"Bang, bang, bang!"
After Bulgaria kicked off from the center circle, they didn't pass the ball around in their own half much before losing possession under pressure from the French Team.
From then on, it became increasingly difficult for them to regain possession.
The French Team's midfielders and forwards firmly controlled the situation with their excellent footwork, suppressing the Bulgarians entirely into their defensive zone.
"Bang!"
"Pa-bang!"
The Football quickly rotated from side to side, with Nasri and Cabaye occasionally playing diagonal through balls, seeking opportunities to threaten the goal in the penalty area.
Bulgaria could only cope with difficulty, dropping their two side midfielders from their starting 4-4-2 formation back to the side-back positions, and one of their center forwards back to midfield, forming a 6-3-1 iron bucket formation.
This was almost the usual opening and approach for all weak teams playing against strong teams, with the sole purpose of being so conservative—to endure first, then counterattack and steal a goal, striving to gain points away from home! "Here!"
"Hey!"
Maël appeared very active after coming on, often seeking opportunities for passes to his feet by varying the rhythm of his runs.
Bulgaria's Bodurov and Manolev marked him closely. In their pre-match analysis, he learned that these two were teammates from the Bulgarian league's powerhouse Lovech Team, with good coordination.
Initially, he didn't pay much attention to them, thinking that facing them would be relatively easy.
"Pa! Bang!"
"Deng deng deng!"
It wasn't until after several confrontations and sprints that he noticed their physical qualities weren't much weaker than those of Premier League team defenders. Only then did his expression change, and he lowered his center of gravity even more.
Perhaps these defenders didn't play in top leagues due to their awareness, concentration, or ball-playing abilities.
But being worth over 3 million euros definitely didn't mean they were pushovers; at least their physical fitness was absolutely durable.
Coupled with their aspirations for the World Cup and the motivation of playing in an 80,000-seat stadium, the strength they displayed might be several levels higher than their price tags suggested.
Go all out!
He completely discarded any thoughts of underestimating them and went all out to fight against them.
Time passed by, minute by minute, and the French Team frequently created good shooting opportunities.
They even looked threatening with every attack. Maël and Nasri often penetrated the penalty area with their individual abilities, creating chaos, but they still failed to score temporarily.
"Ah!"
"Oh!"
Sighs and regrets were the norm at the Stade de France at this moment. French Football fans often grabbed their heads, then applauded to encourage the players' performance.
Judging by the game, they still believed that the team could steadily secure 3 points. Bulgaria shouldn't have any ability to fight back; it was just a matter of when they would score and whether it would be a big win.
Compared to their optimism, Deschamps stood on the sidelines with a slightly melancholy expression, watching the field with a serious look.
As the head coach, he faced greater pressure. If the goal difference in this match wasn't at least 3, he would definitely be ridiculed by the fans after the match.
He kept looking at the time, and with every small movement of the minute hand, the sense of urgency in his heart grew stronger.
"Damn it!!"
As the clock ticked past 30 minutes, Deschamps grew somewhat anxious, shouting towards the field, "Up! Push in! Pin them in their penalty area, create opportunities for Maël to launch long shots! You, Cabaye, Malouda! Get in there! Squeeze in! Make them retreat and expose the arc!"
Nearby, on the Bulgaria coaching bench, a translator fluent in French quickly stood up and repeated Deschamps' words to the players in Bulgarian.
"Damn it."
Deschamps, not expecting the opposition to be so well-prepared, grumbled and returned to his seat on the coaching bench.
Playing at home always brings pressure, no matter the opponent.
If they couldn't break the deadlock, Bulgaria would only grow more determined to hold onto their one-point lead as the game wore on, even harboring ambitions of stealing all three points.
"Boom, boom, boom."
In the 32nd minute, Bulgarian forward Popov received the ball and struggled to advance to the edge of the French Team's penalty area, where he was met by a double-team from Clichy and Koscielny.
He was forced all the way to the sideline and looked like he would lose possession soon.
"Boom!"
Desperate, he could only try to kick the ball towards the center, hoping to create a dangerous opportunity.
Unexpectedly, the ball struck Koscielny's leg, spinning towards the touchline and rolling out of play near the corner flag.
Corner kick.
