World Cup of Great Powers

Chapter 290

After securing the victory in the first group stage of the world preliminaries in Harbin, Zeng Zheng flew to Jakarta with most of the main players.

Indonesians love football no less than Chinese people.

But the problem is, this game is destined to be the curtain call for the Indonesian.

After the first training session, many young Indonesian fans came to Zeng Zheng to ask for autographs and group photos.

Together with reporters and other fans, everyone yelled Zeng Zheng's name just to get a chance to take a photo with Zeng Zheng.

The local Chinese-language TV station "METR" even sent a strong reporting team to interview on the spot.

This reporting team is composed of several beauties. Although they don't even know how many people play the football game, they immediately pose a great "lethal force" to the Chinese team as soon as they wink.

General Fan accepted their two interviews with a smile on his face, and even after that, he still had a feeling of unfinished business.

During this period, more than 20 children dressed in neat team uniforms went up to hold Zeng Zheng, asking for a group photo and not letting him leave the stadium.

Facing this kind of child fans, Zeng Zheng also took off his sunglasses and smiled knowingly.

While posing strangely, he directed the photographers to take pictures.

After taking a group photo, the childlike Zeng Zheng also picked up a training ball and played with the children.

At this time, the players of the Chinese team were waiting outside the field for Zeng Zheng to set off.

Due to the opponent's "many people and powerful forces", Zeng Zheng, who was fighting alone, was obviously not the children's opponent. In desperation, he made a face and quickly broke through.

The fans hurried up to catch up, but the "experienced" Zeng Zheng got into the car first.

The beauty reporter of "METR TV" said: "Now, Coach Zeng has become the image ambassador of Asia."

"Because of football, we got to know another outstanding Chinese."

The enthusiasm of the local people did not change the Chinese team's mercy to Indonesia.

July 5, 27 p.m.

The Chinese team played the final match of the first stage of the World Cup qualifiers against the Indonesian national team at the Grora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

After 90 minutes, the score was fixed at 6-1.

So far, the Chinese team has entered the top ten with 6 victories in the first group stage of the World Preliminaries.

In 6 games, the Chinese team slaughtered their opponents 84 goals, scoring an average of 16 goals per game, the most in the world preliminaries!

Among them, Yang Chen scored 14 goals and Xie Hui scored 19 goals.

Combined, two Bundesliga forwards have scored more goals than any other national team!

After returning to the hotel, the national football team immediately held a one-hour summary meeting in the conference room.

The leader of the team, Ma Kejian, summed up the first stage with "achievements, deficiencies, experience, and lessons learned".

I think the good thing is that I won all the games, but there are still many things to summarize when I win.

Especially in 6 of the 5 games, a goal was conceded. This was caused by the players' inattention and negligence on the field. We must pay attention to it in the second stage of the game.

After the symbolic meeting, the team was taken to Singapore and returned to Guangzhou the next morning, and disbanded on the spot.

The members of the coaching staff returned to Beijing to report on their work, and Zeng Zheng went to the TV station to participate in the recording of an interview with "World Football".

The football world all over the country has entered an inexplicable tension.

The draw for the Top Ten is about to begin!

On the evening of May 5th, at 28:19, world football.

Because the weather was too hot, in the recording studio, Duan Quan and Zeng Zheng wore suits and leather shoes on the upper body, but wore flowery pants on the lower body.

Joining Zeng Zheng in the program recording is Zhang Jilong who will be in charge of the lottery.

After a brief opening statement and introduction, Duan Quan asked a few questions that fans are most worried about.

Duan Quaner: "In February, at the AFC Executive Committee meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, the executive committee members reached an agreement on the principle of drawing lots for the top ten matches."

"That is to say, based on the results of the past three World Cups and three Asian Cups, the 10 teams will be divided into 5 grades by means of points, and teams in the same grade will be divided into different groups."

"According to this principle, our Chinese team and the Saudi team are listed as the first-tier teams, and the Iranian team and the UAE team are listed as the second-tier teams."

