The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 203 Two to Zero!
  This is the venue for the World Cup final, and it is completely different from any previous game!

Leo midfielder stole the ball from Sneijder's feet and quickly organized a counterattack.

Unfortunately, Balotelli missed the goal with a powerful volley under Matthiessen's close marking.

Attack and defense switch instantly, Robben dribbles the ball from the wing at high speed!
  This time, Thornton, who was not fully prepared, could only commit a foul and tackle Robben from behind, and also received a yellow card.

Then Sneijder took a free kick from the right and went directly to the goal but was firmly held by Buffon.

Italy quickly counterattacked, Marchisio was tackled to the ground by Van Bommel, and referee Weber gave another yellow card.

A minute later, Kuyt, who broke through with the ball in the frontcourt, fell to the ground under the drag of Maggio. Maggio was called over by Weber.

Another yellow card!
  The game had only been played for thirty minutes, and the referee had already issued six yellow cards in a row.

Among them, the Netherlands has four and Italy has two.

After being unable to open up the situation, Leo was a little anxious. He didn't want to continue like this.

Whenever the game reaches a deadlock, someone needs to step up and change the situation.

He, Leo, is obviously such a person.

Bonucci steals the ball in the backcourt, giving the Italian team a chance to counterattack.

Marchisio and Pirlo's skillful passing and receiving cooperation avoided the Dutch team's attack, and the ball was passed to Leo.

Leo caught the ball and turned around, easily wiping out De Jong who fell to the ground and made a flying tackle.

As for De Jong, Leo just didn't bother to deal with him today. Anyway, as long as he was prepared, passing De Jong was not much more difficult than passing a wooden stake.

The opponent's rough tackle couldn't do anything to Leo.

After getting rid of De Jong, Leo dribbled the ball to the edge of the penalty area in stride.

With a quick glance, the current situation was fully visible.

In the penalty area, the two Dutch center backs, Heitinga and Matteisen, are waiting.

Two of Leo's teammates, Balotelli and Iaquinta, have also broken into the penalty area.

He is currently unmarked, but Van Bommel, who is returning to defense, has already moved over and will be in position soon.

Leo didn't have much time to think. He didn't hesitate. He made a slight adjustment in the arc of the penalty area and started confidently!
  Not a pass!

Since the start of today's game, Leo has given them several excellent scoring opportunities, but they have failed to grasp them.

After thinking about it, Leo still felt that it was safer to believe in himself.

A powerful long shot!

Stekelenberg made a flying save in front of the goal line!

"bumped into!"

The Dutch goalkeeper felt the fingertips of his left hand touch the ball!
  However, the smile on his face soon turned into panic. Leo's shot was so powerful that the ball only deflected slightly, but still firmly got into the upper right corner of the goal!
  The ball is in!
  One to zero!

In the 36th minute of the final, Italy broke the deadlock with Leo's goal!

The Italian fans at the scene cheered and excitedly shouted Leo's name and applauded him.

At the same time in Italy, Italian fans in every city who are watching the live broadcast of this game can no longer hold back the joy in their hearts.

They seem to be getting closer and closer to winning the World Cup and successfully defending their title!

After Li Ao scored, he ran all the way to the corner flag area. Before he could even pose, his teammates were already following him.

Thornton, who knew what was going on, had already knelt down on one knee and made a gesture of cleaning Leo's sneakers.

Leo laughed loudly, "You are the best at stealing the spotlight!"

The Dutch team looked silently at the Italian players celebrating the goal, not knowing what they were thinking.

Sneijder made an outrageous long pass in the penalty area. When Bonucci fought back to defend, Buffon's knee hit his chest.

Buffon hurriedly threw the ball out to the sideline for Bonucci to receive treatment from the team doctor. Fortunately, Bonucci returned to the field without any serious problems and continued the game.

In the spirit of fair play, the Dutch team threw in the ball from the sideline. Heitinga passed a long pass from the right side of the backcourt to the Italian goalkeeper.

But the ball deflected after bouncing in the penalty area and almost hit the goal. Buffon turned around, jumped up, and pushed the ball out of the baseline with one palm!

Van Persie's corner kick from the left was too close to the goalkeeper and was easily picked off by Buffon.

Balotelli received a direct pass from Leo, broke through the middle to the top of the penalty area and tried a low shot with his left foot, which slightly missed the right post.

Then the Dutch team took the ball from the wing, and Van Persie's sideways volley in front of the small penalty area was blocked by Buffon!

Robben took a corner kick from the right and passed it back to the front of the penalty area. Unfortunately, Van Bommel's kick was blocked and Matteisen failed to kick the ball on the left.

At the end of the first half, referee Weber gave six minutes of stoppage time.

The two sides mainly competed in the midfield, and there were not many threatening offenses on the scene.

Leo was originally controlling the ball in his own half, but suddenly he was keenly aware of the loopholes in the Dutch team's defense.

With a decisive start, he accelerated through the gap between the two defensive players and sent a kick straight to the edge of the penalty area.

After receiving the ball, Balotelli moved away from the defense and passed into the penalty area. Iaquinta penetrated into the small penalty area and shook his head to attack the goal!
  Such a must-goal opportunity was bravely saved by Dutch goalkeeper Stekelenberg!
  Weber did not give another corner kick and directly ended the first half.