The Bulgarian players sprinted into the French Team's penalty area, a golden opportunity to score. Set pieces minimized the gap between strong and weak teams, unless there were some freak tactics.
"Boom!"
Under the nonchalant gaze of the French Team fans, Ivanov took the corner for Bulgaria, the ball flying towards the near post at high Speed.
"Thwack!"
No one saw what happened at the near post, only that the ball suddenly darted towards the near corner, Lloris diving desperately but failing to reach it.
"Swish!" The ball slammed into the net, and the Bulgarian players in red jerseys ran towards the sideline to celebrate as if they had scored a Game-winning goal.
Zero to one!
Trailing at home!
"Boo, boo, boo!" The atmosphere inside the stadium was depressingly somber. The French Team fans' uproar and boos drowned out the Bulgarian fans' celebrations, creating a hellish atmosphere.
Maël, standing in the attacking third, watched the opposition score, put his hands on his hips, and then clapped his hands to encourage his teammates to focus.
It was common for weaker teams to steal a goal from a set piece. As long as they stabilized their mentality and secured the first goal, they still had a chance to win by a large margin.
On the sidelines, Deschamps looked distressed, grimacing as he returned to the coaching bench for a drink, feeling genuinely nervous.
Losing to a team like Bulgaria was entirely possible; they weren't like Malta or Gibraltar, opponents you could confidently expect to beat.
Bulgaria could still defeat a top-20 team in the world 1-2 times out of 10, but he didn't want France to be on the receiving end this time, especially at home, after winning the European Cup.
"Hey! Hey!"
Deschamps pointed to his temple, signaling the players to concentrate and not be too relaxed.
After finishing all this, he returned to the coach's bench and sat down, afraid that he would not be able to help but transmit more negative emotions to the team.
"Bip!"
After the game restarted, the French Team's offense became even more fierce.
"Bang!"
Maël had just taken the ball and used his exquisite footwork and Speed to complete a one-on-two breakthrough. Then, he used a ground ball Cross through the crotch to find Cabaye, who had cut in at the inverted triangle position.
However, the latter's subsequent shot still went wide of the baseline, less than ten centimeters from the goal.
"Ah!" Cabaye shouted in self-reproach, patted his face, and turned to run again.
Maël wasn't too regretful, but he wondered if there was really such a thing as overdrafting luck. In the last game, he scored on four consecutive shots. Did that put his luck in debt?
However, this was just a fleeting, joking thought. He still believed that in the face of absolute strength, scoring was only a matter of time.
He was right.
"Bang!"
In the 43rd minute of the match, Nasri sent in a sweeping Cross from the right. A Bulgarian defender touched the ball with his right foot, and the Football spun and flew towards Maël's control area.
After taking the ball, he initially prepared to grit his teeth and Cut Inside towards the center, seeking a chance for a Cut Inside shot.
But after seeing Cabaye cut into the inverted triangle position again, he chose the more reasonable pass, choosing to trust his teammate.
"Bang!! Swoosh!"
This time, Cabaye did not disappoint him. A solid ground ball Side-Foot Shot nailed the ball into the right side of the net, scoring the first goal for the French Team.
"Aaahhh!" The cheers of the French Team fans were not particularly enthusiastic. More people simply chose to applaud, believing that this goal was a matter of course.
In this atmosphere, even though Cabaye and Maël really wanted to celebrate their first European Qualifiers goal, they still chose to simply high-five, hug, and then pick up the Football and run towards the center circle.
They had to prove their attitude and not disappoint the supporters behind them.
Two minutes later, just as the fourth official raised the injury time board, and while many Bulgarian players were distracted looking at the injury time.
"Bang."
Sagna cut in to attack and sent a horizontal pass to Maël, who had cut into the center. The latter used the sole of his foot to step the ball towards the front right, then swung his arm and right leg, smashing out a Heavy Cannon.
This was a rare Long Shot opportunity. The players blocking him in front of the penalty area were still more than a meter away from him, and he could also see a shooting line from the right side.
Even though he noticed that the goalkeeper was also standing on the right side, he still took a shot to see if he could overcome the opponent's reaction and bowl force! "Bang!!"
The Football left Maël's feet, piercing through the Bulgarian Team's defense like a sharp sword, giving the air along the way a sharp temperament.