"This also means that among the two strong teams in West Asia, we can avoid at least one strong team."

"Domestic media have been reporting since then that the West Asian teams headed by Saudi Arabia and Iran will join forces to overthrow the AFC's decision.

"They want to put Saudi Arabia and Iran together in the same tier to avoid each other."

"May I ask Zhang Zhuxi, will the West Asian teams join forces to overturn the principle of this lottery?"

Zhang Jilong smiled slightly: "In the beginning, someone from Iran and Saudi Arabia talked about it."

"Just like a bamboo shoe official in Saudi Arabia said, this kind of positioning principle cannot reflect the true level of the team in recent years."

"And the UAE team faced the danger of being eliminated after losing to Yemen a few days ago, which became the main reason for them to attack this scoring method."

“In the words of an Iranian Bamboo Shoes official, ‘Even the seeded teams may not be able to enter the top ten. Is this scoring method really reasonable?’”

"But as time went on, there was no further concrete action from the Saudi side."

"Its head coach Santrac recently said in public that he is so lucky to be selected as the first team with the Chinese team!'"

"It can be seen that Saudi fans are still very satisfied with this regulation."

"Saudi Arabia stopped arguing, and the Iranian family alone can't make any waves."

Duan Quaner: "Oh? Then why is this? What caused the disunity between the West Asian teams?"

Zhang Jilong glanced at Zeng Zheng next to him: "I'll ask Coach Zeng about that."

Zeng Zheng spread his hands: "I guess they are also afraid that we will enter more than a dozen of them!"

"On the Internet, I read a report from Iran's "Persian Football" newspaper that the top ten games can be avoided with us, and the Saudi fans are secretly having fun at home!"

Hahahahaha~~~
Hearing Zeng Zheng's confident words, laughter came from the audience in the recording studio.

Duan Quaner: "It seems that because of the strength of our team, there has been a rift between the teams in West Asia."

"However, besides the issue of West Asia joining forces, there is another theory among the people."

"That is, the International Bamboo Blind has a veto power over the principles established by the Asian Bamboo Blind."

"About this, Zhang Zhuxi, what do you think?"

Zhang Jilong: "It is reasonable to have this problem."

"This was the case in the last top ten competition. The international bead curtain came forward to decide the lottery principle at the end."

"But the reason why this happened in the last session was because Ya Zhulian couldn't 'balance' the ten participating teams."

"When the teams cannot reach a consensus on relevant issues, Yazhulian will submit it to FIFA, which will finally make an arbitration."

"However, the participating teams in this top ten competition have accepted the principle of drawing lots."

"No individual or small group can override this principle, not even international bead curtains can interfere."

"Currently, Blatter and Secretary-General Lu Feining of the International Bead Curtain Bamboo Chair have arrived in Bangkok. They are just guests attending the group draw ceremony for the top ten tournament."

Duan Quan'er: "About the lottery grouping, there is another question."

"After the 2000 Asian Youth Championship group draw was announced, the AFC was forced to regroup during the Asian Cup due to Kuwait's strong protest against being in the same group as Iraq."

"Iraq has also entered the top ten this time, and there are many domestic rumors about 'the West Asian team refuses to be in the same group as the Iraqi team'."

"So, can the Iraqi team really control the grouping situation?"

Regarding this question, Zhang Jilong answered very cleverly.

"In fact, Kuwait had already been eliminated by Bahrain in the just-concluded group stage."

"So such a problem will not become the focus of the top ten competition."

Without Kuwait as a thorn in the side, this problem will naturally be solved by itself.

With Zhang Jilong's endorsement, the fans are temporarily reassured.

The team is strong because Zeng Zheng has led the team for the past two years.

Many fans are still a little guilty in their hearts, subconsciously unwilling to meet some strong teams in West Asia.

After asking about the lottery, Duan Quaner and Zhang Jilong looked at each other and smiled, and both of them took a sip of water in unison.

But under the table that no one knew about, Duan Quan'er moved his ten toes comfortably, while Zhang Jilong scratched the floor hard.

