At that moment in the thrilling match between Italy and Nigeria, Rashidi Yekini was racing toward a one on one with goalkeeper Pagliuca.
Maldini was the last hope to prevent a certain goal, while Costacurta, who had been chasing them like a madman, abandoned the idea of catching up with Rashidi and instead focused all his effort on sprinting at full speed to overtake both Maldini and Rashidi. His goal was to give Maldini the chance to foul Yekini without getting sent off.
Maldini, fully aware that he was the last man and mentally prepared for a red card, delayed the actual foul just enough to confirm that Costacurta had passed them.
He held onto Rashidi’s arm without bringing him down, afraid of the consequences.
And indeed, that’s what happened: Costacurta broke the “last man” line just in time, and only then did Maldini pull Rashidi to the ground. The foul was committed, but no red card was issued, and Italy avoided further numerical disadvantage after Zola had already been sent off.
Fractions of a second were all it took for the two defenders to communicate mentally and escape the trap.
Maldini was the last hope to prevent a certain goal, while Costacurta, who had been chasing them like a madman, abandoned the idea of catching up with Rashidi and instead focused all his effort on sprinting at full speed to overtake both Maldini and Rashidi. His goal was to give Maldini the chance to foul Yekini without getting sent off.
Maldini, fully aware that he was the last man and mentally prepared for a red card, delayed the actual foul just enough to confirm that Costacurta had passed them.
He held onto Rashidi’s arm without bringing him down, afraid of the consequences.
And indeed, that’s what happened: Costacurta broke the “last man” line just in time, and only then did Maldini pull Rashidi to the ground. The foul was committed, but no red card was issued, and Italy avoided further numerical disadvantage after Zola had already been sent off.
Fractions of a second were all it took for the two defenders to communicate mentally and escape the trap.
At that moment in the thrilling match between Italy and Nigeria, Rashidi Yekini was racing toward a one on one with goalkeeper Pagliuca.
Maldini was the last hope to prevent a certain goal, while Costacurta, who had been chasing them like a madman, abandoned the idea of catching up with Rashidi and instead focused all his effort on sprinting at full speed to overtake both Maldini and Rashidi. His goal was to give Maldini the chance to foul Yekini without getting sent off.
Maldini, fully aware that he was the last man and mentally prepared for a red card, delayed the actual foul just enough to confirm that Costacurta had passed them.
He held onto Rashidi’s arm without bringing him down, afraid of the consequences.
And indeed, that’s what happened: Costacurta broke the “last man” line just in time, and only then did Maldini pull Rashidi to the ground. The foul was committed, but no red card was issued, and Italy avoided further numerical disadvantage after Zola had already been sent off.
Fractions of a second were all it took for the two defenders to communicate mentally and escape the trap.
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