Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Both the Netherlands and Spain are considered favorites to win this World Cup, with the Oranje even being favored by some.

The two teams were supposed to meet in the final, but Spain's failure to finish first in the group led to a dramatic shift in history, and the two seeded teams met in the quarterfinals instead.

The outcome was not much different from history: Spain dominated possession, but their lack of attacking firepower prevented them from scoring.

The Netherlands created two excellent one-on-one opportunities in the second half, thanks to Sneijder's passing and Robben's speed.

Especially in the 61st minute of the second half, Sneijder's brilliant pass left Robben with no defenders within three meters of him when he received the ball.

This should have been a sure-fire goal opportunity, but Robben unfortunately ran into Casillas, who had won the World's Best Goalkeeper award for three consecutive years.

Facing Robben's shot, Casillas dived in the wrong direction, but he managed to deflect the ball with his foot, keeping Robben's shot out of the net.

After 90 minutes of regulation time, neither team had managed to score, and the game went into extra time.

In extra time, Torres delivered a crucial cross from the wing. The Dutch defender made a clearance error, and Fabregas received the ball and played a diagonal pass to Iniesta in the penalty area.

Iniesta seized the golden opportunity and volleyed the ball into the goal.

This was the only goal of the entire match, but it was this goal that helped Spain eliminate the Netherlands and advance to the semi-finals!
After watching this match, all I can say is that the Dutch deserved their defeat.

In competitions of this caliber, opportunities often come only once or twice; seizing them leads to victory.

But the Dutch missed two opportunities in a row, and they had no one to blame but themselves; it was because they didn't want to win!
After defeating the Netherlands, Spain's odds of winning the World Cup have skyrocketed in the latest betting odds, surpassing Argentina to become the top favorite!

However, many people are still not optimistic about Spain winning the championship, because Spain's lack of attacking power seems to have not been well resolved.

The remaining strong teams, whether it's Germany, Argentina, or even Uruguay, all seem to have stronger attacking lines than Spain.

Shortly after the match between Spain and the Netherlands, another knockout match in the upper half of the bracket began.

After 120 minutes of intense play, Uruguay and Ghana were tied 1-1, forcing the match into a penalty shootout.

This is the first match in this World Cup to go to penalties since the start of the tournament.

Seemingly due to having more top strikers, Uruguay emerged victorious in the penalty shootout, successfully eliminating Ghana and advancing to the semi-finals.

With Ghana's elimination, all African teams have now been eliminated.

The Chinese team is the only remaining team from outside Europe and South America.

On July 3, the lower bracket matches also began.

The first match is also a highly anticipated battle – Argentina vs. Germany!
After watching the first two evenly matched games, everyone thought that this game would also be very close.

However, the Germans broke through Argentina's defense in just 3 minutes.

Maradona's tactical weakness of not knowing how to defend was fully exposed in this match.

If Argentina's disadvantage wasn't too great in the first half, then in the second half, facing Germany's relentless attacks, Argentina's defense was completely overwhelmed.

Within just six minutes, the Germans scored two goals, completely sealing the victory.

Towards the end of the match, the Germans rubbed salt into the Argentinians' wounds when Klose scored his second goal of the game, sealing a 4-0 victory for Germany!

This was a crushing defeat that surprised many. As one of the teams with the highest hopes of winning the World Cup, Argentina was favored by many before the match.

With one of the two football legends as head coach and the team boasting top stars like Messi at his peak, Higuain, Aguero, Tevez, Di Maria, and Mascherano, Argentina is practically invincible.

However, this team, known as the Galacticos, was utterly defeated by the Germans on the World Cup stage, losing without any chance of fighting back.

Argentine fans who watched the game felt utterly hopeless, seeing absolutely no chance of defeating Germany.

It's undeniable that Messi and other stars tried their best; in fact, Messi truly gave his all in this match. However, Maradona's flawed tactics forced Messi to frequently drop back to receive the ball and orchestrate attacks, greatly diminishing his threat to the goal.

Watching Klose and Thomas Müller wreak havoc on the field, Messi must wish he had a midfielder like Toni Kroos or Schweinsteiger behind him!
When the match ended, Messi shed tears on the field, and disappointed Argentine fans sent their heartfelt greetings to Maradona and the players.

Unable to accept this cruel reality, Argentine fans launched a large-scale riot in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. This defeat is also known as the July 4th Massacre by Argentinians!

……

"It's considered a massacre after just one loss? How many massacres have the Japanese team suffered in the past three years when we've thrashed them on four separate occasions?"

"That's different. Argentina was eliminated by Germany in the last World Cup. It's said that they haven't beaten Germany in 26 years. Now they lost so badly. It feels like Germany is becoming their mental demon!"

"Looking at the age structure of the German team, I feel that they will still be very strong in the next World Cup, or even stronger. Argentina might even meet them in the knockout stage. I'm really worried for them!"

Instead of worrying about others, why not think more about how to handle tomorrow's match?

After the match between Germany and Argentina, the next match will be China's turn.

To accommodate the viewing experience of Chinese fans, FIFA has scheduled the match between the Chinese and Portuguese teams for 8:30 pm Beijing time, a prime time slot!
The viewing time is well arranged, but whether the fans have a good viewing experience is not up to FIFA to decide; it depends on the performance of the Chinese national team on the field!
July 4, Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg.

The final quarter-final match of the 2010 South Africa World Cup – China vs. Portugal – is about to kick off here!

Although neither of the two teams in this match is a favorite in this World Cup.

However, the match still attracted a lot of attention, with 220 countries and regions around the world choosing to broadcast or rebroadcast it live.

The stadium, which can accommodate 55000 spectators, was already packed to capacity half an hour before the match.