In contrast, the Bulgarian goalkeeper's movements were so slow, so weak.
It was as if, compared to the small Football, he was the smaller one, the more vulnerable one.
"Clang!" The sound of metal echoed, but the Football did not hit the crossbar and post as the Bulgarians had hoped. Instead, it slammed heavily on the support post inside the net and bounced back into the penalty area.
"Bang!"
A Bulgarian player reacted quickly, turned around, and kicked the ball towards the sideline, thinking he had completed a clearance.
"Wowww!!"
"Bip!"
It wasn't until a cheer even more intense than when the French Team scored echoed through the Stade de France, and seeing the referee pointing to the center circle and Maël running to celebrate, that they reacted.
Two to one!
The French Team scored consecutive goals! A Heavy Cannon succeeded!
"Folala!!"
This time, Maël could shamelessly rush to the sidelines to celebrate. He clenched his fists, opened his chest, made a preliminary movement of expanding his chest, and then tightened them forcefully, colliding his two fists together with great force.
It was a celebration similar to showing off muscles, and also like releasing force, which was quite unique. He forgot where he saw it.
After delivering his 5th assist, he also hammered in his 19th national team goal! In this match, he still had a chance to reach 20 goals! "Yes!"
Deschamps on the sidelines also clenched his fist tightly, turned around and celebrated with the assistant coaches, his pressure relieved a lot.
Two minutes later, in the last attack of stoppage time, Clichy cut in and sent a Cross towards the center, and Giroud then used a domineering jump to crush the opponent's defender, blasting the ball into the Bulgaria net for the third time.
Three to one!
They were back! Smiles finally appeared on the faces of Giroud and all the members of the French Team as they embraced and celebrated together at the goal.
"I didn't expect to encounter so many difficulties, but fortunately, we are strong!"
Maël smiled and said to everyone, "The first 3 points are in the bag. I hope we can keep winning in these 10 matches, and win our way to the Brazil World Cup!"
"We may encounter more challenges, but it's still the same. If something is too easy, it won't be attractive to anyone, and it won't bring any joy!"
"Yeah!" The players agreed with a big laugh and nodded, then hooked their arms around each other's shoulders and jumped for joy.
During the half-time break, Deschamps, who originally planned to give the team a good scolding, didn't say any accusatory words in the end. He just emphasized the phenomenon of underestimating the enemy and asked everyone to pursue more goals.
"Rotation?"
Finally, he came to Maël's side and asked if he wanted to play in the second half of the match.
On this point, he had to ask for and respect the opinion of the core player in the team.
Because players like Maël might not want to continue playing after a guaranteed win, for fear of injury affecting their form in club matches and their hopes of competing for the best.
"I still want to continue."
Maël shook his head and said with a light smile, "It's not easy to come back, and there are only 2 matches, so I still cherish it.
"Of course, if you want to give the substitutes a chance to rotate and replace me, I have no objection, but I can't actively ask to be subbed off."
"I understand what you mean." Deschamps grinned and pointed at Maël from a distance with his finger, walking away with a smile on his face.
"Bip!"
After the second half started, the situation turned one-sided towards the French Team, and the Bulgaria Team gradually lost the strength to fight back.
In the 61st minute of the match, Mene, who had just come on as a substitute, swept a pass into the center while losing his balance after a confrontation.
"Bang!!"
Maël placed a side-foot shot into the bottom right corner of the goal from the center, scoring a rare easy goal, and celebrated with a knee slide at the Stade de France.
20th goal! In his 10th appearance for the French Team, he has scored 20 goals and provided 5 assists, averaging 2.5 goals created per game! He can confirm that this is a journey of conquest, an important period for reaping personal and team honors! "Beep beep!"
In the 78th minute of the match, the substitution board was raised, and Griezmann stood on the edge of the center circle, waiting to come on.
Maël saw the number 7 on the substitution board, turned around and walked towards the sideline, raising his hand to clap with the enthusiastic French fans.
"Clap clap clap!"
This was his first time playing at the Stade de France, the home of the French Team. 2 goals and 1 assist, this is the result of his home debut, and also his European Qualifiers debut.
He was very satisfied with it, this trip was not in vain! "Good luck!"
