Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

For wingers who rely on speed and dribbling skills, injuries are their biggest enemy.

Yu Hai suffered two major injuries before he was even 20 years old, which made many people who had previously been optimistic about him lose their confidence in him.

It was this experience of falling from a great height to the bottom that made Yu Hai cherish this opportunity to participate in the home Olympics even more.

He was determined to take back everything he had lost.

For Yu Hai, a newcomer who has never played before, the Belgians had almost no information about him, and lacked understanding of his playing style and personal abilities.

However, the Belgians didn't care. In their view, how good could a guy who had never played for the Chinese team be?

If he were that good, he would have been in the starting lineup for the Chinese team long ago.

Instead of wasting our energy on him, we should continue to intensify our efforts against Lin Feng.

The Belgians firmly believe that limiting Lin Feng is the key to stifling the Chinese team's offense.

This idea isn't wrong, but it needs to be able to truly restrain Lin Feng.

In the 77th minute, shortly after Yu Hai entered the field, the Chinese team had an excellent counter-attack opportunity.

After intercepting the ball in the backfield, Zheng Zhi boldly dribbled forward. Because the opposing defenders' attention was on Lin Feng, no one was there to immediately intercept or press him, giving Zheng Zhi the opportunity to calmly observe and make passes.

Seeing an opening on Yu Hai's side of the flank, Zheng Zhi immediately launched a long pass, sending the ball to Yu Hai's side.

Yu Hai had been waiting for his chance. When his teammate passed the ball to him, he stopped it with his chest, then executed a beautiful backheel flick that nutmegged the defender. He then accelerated past the defender from the outside, leaving him behind in an instant.

This brilliant dribble earned him enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Many fans at the stadium stood up as he successfully dribbled past his opponent and charged into the opponent's penalty area, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"Yu Hai, keep it up!"

"Don't be a coward, get past him!"

Seeing the opposing defender blocking Yu Hai's path, some fans in the stands closer to the field started shouting at Yu Hai as he sprinted across the field.

Faintly, Yu Hai seemed to hear someone calling his name.

But at this moment, he was completely focused on the game and couldn't hear what the other person was saying. Even if he could hear them, he probably wouldn't have time to pay attention, because at this moment, he only had one thought in his mind: to put the ball into the goal!

Seeing his teammate get beaten, Belgian defender Kompany was taken aback. He hadn't expected his teammate to be beaten so easily; this guy seemed to be much better than he had imagined!
But you absolutely cannot get past me. I will stop you and end your attack!

Kompany has absolute confidence in his one-on-one defensive abilities, and having already signed with Manchester City in the Premier League, he will be playing in the Premier League next season.

If they can't even stop the Chinese strikers at the Olympics, how will they withstand the onslaught of those world-class strikers in the English Premier League?

However, just as Kompany was about to use his strong frontal defense to stop Yu Hai, the opponent only glanced at him and then dribbled the ball to the outside, seemingly intending to dribble down the wing.
Kompany was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly chased after him.

However, when Yu Hai saw him catching up, he suddenly spiked the ball, almost causing Kompany to slip. Although he managed to regain his balance and avoid being knocked down, he lost his defensive position and was beaten by Yu Hai.

The Belgian goalkeeper cursed inwardly and had no choice but to move forward a few steps, spreading his arms to prevent Yu Hai from shooting.

However, Yu Hai did not choose to shoot himself, but selflessly passed the ball to the middle, where Gao Lin followed up with a sliding shot, easily sending the ball into the goal.

The score became 1-1, with the Chinese team equalizing in the 76th minute of the second half!
"Gao Lin!"

"He proved himself with his goal; he remains a reliable striker for the national Olympic team!"

"The Chinese team hasn't given up yet. They've tenaciously equalized the score. The game isn't over yet; everything is still in suspense!"

In the studio, both commentators went wild with joy when Gao Lin scored, their voices filled with excitement and exhilaration.

