Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

After 2:0, the Chinese team's desire to attack decreased a lot.

As the rain got heavier, players on both sides were reluctant to make any big moves.

Due to the restrictions of the opponent, the Chinese team did not have many good opportunities.

Likewise, Uzbekistan's offense also showed little improvement.

In the end, the score in the first half was fixed at 2:0.
This score is quite unfavorable for Uzbekistan, because in another field, Iran has already scored two goals against Malaysia.

If Iran wins this game, their points will be 6. If Uzbekistan cannot reverse and defeat China in the second half, they will be eliminated with only 3 points.

[What a pity. The strength of this Uzbekistan team is still good. If it weren't for their bad luck and being assigned to Group C, the death group, they would definitely be able to qualify if they went to Group A or Group B! ]

After learning the news, many fans felt sorry for the Uzbeks.

[In fact, theoretically, the Uzbekistan team still has hope of qualifying...]

[Indeed, as long as we can score three goals against the Chinese national team in the second half and ensure that the Chinese national team does not score any goals, that will be enough! ]

[I’m afraid this won’t work? Iran has defeated Uzbekistan before, so even if the points are the same, Iran will advance! ]

[Not necessarily, because if Uzbekistan beats us, then the three teams will have won and lost against each other, and then we will compare the number of goals and scores between them! ]

[We have won two goals against Iran, and Iran has only won one against Uzbekistan, so as long as Uzbekistan scores three goals in the second half, there is a high probability that they will advance! ]

[Haha, scoring three goals may not be enough. You can't guarantee that the Chinese national football team won't score. The firepower of this Chinese national football team in the front court is still very strong! ]

[Indeed, I think it would be safer for Uzbekistan to score four or even five goals! ]

[Don’t you think what you said is too outrageous? Which Asian team can score five goals against the Chinese national football team at this stage? ]

……

The fans, who were already accustomed to helping the Chinese team calculate their theoretical chances of qualifying, quickly analyzed the situation for the Uzbekistan team.

When it comes to calculating the probability of occurrence, the fans of the Chinese national football team are very professional!

It’s a pity that the Chinese national football team performed well this time, so they didn’t have the opportunity to show their strengths, and for a while they were a little uncomfortable...

What the Chinese football fans could figure out in a few words, the coaching staff of the Uzbekistan team had to count on their hands for a long time to figure out!
Given that they didn't score a single goal in the first half while their opponents scored two.

To reverse and defeat the Chinese team in the second half is itself an unlikely thing.

But the ball is round and anything can happen before the game is over.

Furthermore, rainy days are actually a benefit to them because it makes the opponent's ground attack more difficult, allowing them to focus more on offense.

The head coach of the Uzbekistan team studied the videos of the Chinese national team's first two games, especially the previous match between the Chinese national team and the Iranian team.

After watching the video, he found that the Chinese national team's defense seemed to be slightly lacking in defending high balls.

Iran's two goals in the last game were both headers from crosses from the wing.

In that case, they can try sending out a center forward.

After the change of sides, the Uzbekistan team took the lead in making personnel adjustments.

"Be careful with the striker coming on, they are preparing to kick a high ball!"

In the commentary booth, He Wei couldn't help but give a reminder after seeing the opponent's substitution.

As soon as he finished speaking, the opponent took advantage of the free kick to head the ball into the goal.

Fortunately, Wang Dalei performed very well and saved Shatskikh's header.

After completing the save, Wang Dalei roared loudly. He was not timid at all because of his youngest age. Instead, he reminded his teammates loudly without any stage fright to pay attention to marking the opponent and not give too much space to the opponent's forward.

Seeing Wang Dalei's calm demeanor, the two commentators couldn't help but praise him:

"Well done, Wang Dalei. Although he is only 18 years old, his temperament is like that of a veteran goalkeeper who has played for many years!"

"Haha, no wonder he was spotted by a top team like Inter Milan. Wang Dalei is indeed very capable and powerful. If he can continue to grow in the future, the Chinese national football team won't have to worry about the goalkeeper position for at least the next ten years!"

The goalkeeper position is actually the position where the gap between Chinese football and foreign countries is the largest.

Therefore, fans have high hopes for Wang Dalei, a young player who is going abroad as a goalkeeper for the first time.

In this game, the fighting spirit of these young players of the Chinese national football team was really strong.

He fights for almost every ball on the field and fights very aggressively.

But active fighting meant an increase in the number of fouls, which in turn gave the Uzbekistan team many free kicks.

