In the 65th minute, Su Hang dropped back.
He was practically in the midfield line by the time he finally received a pass from a teammate.
With Xavi helping to shield and redirect the play, he carried the ball forward a few steps.
Near the left channel, he ran straight into Diara's aggressive press.
Su Hang instantly spun, leaning into Diarra—only for Sagnol to close in as well.
Everyone knew this Spanish Su Hang warranted a double-team.
Su Hang activated the "Henry's Touch" active ability: Power Turn.
Shielding the ball, he locked into a fierce battle with the two French players.
One rotation.
Diarra hammered two consecutive kicks into Su Hang's right leg as he protected the ball.
Another rotation.
Su Hang touched the ball out of the pressure and escaped.
Sagnol dragged him down with both hands and feet.
The referee's whistle cut through the noise.
Zidane shook his head quietly. He wasn't against slowing the tempo to manage the match—
but he didn't approve of Domenech adopting such a deep, tense, bunker-style tactic this early.
Encouraging fouls, not caring about yellow cards…
Take this situation. Even if Su Hang slipped through, the threat was minimal—France's entire backline had already retreated and set their positions.
At worst, Su Hang would play it wide for a cross.
What was there to worry about?
Crossing from the flank is one of the least efficient attacking methods.
Forcing Spain—who preferred ball control and intricate ground play—
to resort to constant byline crosses was already a sort of victory.
But now? They insisted on fouling Su Hang.
Do they really think a two-goal lead is that secure?
In the 1999 Champions League final, Manchester United scored twice in two minutes!
And now look—Sagnol was almost certainly getting booked.
"Oh! The referee shows a yellow card to Sagnol!"
"What? Diarra gets one too!"
"Two yellows? That makes this the third yellow Su Hang has drawn today!"
"French players surround the referee, arguing the decision is too harsh."
"You could say Diarra's booking was avoidable, since Sagnol followed up with… oh—Su Hang is sitting on the ground. Something's wrong with his right foot."
"Oh my—Su Hang's right ankle has several cuts!"
"Blood is soaking through his sock. That came from Diarra stomping his ankle twice in succession!"
"Spanish players rush over, extremely worried about Su Hang's injury."
"Ramos and Raúl charge at Diarra in anger… both sides square up! The atmosphere is getting tense!"
"The referee is trying to restore order. Su Hang signals Puyol to restrain Ramos. The call favors Spain—no need for more players to get booked over non-football incidents."
"The referee stands by his decision. Su Hang has now forced yellow cards on both Diarra and Sagnol."
"With the clock ticking down, shutting down Su Hang completely won't be easy for France. If Vieira were still on the pitch, things might be different."
"Some are asking why France suddenly changed their style—switching from the proactive side to the passive one. It all relates to the scoreline and their tactical shift…"
A team's attack and defense are separate—being strong offensively doesn't mean being strong defensively.
But sometimes, the two are intertwined.
Attack can be the best defense. Defense can influence attack.
The balance between them is subtle and complex.
Lose your sense of that balance, misjudge the situation—and trouble follows.
In the 69th minute, Villa dropped deep to receive the ball and was fouled, earning Spain a free kick.
Su Hang took it, but his touch was off—the ball didn't clear the wall.
In the 70th minute, Villa's shot was blocked, and France tried to counter.
But Zidane, carrying the ball, was hauled down by Raúl—a tactical foul.
Raúl was booked.
Spain used the stoppage to make changes.
Iniesta replaced Raúl—he had a yellow card, was a bit banged up, and wasn't at his best.
Torres came on for Villa.
Truth be told, in a tough, tight match like this, a speed-forward like Torres was less useful than a versatile attacker like Villa.
But Villa's form had dipped hard today.
You couldn't say he wasted loads of chances—but he wasn't creating anything either.
Better to throw in the wrecker and see what happens.
Torres: "That feels a bit disrespectful!"
France: "It's disrespectful to us, thank you very much!"
On the sideline, Fàbregas stood beside Aragonés.
The Wise Old Man briefed him on the tactical adjustments for when he entered the game, along with his analysis of France's vulnerabilities.
With the score as it was, Aragonés making three attacking substitutions was perfectly reasonable.
Fàbregas just had to wait for the next dead-ball moment to bring the coach's plan onto the pitch.
In the 73rd minute, Spain continued circulating the ball deep in France's half.
To add more attacking numbers, both fullbacks—Mariano and Sergio Ramos—pushed high.
That advanced line gave France a tempting opening.
Malouda, Henry, and Ribéry swarmed forward in a pressing trap.
Win the ball here, and they'd almost certainly score again.
A three-goal win to crown their run with the World Cup—
a final no one would surpass for the next decade.
Who could say whether that wasn't every forward's little secret dream?
Zidane was forced to join the press.
He didn't want to—he would've preferred Spain to keep passing around the back until the final whistle.
But if he didn't push up, the three-man press would have gaps in the attacking midfielder zone.
That would waste the effort of all three forwards.
If Spain broke the press, France effectively had three players out of the game.
A dangerous situation.
But Zidane didn't notice that behind him—
Su Hang, who should have been stretching the defense near the edge of the box—
had tracked all the way back to midfield, taking up a defensive midfielder's position.
"Here!" Su Hang called out to Puyol, who was being hounded by the press.
Puyol immediately played the only viable passing lane—straight to Su Hang.
Zidane was closest to the line of play but still couldn't intercept it.
He turned at once, trying to close down Su Hang.
But—
Thwack!
Su Hang met the ball first-time, half-turning into a long, driven pass.
By the time Zidane reached him, the ball was already rocketing toward the edge of the penalty arc.
It was the combined effect of "If I Stop to Shoot, I Lose" and "Wolf King-style One-Touch Pass"—
an ultra-fast rocket pass.
The broadcast cut instantly to Torres—
but Torres was in an offside position.
Then, in the very next frame, from the right side of the screen,
a blinding red flash burst into view.