After being dominated by the opponent for most of the game, I finally got my revenge!
"The main credit for this goal goes to Yu Hai. I really didn't expect him to be in such good form after suffering two major injuries. Now I finally understand why Coach Klaus Toppmöller called him up. With his current ability, he fully deserves a starting spot!"

Seeing that her partner had spoken too confidently in the heat of the moment, Zhang Lu quickly tried to smooth things over:
"Yu Hai's performance in this game was indeed amazing, but it is too early to judge whether he has the ability to start for the national Olympic team."

Firstly, he hasn't experienced high-level competitions for too long, so his form may still fluctuate.

Secondly, he joined the team relatively late, and may not be very familiar with or have great chemistry with his teammates on the national youth team. He needs some time to adapt. Once he's in top form, he might be able to provide even greater help to the team!

Zhan Jun quickly chimed in, "Hehe, Coach Zhang is right. As for the specific lineup and formation, we still need to see what Coach Klaus Toppmöller, the professional coach, has to do. We're just a bunch of mediocre people, only offering him some bad ideas. Just listen and let it go. Don't use that to attack the coach's lineup and personnel."

Every fan has their favorite and supported players. If a fan attacks the head coach just because their favorite player didn't play, then the head coach might as well quit and just let the fans vote online to choose the team's starting lineup.

Of course, it wasn't that no one else did this before, but the outcome was not very good.

……

"Well said, Robben!"

Gao Lin, who scored the goal, laughed heartily and hugged Yu Hai warmly.

"You played well, Ronaldo Gao!"

Haha! If you can talk, then say more!

The two men put tall hats on each other, smiled at each other, and then burst into laughter together.

If Yu Hai had taken that shot himself, with the goalkeeper on his side and the opponent ready to make a save, there was a high probability his shot would have been saved.

But if the ball is passed to Gao Lin, who is unmarked, it's 99% certain to be a goal.

If he were a selfish player, he might have come by himself.

However, Yu Hai is not the type of player who plays selfishly, and he knew very well that Gao Lin needed the goal more than he did, so he chose to do Gao Lin a favor and passed the ball to him.

Gao Lin naturally understood what was going on, which is why he was so grateful to the other party. In fact, Yu Hai also needed to score a goal to prove himself. After all, he had only played once since the start of the Olympics. He needed to put on a better performance to impress the coach and earn more playing time for himself.

"It's okay, at worst I'll ask Brother Lin to give you a helping hand later!"

Seeing Gao Lin taking on so much responsibility, Yu Hai was very puzzled: Does Gao Lin have that much influence?

They actually managed to persuade Brother Lin? Gao Lin himself doesn't have that much influence, but the head coach certainly does.

China's unexpected equalizer threw the Belgian team into disarray.

They could almost see the Brazilians celebrating their victory on the sidelines.

A draw is absolutely unacceptable for the Belgians, because it means that their hopes of advancing depend entirely on the Brazilians making the same mistakes as them, making their chances of advancing extremely slim!
So, without further ado, after being tied by the Chinese team, the Belgians launched their fiercest counterattack against the Chinese team like mad dogs, trying to regain the lead.

However, they seem to have forgotten that the Chinese team in the second half is different from the Chinese team in the first half. The biggest difference is that Lin Feng has entered the game!

Just as the Belgians were eager to attack, their defense exposed a huge gap.

In the 82nd minute, Belgium made a passing error, which Zheng Zhi seized the opportunity to intercept.

This time, the Belgians didn't ignore Zheng Zhi's dribbling as they had before; they launched a fierce counter-pressing attack almost immediately.

However, the moment Zheng Zhi made the interception, he found Lin Feng and passed the ball to him.

Lin Feng then delivered a deadly through ball, shifting the ball back to the left flank.

Just seeing Lin Feng's beautiful pass was enough to make the fans in the stadium excited and want to shout it out.

Everyone's gaze turned to the left side of the field, where, sure enough, a white figure was rapidly advancing.

Because the Chinese team's counter-attack was too sudden, and Yu Hai's speed completely exceeded their expectations, the Belgian defenders had no time to get back on defense.

So when Yu Hai quickly moved forward and received Lin Feng's pass, he was already in a one-on-one situation.