Italy went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

It is obviously only a 45-minute half game, but the physical exertion on the players is quite different. After returning to the locker room, Italy's starting players listened to coach Lippi's tactical arrangements for the second half while nervously recovering their physical fitness.

The team's masseur was massaging each player, mainly relaxing their leg muscles. Leo took a big sip of energy drink. He was sweating quite a bit in the first half.

"Okay, I won't say any more. Come back to the court, show your best performance and defeat your opponent!
  We are only one step away from the championship! "

At the beginning of the second half, Italy did not make any substitutions. The Netherlands replaced Kuyt with Elia.

Sneijder made a direct pass, and Elia moved forward at high speed to form a single!

However, the linesman has raised his flag and the ball is offside.

Elia, who comes off the bench, is quite fast, and Van Marwijk may want to use his strength to launch an attack.

It's a pity that Italy's back line already has a tacit understanding, and causing offside is their specialty.

Two consecutive breakthroughs were called offside. The young Elia became a little angry and kicked Maggio directly in the leg.

Weber watched Elijah's confusing behavior with a shocked look on his face.

Italy's right back Maggio was kicked hard by the opponent without the ball and fell to the ground in pain. Lippi had to ask Criscito to rush to the sidelines to warm up and prepare to play.

After hesitating for a while, the referee still showed a red card to the young player Elia who had just come on as a substitute in the second half.

The Dutch team was sent off one man!
  But to be honest, with the brutal fouls they committed in the first half, they should have taken a few penalties long ago.

If one less person is beaten, they will not be wronged.

Maggio's injury was not serious, but Lippi replaced him with Criscito just to be on the safe side.

David Thornton returns to the right, with Criscito at left-back.

Italy leads 1 to 0, and now has a numerical advantage. It cannot be said that the victory is guaranteed, at least it is a certainty.

In the 48th minute, Italy got a corner kick opportunity.

Bonucci took Leo's corner kick and headed it backwards. David Thornton, who was unguarded from the back post, missed the ball when he faced the empty goal!

Thornton, who missed the opportunity to score, fell to the ground with his face covered in disbelief!

But then the ten-man Dutch team still launched a tenacious counterattack!
  Van der Wiel's cross from the right slid past.

Then Robben took a shot after his iconic cut in from the right, and the ball was saved by Buffon!
  There is a saying in the art of war that one go all out and then fail three times. Leo knew that this might be the Dutch team's last ditch effort, so he did not confront his opponent head-on.

Instead, they took the initiative to shrink the defense line and avoided this wave of attacks by the Dutch team.

After a few minutes, the morale of the Dutch team, which continued to attack but never scored, began to decline.

Leo led the Azzurri to take control of the game again.

In the 64th minute, De Jong raised his leg and kicked Pirlo's chest directly with the sole of his shoe while fighting for the ball. Weber only showed a yellow card.

However, as early as the beginning of the game, De Jong had already received a yellow card, so the famous "butcher" was sent off after two yellows and one red!
  This is already the second player sent off by the Dutch team in this game!

In the next thirty minutes or so of the game, they must face the dilemma of nine against eleven.

But this is the result of their own reasons, no one else can blame them!
  On the sidelines, Dutch coach Van Marwijk's face was white but dark. His idea of ​​dragging the game into overtime or even a penalty shootout completely failed with two red cards.

Is there still a chance?
  Although the situation is very bad, it may not be impossible for them to create miracles!
  The Dutch team used the second substitution, Van der Vaart came on as a substitute, replacing Van Bommel.

Yes, they also want to strengthen their offense!

Italy would not give them a chance. Taking advantage of their numerical advantage, the Dutch team was simply unable to organize a decent attack.

Leo made a long pass over the top, Balotelli broke through to the left side of the penalty area and shot a shot that hit Van Bronckhorst's leg and changed the line!

Stekelenberg had given up and didn't even make a save, but the ball hit the side net and the Dutch team escaped again!
  Iaquinta and Marchisio were replaced by Gattuso and Palombo successively. Italy was determined to maintain the 1-0 score until the end of the game.

In the 87th minute, the Dutch team, in desperate situation, launched their most threatening attack of the game!
  Sneijder sent a wonderful direct pass while being double-teamed by two Italian defenders in the middle!

Robben dribbled the ball diagonally through the defense and hit the middle!

Van Persie got rid of the defender's marking and kept volleying the ball in front of the goal!

Facing the shot that was so close, Buffon subconsciously blocked it with his legs!

Then the Dutch team's corner kick was cleared by the Italian central defender's header.

The crisis was completely resolved, Pirlo's long pass from the backcourt spanned half the stadium.

Leo had already inserted himself into the open area behind the Dutch team's defense, and stopped the ball in front of him with a header.

Leo passed the ball diagonally to Balotelli who broke forward with him on the right.

Two to one!

Stekelenberg, who was attacking, only saw Leo and Bashen wandering around. He didn't know who would kick the last shot.

Remember, the combination we used in the youth team?
  of course I remember! How could I forget!

The two of them completed the communication with just one look!

Leo galloped past Stekelenberg and Balotelli's pass was delivered in time.

In the opponent's penalty area, Leo pushed and shot into the empty goal with his right foot!

Two to zero!
  Italy sealed the victory!

(End of this chapter)