Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Dear viewers, you are now watching the live broadcast of the quarter-final match between China and Portugal in the 2010 South Africa World Cup."

CCTV attached great importance to this match, spending a high price to book a box at the stadium and set up a studio for live broadcast.

In this match, the home team, China, wore their classic red jerseys, while the away team, Portugal, wore white jerseys with red and green vertical stripes.

However, almost all the fans in the stands were wearing red jerseys, making it difficult to distinguish between Chinese and Portuguese fans at a glance.

But nobody paid attention to these details; everyone's attention was focused on the twenty-two players on the field.

After the match began, Portugal, having possession of the ball, took the initiative and launched an attack on China.

From the Portuguese perspective, the Chinese team was basically the weakest of the eight teams in the quarterfinals, and meeting them in the quarterfinals was incredibly lucky!

They might be more cautious against other teams, but against the Chinese team, they don't need to be so careful at all.

As long as they can keep an eye on Lin Feng and limit his performance, the Portuguese team feels that winning this game will be a piece of cake.

Less than a minute into the game, Portugal's left-back Coentrao delivered a cross from the wing, attempting to find Ronaldo in the penalty area for a header.

However, the Chinese team had practiced their aerial defense tactics beforehand, and Feng Xiaoting and Li Weifeng coordinated well, clearing the ball in advance and denying Ronaldo any chance.

However, this attack also exposed Portugal's attacking tactics for the match.

Clearly, having tasted success against the Chilean team, they want to use their aerial bombardment tactic against the Chinese team.

In the 3rd minute, Simão passed the ball to Ronaldo, who attempted a long-range shot from 30 meters out on the left flank.

That shot was very threatening, forcing Chinese national team goalkeeper Wang Dalei to make a diving save.

A few minutes later, Ronaldo received a pass from his teammate in the middle, dribbled into the penalty area, and took a shot from a tight angle, which was once again saved by Wang Dalei.

In the first few minutes of the match, Ronaldo was extremely active, and three of Portugal's four shots on goal came from him.

Clearly, Ronaldo's hat-trick in the previous match gave him a huge boost of confidence, making him more willing to try different things in the game.

The passive situation at the beginning of the game made the audience at the stadium and in front of the TV worry for the Chinese national football team!

Although Portugal is not a top team, the attacking pressure they exerted at the start of the game was still immense.

Despite being on the back foot, the Chinese players on the field did not panic. Instead, they focused on defense while patiently looking for opportunities to counterattack.

Such an opportunity will come soon!

Portugal is not a top team after all, and under the continuous high-intensity attack, they quickly made mistakes in their coordination.

In the 11th minute, Melerez attempted to pass the ball to a teammate, but his intention was too obvious and Lin Feng anticipated it.

After anticipating the opponent's passing route, Lin Feng intercepted the ball first and launched a counterattack.

Seeing Lin Feng dribbling forward quickly, his club teammate Pepe immediately rushed over to try to stop him.

Lin Feng knew Pepe's style very well; if he couldn't stop her, he would definitely resort to fouling tactics.

Although the opponent's foul will give our team a free kick in the attacking third, the position is too far from the goal to pose a threat.

So when he saw Pepe rushing over, he didn't try to get entangled with her at all and immediately passed the ball out.

Hao Junmin, who made a high-speed run down the wing, received a pass from Lin Feng and quickly crossed the ball from the byline.

However, the pass was a bit too long, and neither Gao Lin nor Han Peng in the penalty area could reach the ball, causing the Chinese team to miss a counter-attack opportunity.

But this attack sounded the clarion call for the Chinese team's counterattack.

Having witnessed the threat of the Chinese team's counter-attacks, and having exhausted too much energy in the previous attacks, they pushed their formation a bit further forward.

Portugal had to temporarily pull back and slow down.

But with them pulling back like that, the Chinese team's defensive pressure was suddenly relieved, and they began to exert their strength on the offensive end, actively putting pressure on the Portuguese team!

In the 17th minute, the Chinese team found an opportunity after patiently passing the ball around. Lin Feng, under tight marking from the opponent, delivered a brilliant no-look pass with his heel, sending the ball into the open space on the right flank.