"Clap!"
After high-fiving Griezmann, he took the towel handed over by the assistant coach and walked towards the smiling Deschamps.
"I have a question."
Approaching a few steps, he took the initiative to ask, "Who is the Assists Leader in the history of the French Team? I see that people rarely mention it."
"I'm not sure either." Deschamps smiled embarrassedly, hugged him, and then turned to ask the assistant coaches this question.
"It's Zidane, I remember he had 26 assists for the national team."
"No, no, I don't know if it's Henry, but he assisted 27 times."
"I'll check."
"It's Henry!"
"27." Maël shrugged and sighed, "That's a lot. I didn't expect Henry to occupy both the top scorer and Assists Leader spots. He really had an extremely glorious career."
His impression of this former star striker, with whom he had collaborated for a period of time, became more and more profound. He originally thought Henry was just a superstar, but he didn't expect him to have so many records.
It seems that the strength of Messi and Ronaldo's careers has made most people forget the dominance of this striker.
"Mr. Deschamps."
After Maël finished thinking about this, he looked at Deschamps and smiled, "Do you think I can sit in these two positions in the future?"
Deschamps looked at him with a smile, and after a long time, replied confidently, "You should ask me when you will sit in these two positions."
"Then when?"
"Less than 10 years? Or less than 5 years? Actually, I can't say for sure, I always feel like you will be fast."
"Haha..."
Maël laughed twice, not telling him that he wanted to sit in these two positions around the 2014 World Cup, and went back to the bench to drink water and watch the game.
When the time came to the final moments, Bulgaria seemed to decide to go all out, pressing forward across the board to launch an attack.
The French Team, which had been attacking for the entire game, obviously showed signs of discomfort, but people didn't feel anything yet. Even the weakest team can create threats with a desperate fight in the final moments, which is normal.
Even Maël looked at the field optimistically, thinking that the game was about to end, and the first 3 points were in hand.
"Bang! Swish!"
But the Bulgaria Team had a touch of the mystical about them, scoring two goals in the 83rd and 89th minutes with a cross from the baseline and a header and a shot! Four to three! "Beep! Beep! Beep——!"
After a difficult period of defense under immense pressure, the French Team finally held on to their 3 points, but the score of four to three still sent everyone back to the locker room with dark faces.
As Maël removed his shin guards in the locker room, he could feel the silence of the crowd and their fear of the post-match public opinion, especially the defenders.
He observed Deschamps's expression and found that he was also visibly uncomfortable.
"Phew."
He sighed slightly; this was Football, capable of making one's emotions rise and fall rapidly in a short period.
No one can always get good, expected results, even if you score 2 goals and 1 assist, and ultimately win the game.
"Almost upset by Bulgaria! French Team wins first European Qualifiers match four to three, but the defense's performance is worrying and may not withstand Denmark and Czech Team!" - L'Équipe
This was L'Équipe, France's most authoritative Football media, reporting on the game after the match, and the dissatisfaction in their words also drew the dissatisfaction of French fans.
"Mexès has gradually become a rotation player since transferring to AC Milan last season, with only 14 appearances; he's really getting old and not at his peak anymore."
"Rami and Koscielny can still play as starters in their respective clubs, but they are not considered core players in the same positions in their teams and need someone to lead them, otherwise it's hard to consider them first-rate." - Former France Football international and coach Michel "Give the young people a chance, Varane transferred from Lens to Real Madrid last year for 11 million euros and has started getting a lot of opportunities this year; let him try." - Zidane's social media post
"The French Team only has one facade, and that's Maël; Deschamps's current performance can hardly be called stable, which is worrying!" - Former coach Blanc
"I don't quite understand; the entire Bulgaria Team is worth only 89.3 million euros, not as much as Maël alone; why did they play like this?" - French Football critic Stephen
The posts from various celebrities and former coaches quickly pushed Deschamps and others into the spotlight, as if people had forgotten that they had just won the European Cup.
This situation occurs in every industry; when you fail to meet expectations, the accusations of others are merciless, even a bit ungrateful.
Fortunately, L'Équipe must have eventually received some internal pressure and used a distracting article to divert everyone's attention.
