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"Alright, let's head over to our commentators live from the stadium."
"Jiayuan, over to you."
"Hello, everyone. We're coming to you live from Marseille, France, at the Stade Vélodrome!"
"Xu Yang and I will be bringing you tonight's marquee matchup of Euro 2016—the semifinal clash between the host nation France and one of the tournament favorites, Belgium!"
"To be fair, Belgium weren't considered favorites at the start of the tournament."
"That's right."
Liu Jiayuan nodded.
"Belgium's group-stage campaign was far from convincing. They were held by Sweden and Ireland and only narrowly defeated Italy."
The two commentators briefly recapped Belgium's path through the tournament.
"However, everything changed once the knockout stage began."
"Lance's emergence transformed this team."
"Belgium eliminated both Spain and Germany in succession, becoming one of the most talked-about teams in the competition."
"And naturally, France remain one of the biggest favorites as well."
"They topped their group, advanced through the knockout rounds, and have looked increasingly impressive with every match."
"The French squad has certainly opened a lot of eyes this tournament."
"Absolutely."
"The player most familiar to viewers is undoubtedly Griezmann, Lance's teammate at Atlético Madrid."
Liu Jiayuan knew this French side well.
"Atlético Madrid completed a historic treble-winning season, becoming only the second club after Bayern Munich to achieve the feat in this timeline."
"And in all three competitions, Lance established himself as one of the biggest stars in world football."
"Time and again he dragged Atlético out of impossible situations."
"I don't think we need to remind anyone about the Champions League Final."
"Haha, definitely not."
Both commentators laughed.
Coming back from 0–4 down in a Champions League Final with four goals and an assist was the sort of performance that entered football mythology.
The story had spread far beyond football circles.
Even people who rarely watched the sport had heard about it.
As the discussion wound down, both teams completed the pre-match ceremony.
Handshakes.
Team photos.
Coin toss.
Captain's exchange.
Then the players moved into position.
The atmosphere inside the Stade Vélodrome instantly tightened.
Liu Jiayuan turned to the lineup graphics.
"Let's take a look at France first."
"Didier Deschamps has gone with a 4-3-3."
France (4-3-3)
Hugo Lloris
Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra
Kanté, Matuidi, Pogba
Payet, Giroud, Griezmann
Substitutes: Sissoko, Martial, Cabaye, Coman...
"As for Belgium, viewers should be very familiar with this lineup."
"Lance starts once again."
"And with Vincent Kompany sidelined through injury, he'll be wearing the captain's armband tonight."
The decision had originally been expected to go to Hazard.
Instead, Hazard insisted that Lance take the responsibility.
Part of it was trust.
Part of it was superstition.
After all, Atlético Madrid had completed miraculous comebacks in both the Champions League semifinal and final with Lance wearing the captain's armband.
If it brought good fortune once, why not try it again?
At just nineteen years old, Lance became the youngest captain in Belgian national team history.
Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Courtois
Ciman, Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Alderweireld
Nainggolan, Witsel
De Bruyne, Lance, Hazard
Lukaku
Substitutes: Januzaj, Benteke, Fellaini...
BEEEEEP!
Turkish referee Viktor Kassai blew his whistle.
The semifinal was underway.
Liu Jiayuan's voice immediately rose with excitement.
"It begins!"
Portugal and Croatia might still be waiting on the other side of the bracket, but this match felt like the true final before the final.
Belgium possessed perhaps the most terrifying attacking trio in the tournament.
Lance.
Hazard.
De Bruyne.
Even if Belgium's defense wasn't quite at the same level, their attack was capable of deciding any match.
France, meanwhile, were stacked with elite talent across the pitch.
Griezmann, one of Atlético Madrid's key players and Lance's closest partner at club level.
Kanté, the midfield destroyer who had just led Leicester City to one of football's greatest miracles.
Pogba, Juventus' midfield superstar and one of the most sought-after players in world football.
Then there was Giroud.
France's target man.
An aerial monster capable of turning any cross into a scoring opportunity.
Behind them stood players like Umtiti, Matuidi, Koscielny, and captain Hugo Lloris.
On paper, France might even hold a slight advantage.
Before Liu Jiayuan could finish analyzing the lineups, France launched their first attack.
Griezmann received the ball on the left.
A quick feint.
A sharp cut inside.
Belgium's right flank was caught off guard.
"Beautiful from Griezmann!"
The Atlético star slipped a pass centrally.
Pogba met it in stride.
For a player with such size and physicality, his technique remained astonishing.
Without hesitation, he lofted a perfectly weighted pass into the penalty area.
The ball curved beautifully through the night sky.
Giroud was already moving.
"What a leap!"
Even Lance couldn't help staring.
Giroud seemed to hang in the air.
"GIROUD!"
Bang!
The striker powered a header toward goal.
Courtois reacted instantly.
The Belgian goalkeeper launched himself across the goalmouth.
"Fantastic save!"
Liu Jiayuan roared.
"A world-class stop from Courtois!"
The stadium erupted.
The save was brilliant.
But Giroud's header had been viciously placed.
To reach it, Courtois had no choice but to throw his entire body at the ball.
The next moment—
Crash!
He slammed directly into the goalpost.
"Oh, that's unfortunate!"
Giroud grabbed his head in frustration.
The French players sighed.
Belgium's players immediately rushed toward their goalkeeper.
Even De Bruyne forgot any lingering personal issues and sprinted over.
Nothing mattered more than this match.
"Are you alright?"
"Thibaut!"
"Say something!"
Courtois gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself back to his feet.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good save!"
"Brilliant work!"
His teammates patted him on the shoulder.
But Lance noticed something nobody else seemed to catch.
Courtois kept flexing his left arm.
Every few seconds he touched it cautiously.
His expression wasn't quite right.
The collision had clearly done some damage.
Lance's face darkened.
Belgium's goalkeeper situation was already fragile.
If Courtois couldn't continue, the alternatives would struggle against France's attacking firepower.
An already difficult match had just become even more dangerous.
Are we really going to lose our goalkeeper at a time like this?
Then, almost absentmindedly, Lance glanced toward the French bench.
A young face immediately caught his attention.
A teenager.
Closely cropped hair.
Wide eyes fixed on the pitch.
Lance froze.
Then blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"...Wait a second."
His expression became strange.
"Why is he here?"
According to Lance's memories, this wasn't supposed to happen.
That player shouldn't have been part of this version of the tournament.
Yet there he was.
Sitting on France's bench.
The youngest member of the squad.
Kylian Mbappé.