This pass was so imaginative that the Portuguese players were completely unprepared for it. By the time Hao Junmin received the ball in open space and adjusted his posture to shoot, they had already realized what was happening and rushed forward to block it.

But it was too late. Hao Junmin drew his bow and arrow, aimed at the goal, and unleashed a powerful shot!
This long-range shot was of even higher quality than the one Ronaldo had made before, but Portugal's goalkeeper Eduardo was in superb form, leaping into the air like a superhero to make a spectacular save.

This save was even more difficult than Wang Dalei's previous one because Hao Junmin's shot was closer to the goal, the ball was faster, and even the angle was more tricky.

The Portuguese fans who came to the scene gave their goalkeeper a warm round of applause and cheers.

Although their goalkeeper comes from a poor background and doesn't have the glamorous resume of other top team goalkeepers, they believe that their goalkeeper is the best in the world, in no way inferior to internationally renowned goalkeepers such as Casillas and Buffon!

Hao Junmin looked somewhat frustrated after missing the opportunity. He felt that his shot was pretty good, but unfortunately the opposing goalkeeper was too freakish and could even save such a shot, leaving him a bit helpless!
"It's alright, there's still plenty of time. There's no need to rush. If it doesn't work the first time, we'll try a few more times. We'll eventually score!"

Lin Feng was also a little surprised by the performance of the Portuguese goalkeeper. It seemed that in the original timeline, the goal he guarded had only conceded one goal in this World Cup.

We conceded that goal against Spain in the knockout stage!
He even managed to keep a clean sheet against Brazil in the group stage!
From this perspective, the opposing goalkeeper is indeed quite skilled!
But since the Spanish team can score, it means they are not invincible; they just haven't found the right method yet!
But Lin Feng wasn't in a hurry, because the Chinese team's attack had only just begun, and it was too early to draw conclusions without trying a few more times.

In the 18th minute, Lin Feng took a tactical corner kick.

Instead of passing the ball directly into the penalty area, he executed a tactical play with his teammates, receiving the pass and then curling a shot from the right side of the penalty area.

The shot was taken at a very tricky angle, heading straight for the left corner of the goal.

However, because it was a lob shot, the ball speed wasn't fast enough.

The opposing goalkeeper reacted strangely. Despite positioning himself close to the right, he managed to 'snipe' the ball away with his fingertips using his extremely fast lateral movement.

This save was even more extreme than Hao Junmin's earlier shot; if the goalkeeper had been any shorter or had a shorter reach, he might not have been able to touch the ball.

After making two consecutive incredible saves, Eduardo landed with a roar, clenching his fists.

The Portuguese players around him rushed forward to hug and high-five their goalkeeper.

In defense, a goalkeeper making such a difficult save is a very morale-boosting action.

When their goalkeeper is in good form, even the defenders become more confident and more daring in their tackles.

Seeing that the opponent had saved his shot, Lin Feng's expression didn't change much. This kind of save looks difficult, but it's not actually that difficult. At least, this move wasn't very effective against his club teammate Casillas.

For goalkeepers who are not very tall, their footwork speed is naturally faster than that of taller goalkeepers.

Eduardo is 1.88 meters tall, which is relatively short for a goalkeeper.

Top goalkeepers such as Cech, Buffon, Van der Sar, and Schmeichel are all over 1.9 meters tall.

Among these people, Buffon is considered relatively short!

Small goalkeepers have strong footwork and quick reflexes, but their coverage area is insufficient.

Therefore, the best way to deal with them is long-range shots and set pieces!

Coincidentally, both of these offensive methods are Lin Feng's strengths.

Once he thought about it, he knew exactly how to kick the ball next!

……

While the Portuguese players on the field were thrilled by their goalkeeper's series of brilliant saves, on the sidelines, Portugal's head coach Roberto Carlos was already getting restless.

The fact that the goalkeeper was forced to make a spectacular save indicates that the opponent's attack was very threatening.

This situation either indicates a problem with the team's defense, or that they underestimated the opponent's strength.

Carlos did not think he had underestimated the strength of the Chinese team. He had carefully studied the Chinese team's previous matches and did not think that the Chinese team was anything special.

The only uncertainty is Lin Feng.