"Maël's terrifying goal-scoring efficiency and goal-creating efficiency! Using data to show the player's dominance in various club and national team events!" - L'Équipe
"During his time at Sheffield United, Maël played 42 games in the EFL Championship, scoring 40 goals, averaging 0.95 goals per game, and also had 27 assists, with a total of 1.6 goals created per game."
"This is also the player's total data for the EFL Championship; he did not play in any cup games that year."
"Later, when he went up to the Premier League, he played a total of 46 games for Arsenal in his first season, scoring 58 goals, averaging 1.26 goals per game."
"Coincidentally, he also scored 27 assists, with a total of 1.85 goals created per game! "That season, he made 36 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 43 goals and 20 assists; including the 7 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games of the new season, he has made a total of 39 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 50 goals and 22 assists."
"The player's average goal rate in the top league has also reached 1.28 goals per game, and the total goal creation rate is 1.85 goals per game! "As for the player's explosive performance in the France National Team, it is unprecedented."
"He scored 20 goals and provided 5 assists in 10 national team games, averaging 2.0 goals per game and 2.5 goals created per game, which is far beyond what Messi and Ronaldo have achieved."
"…"
"Finally, to summarize, we can see that the player has maintained a very high efficiency from the beginning, and this efficiency has not declined as the level of the events he has played in has increased, but has instead increased dramatically!"
"In this, we can also clearly feel the player's speed of progress and unpredictable potential."
"In the end, the player has played a total of 101 official games in his career, scoring 125 goals and 61 assists, averaging 1.24 goals per game and 1.84 goals created per game."
"Apart from Messi last season and Messi in the entire year of 2012, no one has ever achieved such terrifying efficiency in the past!"
"…"
This report, from a data perspective, described the terror of Maël, and can be considered to have pushed out the only facade player of the current French Team, attracting the attention of fans.
This indeed had some effect. In the following days, the French Team prepared for the match against the Malta Team in a relatively quiet atmosphere.
On September 11th, the entire French Team flew to the Republic of Malta in Southern Europe.
This is a pocket-sized country with an area of only 316 square kilometers, but it is known as the heart of the Mediterranean, a European tourist destination, and a very developed country.
However, their Football level is really not high, not even comparable to some small European countries, ranking only 192nd in the world.
The French Team is naturally extremely relaxed against such opponents.
This can be seen from the starting lineup they fielded before the game. They sent out second goalkeeper Mandanda, and the defense and midfield lines were completely reshuffled, with Varane, Diaby, Mavuba, Griezmann, and others all starting.
Only the front line was normal, with Maël partnering Giroud and Nasri to form a trident to attack the opponent's defense.
This game also created a record: five Arsenal players appeared in the French Team's starting lineup at the same time.
If it weren't for Lloris not starting, it would have been six; and if you include former players Clichy and Nasri, that would be eight! It can be said that Wenger has not only made many contributions to Arsenal, but also to the French Team.
"Beep!"
At 4:30 in the afternoon, at the Malta National Stadium, the second round of this European Qualifiers match kicked off in a stadium with a plastic track.
Several thousand French Team fans came to cheer on the team. There were slightly more Malta Team fans, about ten thousand or so, but compared to the last game, the atmosphere of this game was still a bit deserted.
Seemingly, the crisis at the end of the last game and the post-match public opinion made the French Team players feel lingering fear. In this game, they used all their skills from the start, knowing their shame and bravely launching a crazy attack.
"Bang!!"
In the 11th minute of the match, seizing the chaos in the opponent's defense, Maël once again blasted a Side-Foot Shot from the edge of the penalty area, continuing his style of scoring a World Wave per game.
Seven minutes later, it was him again, heading in a Cross from Nasri in the penalty area, changing the score to 2-0!
"Bang!"
In the 35th minute, this time it was Giroud's assist, with Nasri breaking into the penalty area and Side-Foot Shotting into the empty net after passing two players. The French Team went all out to thrash the Malta Team from the start.
In injury time of the first half, Giroud received a Cross from Griezmann in a corner kick and scored another Header! Four to zero! After the start of the second half, Maël learned that he would be substituted in the 65th minute of the match, so he began to Dribbling crazily into the penalty area to shoot, aiming for his third Hat-trick for the French Team.
