Leo Lin really did want to shoot directly, even though passing to a teammate looked like the better option.
But from that kind of free-kick angle, Leo Lin felt there was a chance. The opposing goalkeeper would also assume he was more likely to pass to a teammate, and if that was the case, he could use the element of surprise to create a goal.
Leo Lin had always been a big dreamer on the pitch. He dared to imagine things and would never let fixed patterns limit what was possible.
First, he raised both hands and waved toward his teammate at the near post. Rodri stood there with a smile on his face, convinced Leo Lin was going to pass to him.
Rodri had even started picturing it already: receiving Leo Lin's assist, scoring the goal, and putting on a brilliant one-goal, two-assist performance.
Leo Lin began his run-up and casually glanced at the space above the near corner.
He was shooting!
The ball spun!
It curled around the wall and flew toward the top of the near corner.
Jarstein reacted. He rushed toward the near post and threw himself across.
But the Norwegian was still half a step too late.
"Wooooow!"
"Three!"
"He's scored three by himself!"
"A hat-trick!"
"Lin has another career hat-trick!"
"Spain lead Norway by three goals!"
"They opened the gap with the first goal, showed their strength with the second, and with the third, they've completely broken Norway's morale!"
"Too strong!" Gullit practically took off.
Ashley Cole laughed beside him. "Look at you. You're losing it."
"What, are you Norwegian?"
Scholes was shocked.
"I can guarantee there are no more than ten players in world football today who would dare shoot directly from that angle and that position!"
"And fewer than five who could actually score!"
Scholes could say that because the modern game really did not have many elite dead-ball specialists.
The ones fans were more familiar with, Ward-Prowse, Messi, Ronaldo, Dybala, and others, all had excellent free-kick ability.
But choosing to shoot directly from that position was also a huge test of a player's nerve.
Gayà was losing his mind. He looked at Leo Lin, stared into Leo Lin's eyes, and wanted to understand what kind of football genius he was playing alongside.
There were plenty of stars at his original club as well, but none of them had ever given Gayà such an overwhelming sense of genius. That aura of brilliance radiating from Leo Lin left him deeply shaken.
And it was not just Gayà. Iñigo Martínez and Asensio felt the same way.
Asensio was a little better off, since he played for Real Madrid and the first team had no shortage of superstars.
Even so, he could still feel that sense of genius, and he had only ever felt it from Leo Lin.
After scoring, Leo Lin blew a kiss toward Iniesta in the stands. Iniesta smiled, looking deeply satisfied.
He had chosen to leave the Spanish national team partly to give these young players more playing time. Rodri, Leo Lin, and Parejo had not let his sacrifice go to waste.
Norway's situation was becoming more and more serious. The real problem was not that they were three goals down, but that they had failed to contain Leo Lin. Leo Lin's form had completely exploded.
Once the match continued, a fully fired-up Leo Lin left Norway struggling to breathe.
"Parejo, beautiful interception!"
"Find Gayà. Cross!"
"Morata was a little slow attacking the ball. He hasn't played well today. Gayà has been pretty good, and Asensio has been steady enough."
"I think Spanish fans must really miss Diego Costa. Back then, he and Leo Lin ran riot together at the World Cup. One finished first in the scoring charts, the other finished second."
The 70th minute of the match.
"Spain play it out from the back, and they're back to the possession game they're so good at. They really don't need to counter anymore, because Norway can't threaten them."
"Sergio Ramos is so confident. He waits until Sørloth is almost right in front of him before passing to Rodri."
"One-touch pass. Alba plays it to Asensio, another quick exchange."
"There it is!"
"The pyramid-style attacking tactic Spain used during the World Cup has appeared on the pitch again!"
"Leo Lin switches it to the right. No good opening there. Gayà plays it back to Leo Lin, and they keep looking for a chance."
"I can see Morata is working hard, but he needs to build more chemistry with Leo Lin before the two of them can really connect!"
Because this was his first time partnering Morata, Leo Lin did not quite understand Morata's runs yet, and Morata did not really understand Leo Lin's passing habits either.
The two of them had not formed much of a connection. Seeing no chance through the middle, Leo Lin sent the ball left again, passing it to Asensio.
Asensio beat the defender with a beautiful La Croqueta, then squared the ball toward Morata. But it struck Nordtveit's heel and bounced out of the box.
Selnæs should have cleared it, until Leo Lin overtook him.
Leo Lin sprinted all the way in and muscled Selnæs aside.
He lifted his foot.
Curled it.
Curled it toward the far corner.
This match, he was determined to keep aiming for the far side.
Jarstein had still blocked off ninety percent, even ninety-nine percent, of the goal. But that lone one percent was seized by Leo Lin once again.
As the ball slid into the net, Rodri hoisted Leo Lin onto his back and charged toward the touchline. He had wanted to slide on his knees, but with Leo Lin on his back, he had no choice but to give up on the idea.
From Rodri's back, Leo Lin waved to the Spanish fans and cheered.
Gayà clutched his head in both hands. Every Spain player rushed toward Leo Lin, and Sergio Ramos planted a kiss directly on Leo Lin's left cheek.
Hierro and the coaching staff were all applauding Leo Lin, with Zubizarreta the most eye-catching among them.
He had come over from Liverpool together with Leo Lin, so naturally he considered Leo Lin one of his own. The better Leo Lin played, the prouder Zubizarreta looked.
"The fourth!"
"He's scored four by himself!"
Gullit was not sure whether everything he had just seen had actually happened.
"I never imagined I would ever connect a four-goal haul with a midfielder, but Leo Lin has scored four in this match!"
"And every one of those four goals was beautiful!"
"Now that the veterans of the Spanish national team are gradually stepping away from the main stage, it really is time for the young players to carry the banner. But as for who the leader of this young generation is, I think the answer is already very clear!"
Spanish fans in the livestream could only spam 666 six hundred and sixty-six times.
"He's cheating. He's definitely cheating. If he isn't, who would believe it?"
"A four-goal haul, just like that! Leo Lin is making this look way too easy!"
"I admit, one second ago I was still feeling sad about Iniesta leaving. The next second, I'd already forgotten who Iniesta was."
"There's no time to be sad. No time to mourn Spain's golden generation leaving the national team one after another. Now taking the stage is Spain's brand-new golden generation, led by Leo Lin!"
...
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