Looking at the relaxed faces of Zeng Zheng and Duan Quan'er, Zhang Jilong kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Damn TV!

Why don't you prepare a pair of big flower pants for me?
After replenishing the water, Duan Quan'er continued to ask:

"Because the world preliminaries have always been held in a neutral venue, it was not until the International Bamboo Curtain intervened in the last World Cup that Yazhulian decided to temporarily change the top ten matches to a home and away system."

"It is reported that Thai Bamboo Shoes is also actively lobbying, hoping that the top ten competition can be changed back to the tournament system."

"May I ask Zhang Zhuxi, is this possible?"

The reason for this situation is that some small countries and regions such as Thailand, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, etc. are affected by economic factors, and the cost of dealing with the home and away game system is not small for the football associations of these countries. burden.

It is under such circumstances that these small country bamboo shoes are conspiring to propose the adoption of a tournament system, either in a neutral place for a round-robin game, or for two round-robin games.

Zhang Jilong's answer is still ingenious.

"We take a supportive attitude towards the issue of the tournament system."

"In fact, since the Thai team put forward this condition, we have actively applied to become the host of the tournament system."

"But as things stand."

"Because Yazhulian has adopted a more advanced home and away system, it is unlikely that the game system will be restored."

As soon as these words came out, some senior fans snorted again.

In terms of venues, support from the people, infrastructure, and economic foundation, who in Asia can compare to us? !
If the top ten games are really changed to a tournament system and held at our home court, what is the difference between this and sending the Chinese team directly into the World Cup?
Not to mention Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, even these countries that proposed to change the game system cannot agree.

In this way, the top ten games still have to follow the home and away system.

Zhang Jilong's move is really clever!

He not only generously pretended to be a good person, but also established his own image among the disadvantaged groups.

Duan Quaner: "The last question, who is the Chinese team most looking forward to playing with?"

Zhang Jilong: "I have to ask Coach Zeng about it."

This time, all cameras and eyes were focused on Zeng Zheng's face.

Under the table, Zeng Zheng rubbed his two big toes.

"According to the normal situation, I actually want to meet Japan and South Korea."

"Didn't there be some 'neophobia' in the past two years!"

"I think if we meet them, we will definitely qualify."

Hahahahaha~~~
Zeng Zheng's humorous speech caused laughter from the audience.

After the laughter, Zeng Zheng shrugged.

"Currently judging from the small group's distribution, we are definitely avoiding Saudi Arabia."

"As for the other eight opponents in the top ten competition, the level is almost the same."

"The only thing I'm thinking about right now is flying back and forth and whether I'm suitable for playing away games."

"If I had to choose, I would most like to meet a team that is closer to us."

"Don't worry too much, just finish playing the top ten games normally, and then prepare for the World Cup."

After speaking, Zeng Zheng put the microphone on the table.

Only then did Duan Quan'er realize that Zeng Zheng's answer was over.

So who does Zeng Zheng want to be in the same group with?
Is it really like what he said, it doesn't matter who you team up with?

That night, before leaving the studio, Zhang Jilong, who was stretched out with all ten toes inflamed, asked Zeng Zheng for a serious question.

"Xiao Zeng, there are no outsiders here. Tell Uncle Zhang, do you want to be in the same group as the United Arab Emirates?"

At present, the same group with Saudi Arabia is the next lottery, the same group with Iran is the winning lottery, and the group with the UAE is the upper lottery.

Now signing has been blocked at the beginning.

Zhang Jilong went to Bangkok this time with the task of blocking the "winning lottery".

"If you think about it, you definitely want to." Zeng Zheng still had an indifferent attitude, "But it doesn't matter if you get assigned to Iran."

"Isn't there still 0.5 places anyway? It's not like the second place in the group has no chance at all!"

Zhang Jilong raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

"That can't be done!"

"You don't know, your Uncle Wang and Uncle Xu have imposed death demands on me this time. I must do my best to clear the obstacles for the Chinese team and ensure that you can enter the World Cup as much as possible."

"This is no small matter!"

