Chapter 324 – Lying Shot

"We can't let this happen! We mustn't relax our defense on the left flank!"

The Russian commentator clutched his chest in shock.

Suker's sudden burst of speed made his heart skip a beat.

Russia had its own speedsters too—Arshavin, for example!

But Arshavin's speed and explosiveness couldn't compare to Suker's.His mid-sprint impact was simply overwhelming.

"Cover! Cover him!"Anyukov was already shouting for backup.

It was shameful to admit he couldn't handle it alone—but it was better to be embarrassed than to concede a goal!

Suker's burst of power had completely overrun Anyukov.

Any more of these, and their flank would be torn apart.

Hadn't Suker already ripped through plenty of flanks before?

A moment's lapse in marking Suker, and everything could fall apart.

Russia had possession.

Semshov was on the ball, constantly scanning for options, trying to pass forward to find Arshavin.

Arshavin was also trying hard to shake free into space.

But Vukojević was shadowing him tightly, and Niko Kovač's positioning was spot on—he stood right where he could cut off the pass.

This left Russia's midfield unable to move the ball forward easily.

At the end of the day, Russia was better at counter-attacks.

They needed space to sprint into—but Croatia's disciplined defensive shape was frustrating them.

Still, the ball eventually reached Arshavin.

But he was immediately double-teamed by Niko Kovač and Vukojević.

Arshavin struggled to shield the ball, hurriedly turning to look for a teammate—but Croatia reacted quickly, cutting off all his passing lanes.

Smack!Modrić stole the ball and broke away from Arshavin with a sharp turn.

"Mario!"

Modrić surged up the middle, shouting as he crossed the halfway line.

Mandžukić heard the call and immediately dropped back.

Russia's backline began retreating to cover.

Suker saw this and made a lateral run.As the ball reached Mandžukić, Suk suddenly sprinted forward and shouted:

"Dummy!!"

Mandžukić nearly touched the ball with his foot—but at the last second, lifted it to let it pass through.

The ball slipped through the defenders,and Suker chased after it.

Just as he was about to receive the pass—he was shoulder-checked hard, throwing him off balance and sliding forward across the turf.

"ANYUKOV!! HEROIC!!"

The Russian commentator shouted with excitement.

The moment Suker burst forward, Anyukov had tracked him.As Suk adjusted to receive the ball, Anyukov applied pressure.

Anyukov was solid and strong.Suker hadn't braced for the contact—he couldn't stay on his feet.

Still, the referee blew for a foul against Russia—Croatia was awarded a free kick.

Modrić stepped up quickly.

Suker and Mandžukić lined up just outside the box, ready to charge in.

"Croatia with another set piece. Since the start of the match, their attacks have been relentless—especially with Suker's pressure down the left wing."

"Let's see what Modrić does with this one!"

Modrić took a deep breath, then ran up and struck the ball.

Boom!It curved toward the goal.

The Russian goalkeeper reacted swiftly, diving to make the save—he caught it cleanly.

"Not enough power on that one,"commentator Kraljević muttered, frowning.

Akinfeev quickly got up and passed the ball to fullback Anyukov.

Suker rushed forward to press.

But after a brief glance, Anyukov launched a long pass.

"Russia's counterattack!!"

The Russian commentator roared.

Over 50,000 Russian fans burst into wild cheers.

The ball flew toward Croatia's half, right in front of a sprinting Arshavin.

Arshavin sprinted hard.

Croatian center-back Šimunić gave chase.

As the ball was about to land, Šimunić was just half a stride behind.

He gritted his teeth and slammed into Arshavin.

The Russian lost his balance and, like Suker before him, tumbled forward.

Tweet!Another whistle blew.

The referee pointed to the spot where the foul occurred and awarded a free kick to Russia.He also gave Šimunić a yellow card.

Šimunić protested.

The Croatian players surrounded the referee.

Tweet tweet tweet!Whistles blared.

The referee backed off, warning the Croatian players to calm down.

Srna dragged Suker away.

Suker complained, "He knocks me down and it's nothing. We knock him and it's a yellow?"

21st minute—Šimunić booked.A setback for Croatia.

"Russia's free kick—low shot, deflected off Suker's foot—Pavlyuchenko shoots! Ohhh—Pletikosa with a stunning save! The danger isn't cleared—Arshavin stabs at the ball—Kovač!! He was right there at the near post to block it!"

"Russia used the set piece to disrupt Croatia's defense, but still couldn't score!"

Kraljević exhaled deeply.That scramble was too close.

Still no goals so far.

"This is tough."

Suker spat to the side, hands on his hips, a grave expression on his face.

Russia was clearly in form now.

In Euro 2008, both of the dark horse teams—Russia and Turkey—had faced Croatia.

Turkey wasn't in rhythm.But Russia looked locked in.

In 2008, Russia demolished the Netherlands in the quarterfinals and made the semis.

If it hadn't been for the unstoppable Spanish team—Russia might've beaten anyone.

And the key to that team was Arshavin.

Suker took a deep breath.

They had to score.

Russia was only getting stronger.If they didn't contain them soon, it would get dangerous.

Russia's corner.

Suker stayed up top for a counter.

Mandžukić dropped back to contest the header.

Against Russia's tall defenders, Mandžukić wasn't much help in a counter.Hence the change in setup.

Suker kept his eyes on the box.

Players were already jostling inside.

Under intense pressure, the Russian player took the corner.

Chaos erupted in the box.

Suddenly, Mandžukić shouted and leapt for the ball—he headed it toward Modrić.

Modrić leaned back, chest-trapped it, and spun as the ball dropped.

"SUKER!!!"

Suker had already turned and started sprinting.

Two Russian defenders quickly tried to cut him off.

One stuck tight, the other dropped back.

Ignašević grabbed a handful of Suker's shirt, dragging him—making it almost impossible for him to sprint.

Still, Suker powered through, gritting his teeth.

He trapped the ball with his right foot.

Now near the penalty area,he and Ignašević wrestled their way in.

"Can't hold him anymore!"

Ignašević panicked.

Just then, Kolodin rushed in to double team.

The two defenders sandwiched Suker—he lost his balance and fell forward.

Just as he was about to go down—Suker looked up at the goal.

Right before hitting the ground, he lashed out with his right foot.

The ball curved into the far corner.

And Suker himself skidded into the net, chest-first, through the near post.

Akinfeev stood rooted to the spot, unable to react.

"GOAAAAAAL!!!!!!!——"

"Ohhhh SUKER!!! Russia's defenders just couldn't stop him!!"

"Even when they brought him down—he still managed to shoot and score!"

The stadium fell into stunned silence.

Russian fans held their heads.They couldn't believe it.

They'd marked Suker this tightly—and he still scored!

Ignašević and Kolodin exchanged looks of disbelief.

They gave it everything they had,but still couldn't stop Suker.

That goal was unreal.

They'd seen plenty of slide tackles.

But a lying shot?That was a first.

Chest-flat-on-the-ground lying shot, no less!

How do you even defend against that?

Replay time!

"When Suker accelerated, Ignašević was already tugging his shirt. Inside the box, the two defenders brought him down. It was clearly a foul—even if the goal hadn't gone in, it would've been a penalty."

"But before fully hitting the ground, Suker swung his right foot—the ball bounced off the turf into the far corner! Suker's own body followed the ball into the net!"

"With both the ball and player entering the goal at once, Akinfeev had no chance to react!"

Commentator Kraljević was fired up.

"Suker scores! A precious goal!"

"38th minute of the first half, Suker scores a spectacular debut goal for the national team—in the weirdest way possible!"