Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

The hidden dangers of the Chinese team will take several more years to emerge, but the hidden dangers of the Japanese team are already very serious!

Seeing that Keiji Tamada couldn't even get the ball, the Japanese players broke down:
"I told you long ago that Keiji Tamada wouldn't do; Takeshi Okada should have chosen Yoshito Okubo!"

"Yoshito Okubo is no good either. He's even shorter, so sending him out would be even less likely to succeed. In fact, the Chinese would laugh at our height!"

"How about Seiichiro Maki? He's 1.84 meters tall and has good impact and aerial ability. Although he's not as tall as the Chinese team's defenders, compared to our other forwards, he's already a behemoth!"

"Seiichiro Maki isn't even the best striker in the J-League, so how can he be a starter for the national team? Besides, he's not young anymore. It's better to give opportunities to younger players. I think Shinji Okazaki would be a good choice!"

……

The Japanese debated for a long time without reaching a conclusion, and their weakness of lacking good strikers was already exposed at last year's Asian Cup.

However, this chronic problem cannot be eradicated in a short period of time, and there is no hope of a solution for a long time to come, because it is determined by the style of Japanese football.

So, looking at the Chinese team's tall, powerful headers, ability to act as a pivot, and decent footwork, the Japanese were truly envious and drooling.

Even more than a decade later, when the Chinese national football team was in such a terrible state, a center forward of Zhang Yuning's caliber was a rare find for the Japanese team.

Japan's unsuccessful counter-attack did not significantly affect China's offensive rhythm. Counter-attacks must be threatening to make the opponent hesitant to attack.

However, Japan's counter-attacks looked harmless. Lacking a focal point, it was too difficult for them to make long passes from the backfield to find the forwards.

As a result, the game immediately returned to the rhythm of the Chinese team's unbridled attack.

In the 55th minute, when the Japanese player passed the ball back to the goalkeeper, Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu made a rare mistake in clearing the ball with a long kick. His kick almost missed, and the ball went straight up and down into the Japanese penalty area.

This scene terrified the nearby Japanese players. Fortunately, the Chinese players on the other side did not expect the opposing goalkeeper to make such a basic mistake. Gao Lin had already begun to slow down when he saw the opponent pass the ball back.

This meant that by the time they saw the Japanese goalkeeper make a mistake, it was too late to accelerate and win the ball back.

The Japanese defender hurriedly kicked the ball out of bounds to clear the danger.

[Haha, the Japanese team has become like a frightened bird!]

[When this defender cleared the ball, there were no Chinese players around; he could have easily passed it to a teammate!]

It's been a long time since I've seen the Japanese team so flustered; it felt like their players were playing on edge.

This was the eighth corner kick China had earned in the match. The number of corner kicks shows just how much pressure China's attack put on Japan.

In the previous few corner kicks, the Chinese team mostly chose to send the ball directly into the penalty area, letting their taller players contest for the header.

The Chinese team has a clear advantage in height, so this style of play is not a problem.

However, this corner kick tactic is not very successful when the opponent is in position and prepared in advance.

Therefore, Lin Feng decided to change his approach and use a tactical corner kick to create a time difference.

After placing the ball, he took a few steps back and made a hand gesture.

Upon seeing his gesture, his teammates immediately began to coordinate. The players in the penalty area started to pull and scramble, some running towards the forward post and others rushing towards the back post, forcing the Japanese players to passively follow suit.

However, just as the Japanese players were on high alert and preparing to jump for the header, Lin Feng passed the ball to Qu Bo, who had stepped forward to receive it.

The latter quickly passed the ball back to Zheng Zhi, who was positioned at the top of the penalty area. Due to his height and position, Zheng Zhi did not go into the penalty area to contest the header, but instead remained outside the penalty area, waiting to coordinate with his teammates.

At this moment, the Japanese team's formation was pushing outwards, so when Zheng Zhi received the ball and passed it into the penalty area, the Chinese forward who made a run immediately separated himself from the defenders around him.

Gao Lin was incredibly lucky; the ball landed right in his direction, and as he ran, he powerfully headed it towards the goal.

Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu must be cursing. It's another close-range header, and it's so fast. How are you supposed to save it?
Even if you brought Yashin over, he still couldn't make a move, let alone make one.

With a crisp swish, the ball flew into the Japanese team's net once again.

The score became 4-0, with Gao Lin scoring twice, just one goal away from his long-awaited hat-trick!
"Zhi-ge is awesome, I love you to death!"

