"Stam, what score would you give Germany's first-half performance?"
Stam thought back over Germany's display. In his opinion, they had played quite well.
"I'd give them an 85. They may be two goals down, but Germany have actually played well!"
"The issue with Havertz still needs to be addressed. Löw may still be using him as a striker, but Spain have completely shut him down and, in the process, Werner as well."
"Germany are missing a genuine center forward, and that's preventing their attack from functioning properly."
"They relied almost entirely on Musiala and Kroos throughout the first half. Gosens also played well, but he couldn't find a way past Gaya."
Stam still believed Löw needed to adjust his attack.
Löw was still searching for an answer, but the 15-minute halftime break was not enough for him to figure out how Germany could attack more effectively without a powerful center forward.
Hierro and Zubizarreta, meanwhile, used Leo's observations of the gaps around Goretzka and Kimmich in the first half to devise a new attacking plan during the break.
In the 56th minute!
Rodri had turned Germany's left flank into his personal playground. Oyarzabal kept attacking Gosens, giving Rodri plenty of opportunities to receive and distribute the ball.
Whenever Rodri passed, he looked for Leo.
Whenever Leo received the ball, he cut inside through midfield before playing it out to Sarabia.
Kimmich was now prepared for the move, but whenever he stepped out to mark Sarabia, Leo would first give the ball to Saúl. Saúl and Alba would then attack Kroos together.
Once Kroos could no longer handle both of them and Kimmich was forced to move forward to help, Saúl would return the ball to Leo.
Musiala and Goretzka repeatedly tried to stop Lin from finding Sarabia, but neither of them succeeded even once.
Alba and Saúl's polished combinations were making life miserable for Kroos and Kimmich.
Lin kept finding Sarabia over and over again. Germany knew exactly where the pass was going, yet they still could not stop it.
"If Spain keep moving the ball like this, Sarabia will eventually catch Kimmich out for a second time. There's far too much space to Neuer's right!"
"This approach is also preventing Germany from building any attacks of their own."
"Musiala was extremely active in the first half, but he has almost disappeared from Germany's attack in the second because he's so focused on defending Lin!"
Musiala had never worked this hard to mark a single player before.
Leo did nothing complicated. He simply cut inside, then slipped a through ball to Sarabia.
It was the same two-step sequence every time, yet Musiala had no idea how to stop it.
In the 68th minute!
Rodri and Oyarzabal attacked Gosens once again. This time, Rodri's pass gave Oyarzabal an opportunity to cross.
Oyarzabal immediately sent the ball into the box, once again looking to set up Sarabia.
Rüdiger cleared it early.
Saúl collected the loose ball and passed it back to Leo.
Musiala immediately closed him down.
Leo cut inside once again, beat Musiala, and slipped another through ball toward Sarabia.
After being placed under constant pressure, Germany's right side finally broke again.
From the same position and in almost exactly the same fashion, Sarabia beat Neuer for a second time.
"Spain lead Germany 3-0!"
"It looks like another outstanding midfielder is about to leave the European Championship. Musiala is unlikely to reach the semifinals with Germany!"
Löw wore a disappointed expression as he took Havertz off and sent Gündoğan on.
"If Germany are eliminated, Löw's time as national team coach will probably come to an end."
"He has enjoyed success with Germany, but that one triumph won't preserve his position forever."
Spain continued exploiting the same weakness for the rest of the match and ultimately defeated Germany.
Spain advanced to the European Championship semifinals.
Many outstanding midfielders had already been eliminated, but Leo was still in the tournament.
That same night, after Germany's defeat, Löw was dismissed by the German Football Association.
...
The day after Spain defeated Germany.
"Now that every European Championship quarterfinal has concluded, voting for the tournament's Most Popular Player has also ended. I wonder who our panel of legends gave their five popularity votes to?"
Gullit was particularly interested in Stam's votes. Stam immediately revealed that he had naturally supported a defender because he had once been one himself.
"I've always felt that many awards in modern football are deeply unfair to defenders!"
"That's why I gave all five of my popularity votes to Dutch defender Van Dijk. I'm delighted that he finished third in the European Championship popularity rankings, behind only Lin and Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Gullit had also backed Van Dijk. He, too, had once played as a defender for the Netherlands.
"I knew Stam would make the same choice as me. I also gave every one of my votes to Van Dijk!"
"Scholes, you must have voted for a midfielder, right?"
Scholes had played in midfield for England, but this time he had set aside some of his votes for Lin.
"I honestly wanted to give all five votes to Grealish because I thought he played brilliantly, but I still gave two of them to Lin."
Fans watching the livestream also began posting the names of the players they had supported. Lin and Cristiano Ronaldo appeared more often than anyone else, though Van Dijk, Kane, and several others had also received plenty of votes.
Gullit announced the final popularity rankings.
"After all the votes have been counted, the European Championship's Most Popular Player is Lin!"
"I can certainly understand that result. He really is one of the most popular players in football right now!"
After Lin was named the European Championship's Most Popular Player, Liverpool supporters began their own livestream.
Soon after the result was announced, they unveiled a statue in a Liverpool square.
No organization had commissioned it. The statue had been created by Liverpool supporters themselves.
The president of the Liverpool Supporters' Club brought the covered statue out onto the street as fans gathered around it. They had already begun chanting the name of the man it depicted.
"We've been preparing this event for a long time, and Lin just happened to be named the most popular player in Europe."
"So today, we're unveiling this statue, which was made through the combined efforts of Liverpool supporters. It will remain here permanently on the streets of Liverpool!"
Leo had also joined the livestream to watch, surrounded by his Spanish teammates.
As the covering was slowly pulled away, Leo's statue was revealed on the street, prompting an explosion of cheers.
Rodri stared intently at it.
"Your fans willingly made a statue of you. When I'm lying in bed tonight, I'm going to be jealous of you all over again!"