Meanwhile, both locker rooms were overflowing with intensity as each side tried to fire up their players, hoping to unleash every ounce of strength they had left.
In the French locker room, Domenech took charge of the pep talk.
He told the players that five members of the Spanish squad were experiencing bad luck today, while only two French players were under the same cloud.
He added that their team's astrological alignment was far superior to Spain's disastrous setup. Spain had too many Leo players, which would inevitably spark internal conflict.
But this speech didn't inspire anyone. Most players simply couldn't connect with Domenech's obsession with astrology.
If he couldn't convince them, he certainly couldn't motivate them.
Worse—it backfired.
Take the two players he singled out as being "in retrograde" today:
Center Back Thuram and Right Back Sagnol. Both were understandably irritated.
And when he claimed that Leos were prone to infighting, Thierry Henry wasn't happy either—he was a Leo. He also knew that if it weren't for his form and undeniable talent, he wouldn't be the starting Forward. Domenech had never been fond of this particular "Lion."
In the end, it was Zidane who stepped forward to say a few words, and only then did the team's morale noticeably improve.
But Zidane wasn't especially gifted at verbal motivation during this stage of his career. At Real Madrid, he had mostly been an observer—measured, quiet, thoughtful.
By contrast, the Spanish side had several experts at rallying the group with pure words.
Not that their atmosphere started out great either.
Aragonés tried to go over tactical adjustments, but at that moment, who had the concentration for tactics?
Su Hang noticed it immediately and nudged Simón with a few kicks.
Simón abruptly cut off Aragonés and roared, "Kill them!"
A distant tribute to Kimmich.
Of course, taken literally, it was an inappropriate thing to say—
but as a battle cry to raise morale, it was perfect.
Football is war.
If you want to win, you must defeat your opponent.
And "killing" them is the most extreme form of defeat.
That kind of killer instinct can strengthen any team—not just a football team.
In the final seconds before the second half, Su Hang, wearing the captain's armband, delivered the summary:
"For many of us, this is our last World Cup. For others, it's the first. For Spain, this was supposed to be an ordinary World Cup."
"Everyone knows we weren't ready. We're in a transitional period. Our goal before the tournament was just to make it out of the group stage."
"But I want to say this: nothing in this world ever comes ready."
"If we all waited until we were ready, Raúl would never have become El Capitán, Casillas wouldn't be wearing the number one jersey for Real Madrid and Spain today."
"Sergio Ramos wouldn't be La Liga's record transfer for a defender, Iniesta would still be in Barcelona's youth academy."
"Villa wouldn't be the lone hero, and Torres wouldn't be the captain of Atlético Madrid."
"And I wouldn't be standing here on this pitch."
"So…"
Su Hang swept his gaze across the room and raised his left arm high, the captain's armband gleaming:
"I'm not letting preparation decide when we win."
"I'm letting you decide!"
"Tell me—what day will we become victors? Become World Cup champions? Become kings of the world!"
All the Spanish players lifted their arms and roared in unison:
"Today!"
"Today!"
"Today!"
...
The second half began.
Derek Rae: "Maybe it's just me, but both teams seem in even better shape than in the first half!"
In the 51st minute, France's left midfielder Malouda cut inside and fired from distance. The angle was blocked, sending the ball wide.
In the 56th minute, Spain took a free-kick. Raúl hit a low shot, but Barthez collected it cleanly.
Earlier, when Su Hang took his first shot of the match, Raúl had clashed feet with Gallas while going for the rebound. Since then, his shooting touch hadn't been right.
During halftime, he even asked the team doctor for a quick massage, but the effect seemed limited.
In the 60th minute, Alonso attempted a through ball from deep, targeting Villa's run behind the line.
Makélélé intercepted it.
Purely in defensive terms, Makélélé was even stronger than Vieira.
But a minute later, Ribéry's breakthrough was shut down by Mariano and Puyol working together.
In the 63rd minute, Henry drifted wide again to receive the ball.
Malouda and Henry combined on the left.
Sergio Ramos was excellent—but he couldn't fully contain Ronaldo at this stage of his career, let alone a peak Henry.
Henry broke through and sent in a low cross.
In the middle, Zidane burst into the box and powered a header past Marchena.
Whoosh!
Turns out, a bald head does add speed to a header.
Casillas couldn't reach it.
"GOAL! It's in!"
"Three–one! France extends their lead!"
The stadium exploded.
"Zinedine… Zidane!"
"Zidane again! And with a header! He delivers the decisive blow!"
"Two generations of French leaders linking up again—another pass-and-finish tearing Spain apart!"
"Earlier, Spain's Raúl + Su Hang legacy combo proved stronger than Figo + Ronaldo's…"
"But now, the Zidane + Henry legacy combo is showing it's even stronger than Spain's!"
"After all, compared with young players like Ronaldo and Su Hang, Henry at his peak is far more lethal!"
"Zidane scores his second!"
"With this, Zidane overtakes Germany's Klose—he now has seven goals, second on the World Cup scoring chart!"
"Just one behind Su Hang and Agüero!"
"And Zidane is also leading the assist charts!"
"This is even more dominant than his 1998 World Cup performance—and that year, France lifted the trophy!"
"Could France be on their way to becoming kings of the world once more?"
It was over.
For many fans, the World Cup had effectively ended right there.
Goals are incredibly difficult to score in a final.
Down by two—how could Spain possibly come back?
What's more… France immediately shifted into a more defensive shape. Both Wide Midfielders dropped back closer to the Midfielder line—clearly reinforcing the back line.
Domenech then told his players, loud enough for Spain's players and staff to hear:
"Forget attacking. Defend with everything you've got. Use fouls when you need to—understood?"
"A yellow card means nothing. Hold on. Hold on to this World Cup trophy!"
Well then.
With that command to foul, France became even harder to break down.
At this point, it was nearly impossible for Spain to maintain possession near the French penalty area.
French defenders cut off every attempt early.
As a result, Spain never managed to get the ball into the box at all.
...
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