"Brazil are in a difficult spot right now. They need to figure out what kind of football they're actually playing."
"This is the World Cup!"
"Tite's tactics today feel like he's trying to cover everything, but without a clear focus."
"He wants attack and defense, control and counterattacks. In the end, Brazil look disjointed."
"Tite has been in charge of Brazil for a long time, but the doubts from fans have never really stopped. The players, though, still back the veteran coach."
"But if they're knocked out by Spain here and fall at the quarterfinal stage, he'll definitely lose his job. No doubt about it."
With Spain leading by two, Tite suddenly stood up on the sideline and pulled Neymar over, speaking to him briefly. Neymar nodded and quickly ran back onto the pitch.
He immediately relayed the new instructions, and Brazil's attacking shape began to change, with Coutinho and Paulinho clearly pushing higher.
Neymar and Jesus were talking when Leo Lin quietly moved behind them, trying to listen in, but they were speaking Portuguese, which he could not understand.
Hierro also stepped to the touchline and shouted toward the pitch.
"Use Zubizarreta's defensive setup!"
"Form the pyramid!"
Hierro had a feeling Brazil were about to unveil something new. To deal with it, Zubizarreta's pyramid system was the best answer.
Play continued.
Brazil's attacking patterns in the final third had indeed changed.
56th minute!
"Spain have dropped slightly deeper, while Brazil's two midfielders have pushed forward into dual attacking roles. What are they planning here?"
Leo Lin kept watching closely. Coutinho advanced with the ball on his left foot, then shifted to his right and played it across to Paulinho, who had also moved up.
At that moment, Willian and Neymar tucked inside, while Jesus dropped back, forming two parallel inverted triangles in Brazil's attacking shape.
Paulinho released a through ball the moment he received it. Alba could not intercept.
Willian, drifting inward from the flank, took the ball with his back to goal and held off Piqué.
Piqué pressed tightly from behind, denying him any chance to turn.
But the next second, Jesus, who had dropped back, spun and burst forward, shaking off Busquets with his off ball movement.
Willian's pass followed immediately, perfectly weighted.
It rolled into Jesus's path.
At the same time, Neymar had already slipped away from Ramos, using quick lateral steps to create a shooting lane.
If Jesus could just slip the ball diagonally to Neymar, the move would be complete.
On the sideline, Tite even swung his leg instinctively, as if willing the pass forward.
Jesus drew back his right leg to play it.
But in the next instant, Thiago stepped in from the front and blocked the pass.
Leo Lin collected the loose ball, turned, and launched a long pass to the left.
Spain counterattack.
Asensio was about to bring down the first ball and spark the break, but Fagner came in from behind, climbing over him and using his body to force a header clearance.
The whistle blew immediately.
"Beep!!!"
Fagner's challenge sent Asensio crashing to the ground.
At that moment, only Asensio and Diego Costa were in Spain's attacking third.
Fagner stood over Asensio, clearly trying to intimidate him.
Diego Costa rushed in and shoved Fagner away.
Leo Lin sprinted over, and the rest of the Spanish players quickly followed to stand up for their teammate.
The referee blew repeatedly to calm things down and showed Fagner a yellow card.
Derek Rae spoke with feeling.
"Look at Costa, look at Leo Lin. Their instinct to protect a teammate is incredibly strong."
"Sometimes I wonder, when Neymar gets fouled, whether for club or country, if his teammates stepped in like this, would it change things?"
"Would it put more pressure on referees and reduce the number of reckless challenges he faces?"
"We cannot say for sure, but a player like Leo Lin is someone every team wants, and every player wants as a teammate. No doubt about that."
Another attack wasted, and now a yellow card as well. Tite looked puzzled.
He had not even seen when Thiago appeared in front of Jesus. The Brazilian players on the pitch also felt something was off.
This was the first time they had used this attacking setup. It should have been far more effective.
Play resumed, and five minutes later Brazil tried the same parallel inverted triangle setup again, only to be stopped once more.
Ramos launched into a sliding clearance, reaching the ball just before it could reach Neymar and blasting it out of the box.
Neymar was stunned.
Tite's carefully designed new attacking system had been completely shut down by Spain.
Not just contained. Completely neutralized.
Moments earlier, as he combined with Jesus and Willian, he felt that no matter where he moved, Spain always created a numerical advantage around him.
Brazil's players were constantly outnumbered, which made no sense.
With both Coutinho and Paulinho pushed forward, Brazil should have had the advantage in both numbers and technique.
And this was a brand new system. Spain could not possibly have prepared for it in advance.
Yet they handled it with total composure, without a single mistake.
The broadcast cut to Spain's defensive shape.
Leo Lin stood centrally, a couple of steps in front of the penalty arc.
Busquets and Thiago covered the left and right edges of the arc. Ramos and Piqué had just completed a clearance, dust still on them, but were already back in position.
Alba on the left. Carvajal on the right.
Seven players formed a pyramid, completely locking down Spain's defensive zone.
The camera then cut to Zubizarreta on the sideline, sitting calmly beside Hierro.
Hierro patted his leg, clearly praising him.
"This is one of Zubizarreta's signature defensive systems!"
"The pyramid staggered defense!"
"It is one of the key reasons Athletic Bilbao have remained so competitive in La Liga over the years!"
"Some fans call it the Wall of Sighs. No matter how strong your forwards are, against this structure, all you can do is sigh."
"Just sigh."