack.
In the 41st minute of the first half, Ángel Di María scored to level the game.
Just one minute into the second half, Messi provided an assist for a teammate, putting Argentina ahead 2-1.
At that point, Argentine fans breathed a sigh of relief, ready to celebrate the victory. But just as they began to cheer, the match took a sudden turn.
In the 57th minute, Blaise Matuidi sent a through ball to Lucas Hernández, who crossed from the left. Benjamin Pavard, positioned on the right edge of the box, struck a stunning half-volley to make it 2-2.
Seven minutes later, France struck again.
Paul Pogba delivered a diagonal pass to Hernández, who crossed again from the left. Matuidi's shot from 12 yards was blocked, but Mbappé collected the ball, dribbled into the six-yard box, and coolly slotted it home, putting France back in the lead at 3-2.
But France wasn't done yet. Just four minutes later, Olivier Giroud sent a through ball to Mbappé, who went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner.
The score was now 4-2!
In the space of just 11 minutes, France had scored three goals, with Mbappé netting two of them.
In those few minutes, Mbappé's name spread across the globe, making him a household name.
Argentina's players were in disbelief as they stared at the scoreboard. Just minutes earlier, they had been leading—how had it all fallen apart so quickly?
It wasn't just the Argentine players who were stunned. The crowd was in shock, too. Even the French fans hadn't expected their team to explode like this, overwhelming Argentina with such a flurry of punches that they were left dazed.
Even now, looking back on those ten minutes, it all felt surreal to them. It was just too crazy.
After all, their opponent was Argentina!
Trailing behind, Messi tried desperately to find a way to level the game.
But France's defense was solid, and they didn't give Argentina many chances.
In the third minute of stoppage time, Messi sent a diagonal pass into the box, where Sergio Agüero, unmarked, headed the ball into the net, reducing the deficit to 3-4.
But the goal came too late—much too late.
In the end, thanks to Mbappé's incredible performance, France won 4-3, knocking Argentina out and becoming the first team to advance to the quarterfinals.
(End of Chapter)