Facing the onrushing goalkeeper, Yu Hai dribbled past him and calmly slotted the ball into the net, helping China take the lead.

"Yu Hai!"

"Yu Hai!"

"Yu Hai!"

Tens of thousands of fans at the stadium chanted Yu Hai's name in unison. The Chinese Robben's performance in this match was impeccable.

Within just ten minutes of him entering the game, the Chinese team scored two goals in quick succession, taking the lead in the score.

One goal and one assist – that's Yu Hai's performance in those ten minutes.

This achievement not only dispelled all doubts about his injury but also saved the team!
"Mr. Klaus Toppmöller, your substitution was absolutely brilliant!"

The way the Chinese coaching staff looked at Klaus Toppmöller had completely changed; they now regarded him with the utmost reverence.

They couldn't understand why the same group of players could perform so well under Klaus Toppmöller's guidance.

Is it that this old man possesses some kind of magic, or have these people previously overlooked these players and failed to fully tap into their potential?

Or is it that they simply don't know how to use people, which is why there's such a big difference?
Faced with the praise from the Chinese coaching staff, Klaus Toppmöller did not become arrogant:

"I simply used the right people in the right positions at the right time. Whether they can be promoted or not depends on themselves!"

Because of his extensive experience coaching overseas, he has mentored countless young players.

These players have very different styles and their own characteristics. In the process of coaching these players, Klaus Toppmöller gradually developed the ability to teach according to their individual characteristics.

At this point, he was already adept at developing targeted tactics based on the tactical characteristics of these players, maximizing their potential and transforming it into fighting power.

This thing can be difficult in some ways, but it can also be easy in others. Just observe, learn, and practice more.

If China's equalizing goal had only made the Belgian team complacent and careless, then Yu Hai's second goal completely drove the Belgian team into a frenzy.

If the match ends with this score, they can be declared eliminated. Unless you believe that New Zealand will beat Brazil by a large margin in the next match, Belgium will inevitably be eliminated.

If the Chinese team had fielded its full strength, losing to the Chinese team wouldn't have been a big deal, given that their opponents were indeed very strong, even stronger than Brazil. Their opponents were weaker, so losing was perfectly normal.

However, the Chinese team did not field their strongest lineup, and Belgium took the lead early in the game.

Having led for over seventy minutes, only to have the lead suddenly disappear or even fall behind in the final stages of the game, this huge psychological gap is something no one can accept.
However, being impatient will not solve the problem; on the contrary, it will only make you make mistakes.

The Belgian players, in a fit of rage, committed a series of fouls and received cards in the following minutes. Mirallas and Fellaini were both sent off after accumulating two yellow cards.

This made things even worse for them, who were already behind. Due to their numerical disadvantage, the final stages of the game turned into a ball-control show by the Chinese team.

The remaining Belgian players tried to win the ball back for a while, but when they realized they couldn't, they resigned themselves to their fate and gave up the struggle.

Ultimately, thanks to goals from Gao Lin and Yu Hai, the Chinese team staged a comeback to defeat Belgium.

In the group stage, the Chinese team won all three matches and ranked first in the group.

After their unfortunate defeat, Belgium's chances of advancing are now only theoretical.

However, in the final match that followed, Brazil defeated New Zealand 5-0, completely shattering their hopes.

Ultimately, the two teams that emerged from Group C were China, who finished first in the group, and Brazil, who finished second.

Their opponents will be the second-place team and the first-place team from Group D.

The winner of Group D has been decided: the defending World Cup champions and a traditional European powerhouse, Italy.

As for the second place in the group, it depends on whether South Korea or Cameroon can break through in the final round.

For the Chinese team, it makes no difference whether they play against South Korea or Cameroon.

However, the desire of South Koreans to upset the Chinese team at the Olympics held in China remains strong.

However, the South Koreans failed to live up to expectations and were unable to snatch the last qualifying spot from Cameroon.

Thus, China's opponent in the quarterfinals has been determined: the Eagles of Africa—Cameroon! (End of Chapter)