"Srna! Oh my God! He brought us the first goal, a precious goal!"
"We scored first in the 12th minute of the game, which is definitely a very favorable start for us!"
Krauchivich's voice was incredibly high-pitched, even trembling with excitement.
"But the more this happens, the more stable you need to be! Lads! You can do it!" Krauchivich said nervously, "You definitely can!"
The final was different from other matches; he knew very well what winning this game meant.
For this, he was also extremely emotional and excited.
After all, this might be the goal that brings Croatia its first World Cup title!
"Awesome!"
On the field, Suker rushed onto Srna's back, riding him and vigorously waving his arms.
At this moment, Suker was also incredibly excited.
From his position, the shooting angle was not good enough, and the marking was too tight, but fortunately, Srna still ran up.
Although he didn't need to press forward, he must have smelled an opportunity.
"When I saw you running like that, I knew I had a chance to shoot!"
Srna spread his arms.
He and Suker laughed and embraced tightly.
Soon, other teammates also rushed over, hugging each other and celebrating excitedly.
And in the dugout, Van Stoyak was also celebrating wildly, like a madman.
Bešić was very calm, or rather, he had no intention of celebrating before the end of the match.
A goal was important, but it didn't mean they had won the game.
He had no thought of celebrating at all until the Referee announced their victory.
"Oh! My God! These guys did a brilliant job!"
In the VIP box, Davor Šuker and others were also excitedly hugging each other.
This exhilarating goal completely opened up the situation for Croatia and also shifted the pace of the game in another direction.
Before the match, they were worried that Croatia had no final experience, fearing that these lads would struggle to perform.
But clearly, he had overthought it!
These guys were much bolder than they imagined; no matter if it was a final or anything else, they could deliver enough performance.
On the other side, the Germany players looked grim.
The unfavorable start to the match put them in a passive position.
This was completely different from the trend they had envisioned before the match; although it couldn't be called a collapse, the pace was still suppressed by Croatia.
But they also hadn't expected that Croatia would play such a tricky game in the first half, completely going against the usual tactics.
It could be said that the current situation left the Germany players somewhat bewildered.
"These Germans are very rigid. When the situation changes, they don't think about how to respond, but rather get stuck in a rut, trying to solve it through offense, control, and defense, never thinking that it's a problem with the pace!"
Van Stoyak sneered.
He knew the Germans very well, and he knew the Germany Head Coach very well.
To put it nicely, these guys were meticulous, but to put it not so nicely, they were rigid and stubborn.
For this reason, when the situation changed, they would get stuck in a strange rut, and they would go all the way down that rabbit hole.
So when Croatia scored, Van Stoyak was very excited, because they could use the pace to wear out these rigid-minded Germans!
"Keep pressing the pace!" Bešić shouted from the sidelines.
He rarely got this excited, but seeing the situation moving in their expected direction, he couldn't maintain absolute composure anymore.
On the field, with Croatia's goal, the situation changed dramatically!
After conceding, the Germans didn't show much impatience; they still wanted to continue the match according to their previous tactics.
They didn't think that conceding was a problem with the pace, but rather that they hadn't done well in terms of details.
It just proved Van Stoyak's point: they would scrutinize themselves, but they never considered that it might have been deliberately guided by the opponent.
When the match resumed, Germany wanted to quickly control the midfield and regain their pace.
But Croatia wasn't going to let them have their way.
Suker and others sprinted in the front; from the very beginning of the match, Croatia had adopted a sprinting posture, and now they held on tightly.
"The lads are still sprinting! They don't want the pace to slow down, and they don't want the Germans to control the ball easily!"
Krauchivich watched with increasing excitement.
He could clearly see that although the Germans controlled the ball, their progression was very difficult, especially their very effective counter-attacking style, which appeared somewhat rushed and anxious under Croatia's continuous pressing and encirclement.
And in this situation, Croatia also relied on linked defense to quickly win the ball.
"Beautiful!"
"That was brilliant!"
Watching Vukojević complete another tackle, Croatia fans couldn't help but praise and cheer.
And after winning the ball, Croatia didn't play a control game with Germany, but rather counter-attacked immediately.
Modrić directly launched a long ball forward, passing the ball straight ahead, looking for the target man Mandžukić, who was standing furthest forward.
Mandžukić also retreated a few steps with great understanding, and before Hummels and Boateng, he headed the ball down to Suker on the left.
Suker controlled the ball and performed two step-overs, but he didn't deceive Lahm's center of gravity.
He chose to directly drive to the byline along the flank.
Facing Suker's acceleration, Lahm found it difficult to keep up.
And when he tried to pull Suker back, the latter had already crossed the ball.
"Suker crosses! Can Mandžukić get there?"
In Krauchivich's expectant gaze, Mandžukić ultimately couldn't get there; he was held by Hummels, and although he jumped to contest, he still misjudged it.