After replacing the center forward, the Uzbekistan team's tactical style of play has become very clear, that is, to seize every opportunity, pass the ball into the penalty area, and find their center forward.

The playing style is simple, but sometimes the simpler the tactics, the more useful they are.

In the 65th minute, Zhao Xuri committed a foul while trying to grab the ball near the center circle, giving the opponent another free kick opportunity.

Although the foul was committed 45 meters away from the goal, the opponent was still unwilling to give up this opportunity.

Uzbekistan's midfielder Heinrich lofted the ball far into the penalty area. It was Shatskikh, the center forward who plays for a Ukrainian Super League giant, who overpowered Feng Xiaoting to get to the ball. He turned around and looked at the moon, then headed the ball into the Chinese team's goal.

This time Wang Dalei failed to perform the miracle again. The opponent's shooting angle was too tricky and he had no time to save the shot.

The score on the field became 2:1, and the Uzbekistan team successfully scored a goal.

After scoring the goal, Shatskikh did not choose to celebrate, but rushed into the goal and ran back with the ball. It seemed that he did not want to waste even a second.

[Who is this guy? Why does he seem so strong? Xiao Feng is completely suppressed by him! ]

[Shatskikh is a powerful striker at the level of the Champions League. He is the star player of the Uzbekistan team. He is known as the best striker in Central Asia and the second best striker in Shevchenko. Last year, he scored twice against Real Madrid in the Champions League. Even the defense of Real Madrid couldn't stop him. It's normal that the defense of the Chinese national team couldn't stop him! ]

[This guy is indeed very strong, but the Chinese national football team's defense line has indeed exposed big problems! ]

[Feng Xiaoting's playing style is soft, and he is afraid of this kind of tall forward with good physical fitness and strong impact. His partner is best to be a central defender with explosive physical fitness who can fight with the opponent's forward! ]

[Why not replace Du Wei? Zhang Yaokun is a little short and it will be difficult for him to compete for headers! ]

[Du Wei is just a little taller and a little better at heading, but he is not as good as Zhang Yaokun in other aspects. If he replaces him, he might be even worse! ]

Zhu Guanghu was also hesitating. Although he had asked Dewey to warm up, he had not yet decided whether to make a substitution.

If Li Weifeng had not been suspended, he would not have to waste his brain cells and could have directly sent Li Weifeng into the game.

Even Zheng Zhi can retreat to the central defender position to play a cameo role.

Unfortunately, both of them were suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, and they requested the yellow cards on their own initiative, which made Zhu Guanghu feel like he had shot himself in the foot.

However, just when Zhu Guanghu felt helpless and the fans were panicking, captain Lin Feng stood up.

There are not enough high points in the penalty area and you can’t get the landing point?

It’s okay, I’ll just go to the restricted area to help!
His height is similar to Shatskikh's, and his physical confrontation ability is no less than that of Shatskikh. In addition, Lin Feng can play as a defensive midfielder, and he has strong defensive ability. Although he has never played as a central defender, it is not a problem for him to play as a temporary guest.

After the restart, the Uzbekistan team became more and more courageous.

In the 71st minute, Uzbekistan took advantage of a breakthrough on the wing and won another corner kick.

Judging from the opponent's posture, he is preparing to continue to move into the penalty area.

Seeing this, Lin Feng took the initiative to run over to guard Shatskikh.

Shatskikh seemed very surprised. He didn't expect that the person who came to defend him would be Lin Feng.

But he just glanced at it and didn't take it seriously.

He admitted that Lin Feng was very strong, but that was only limited to offense.

On defense, he didn't think the opponent could cause him any trouble!
In the whole of Asia, there are very few players who can defend him in one-on-one situations.

Even professional defensive players can't do it, let alone someone like Lin Feng who just started out as a pro.

Seeing his teammates making gestures, Shatskikh immediately started running, trying to get rid of Lin Feng's defense.

But to his surprise, the other party actually kept up with his pace and was not left behind.

At this time the ball had already been passed. Shatskikh suppressed his surprise and quickly jumped up to try to head the ball.

But to his horror, Lin Feng was actually faster than him and completed the jump first, clearing the ball before he could head it.

"nice shot!"

"Lin Feng's blocking was excellent this time!"

"He predicted the landing point very accurately and cleared the ball in advance, leaving Shatskikh helpless!"

"China's counterattack, let's see if we can speed it up!"

The two commentators breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Lin Feng clear the ball.

Because Uzbekistan invested a lot of manpower in the offense, their backcourt defense became unusually empty.