"Although we have completed the basic task of entering the World Cup in 98, you know better than us how to get in."

"It was an accident that time, completely relying on luck."

"But this time it's different."

"This World Cup has been devoted to our efforts for 8 years!"

"Don't forget what the purpose of Jianlibao was established in the first place."

"In this World Cup, there is absolutely no room for loss!"

The draw for the top ten games came, and a little-known episode happened.

Two days before the draw, Blatter, the international bead curtain bamboo chair, suddenly proposed a plan to change the re-ranking of the top ten teams.

This move disrupted the grouping procedures originally scheduled by the AFC Executive Committee, causing quite a stir in Bangkok on the eve of the draw.

What is the reason for FIFA to do this?
It turned out that a joint appeal letter from dozens of journalists in Iran was like a Cheng Yaojin who broke out halfway, prompting Blatter to make a decision to change the positioning of the top ten teams.

Dozens of Iranian football journalists, under the organization of the well-known sports reporter Nozad of Yitong News Agency, jointly wrote to the AFC and FIFA, demanding to change the principle of the lottery, and strongly demanding that the Iranian team be changed to a seeded team tied with the Chinese team .

These strongly worded "appeal letters" made football politicians such as Blatter and Verapan change their minds.

Verapan announced on the afternoon of May 5 that Saudi Arabia and Iran would be swapped, but this move was dissatisfied with many Asian member states, including China.

The AFC Executive Committee conducted emergency consultations overnight and met with Blatter yesterday morning, expressing strong dissatisfaction with FIFA's interference in the resolutions of the AFC Executive Committee.

Zhang Jilong said that China will therefore boycott the draw for the upcoming top ten tournament.

After negotiation and hard work, Blatter finally made a concession and agreed to continue to draw lots according to the original grouping principle.

June 6, at 1:17, Radson Hotel, Bangkok.

Coaches from various countries, including Zeng Zheng, sat in the venue, anxiously waiting for the start of the draw.

"Hey, did you hear that? Yesterday, Iran had a turmoil, and it insisted on being tied with the Chinese team for the first place in the group."

"Isn't this bullshit? Why is the Iranian team?!"

"Yeah, Saudi Arabia scored in the last World Cup, and Saudi Arabia is in the semi-finals of this Asian Cup. How can Iran compare with Saudi Arabia?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect that there is no unity between West Asia. In order to avoid the Chinese team, they even resorted to such indecent methods as stopping the driver and suing the imperial court."

"Fortunately, the Chinese team didn't agree. If the Chinese team agreed, this matter might be done!"

The draw for the top ten games was co-chaired by Lu Feining, secretary-general of the International Bamboo Curtain, and Verapan, secretary-general of the AFC.

Before the lottery, Yazhulian will prepare 9 glass tanks in advance, 5 of which are for teams from the first to fifth ranks, and each tank is for two teams of the same rank.

There are 2 glass jars for groups A and B, and the other 2 glass jars for the Nos. 1 to 5 of the teams respectively.

In this draw, for the Chinese team, in addition to which teams their own team will be in the same group as, the lottery after the group stage is also very important.

按照亚竹帘采取的“5、4、2、1、3的顺序，即首轮比赛5号球队轮空；
In the second round, the No. 4 team has a bye, and then by analogy, this sequence is repeated from the sixth round, except that the order of home and away games is reversed.

According to this arrangement, the No. 3 pick is the most unfavorable and will have byes in the fifth and tenth rounds, the final rounds of the two rounds.

In this way, the No. 3 team will end the game earlier than all other teams, and it is extremely likely that other opponents will manipulate the team's fate based on their results.

Just like the last Iran team.

While everyone was discussing, Blatter on the stage took out a small yellow ball from the glass bottle.

After opening it, read aloud: "Oman!"

Since then, the 2002 World Cup Asian top ten draw ceremony officially began.

The draw started from the fifth team. Blatter and AFC Bamboo Chair Shah were invited by Verapan, but they were obviously not the protagonists of today's draw ceremony.