After scoring, Gao Lin immediately sought out Zheng Zhi, who had provided the assist, and gave the vice-captain a big hug.

"Stop trying to disgust me, I'm not gay!"

Zheng Zhi pushed him away with a look of disgust, avoiding him as if he were a plague god.

Gao Lin, however, persisted: "Hehe, hehehe, Brother Zhi, don't run away! Let me get closer to you and improve our teamwork so that when you pass the ball to me later, we can be more in sync!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhi was shocked and ran even faster.

Seeing Gao Lin farming for loot, his teammates watched the spectacle from the sidelines.

"Luckily, it wasn't me who passed the ball to him just now, otherwise I don't know how long he would have kept me occupied!"

Qu Bo said with some relief, and Lin Feng and his teammates wholeheartedly agreed.

This guy is obsessed with scoring a hat trick, and he's only one goal away from that goal. He'll fawn over anyone in his quest to score!
Actually, compared to the first half, the Chinese national team's goals in the second half were relatively slow, but the Japanese team still couldn't keep up.

The Japanese players looked up at the match time, their faces filled with despair.

The game has only been going on for less than 60 minutes, and they are already down by 4 goals. Who knows how many more goals they will concede in the remaining 30 minutes!
This match is destined to go down in history, as it could very well become the biggest defeat in the history of the Japanese national team!

The stands at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center were incredibly lively. At the start of the match, the fans were on tenterhooks, worried that the national team would lose.

But as the national football team continued to score goal after goal, fans put these concerns to the back of their minds.

Now fans are no longer worried about losing; what they care about most is how many goals the Chinese national team can score against Japan!

In last year's Asian Cup final, the Chinese team scored five goals against the Japanese team.

This is also the biggest score in the history of matches between the Chinese and Japanese teams.

But this history is very likely to be broken today.

After scoring the fourth goal, the Chinese team's morale soared, and they launched another wave of attacks on their opponents.

In the 58th minute, the Chinese team launched a quick counter-attack on the right wing. Qu Bo received the ball on the right side of the Japanese penalty area and suddenly accelerated, turning around to shake off the opponent's defense.

Seeing that his teammates were already positioned to flank in the middle, he passed the ball back to the middle from the baseline.

Han Peng, who was following up at the far post, managed to get a touch on the ball, but the Japanese player who was tracking back caught up and cleared it out of bounds.

Han Peng missed the chance to score a second goal!
But it's okay, the Chinese national football team still has one more corner kick opportunity.

Having been tricked once before, the Japanese team increased their protection on the flanks and at the edge of the penalty area this time.

Seeing this, Lin Feng didn't attempt another tactical corner kick, but instead sent the kick directly into the penalty area.

The first point was cleared by the Japanese team, and the second point landed at Hao Junmin's feet.

The penalty area was too crowded, and Hao Junmin's shot was blocked by either his own teammate's or an opposing player's leg.

Chaos erupted inside the penalty area as everyone scrambled for the ball, until it somehow hit someone's leg and went out of bounds.

The referee awarded possession to the Japanese team, finally giving the Japanese players a chance to catch their breath.

By this time, sixty minutes had passed, and the players' stamina was beginning to wane. Seeing the situation was turning against them, the Japanese team made the first substitution.

Yuki Abe, who was physically exhausted, was replaced.

Yuki Abe faced immense defensive pressure in this match because he was matched up against Lin Feng, the star player of the Chinese team.

Yuki Abe focused almost all his energy on defending Lin Feng, but because of this, he became the first player on the court to be exhausted.

Logically, when the score is behind, you should bring on attacking players for a desperate fight.

But in this match, the Japanese team's head coach had no such idea at all.

We're already down by four goals, it won't make a difference no matter which striker you bring on, unless he's a football legend!
Takeshi Okada not only didn't want to bring on an attacking player, he even considered replacing the attacking player with a defensive player to further strengthen the defense.

But in the end, he was worried that doing so would have a bad impact and give people the impression that the Japanese team was cowardly, so he didn't dare to do it.

However, failing to strengthen their defense means that Japan's defensive capabilities are continuing to decline.

In the 62nd minute, Atsuto Uchida committed a foul while defending, and the Chinese team was awarded a free kick on the left side of the attacking third.

The ball was in an average position, but not too far away, within Lin Feng's shooting range.