Those two threatening attacks just now both came from Lin Feng's feet.

Therefore, the real problem lies in defending against Lin Feng.

Thinking of this, he took advantage of the dead ball situation to call over his defensive midfielder Pepe and whispered some instructions in Pepe's ear.

The match continued, and the Chinese team continued to take corner kicks.

However, this time, the Portuguese team made some changes to their defense.

They didn't all stay inside the restricted area like before.

Besides Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's defensive midfielder Pepe also moved out of the penalty area and into the left corner of the box.

Lin Feng glanced at Pei Pei and immediately understood that she was wary of him taking another shot like the one before!
However, he did not intend to do that. Instead, he raised three fingers, gestured to his teammates, and then sent the ball directly into the penalty area.

Upon seeing Lin Feng's gesture, the Chinese players, who were originally in the middle of the penalty area, swarmed towards the goal. The Portuguese players were startled and hurriedly followed.

But no one noticed that Gao Lin, who was about to charge forward, suddenly returned to his original position.

And the ball that Lin Feng took was flying straight towards him!

Gao Lin swung his leg to the side, using a move similar to a whip kick in Taekwondo to complete a volley shot, sweeping the ball towards the goal.

That's a cool pose; it would be even better if he could score a goal.

Unfortunately, Gao Lin's luck was still a little off.

With a muffled thud, the ball struck the crossbar and bounced out of bounds.

Gao Lin held his head in his hands, pulling at his hair, staring in disbelief at the football that had been kept out of the goal.

A huge sigh came from the stands, and the Chinese fans present were just as disappointed as he was.

Such a great opportunity, it's a pity I didn't get in!

If that goes in, it could very well be the goal of the round!
Gao Lin's luck...
What a waste of such a beautiful shot!

Sigh, three chances in a row, and I missed them all!

[This kind of volley looks easy, but it's actually very difficult. Gao Lin was able to execute it so beautifully, which shows that his skills have indeed improved a lot, but it's just a matter of luck...]

It seems Gao Lin has been having a run of bad luck in this World Cup. So far, he's only scored one goal, and that was against the relatively easy Japanese team!

[Perhaps it's due to a change in the national team's tactics; Gao Lin's role on the field is more about playmaking and setting up opportunities, rather than scoring.]

Yes, I've noticed that too. It seems like Lin Feng is now the main scorer for the national football team!

[This is understandable. After all, Lin Feng is indeed stronger individually. His shooting skills and ability to seize opportunities are a level above others. The intensity of the World Cup is much higher than any other match the national team has played before. Given the limited opportunities, letting him take the final shot is the safest choice!]

Yes, I believe in the Chinese national football team, and I believe in Lingard!

Because of Lin Feng's presence, although fans were somewhat anxious about the national team's repeated missed opportunities, they were not as uneasy as they used to be when watching the national team's matches.

Although the Chinese national team failed to score, their attack just now was very threatening, even more so than the attack launched by Portugal at the beginning of the game.

After being besieged by the Chinese team for nearly ten minutes, the Portuguese team finally pushed their formation out.

In the 22nd minute, Sun Jihai fouled Coentrao, giving Portugal a free kick near the left flank.

The ball wasn't in a great position, but having scored from a free kick in the previous match, Ronaldo, who was in excellent form, decided to try a direct shot.

After setting up the ball, Ronaldo took a few steps back, glanced at the position of the wall and the goalkeeper's stance, and then kicked the ball towards the goal.

His free kick went around the wall on the right and bounced off the grass behind the wall.

It's clear that Ronaldo's free kick was pre-planned.

The idea was good, but unfortunately, the Chinese national team's goalkeeper Wang Dalei was not fooled and easily caught the ball with a diving save.

Seeing the opposing goalkeeper get the ball so easily, Ronaldo couldn't help but shake his head.

That shot was too difficult because it was too far away and the position wasn't good enough.

If the shot follows a normal free throw trajectory, it will most likely go over the bar after going around the wall.

So he had no choice but to risk it and try. Although he succeeded, the ball lost a lot of kinetic energy after hitting the ground, and its speed dropped much more severely than he had imagined, making it completely ineffective against the goalkeeper! (End of Chapter)