The ball flew to the right side, and left-back Höwedes had no time to control the ball and pass a safe ball.
Seeing Perisic and Rakitić approaching him, he could only choose to blindly clear the ball with a long kick forward.
Bang!
The ball flew high and fell towards Croatia's half.
And at the ball's landing point, Vida spread his arms, indicating the ball was his, and then calmly headed the ball to Srna on the wing.
Srna calmly trapped the ball, passed it to Vukojević along the wing, while not slowing down himself, he diagonally moved forward through the middle to combine with Vukojević's return pass, executing a brilliant one-two, and successfully passed the ball to Rakitić in front.
Rakitić once again distributed the ball to Suker, and Croatia's third wave of attack came again.
Wave after wave of attacks, like a raging tide, continuously pounded Germany's defense.
In just 20 minutes, the Germany fans, who were initially excited, had now become silent.
They nervously stared at the field, looking at the somewhat disheveled defense, feeling incredibly anxious.
Was this still the stable Germany defense they were familiar with?
Under Croatia's continuous onslaught, it seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
More importantly, Croatia showed no signs of letting up, still charging and attacking fiercely.
"This is so damn exhilarating!"
Davor Šuker excitedly chugged a glass of iced beer.
He had imagined many scenarios for the match, but he had never thought of this.
They were actually suppressing Germany!
This was something no one had expected before the match.
After all, Germany's performance in this World Cup was evident to all; they had done very well in both offense and defense, and even in terms of overall cohesion, they were superior to Croatia.
For this reason, everyone believed that this match would be a fierce battle, and even if there was suppression, it would be Germany suppressing Croatia.
But no one had expected that the match would develop in such an unexpected direction.
"It's still that conceded goal!"
Boban licked his dry lips: "That conceded goal was the key, and also an opportunity that opened up the current situation!"
At this point, he couldn't help but laugh and curse; "Bešić used to love playing tricks. I used to call him a sly devil, but why do I feel so good watching him trick the Germans!"
Štimac, beside him, laughed; "It should be the Assistant Coach from Netherlands' idea, right?"
Although Bešić was also very capable, he didn't think Bešić would be so bold in his operations.
Although he was sly, he wasn't very Dylan!
And the current playing style was more like the work of that Dutchman.
"No matter who it is!" Davor Šuker waved his hand: "They're all good!"
Everyone focused intently on the field; Croatia's attack continued, gradually becoming more intense.
Or rather, it wasn't that Croatia's offense got stronger, but that Germany was somewhat struggling to cope.
A team that is suppressed, constantly taking a beating, their mentality is also gradually changing.
The front line is calling for passes, the midfield wants to control, and the defense is constantly running.
They don't even have time to talk; if they did, they might as well take a few more breaths.
Bang!
It was like a flash of lightning streaking past their ears, carrying a violent whooshing sound, ear-splitting and terrifying.
Boateng's entire body froze in place, and the moment he turned his head, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Neuer tipped the ball out of bounds, stopping Suker's long-range shot.
Suker's long-range shot was sudden, giving them no time to react, but Neuer was still alert enough.
"Well done!"
Lahm turned his head and shouted.
Neuer stood up silently, his expression a bit frustrated.
In fact, he had made a misjudgment.
The ball wasn't even within the goal frame; under normal circumstances, he would definitely have made the best judgment.
But at this moment, he really didn't dare to let it go; even if it meant giving the opponent a corner kick, he had to save it.
However, this also precisely proved how passive Germany was at this moment.
"We must defend this corner kick!"
Watching the game enter the 30th minute, Neuer appeared particularly nervous and anxious.
His gut told him that Croatia would not be satisfied with just one goal.
Their previous attacks were all aimed at extending their lead, and facing a corner kick after the 30-minute mark, they needed even greater vigilance.
Sure enough, Suker, Modrić, and Mandžukić gathered together, as if discussing something.
This made the German players even more nervous.
They were afraid that Croatia would bring out some new corner kick tactic.
They could not afford any more mistakes; any change could push the game to a point of no return.
The German players were also sufficiently vigilant, dropping deep to ensure this corner kick was dealt with as best as possible.
And with Modrić's kick, both sets of players were engaged in fierce duels inside the penalty area.
Suker was undoubtedly the main focus.
"Damn it!"
Suker was blocked in the middle, practically unable to move.
Although he tried hard to squeeze through, with his current physique, he really couldn't.
He watched the ball pass him with some frustration, flying towards the far post, and then being pushed forward by Lahm.
"Counterattack!!"
Lahm roared.
At this moment, the German commentator also stood up excitedly.
"Counterattack! A chance!"
The ball reached Muller's feet, but Muller's body was facing away from the attack, so he couldn't turn to observe immediately.