The Malta Team players seemed to know this too, and didn't care much about others, just competing with him, trying to limit his goal by piling up a wall of people.
But still, in the face of absolute physical strength and Frequency of footwork, scoring is only a matter of time! "Bang bang... Pop!!"
After being frustrated several times, in the 64th minute of the match, Maël used a series of changes of direction to perform a beautiful one-on-two.
He dribbled the ball past the opponent's side defender, then forcibly rushed into the middle before the opponent closed the door, knocking both of them to the ground, and then rushed to the middle position.
Facing the defense of the opponent's two center backs, he simply and unreasonably dribbled the ball towards the baseline, shaking one person away, and then taking a big touch outwards to create some angle.
"Bang!!"
Finally, his wrist flicked sharply, sending the ball towards the upper right corner of the opponent's goal.
"Swish!"
Unsurprisingly, the Malta goalkeeper symbolically reached out his hand and then sat down on the ground, watching the Football fly into the upper right corner.
"Hmm!" Maël clenched his fists in place, humming softly to release, and then high-fived the other players who came up.
23rd goal! 3rd Hat-trick! Some may say that this was just scored against a bunch of players with a value of 300,000 to 500,000 euros, which is nothing.
But as Deschamps said, as long as it's a match, you should take it seriously and perform to your average level!
Many records and achievements are not made against strong teams, but against weak teams.
In his career so far, he has played over 100 matches, but only about 15 against strong teams. If he looked down on weak teams and just played casually every time, he would never have 128 goals! Of course, he would only see this as an important accumulation, and would not elaborate on how wonderful or important these 3 goals were, or what kind of challenge they represented.
Treat it with a normal heart, just keep conquering and moving forward!
"Beep beep!"
When leaving the field, Maël once again received applause from the French Team fans. Many Malta Team fans also gathered in front of the stands, shouting something at him, but it was too far away to hear clearly.
Do they want my jersey?
After giving Deschamps a high-five, Maël went to his seat and sat down, watching his teammates' performance.
The subsequent match became Giroud's special show. He scored consecutive goals in the 73rd and 78th minutes, achieving his first hat-trick for the national team! In the final moments, he also assisted Griezmann, who was making his debut, to score! Nine to zero! This was the final score, and also a score that matched the international ranking and strength of the French Team and the Malta Team.
"Clap clap clap!"
The French Team fans were finally satisfied, standing up to applaud the team's performance in this match.
Maël also smiled and circled the field to thank the fans, feeling good. On the first European Qualifiers match day, they got 6 points from 2 matches, which was a good performance overall.
If they keep playing like this, the hope of directly qualifying for the World Cup as the top of the group is still very high! "Maël!"
"I was here first!"
Soon after, a burst of noise rang in his ears. He turned his head and saw a large number of other players running towards him, wanting to exchange jerseys with him.
He didn't know the names of these people, nor did he know where they played Football, so at this moment, these people looked like enthusiastic fans to him.
This is also normal, after all, the 35 million of his value is more than their entire team added together and multiplied by 5.
He didn't refuse, and exchanged jerseys with the person who he felt came up first, and also took a smiling photo with the other party.
"Thank you for using your full strength."
When the Malta Team player left, he said with a smile, "We lose like this every time, we're used to it. We just want to see more superstars in the national team matches, and see how they play with all their strength."
Maël was slightly stunned, and gave him a thumbs up, "Keep it up, I hope to meet you in the top league one day."
"Haha..." The man nodded with a smile, "Okay, wait for me, I will join Arsenal."
Maël also laughed. This was obviously a joke. The other party was probably mocking himself that he would never be able to reach the top stage in his life.
Withdrawing his gaze, he let out a long breath, took one last look at the field, and prepared to leave.
This National Team Match Day ended without any surprises. He hoped that the next time he came to this team, he would still be able to get 6 points, so that the European Qualifiers group points would rush to 12!
Now, he is ready to return to the Premier League, to compete in a club with a higher level of competition, where every game is a key battle!
The Champions League is about to start, and the Premier League schedule is also moving forward in an orderly manner; he also feels that his shooting additional skill is about to come out, and several companies are about to be merged under the name of 'Maël Company'.
Hopefully he can find more happiness and experience more emotions in these grand days.
Depart tomorrow, go home!
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