Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 162: 162. Hats off in the World Cup!

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[T/N: Same]

There was 1 minute of stoppage time in the first half.

South Korea was still trying to stop Belgium’s attack with rough tackles and dirty fouls.

”Synergy! Fighting! Fighting!”

Hong Myung-bo was very excited on the sidelines, clapping his hands to encourage his players.

Belgium 1-0 South Korea, this score was acceptable to maintain until halftime.

If they could find an opportunity to steal two goals in the second half, they could win this match.

If not, two consecutive draws, and a final match against Algeria, might still allow them to advance.

As long as their disadvantage wasn’t widened, South Korea could still maneuver.

On one side, there was a fierce sense of fighting spirit, as if they were ready to die for the cause.

On the other side of the field, Belgium set up their defense in the backfield, with three defensive lines calm and unhurried.

They dragged one of South Korea’s counterattacks into a positional battle.

After continuous persuasion from Lance and Captain Vincent Kompany, most of the Belgium players had calmed down.

The more impulsive they were, the easier it was for South Korea to drag them down.

The calmer they were, the more frustrated and impotent their opponents would appear.

Crushing the opponent with goals was more lethal than retaliating with rough fouls.

Of course, Lance wasn’t that kind either.

Seeing that only 1 minute remained in the match, South Korea had already started time-wasting, hoping to reach halftime quickly.

Glancing at his 100% Rage Value,

Lance rushed forward to meet the ball.

Midfielder Koo Ja-cheol was dribbling, and his first reaction upon seeing Lance was to try to dribble past him.

Just as he was about to push the ball and change direction, Lance saw through such a simple, crude, and rhythm-less dribble at a glance.

He quickly took a horizontal step to block Koo Ja-cheol’s path.

In a panic, Koo Ja-cheol could only pull the ball back, shield it with his back against Lance, and try to protect the ball to pass to a teammate.

The two were coincidentally obscured by surrounding players, so the referee temporarily couldn’t see them.

Lance suddenly remembered the secret taught by his teammate Andrés Guardado.

As a South American player, subtle fouls came naturally to him.

”Lance, defending doesn’t always rely on positioning or physical prowess; some small movements are also very effective, like this...”

At the critical moment, Lance suddenly tugged the opponent’s jersey and quickly pulled away, and then forcefully kneed Koo Ja-cheol’s leg behind the knee.

With both actions combined, Koo Ja-cheol instantly lost balance and fell backward. Lance seized the opportunity to poke the ball away with his foot, dodged the opponent, and burst out with the ball!

”Hey! Foul! It was a foul!”

Koo Ja-cheol lay on the ground, loudly raising his hand in complaint.

South Korean players also raised their hands in protest.

But the referee initially didn’t see Lance’s action clearly; he only saw the moment Lance poked the ball away, which had no foul.

He ran with the ball, arms outstretched, signaling for play to continue!

South Korean players were instantly stunned!

”No whistle?”

Lance didn’t care about any of that; he had already dribbled past Han Kook-young with a ’rabona’ and a change of direction, then burst forward into the opponent’s half!

”Beautiful! Lance’s tackle! He’s beaten another man!”

”Lance!”

Amidst Liu Jianhong’s excited voice, Lance in the camera charged straight ahead, full of momentum!

Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, and Kevin De Bruyne simultaneously launched an assault, and at once, Belgium’s counterattack formed a dark, oppressive cloud, menacingly pressing into South Korea’s half!

South Korea completely panicked. Center-back Kim Young-gwon rushed up to intercept.

With 100% full rage, Lance executed a nimble Marseille roulette, and the moment he dribbled past his opponent, he backheeled the ball to Eden Hazard nearby!

”Oh my...”

Liu Jianhong’s ”Wocao” almost slipped out.

Lance was purely showing off!

A Marseille roulette turn to dribble past, followed by a backheel through ball, allowed Eden Hazard to take one touch and instantly burst past Yoon Suk-young, going one-on-one into the penalty area!

The 17-year-old teenager was still performing on the World Cup stage!

His magnificent footwork made the whole world remember this boy!

”Hazard! One-on-one, the goalkeeper comes out...”

At the tense moment, Eden Hazard originally wanted to shoot directly, but in his hesitation, the goalkeeper had already sealed off the angle.