However, he intended to pass the ball right away, so it wasn't a big problem.
But just then, Klose, who was horizontally in front, suddenly roared.
"Watch out!"
Muller paused in surprise, but it was this pause that allowed Lovren to suddenly surge forward and intercept the ball, snatching it before his opponent.
"Lovren!! He's done it!"
Krauchivich roared excitedly.
Lovren is a defender who loves to press forward, and although he has paid a high price for it, he still enjoys it immensely.
And this time, facing Germany's counterattack, he again pushed forward instead of retreating, but he hit the nail on the head, snatching the ball.
After snatching the ball, Lovren was also very excited, but he forced himself to calm down.
He didn't have the best passing technique, so he still needed to find Modrić.
Luckily, Modrić was in an open space not far from him.
Lovren sent a pass, and Modrić, without stopping the ball, slightly turned and gently chipped the ball with the top of his foot.
The ball was immediately chipped up, over Kramer's head, and landed in the space behind.
And in that position, Rakitić ran horizontally, intercepted the ball, and then sprinted diagonally from the center along the left side.
At this time, Suker moved towards the center, and the two formed an overlapping run.
With Ćorluka also supporting from the left, Germany was immediately caught between a rock and a hard place.
Moreover, they had been intercepted during their counterattack, and the situation was very unfavorable.
Suker, Mandžukić, and Perisic were already positioned on the defensive line, ready to surge forward at any moment.
But Rakitić still passed the ball to the left, to Ćorluka.
Ćorluka did not go to the byline, but instead cut inside horizontally, pausing for a moment.
It was at this moment that Mandžukić and Perisic suddenly burst forward.
This burst also forced Boateng and Hummels to move with them.
But surprisingly, Suker stood still!
In the dynamic and static interplay, Suker's position immediately created an open space.
Ćorluka wasted no words, directly swept the ball horizontally, a cut-back pass.
As the ball rolled towards Suker, the entire stadium held its breath.
Even the commentators, who had been shouting loudly before, suddenly fell silent.
The entire stadium, at this moment, suddenly became incredibly quiet.
They stared intently at Suker, watching him stand still, twist his waist, turn, swing his left leg, and unleash a 90-degree turn and shot!
As he shot, Suker's ankle was slightly tucked inwards, which increased the angle of the shot, sending the ball flying towards the far post.
Neuer, however, was moving from the right side towards the left, so when he saw Suker's shot trajectory, he was utterly disheartened.
Swish!!!
The ball hit the net!
In the 37th minute, Croatia scored their second goal!
Two goals up in the first half.
Croatia's situation looked very good!
"Goal!! Goal! Suker!! Our second goal!"
Krauchivich felt like he was going crazy!
A second goal!
This was the World Cup final!
He had never felt so close to the World Cup title.
But at this moment, he seemed to clearly see the outline of the World Cup trophy!
With a two-goal lead, the tide had completely turned in Croatia's favor.
Especially the moment the second goal appeared, that rush of excitement was like an electric current.
Before the match, despite shouting slogans and fantasizing about the World Cup title countless times.
But deep down, he kept reassuring himself that even if they lost, it didn't matter; World Cup runners-up was also good, after all, it would still be a breakthrough in their best historical performance.
They weren't considered a top team in football history!
He feared that the greater the internal expectation, the greater the disappointment would be.
But when they were two goals up, when this expectation was tangibly before his eyes, he clearly saw the World Cup title.
The World Cup trophy was right there, its details clearly visible to the naked eye; how could one not be excited at this moment!
"Suker! The greatest footballer of this century!"
Even the Brazilian commentator couldn't help but shout such praise.
"Undoubtedly, the moment Croatia wins the World Cup, Suker's achievements will be on par with those of Pelé and Maradona, the two football kings!"
"But what surprised me most was this match! Croatia played at an unexpected tempo in this match, but it was very effective!"
"Germany is clearly extremely unaccustomed to this situation, and Croatia has seized upon this, scoring two goals through continuous attacks, establishing a huge advantage!"
"Now, with only eight minutes left until halftime, can Germany pull back a goal or equalize during this time?"
That being said, looking at the current situation, it wouldn't be easy.
On the sidelines, Löw couldn't sit still.
The first conceded goal might still be understandable; they could slowly work their way back.
But when the second goal came, he knew there was a problem with the game.
But the problem now was that it had reached the 37th minute, which was a very awkward point.
With only eight minutes left until halftime, if he used a substitution here, they would be at a disadvantage in terms of squad depth in the second half.
Therefore, Löw could only grit his teeth, hoping the players would hold on for these eight minutes, and then make specific adjustments during halftime.
As for Croatia, their morale was greatly boosted.
Throughout the first half, they had been running all over the pitch, and their physical exertion was significant.
However, under the stimulation of two goals and the lead, they didn't feel as tired!