I changed football.

"Dear viewers and fans, the penultimate match of Group C in the second round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, between China and the Maldives, will begin in a few minutes. Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both sides—"

"In the Maldives—"

"The Chinese team is playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Zeng Cheng in goal. The back line, from left to right, consists of Li Xuepeng, Ren Hang, Feng Xiaoting, and Zhao Mingjian. The two defensive midfielders are Wu Xi and Hao Junmin, the attacking midfielder is Wu Lei, the left winger is Yu Hai, the center forward is Yang Xu, and the right winger is Li Yuan, who is making his first appearance for the national team!"

"Today's match will be brought to you by myself, He Wei, and Coach Xu Yang—"

"Actually, everyone knows about the interview Li Yuan gave when he was in Monaco. In order for the Chinese team to advance to the next round of the 12-team finals, we would normally have to rely on the results of other teams. We are 10 goals behind the fourth-placed team among the four best second-placed teams. In this situation, we have won both of our games and scored 10 goals. We still have to determine how many goals the other team scored if they also win both of their games. Of course, if the other team loses one game or draws one game, then we will have an advantage in points."

"So a goal difference of 10 is very difficult, not enough, more is needed. In fact, some people have calculated that a goal difference of 15 or more is considered relatively secure, but a goal difference of 15 is very difficult, because before this, the biggest score China had against the Maldives was 10-1, with a goal difference of 9, and the biggest score against Qatar was only 3, totaling only 12, which is far from a goal difference of 15. Moreover, Qatar's strength is different now than it was back then, so this theoretical goal difference is very difficult to achieve."

"However, I really like what Li Yuan said: 'We just need to do our best in our own work, believe in ourselves, and then things will be under our control!'"

……

"Right now, we don't need to look at what others are doing; we just need to focus on ourselves! Our goal for the next match is very simple: score goals, the more the better!"

Before going on the field, the team captain, Feng Xiaoting, shouted loudly.

Then the team members formed a circle and shouted.

He then walked out of the locker room.

In the players' tunnel, Li Yuan stood at the back of the team.

By this time, Li Yuan had already gained some recognition in European football, but due to the limitations of the French Ligue 1 platform and the relatively low level of the Europa League, his overall recognition in Europe was not very high. However, his recognition in Asia was extremely high.

When Li Yuan scored his first goal in a single season in the Europa League, surpassing Cha Bum-kun's record, Chinese media went all out to promote it, and Japanese media followed suit. However, South Korean media didn't do much to publicize it, which is understandable, haha.

There is also publicity in West Asia.

Therefore, Li Yuan's current fame in Asia far exceeds his fame in Europe.

The players from the Maldives clearly recognized him, and they all looked at Li Yuan as they stood in the player tunnel.

Li Yuan felt the gazes of the teams next to him. This wasn't the first time he had received such attention from his opponents. After he rose to fame in Ligue 1, there were many times when opposing players would look at him out of curiosity before the start of a match.

Li Yuan kept his eyes forward and didn't care about these thoughts.

He was well-prepared for this match from the very beginning.

"The competition has officially begun—"

The first half began with the Chinese team kicking off, with Li Yuan and Yang Xu standing in the center circle.

Li Yuan briefly explained to Yang Xu, "Brother Xu, I'm going to run forward in a bit. Don't pass the ball to the defensive midfielder, just pass it to Brother Lei. We need to attack forward as soon as possible!"

Yang Xu nodded. After so many days of training, everyone on the national team acknowledged Li Yuan's abilities, but how he would perform in a match remained to be seen. However, after Li Yuan mentioned it to Yang Xu, Yang Xu quickly agreed.

The rest is very simple.

In Li Yuan's eyes, the Maldivian players were far inferior to their opponents in the French second division. After all, half of the Maldivian national team players were semi-professional, but the team also had players like Ashfaq, who was considered one of the best foreign players in the Malaysian league.

However, in Li Yuan's eyes, this defense line was ridiculously poor.

After receiving the ball on the wing, Li Yuan first tried to dribble past the Maldives' full-back.

Li Yuan knew what to do, so he suddenly accelerated, using his speed to break through the Maldives' defense. He sped past the center-back and entered the defense in one go.

"My God, the game has only just begun, and Li Yuan has already dribbled all the way into the penalty area and taken a shot!"

"Goal! Goal!" He Wei shouted loudly, because the surrounding fans had started cheering as soon as Li Yuan dribbled past the first person, and the scene was very excited.

He Wei had to raise his voice to shout.

Then I started shouting myself hoarse.

"Li Yuan scored a goal in the first minute of his national team debut! It was a beautiful goal. He received the ball on the wing, first using a 'croquet' dribble to get past the full-back, then using his speed to outpace the Maldives' defensive midfielder, then using his speed to outpace the Maldives' center-back, and finally, facing the Maldives' goalkeeper, Li Yuan unleashed a powerful shot, a truly violent and aesthetically pleasing strike!"

"What a beautiful goal! We've seen goals like this in European leagues and by foreign players in the Chinese Super League, but it's so rare to see one in the national team, especially among Chinese players! We rarely see such a graceful dribble followed by a powerful shot! It's absolutely stunning!"

The home fans went wild. A goal right at the start of the game, and such a beautiful one at that, ignited the stadium.

Neither He Wei nor Xu Yang, who were in the midst of it, could remain calm or unmoved.

In contrast, Li Yuan did not celebrate. Instead, he ran into the goal, picked up the ball, and then high-fived each of his teammates who rushed up to celebrate.

Then he threw the ball towards the center circle.

"That's the first one! We must keep attacking! Keep scoring!"

Li Yuan clapped and shouted to his teammates.

Under his influence, if this were a game, all the players would have a red glow on them, accompanied by the message "Morale is rising."

Gao Hongbo, watching from the sidelines, nodded repeatedly: "Li Yuan is a player with leadership qualities."

Teaching assistant Anson really wanted to ask, "How did you figure that out?", but after thinking about it, he didn't ask.

After the restart, under Li Yuan's leading pressure, the Chinese team regained possession of the ball within minutes.

But this time—

"Tsk—did you notice that Wu Lei's passes to Li Yuan were pretty good, they were accurate, but the passes from other players to Li Yuan were always a bit off."

Anson also noticed: "It's a bit like how domestic players pass the ball to foreign players in the Chinese Super League, but the pass is often inaccurate."

Gao Hongbo succinctly pointed out: "Li Yuan's speed is too fast, our current pace is too slow, and the players' passing habits are not good. They prefer to pass the ball to their feet rather than pass it ahead of time. In the league, local players also tend to pass the ball safely, afraid of being scolded for mispassing. But this is not a good match for Li Yuan."

Just then, Li Yuan paused for two steps to wait for the ball to be passed to him. After receiving the ball, he was about 30 meters away from the goal.

There were still defenders in front of Li Yuan. Li Yuan glanced at them and saw that the Maldivian black goalkeeper was positioned quite far forward and to the right.

So Li Yuan swung his left leg while running and fired a powerful shot.

Ansen looked at Gao Hongbo, and the two remained silent for a long while after exchanging glances.

Then Anson slowly said, "Li Yuan is too exaggerated. He can take a powerful shot from a poorly passed ball and it even goes in. This is simply—"