Verapan, who is extremely talented in acting, began to play freely after symbolically announcing the results of the fifth team grouping.

When the Thai team in the fourth pot was drawn by the third one, Verapan smiled and asked the Thai kid who drew the lottery ball, "Which group do you think Thailand will be in?"

The little girl was a little dazed.

She only knew to come up to touch the ball, but she didn't expect that there would be a question and answer session.

The Thai reporters in the audience shouted when they saw this.

The little girl listened carefully, and then followed suit: "Group B!"

At this moment, the Thai boy on the right who was in charge of drawing the group had already raised up the lottery marked with Group A.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter immediately.

The little girl who didn't get the question "right" was visibly frustrated.

"Don't be discouraged, the result is uncertain!" the Thai staff behind the scenes comforted.

"Nobody said you answered wrong."

The little girl's nose twitched, and she managed to hold back her tears.

Oman is No. 4 in Group B and Bahrain is No. 2 in Group A;
No. 4 in Group A of Thailand; No. 2 in Group B of Uzbekistan;
Qatar No. 1 in Group A and Iraq No. 3 in Group B.

After entering the second round of lottery, the atmosphere at the scene finally became tense.

The United Arab Emirates drew No. 1 in Group B, and Iran drew No. 5 in Group A.

The exciting moment has finally arrived.

When the hands of the Thai children on the stage reached into the glass jar, fans all over the country who followed the lottery ceremony couldn't help stretching their necks.

Zhang Jilong also clenched his fists now.

Ya Zhulian has done so much work and earned so many achievements in the two years since she took office.

Isn't it for this moment?
After seeing the cute Thai girl unfolding the words, Veraphan shouted: "Saudi Arabia!"

"A, A, A, A!"

At this moment, all the Chinese guests at the scene, all the Chinese fans in front of the TV, and all the officials of Zhuxie were chanting this letter.

When the cute Thai boy unfolded a small white note with the word B, all the fans in front of the TV turned pale.

Zhang Jilong's eyes widened in disbelief.

All the strength in his body seemed to be sucked away, like a deflated ball sitting on a chair.

"How could this be? How could this be?"

The Thai reporter behind him also broke the pen in his hand angrily.

"Fuck! Still didn't avoid the Chinese team!"

There is only one small ball left in the glass jar.

No need to open it, everyone already knows the result.

According to the procedure, the children still spread out the note, and Verapan read the text on it.

"Team China! Group A, No. 3!"

Damn Group A, hateful No. 3!
When the votes were sung, there was still polite applause at the scene.

The photographer captured the faces of Zhang Jilong and Zeng Zheng in time.

Zhang Jilong leaned on the chair, pressing his temples with one hand, looking very tired.

Zeng Zheng only showed a slight smile under his sunglasses, clapping his hands together rhythmically like everyone else.

After the Saudi grouping was announced, all the Saudis on the scene cheered in unison.

For these Saudis, they are the biggest winners of this draw!
When interviewed by reporters, Zeng Zheng spread his hands.

"There is no difference between the strengths and weaknesses of the AB group, and each team is very strong."

"In my opinion, the Chinese team does not have any strongest opponents. The four teams in the same group are all very good teams. Whoever can qualify in the end depends on who has more strength."

"We have just won the Asian Cup, the real headache should be our opponents."

Faced with such a lottery, Zhang Jilong, who is the deputy bamboo mat of Yazhulian, has a very calm expression.

"The result of the draw proves that Chinese football is moving forward step by step. The reform of Chinese football has won the understanding and support of the international football community."

In the end, Zhang Jilong almost gritted his back molars.

As soon as the microphone was put down, Zhang Jilong, who turned his head, spat secretly.

"Fuck!"

Meanwhile, Verapan, Blatter and others toasted behind the stage.

Blatter: "The performance of the Chinese team in Asia is really eye-catching!"

Verapan: "Yeah, so reward it for the prick of the Iranian team."

Blatter: "Perfect!"

Verapan: "Cheers!"

Reporter from Iran's Yitong News Agency: "Damn!!!"

(End of this chapter)