By the time Vida saw the ball come into view, he was already destined to react a step slower than Leo Lin.
Leo Lin accelerated and reached it before Vida could clear.
Vida's attempted clearance then struck Leo Lin in the thigh.
Pain shot through his leg, but fortunately, his well-developed thigh muscles absorbed the impact and he escaped without injury.
Livaković could only rely on instinct and luck to make the save. This time, however, luck did not help the Croatian protect his goal.
Spain had scored on the counterattack.
The Spanish supporters seemed to have rediscovered the thrill they had experienced during the previous World Cup.
"Leo Lin has breached Croatia's goal!"
"He's found the net behind Livaković!"
"He's given Spain the advantage in this round-of-16 tie!"
"You probably didn't even notice when Morata dropped into midfield. By the time he overpowered Brozović, Croatia's defense had already begun to weaken!"
"Then Leo Lin found the opening for the toe poke!"
"Vida's instinctive reaction sent his boot into Leo Lin's thigh. Even if the shot hadn't gone in, Spain would certainly have been awarded a penalty!"
Morata pulled Leo Lin into his arms, while Pedri grabbed his hand and ran around joyfully in celebration.
Hierro wrapped an arm around Zubizarreta. He could finally understand why Klopp valued Zubizarreta so highly.
Only two months earlier, Liverpool had renewed Zubizarreta's contract for another six years on the highest terms currently offered to an assistant coach.
They wanted Zubizarreta to remain part of Liverpool's coaching staff for years to come.
Xavi's choices for Spain's starting lineup had also helped Hierro. Livaković threw the ball to Modrić, who carried it back toward the halfway line.
Every Croatian player waited for the match to resume. They had fallen behind far too many times before, but falling behind and ultimately losing was not a common outcome for Croatia.
"It's fine. I've supported Croatia for years, so I'm already used to seeing them fall behind."
"Good, Croatia are trailing. Now their comeback ability can finally activate. Modrić, it's time to step up!"
"If the other side didn't have Lin, I'd say Croatia had a good chance of turning this around. But with Lin out there, how are they supposed to come back?"
Brozović had never imagined that Morata would be used to exploit him. Spain continued targeting Brozović through Morata, allowing Leo Lin, with Pedri's support, to attack Ćaleta and Kovačić.
Pedri kept Modrić completely occupied, while Kovačić's defending could do nothing to unsettle Leo Lin.
"Croatia can't stop Spain with their midfield alone. Their attackers need to drop back and help defend against Pedri, especially against Leo Lin!"
"We've seen Leo Lin play many different roles over the years. Right now, he looks more like a shadow striker, a shadow lurking in midfield who can suddenly appear beside the opposing center-backs and shoot without warning."
Shadow striker was the perfect description for Leo Lin's current role. A shadow could never be completely contained. As long as there was sunlight, it would appear.
For Leo Lin, football was that sunlight.
Wherever the ball went, he would appear.
And if anyone besides Leo Lin could treat football like sunlight, it was undoubtedly Modrić.
The two began battling across the pitch, constantly moving toward wherever the ball was. Even with Pedri hounding him, Modrić relied on his exceptional ability to handle pressure, resisting Pedri's relentless harassment while repeatedly trying to dispossess Leo Lin.
Morata's marking had left Brozović completely disoriented in midfield, and Croatia's coach still could not figure out how to adjust his defense to contain Morata.
He could not allow a center-back to follow Morata all the way into midfield. That would leave Livaković dangerously exposed.
But he could not ask Brozović to mark him either. The two simply did not belong in the same weight class. It was a mismatch between a heavyweight champion and a lightweight one.
"Rebić!"
Croatia's coach called out to Rebić.
"Change positions! You're no longer playing as the striker. Drop into attacking midfield and help Brozović defend against Morata!"
"When you receive the ball, hold Morata off and let Brozović carry it forward!"
It was the best solution Croatia could devise at the moment. Rebić was strong enough, and his technique was more than adequate for a midfield role.
The 39th minute!
"Rebić carries the ball forward. It's unclear who he's looking for, but he needs to watch out for Rodri!"
Rodri was nowhere to be seen at first, but the moment Rebić passed to Brozović, everything fell apart.
Just as Brozović prepared to control the ball, Pedri and Leo Lin appeared at the same time.
"Bang!"
They muscled him off the ball.
Modrić charged toward Leo Lin again, while Kovačić moved across to block Pedri.
"Now it's Leo Lin against Modrić!"
Leo Lin stared at Modrić and feinted as though he were about to accelerate.
Then he did it again.
Modrić remained completely composed, tracking Leo Lin without giving up a single step.
Leo Lin knew perfectly well how difficult it was to get past Modrić. Three years earlier, he had faced him repeatedly in the final.
Leo Lin dragged the ball back, turned, and accelerated again. This time, he genuinely exploded forward with the ball.
Modrić could not keep up.
Kovačić switched across and stayed tight to him.
"Now there are two players chasing him! Kovačić is after Leo Lin and goes in for another challenge!"
Leo Lin held him off and survived the second attempt to dispossess him.
He looked up toward Morata and prepared to play the through ball, but Gvardiol arrived.
"Gvardiol commits the foul!"
"He's the new signing reportedly close to joining Liverpool, yet he's just knocked down one of Liverpool's biggest stars!"
"Can the deal still be considered close after that?"
For once, the Spanish supporters laughed even though Leo Lin had been fouled. Gvardiol had not walked away after bringing him down. Instead, he stood beside Leo Lin like an obedient child.
"Lin."
Still sitting on the grass, Leo Lin held out his hand to Gvardiol.
"Nice defending, Gvardiol!"
"Come to Liverpool!"
"Then we can knock everyone else over together!"
Gvardiol burst out laughing and nodded at Leo Lin.
"I think I understood their conversation."
Gullit's eyes lit up.
"Let's hear it," Scholes said curiously.
Stam and Adams also listened closely.
"Lin said, 'Come to Liverpool. Together, we can overcome every opponent and win every trophy.'"
"Then Gvardiol replied, 'No problem. We'll win every trophy together!'"
After finishing, Gullit felt certain that his lip-reading had been perfectly accurate.
"Do you think Gullit got it right?"
Scholes looked at Stam.
"I think that was probably close."
"But Lin doesn't usually say things like that."
Adams knew Gullit better than anyone.
"If even one word of Gullit's lip-reading was correct, Stam can buy me a computer."