The match between Portugal National Team and South Korea Team is about to begin.
At the same time, another match in the same group, between Uruguay and Ghana, will also start.
Matthew is sitting on the bench as a substitute.
For this match, the Portugal Team should be quite relaxed; they have already secured their qualification, while the South Korea Team is now fighting with their backs against the wall.
The qualification situation for this group is very subtle.
The Portugal Team won both previous matches, gaining six points, so even if they lose this match, they will still qualify as the group leader.
However, the other three teams are different.
They all have a chance to qualify, and it will depend on this match.
For the South Korea Team to qualify, they need to win this match, and then, they also hope that even if there is a winner between Uruguay and Ghana, there won't be a large goal difference.
Anyway, the qualification situation is very subtle, and it seems very difficult for the South Korea Team to qualify.
Matthew felt a bit conflicted, and as a person from the Dragon Kingdom, he actually hoped that the Asia teams could go further.
Previously, the Island Country Team also qualified, and they even defeated the Spanish Team, coming out of the group as the first-place team in the group stage.
Matthew also hoped that the South Korea Team could qualify, but some of the South Korea Team's dirty tricks were despicable.
With a whistle, the match began.
In this match, the Portugal Team also didn't plan to go all out, as they had already qualified; firstly, to let the main players rest more, and secondly, to avoid injuries to the main players in this match, after all, the South Korea Team has always had a bad reputation.
Matthew sat on the bench, constantly hoping for a chance to play.
However, Head Coach Santos is a very stubborn person; his previous formations and substitution strategies were all by the book, and Matthew had been sitting on the bench the entire time.
Cristiano Ronaldo also didn't have much impact.
Score: In the first half, the Portugal Team scored a goal. Bruno Fernandes crossed from the left into the penalty area, and Cristiano Ronaldo went for the ball in front of the goal but didn't touch it, which startled the goalkeeper, and then the ball went directly into the dead corner.
The goal was credited to Bruno Fernandes, although Cristiano Ronaldo's hair might have touched the ball...
Goal!
In the second half, the South Korea Team scored a goal, and then, the South Korea Team seemed to see hope and began to attack aggressively, and as the South Korea Team was eager to win, their minor fouls became more and more frequent, and their actions became increasingly rough.
Matthew, who was on the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore.
Also, one player from the South Korea Team, Cao Guicheng, who scored two goals in the previous match, repeatedly provoked Cristiano Ronaldo on the field!
"I want to play!"
Matthew made the request to the Head Coach at the sixty-minute mark.
However, Matthew is still young, and he doesn't have much say, so the Head Coach ignored his request.
The other substitutes nearby were also waiting for a chance to play, and they gloated over Matthew being rejected by the Head Coach!
The match reached the eighty-minute mark. Cristiano Ronaldo, carrying the ball in midfield, fell to the ground after being fouled by Cao Guicheng, but the referee did not blow the whistle.
Everyone also saw that Cao Guicheng actually made a disdainful gesture towards Cristiano Ronaldo, and then passed the ball to Sun Xingmin on the wing. As a result, Sun Xingmin dribbled the ball, attracting three defenders, and then Sun Xingmin passed the ball from between two defenders to the quickly overlapping Kim Hee-chan, and then, the ball went in!
The South Korea Team led two to one!
The South Korea Team on the field celebrated wildly.
That Cao Guicheng, while celebrating, even mimicked Cristiano Ronaldo falling to the ground; this guy was simply too arrogant!
There were three minutes left in regular time!
The Head Coach seemed to have given up on this match; he originally intended to maintain a draw, and since they lost, he could accept it. He was thinking of substituting Cristiano Ronaldo—
However, the next moment, Matthew's opportunity came!
Cristiano Ronaldo, while the South Korea players were celebrating and before the kickoff, came to the sidelines and said something to Head Coach Santos, while talking, he looked at Matthew sitting on the bench.
The Head Coach was clearly a bit reluctant, but Cristiano Ronaldo's importance was evident, and Santos could not ignore his opinion.
Matthew thought he was going to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, but who knew, Santos, according to Cristiano Ronaldo's request, substituted a midfielder, with Matthew replacing him.
This was a like-for-like substitution!
Matthew stood on the World Cup field for the first time, looking at the huge crowd in the stands around him, feeling a little excited.
This was different from what he felt sitting on the bench.
He took a deep breath.
"Relax, my brother! Don't be nervous." Cristiano Ronaldo looked at Matthew with resolute eyes, encouraging him.
"Matthew, I'm moving forward; pass the ball to me if you get a chance!" Cristiano Ronaldo seemed serious.
He had originally intended to go a bit easy, but as it turned out, the young opponent lacked martial ethics.
Cristiano Ronaldo also had no choice; the decline in his physical condition could not be hidden.
Also, the support from his teammates was not enough, which also made him very frustrated throughout the match.
Matthew also got ready; he promptly activated the system within his body—
"System! A good blade is used on the edge! What programs can be activated now, hurry up and activate them!"
Matthew knew time was urgent, and he urgently needed to show off in front of the South Korea Team.
"Although I originally hoped that the South Korea Team, as an Asia team, would go further, I really can't stand their ugly behavior!"
Matthew thought to himself.
The system also responded promptly: "System Super Body Confrontation Program activated!"
"System Precise Passing Program activated!"
"System Acceleration Program activated!"
...