The Chinese national team's counterattack quickly pushed across the half court. After Zhang Shuai went down the right side, he saw that there were few people in the penalty area, so he boldly dribbled the ball into the penalty area, forcing a central defender of the opponent to approach him, and then passed the ball horizontally.

Gao Lin and Dong Fangzhuo formed a double ghost in front of the goal. In the end, Dong Fangzhuo got the ball, but his powerful shot from close range hit the crossbar and bounced out.

Gao Lin was stunned watching from the sidelines:
He was able to hit the ball away from such a close distance. This is even more outrageous than what happened back then!
From now on, don’t call yourself King Dong anymore, just call yourself Dong Feiji.

Although the Chinese national team's counterattack did not result in a goal, it gave the Uzbek players a big scare.

After feeling the threat of China's quick counterattack, they stayed quiet for a few minutes.

But as time was running out, the Ukrainian team, desperate for a goal, pressed forward again.

Still the familiar formula, still the same tactics.

In the 78th minute, Uzbekistan once again won a free kick in the frontcourt.

After the previous lesson, Shatskikh no longer dared to underestimate Lin Feng.

He started to get serious and tried to use his physical fitness to physically confront Lin Feng and gain an advantage.

He had used this trick on Feng Xiaoting before. Although the opponent was about the same height as him, his physical confrontation ability was obviously inferior to his, which gave him the advantage.

However, when Shatskikh tried the same trick again, he found himself hitting a wall.

Under his impact, Lin Feng did not move at all.

Instead, he was standing unsteadily, and when his teammate passed the ball to him, he was unable to complete the jump. In the end, he could only watch the opponent's goalkeeper rush out and take the ball away.

Wang Dalei is a goalkeeper who likes to launch counterattacks using hand-thrown balls. After getting the ball, he saw that the opponent's formation was pressing very forward.

He threw the ball with great force to Mao Jianqing on the wing.

Mao Jianqing ran quickly with the ball in his hand, advancing at high speed along the sideline.

Gao Lin and Dong Fangzhuo also sprinted towards the opponent's half from the middle and the other side, but in the blink of an eye, the situation on the field had changed 180 degrees.

The Uzbekistan team, which was besieging the Chinese team's goal just a second ago, now sounded the alarm on its own defense line.

This extremely fast transition between offense and defense caught them off guard.

Except for the defender who was lagging behind, the others had no time to return to defense.

The Chinese team, with three against one, did not miss the opportunity. After cutting into the penalty area, Mao Jianqing knocked the ball to the other side, assisting Gao Lin to score through the empty goal.

The score became 3:1, and Gao Lin's goal completely killed the suspense of the game.

If Uzbekistan wants to advance, it needs to score at least three more goals in the next ten minutes.

This task is so difficult that it is almost impossible to accomplish.

However, Lao Zhu still chose to be safe. In the last ten minutes, he replaced Gao Lin and Dong Fangzhuo with two defensive players.

This substitution made the Uzbekistan players almost despair!

Do you have to be so drastic?
Even though we are leading by such a big margin, we are still so conservative and don't give the opponent any chance at all.

The score remained 3:1 until the end of the game. Following last month's warm-up match, a month later, the Uzbekistan team once again fell to the Chinese team.

Their Asian Cup journey also ended.

The Chinese team won all three group matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup as the group leader.

In another match in the same group, Iran defeated the host Malaysia team with a score of 2:0 and advanced together with China.

After the game, the players of the Uzbekistan team burst into tears, and many young players even cried loudly.

This made Lin Feng feel very emotional. In the original dimension, the Chinese national football team could qualify with a draw, but they lost to Uzbekistan 0:3 in the last round and were eliminated in the group stage. The players of the Chinese national football team were probably as sad as the players of the Uzbekistan team!

Fortunately, he did not let this tragedy happen again in this life.

With the end of the last match of Group C, the group stage of this Asian Cup has been completed.

The list of qualified teams was also released. Chinese fans simply ignored the qualified teams of the first two groups and focused all their attention on Group D.

According to the knockout match arrangement of the Asian Cup, the Chinese national football team, which is in Group C, will face the second place in Group D in the first round of the knockout match.

The second place in Group D is none other than the Chinese national football team's old rival, the South Korean team, which has dominated the Chinese national football team for more than 30 years!
With the help of the Saudis, the South Korean team only got 1 point in the first two rounds, but successfully advanced to the quarterfinals with a 1:0 victory over Indonesia in the last round.

Then we met the Chinese team!
Perhaps this is fate's arrangement! (End of this chapter)