Lin Feng then decided to take a shot directly at the goal!
Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu saw that the free kick was in a bad position, and since the Chinese team had scored from set pieces before, he focused his attention on the Chinese players in the penalty area, preparing to defend against their headers.

However, when Lin Feng took the free kick, Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu was dumbfounded.

Instead of passing the ball, the opponent shot.

But the angle of the ball was extremely tricky, and in the rush, he had no time to react.

With a crisp swishing sound, the football flew into the Japanese team's goal for the fifth time.

The score became 5-0, and Lin Feng scored twice!

"Lin Feng!"

"Lin Feng!"

"Lin Feng!"

Upon seeing Lin Feng score, the 80,000 fans at the stadium chanted Lin Feng's name in unison.

That free kick was absolutely beautiful! Many fans, like the Japanese goalkeeper, never expected him to shoot directly, let alone that his shot would go in!
That free kick was absolutely amazing!

[Like a guided missile, it hits exactly where you point it!]

[Watching Lin Feng take a free kick is like watching him take a penalty kick; it's absolutely outrageous!]

[The Chinese national football team now has two players who have scored twice. Who do you think will be the first to complete a hat-trick, Lin Feng or Gao Lin?]

In terms of ability, Lin Feng would have a much easier time scoring if he wanted to, but considering the national team's tactics in this match, Gao Lin had more opportunities.

I think Han Peng also has a chance. Although he has scored fewer goals than his two teammates, his heading ability is stronger!

[Actually, Lin Feng's heading ability is also quite good, but because of his position, he rarely goes into the penalty area to contest headers!]

"Of course! Everyone's counting on him to make assists. If he goes into the penalty area, who's going to pass the ball to them?"

……

On the Japanese team's bench, Shinji Kagawa looked at the score on the field and then at the condition of his teammates, and was greatly shocked.

He never imagined that the Japanese team would lose by such a large margin in an official match.

Even when playing against world-class teams like Brazil, Germany, and France, they had never suffered such a crushing defeat.

But the Chinese team did it!

Moreover, judging from the Chinese team's performance, they don't seem to have given up on attacking and are still eager to score.

这意味着，5:0并不是这场比赛的最终得分，如果日本队挡不住对方的攻势，比分变成6:0甚至7:0都是极有可能的事情。

Shinji Kagawa suddenly felt a sense of relief, thankful that he hadn't played in this match.

Otherwise, he doubted whether he could recover after suffering such a huge blow.

Thinking about this, he suddenly felt some sympathy for his teammates on the field.

He could imagine the criticism and even abuse his national team and his teammates who played in the game would face after losing the match.

The Japanese have always had a sense of superiority over China, believing that they are far superior to China in economics, technology, and football.

But the crushing defeat in last year's Asian Cup final dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese.

Their football winning strategy is about to become unsustainable.

The Japanese team is determined to avenge their previous defeat in this match.

Unexpectedly, instead of getting revenge, he was humiliated once again.

The reality and the fans' expectations are so huge, I really can't imagine how much criticism I'll receive when I go back.

According to Murphy's Law, sometimes what you fear most is the most likely to happen.

In the 72nd minute, the Chinese team made a substitution.

Yu Hai replaced Qu Bo on the field, and immediately provided an assist for his teammate upon entering the game.

In the 72nd minute, Yu Hai crossed the ball from the left wing, sending it into the Japanese penalty area.

Gao Lin leaped high and outjumped the Japanese defender to head the ball into the net, making the score 6-0!

Gao Lin completed his fifth hat-trick for the national team, remaining the player with the most hat-tricks in Chinese team history.

Considering he is only 22 years old this year, he can play for at least another ten years.

If he hadn't been injured, he would very likely have broken the record for the most hat-tricks by a Chinese national team player, a record that would be difficult for future players to surpass.

In the 82nd minute, Lin Feng unleashed a sudden long-range shot from the left corner of the Japanese penalty area. The ball bounced off the grass inside the penalty area, severely interfering with the goalkeeper's anticipation and causing Kawaguchi Yoshikatsu to fail to save it.

The score became 7-0, and Lin Feng also completed a hat trick.

After that, the Chinese team made a series of substitutions, and the two players who completed hat tricks to win the game were substituted one after another.

When Lin Feng and Gao Lin were substituted, the entire stadium erupted in applause.

Ninety-nine percent of the fans who came to the stadium probably didn't expect that they would witness such a crazy match.

7-0, and against Japan, one of Asia's top teams! Who could have imagined this scenario? (End of Chapter)