Although the organizers only released 2 tickets to the Chinese team, resourceful Chinese fans still managed to obtain tens of thousands of tickets from neutral fans. With their numerical advantage, they overpowered the Portuguese and turned the stadium into their own home ground.

Even before the match started, the cheers and singing of Chinese fans could be heard throughout the stadium.

Meanwhile, in the Chinese team's locker room, head coach Zhu Guanghu was giving the players a final pre-match pep talk.

"Young men, don't overthink it. Don't feel like you've let down the country or the people just because you didn't play well!"

Don't think too highly of yourselves. Even if we lose, the world will keep turning; it won't affect us in any way. Remember, this game is for yourselves, not for anyone else, so just be responsible for yourselves!

Compared to the game itself, what Lao Zhu is most worried about now is the players' mental state.

High expectations from the outside world can negatively impact the players' mentality.

The psychological problems of Chinese football players have always been quite serious. They often make mistakes and distorted movements on the field due to excessive pressure during matches.

In his view, making it to the quarterfinals was already a historic breakthrough.

Given the strength of the Chinese team, we are already very satisfied to have come this far, and we do not expect to achieve better results.

So even though they lost to Portugal, Old Zhu wouldn't feel disappointed or sad.

He hopes the players can also have this positive mindset!
After Lao Zhu finished speaking, everyone's eyes involuntarily turned to their captain, Lin Feng.

Lin Feng stood up and slowly began to speak:

"To be honest, I didn't expect us to make it to the quarterfinals!"

"In my initial plan, we would do our best to get second place in the group, and then we would meet a seeded team in the round of 16, be eliminated by them, and stop in the round of 16."

"But your performance surprised and delighted me. Through everyone's hard work, we defeated Paraguay, Italy, and Slovakia, and achieved a group first place that I never dared to dream of!"

"Perhaps it was God's reward for our hard work that led us to encounter an easy opponent like the Japanese team in the round of 16. With the help of the Japanese team, we continued to break through our limits and made it to the quarterfinals for the first time!"

"But I want to say that this is not my limit, nor is it your limit. We can continue to move forward!"

"At the beginning of last month, we played against the Portuguese team. Do you think the Portuguese team is so strong that we can't beat them?"

Lin Feng's gaze swept over everyone in the locker room, and his teammates met his gaze and firmly shook their heads:

"Portugal is just so-so. They caught us off guard in the first half with their physical advantage, but we adjusted in the second half and still managed to come back and win."

"Yes, the Portuguese team isn't as strong as we thought. As long as we play well, we're not afraid of them at all!"

"I think Portugal is the weakest team in the quarterfinals. Drawing them is our chance!"

"Captain, let's lead us one more time, beat Portugal, and make it to the semi-finals!"

"Yes, beat Portugal and make it to the semi-finals!"

Under Lin Feng's guidance, the atmosphere in the locker room became lively.

The players, who were initially a little apprehensive, are now full of energy and fighting spirit, as if they've been injected with adrenaline!
So what about the Portuguese team?
We're not afraid of teams like Argentina, Germany, France, and Italy, so why would we be afraid of a tiny country like Portugal?
You have Cristiano Ronaldo, we have Lin Feng, who's afraid of who?
……

Fifteen minutes before the start of the match, players from both sides left the locker room and entered the player tunnel.

When Peipei saw Lin Feng, she winked at him, but didn't dare to go up and greet him.

Although there is no historical rivalry between the Chinese and Portuguese teams, they are opponents in this match, and with only one team destined to advance, the atmosphere between the two teams is still somewhat tense.

As the team leader, Lin Feng didn't have many concerns. He smiled and nodded to Peipei, and even gave him a thumbs-up with his fist.

As Lin Feng walked past Ronaldo, Ronaldo reached out his hand, and Lin Feng pulled him over, jokingly saying:
"You're not going to get me a red card in this match, are you?"

Cristiano Ronaldo blushed and said, "Ahem, what are you talking about? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"Haha, just kidding. Good luck, don't leave yourself with any regrets!"

"Yeah, you too!"

The two exchanged a smile and returned to their respective teams, their faces filled with intense fighting spirit.

Although Cristiano Ronaldo has tried many times to prove himself by defeating Lin Feng on the field, he had no such intention today.

At this moment, all he wants is to lead his team further. No matter who stands in his way, Ronaldo will not allow them to get in his way!

The same applies to Lin Feng. Even if the opponent in this match is Spain instead of Portugal, he will give it his all and leave no regrets!

The wait in the players' tunnel wasn't long, but for both teams, it felt like an eternity.

After a long wait, the players from both sides, each holding a caddie, stepped onto Ellis Park Field, led by the referee team.

"Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves..."

Although it wasn't the first time they had heard the national anthem on the field, every national team player was deeply moved when the stirring anthem played, and they couldn't help but sing along.

In the stands, more than 30,000 Chinese fans stood up and sang the national anthem in unison.

The atmosphere at the scene was already electric even before the match started.

During the pre-match coin toss, Lin Feng was lucky and guessed heads.

Because the match is scheduled for 2:30 pm local time, during the second half, half of the stadium will be shaded by buildings and the other half will be exposed to the sun.

Therefore, Lin Feng gave up possession of the ball and chose to play in the half.

In this way, when the teams switch sides in the second half, the Chinese team will be on the side with the lights off.

When attacking, direct sunlight shining into the eyes of the opposing defenders can interfere with their performance.

When the two teams are evenly matched, the advantage on the field can become a key factor influencing the outcome of the match!

At 14:30 PM, with the referee's whistle, the final quarter-final match of the South Africa World Cup officially kicked off! (End of Chapter)