Chapter 495: Real man, this is how it should be!

Without stopping the ball, Higuain raised his foot to meet the ball and shot.

"boom!"

The ball flew towards the Russian team's goal with strong spin.

Russia's goalkeeper Akinfeev reacted very quickly, making a sideways dive, and the fingertips of his right hand actually touched the ball.

"boom!"

After changing direction, the ball hit the post on the left side of the goal hard and then bounced back into the field.

Just when Higuain was feeling extremely upset, a little man suddenly rushed out from behind.

"boom!"

"ah!"

It's Messi!

Before Russia's left-back Zhirkov could make a clearance, he hit the ball with a volley, and the ball flew back to the Russian team's goal like a cannonball.

At this time, Akinfeev, who had just finished his save, had no time to return and could only watch the ball fly from in front of him into the net.

"GOAL!!!!!"

With Messi's extra shot, Argentina finally broke the deadlock and led Russia 1:0.

However, the Argentine players were not in any mood to celebrate the goal and rushed to the Russian penalty area to care about the condition of captain Messi.

Just now, Messi grabbed the chance to shoot before Zhirkov made a clearance.

But he was also kicked hard by the leg of Zhirkov who was a step behind.

After checking Messi's condition, the referee Baskunian immediately motioned to Argentina's bench to signal the team doctor to come in.

On the sidelines, everyone on the Argentina bench, led by Chen Ran, stood up.

Messi is the absolute core and captain of the current Argentine team. If he is injured and cannot continue to participate in subsequent games, it will be a fatal blow to the Argentine team's next journey in this World Cup.

"Damn it! Something must not happen to Messi!"

"Yes, if Messi is injured, it basically means that Argentina bids farewell to the championship trophy of this World Cup early."

"Judging from the slow-motion replay, the Russian left-back Zhirkov raised his foot to make a clearance, and it happened to hit the back of Messi's calf near the ankle. I hope Messi has no major problem."

"If Messi is really injured, then the price Argentina has to pay for this goal will be too high."

"Mader, the referee should give Zhirkov a straight red card."

"A red card is unlikely, a yellow card is the most likely. After all, Zhirkov did not kick the ball intentionally, and he did not expect Messi to suddenly come out from behind."

"I don't care what cards Zhirkov takes now, I just hope Messi doesn't get injured."

"Me too!"

Although Messi's situation is still uncertain, as the head coach, Chen Ran must be prepared for the worst.

So, he immediately called Simeone to his side.

"Diego, please arrange for Alejandro Gomez to warm up now. If Messi cannot persist in the game, replace Messi with him. Do you understand?"

"Okay, boss."

Simeone also knew that the situation was urgent and there was no nonsense. He immediately turned around and carried out Chen Ran's order.

Soon, a scene happened on the field that finally made Messi fans around the world breathe a sigh of relief.

With the support of the team doctor, Messi did not get on a stretcher, but limped outside the baseline to continue receiving treatment.

However, Chen Ran, who had been staring at the team doctor, could not help but frown.

What is this bastard doing?

Can Messi still play?

Does the team need to make substitutions?

You should give me a signal!

"Diego, please immediately send someone over to ask the team doctor, what is Messi's condition? Can he continue to participate in the game?"

"Okay, boss."

As soon as Simeone returned from his warm-up tasks, he received instructions from Chen Ranxin again.

Soon, an assistant coach rushed over and brought back the latest situation.

"Boss, the team doctor said that although Messi's injury is not serious, detailed examination is needed before he can rest assured. If possible, he suggested that it is best not to let Messi play in this game."

"knew."

Chen Ran nodded, and then called Alejandro Gomez to his side after the warm-up.

"Alejandro, after you replace Messi, you will still play as a right midfielder. However, your task is to focus on defense and do not easily participate in the offense. Do you understand?"

"Understood, boss!"

Just when Chen Ran was about to make a substitution, Messi also returned to Argentina's bench.

"Boss, the team doctor said my injury is not a serious problem and I can continue to play. There is no need to substitute."

Seeing that Messi still wanted to persist, Chen Ran smiled and shook his head.

"Leo, you have scored a key goal today and opened up Russia's defense for the team. You have done a good enough job."

"Also, even if your injury is not serious, what if it gets worse when you continue to play? Our goal is to win the championship, and we have to take a long-term view. Do you understand?"

"I understand, boss."

After appeasing Messi, everyone soon saw that Argentina replaced Messi with Alejandro Gomez.

"I'll go! Chen Ran replaced Messi. Isn't Messi's injury serious?"

"It shouldn't be. Messi could stand up on his own just now, so the situation doesn't look serious."

"There is another possibility. That guy Chen Ran saw that the score was leading and felt that there was no need for Messi to continue to risk the game to avoid worsening of the injury."

"What you said above makes sense. But wouldn't it be a bit unsafe to lead by only one goal?"

"Haha, for others, a ball is definitely not safe, but for Chen Ran, it is not necessarily safe."

"That's right. Chen Ran has had Argentina practice defensive counterattack tactics for two years. He is not a vegetarian."

On the sidelines, in the past few minutes, Russian team coach Cherchesov's mood could be described as ups and downs.

First, the goal was scored by Argentina, causing his well-arranged defense to fall short.

But then Messi's injury gave him a glimmer of hope.

Seeing Chen Ran take Messi off the field again, Argentina's greatest threat to Russia disappeared. This completely helped Cherchesov make up his mind.

Now, with no retreat, Cherchesov decided to risk his life.

He suddenly called three offensive players from the bench. After a brief warm-up, he sent them all to the court at once.

The Russian team's formation has also changed from the previous 532 to the current 433, going from one extreme to the other.

Seeing Cherchesov's move, Chen Ran knew that the opponent was going to make a desperate move.

However, Chen Ran did not let Argentina return to the defensive counterattack tactics he had used for two years.

This time, he planned to surprise his opponent.

"Diego!"

"Boss, what are your orders?"

"Go and tell the players on the field that from now on, the team's formation will change from the previous 442 to 433."

"Higuain still plays center forward, Di Maria moves forward to play left winger, and Aguero moves to the right to play right winger. Do you understand?"

"Um, boss, the Russian side just replaced three offensive players and pressed hard. Why don't we strengthen our defense?"

Simone couldn't believe his ears, for fear that he had heard wrongly.

"It is precisely because Russia has replaced three offensive players in one go that I have the confidence to do so."

Seeing Simone's puzzled expression, Chen Ran smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Diego, tell me, who has more defensive holes compared to the current Russian team and the previous Russian team that was stuck in the backcourt?"

"Of course this is now"

As he spoke, Simeone stopped himself. He now somewhat understood Chen Ran's plan.

"Boss, what do you mean, are you planning to take advantage of Russia's current vulnerability in its defense to catch the other side off guard?"

"That's right. Diego, you wouldn't have thought that instead of strengthening my defense at this time, I would attack aggressively. I believe the Russian team's head coach Cherchesov would also not have thought of it."

Facts have proved that Cherchesov did not expect it.

Just when he had just changed three players in succession to prepare for a massive attack, Cherchesov suddenly discovered that Argentina had also changed their formation.
To be continued...