Kanté tried to foul him and failed. Leo Lin kept driving forward with the ball.
At that moment, only Matuidi was left shielding France's back line.
Matuidi gave everything he had to defend him head-on, throwing his body directly across Leo Lin's path, then stepping up like a bulldozer to block him by force.
Leo Lin quickly cut left again, but Matuidi still hooked his calf.
"Foul!"
"The Spain players immediately step forward to protest!"
"They want the referee to show Matuidi a yellow card!"
But Pitana only gave Matuidi one final verbal warning. On the sideline, Deschamps was so nervous he could barely breathe.
If Matuidi was sent off, France would fall completely into a disadvantage.
At that moment, Deschamps's assistants hurried to his side and whispered to him.
The French coaching staff had come up with a new tactical adjustment.
Deschamps immediately made a substitution. The young midfielder Tolisso was ready to come on.
"Matuidi should be grateful that the foul happened fairly early, just past the halfway line. If Leo Lin had been allowed to advance a few more steps, that foul would definitely have been a yellow card."
"On the sideline, Deschamps makes a change. Tolisso comes on as a substitute."
"The young French midfielder from Bayern Munich has energy and ball control."
"Taking off a ball-winning midfielder and bringing on Tolisso should be a signal that France want to change their tactical approach."
Deschamps really was changing the tactical approach. After Tolisso came on for Matuidi, France's midfield risk was resolved.
At the same time, Tolisso's position began to change. Pogba dropped deeper and formed a double pivot with Kanté, while Tolisso pushed higher and began playing as an Attacking Midfielder.
Tolisso also kept charging toward the winger positions, using himself as a decoy runner to create more attacking space for the wide players.
Spain were very careful. Leo Lin quickly scanned the pitch, trying to work out what new attacking pattern Les Bleus were trying to play.
In the 64th minute.
"Tolisso has been moving frequently toward both flanks. Pogba and Kanté are forming a staggered defensive shape, one ahead and one behind, helping France protect the Defensive Midfielder area."
"Spain control the ball in the middle. David Silva drops back to receive and plays it out to the left!"
"Asensio receives the ball and tries to break through. Pavard wins it!"
"A square ball into midfield. Kanté gets it!"
"Giroud drops into midfield to receive!"
"Kanté plays it straight into Giroud. Giroud quickly lays it back. Pogba!"
The instant Pogba received the ball, Griezmann on the right burst forward, sprinting into the space behind Carvajal at terrifying speed.
Pogba immediately sent a low diagonal through ball into the channel, piercing the gap between Carvajal and Sergio Ramos and racing toward the left side.
"Griezmann receives it on the left and bursts forward!"
"He's moving so fast!"
"He reaches the byline. Carvajal tracks back just in time!"
But at that moment, Lucas Hernández roared past like a supercar, streaking beyond Griezmann from behind.
"Smack!"
A feather-light backheel touch.
With an extremely subtle move, Griezmann slipped the ball to the onrushing Lucas Hernández behind him.
Giroud, who had just dropped back to receive, had already pushed into the penalty area. With a brilliant cutback run, he drew the defensive attention of Piqué and Sergio Ramos.
Leo Lin was protecting the top of the box to prevent Griezmann from playing the cutback.
Tolisso, now pushed higher, burst into the right side of the penalty area and dragged Alba away.
Kylian Mbappé was already in position at the far post.
Lucas Hernández clipped the ball toward the far post.
"Bang!!!"
Kylian Mbappé leapt high.
"Header!"
"Beautiful! This time, France do not miss the chance!!!"
"Holy sh*t!!!"
"Oh my God!!!"
"My God!!!"
"This incredible French Counterattack has shown you the charm of top-level team play!"
"Too strong! Their Counterattack is too strong!"
"In just five seconds and five passes, they tore through Spain's midfield and back line!"
"Griezmann's clever support play, Pogba's superb through ball. Carvajal had already recovered into position, but he could not keep up with the late-arriving Lucas Hernández!"
"Deschamps's magical substitution!"
"Tolisso pushed higher, and this sudden Attacking Midfielder approach disrupted Spain's defensive setup!"
"Giroud is not only there to lay the ball back. He also uses world-class movement to draw defenders away. Together with Tolisso, he created shooting space for Kylian Mbappé at the far post!"
"Incredible!"
"After the substitution adjustment, France have equalized. The score is now three-three!"
"After scoring, Kylian Mbappé rushes to the sideline, slides on his knees, folds his arms across his chest, and wears an icy expression!"
"He has now produced a brilliant performance in this match with one goal and one assist!"
Derek Rae shook his head and sighed in admiration.
"People always love to say this player is a genius, that player is a genius."
"But this World Cup final has already proven something to the whole world. So-called genius is merely the ticket required to watch this match."
"At this very moment, Luzhniki Stadium has turned into a gold mine!"
"Because there are nuggets of gold everywhere on this pitch!"
...
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