He had been injured during the qualifiers in the Premier League, and had only just returned when he came to Brazil for training. His explosiveness and shooting power had not yet reached their optimal level.

For such a crucial goal, Eden Hazard didn’t dare to shoot directly.

Suddenly hearing rapid footsteps behind him, Eden Hazard simply feigned a pull-back to shoot, tricking the goalkeeper into diving, then made a hidden cut-back pass!

”Hazard... he didn’t shoot, he passed it behind him!”

The figure in the black jersey had already arrived!

He lifted his foot and shot inside the penalty area!

At that moment, seeing ”39 - Lance” on his back,

Son Heung-min had already despaired.

Bang—

Facing an open goal, Lance didn’t need to think too much.

He channeled all his resentment towards South Korea into power, unleashing a thunderous shot, carrying the Chinese National Football Team’s grievances, which roared into South Korea’s goal!

”Goal! It’s in, it’s in, it’s in!”

”2 to 0! Belgium extended their lead in the first half!”

”This attack was initiated by Lance’s tackle, his unhurried dribbling and passing tore through South Korea’s defense, and then it was his lethal strike!”

”On the World Cup stage, the 17-year-old who started has already become the most dazzling star!”

Son Heung-min had to watch Lance and his teammates slide to celebrate again.

”It’s over, everything is over.”

He suddenly realized that it was almost impossible for South Korea to turn the tide in the second half, and their World Cup journey might be over before it even began.

No matter how disappointed Son Heung-min was, no one cared.

The entire Arena Corinthians, and tens of millions of fans in front of their televisions, everyone was cheering for the brilliant Lance!

A brace!

He had already scored 3 goals in 2 group stage matches.

Currently, Lance was tied with Colombian rising star James Rodríguez, leading the top scorer list!

Thomas Müller had 2 goals, while stars like Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Robin van Persie temporarily had only 1 goal each.

Most importantly, Belgium’s match was not yet over!

...

In the second half, South Korea, trailing by 2 goals, played more and more wildly, with increasingly aggressive actions.

The referee finally lost his patience and issued 3 consecutive yellow cards.

”Don’t think I can’t see! The next foul will be a red card!”

The referee warned sternly, but South Korea was already seeing red, their actions showing no restraint, instead becoming even more aggressive.

With the opponent’s frantic pressing, Belgium was not in a hurry to attack, but rather tried to wear down the opponent’s stamina through fluid passing and teamwork.

They would pass the ball out quickly whenever they had possession, reducing their risk of injury.

However, Moussa Dembélé was still injured and left the field in a malicious tackle, replaced by Axel Witsel.

South Korea’s defensive midfielder, Han Kook-young, received his second yellow card and was sent off with a red card!

”Retribution!”

”They finally got what they deserved!”

”So many petty fouls, and it took this long to see a red card!”

Chinese fans in the stands cheered loudly, welcoming Han Kook-young’s red card departure with sarcastic applause.

Already at a disadvantage, and now playing with one man down,

South Korea’s midfield and defense were like a sieve!

The most critical thing was that Lance’s Rage Value had reached 100% for the third time!

”De Bruyne takes the free-kick, Marouane Fellaini heads it! A slight touch with the back of his head!”

”Fortunately, Hazard controlled the ball on the left side of the penalty area. Belgium’s possession.”

”Hazard, is he going to dribble past... Eh? A sudden cross!”

Eden Hazard’s unexpected cross caused chaos in South Korea’s defense.

No one realized that a figure had already diagonally burst towards the near post!

Facing this low cross, Lance was sideways to the goal, and with the tip of his right foot, he lightly flicked it!

His Perfect Ball Control allowed him to flick the ball into a comfortable position, perfectly bypassing Kim Young-gwon!

Lance then turned to face the goal, looking at the descending ball, and drew his right leg back like a bowstring!

A volleyed shot with fury!

”This goal... It’s in! It’s in!”

”Lance—a hat-trick!”

”The youngest hat-trick scorer in World Cup history!”

Liu Jianhong’s voice was already hoarse.

In the original timeline, James Rodríguez was supposed to become world-famous instantly with his ’flying immortal from outside the box’ goal in the Round of 16.

But in the group stage, in this match between Belgium vs South Korea, the image of Lance’s flick, turn, and volleyed shot,

Became the most profound impression of the 2014 Brazil World Cup for the entire world in the future!