Football: He suffered a broken leg at the start of the game, but partnered with Haaland!

That afternoon, the sun was blazing.

At the No. 2 backup training ground in Songkhla, the Chinese Olympic team is conducting high-intensity defensive drills.

Cannavaro, wearing sunglasses, stood on the sidelines chewing gum, looking rather unwell.

Assistant coach Mario was standing on the right flank, repeatedly lobbing the ball into the penalty area. Inside the box, Zhang Yuning and several other tall substitutes playing as strikers were constantly battling for headers with starting defenders Zhu Chenjie and Wei Zhen.

After several rounds, the defensive side's disadvantage became very obvious.

Mario's cross featured a strong inward spin. Wei Zhen failed to get to the ball first three times in his duel with Zhang Yuning. Zhang Yuning used his body to block the ball and easily flicked it towards the goal.

"No. This position is too weak." Cannavaro blew his whistle and strode into the penalty area. "Their center forward, Abdikholkov, is a tall guy. If you can't disrupt his balance before you jump, once the ball lands on his head, we can only pray that the goalkeeper is on fire."

Zhu Chenjie wiped his sweat, explaining somewhat helplessly, "Coach, they're just too big. We can't generate any power in the air. Our bodies just tilt when we collide with them."

Cannavaro knew this was the truth. Asians are inherently at a disadvantage in physical duels against taller Central Asian players with some Slavic ancestry. Furthermore, this national Olympic team was selected specifically for players focused on passing and ball control, making aerial defense a major problem for the defense.

Sun Yang, wearing a yellow starting jersey, stood outside the penalty area drinking water. He glanced at the dejected defenders inside, tossed his water bottle onto the grass, and strode in.

"Coach, I'll fill in as a man-to-man guard for a bit." Sun Yang stood next to Wei Zhen.

Cannavaro glanced at Sun Yang and raised an eyebrow.

"Sun, your task is to organize counter-attacks. On the defensive end, you only need to be responsible for intercepting from the outside. Leave the close-quarters combat inside the penalty area to the center-backs." Although Cannavaro had witnessed Sun Yang's defensive abilities, those interceptions mainly relied on anticipation and positioning to block the line. He didn't think Sun Yang would fare well in this kind of aerial defense that relied on physical attributes.

"Uzbekistan will definitely bombard us with high balls. Having an extra defensive point in the penalty area increases our chances of a successful counter-attack. Let's give it a try," Sun Yang said calmly.

Zhang Yuning chuckled beside him. He and Sun Yang were good friends and often joked around. "Brother Yang, I admire your footwork. But if I knock you over with your head later, don't blame me for not giving your captain face."

Sun Yang ignored him, bent down, and waved to Mario on the wing. "Come on, Paul. Pass it this way."

Mario nodded, took two steps forward, and flicked a high, free-flowing cross with the inside of his right foot. The ball arced through the air in a spectacular parabola, heading straight for the edge of the six-yard box.

Zhang Yuning's eyes were fixed on the ball's trajectory. He judged its landing point accurately, moved his feet in advance, and prepared to jump from the most advantageous position. He was confident that his strong physique would allow him to catch the ball.

Just as Zhang Yuning took the final step, preparing to exert force to land, Sun Yang moved.

Sun Yang didn't even look at the ball in the sky. His attention was entirely on Zhang Yuning. He quickly moved to the side, positioning himself perfectly in Zhang Yuning's jumping path. He didn't use his shoulder to block Zhang Yuning's chest.

Sun Yang turned to the side, his left leg slightly bent, and subtly nudged Zhang Yuning's knee with the outside of his thigh. At the same time, Sun Yang's right shoulder leaned back, pressing against Zhang Yuning's ribcage where he was exerting force.

This is a clever and compliant defensive move. It doesn't involve colliding with the opponent in mid-air, but rather dissipating their force just before they jump.

Zhang Yuning felt his legs buckle, and his waist was caught by a clever force. His body, which had been brimming with power, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, reducing his jump height by half.

Just as Zhang Yuning lost his balance and failed to exert force, Sun Yang used the recoil from his earlier push to leap into the air. His waist and abdomen suddenly extended in mid-air.

boom.

Sun Yang headed the ball cleanly out of the penalty area.

After landing, Zhang Yuning took two steps back, scratching the back of his head with a look of utter disbelief.

"Something's wrong. Yang-ge, what kind of sorcery did you use just now?" Zhang Yuning was completely confused about how he lost. "I feel like all my strength is hitting cotton. My waist suddenly can't get any strength."

Cannavaro's eyes lit up on the sidelines. As a former world's best center-back, how could he not understand the value of that defensive move?

Those are moves that Asian players simply cannot make. That precise control of the timing of the jump, that perfect disruption of the defender's center of gravity, are advanced aerial defensive skills that only seasoned veterans who have spent years in top European leagues can master.

"Paul, one more, pass it quickly." Cannavaro offered no comment and simply let Mario continue.

boom.

Another fast, flat shot.

This time, Zhang Yuning learned his lesson. He increased his running distance, hoping to use the momentum of his sprint to knock Sun Yang aside before jumping. He charged into the penalty area like a raging bull.

Sun Yang remained calm. He had already weathered the storms of those five monsters in his dream, each 190 cm tall and weighing 170 kg, so the impact of Zhang Yuning was as clear to him as if it were happening in slow motion.

Sun Yang stood still. Just as Zhang Yuning was about to collide with him, Sun Yang's upper body suddenly leaned back, his feet firmly planted on the grass like nails. Zhang Yuning's sprint lost its target, and his body lurched forward due to inertia.

Sun Yang had been waiting for this moment. He tucked in his stomach and raised his knees, leaping into the air. Using Zhang Yuning's outstretched back as a point of support, he completed a beautiful hang time in mid-air. With a header-like motion, he cleared the ball out of bounds.

Zhang Yuning was completely convinced. He spread his hands and looked at Sun Yang. "I'm not playing anymore. Brother Yang, you're being too unfair. The ball hadn't even landed yet, and you'd already dismantled all my movements. Who could withstand that?"

The young men on the back line were all stunned. They had never imagined that a header could be won in such a way, with such ease.

Cannavaro slowly walked up to Sun Yang. He circled Sun Yang once, as if examining a priceless treasure that had just been unearthed.

"Sun, who taught you that positioning move and the technique of using the defender's body as a fulcrum to jump?" Cannavaro asked curiously. "That's definitely not something you can learn in Arsenal's youth academy. It looks too much like Serie A in the 80s and 90s."

Sun Yang shrugged. "I watched some videos of strikers and figured it out myself. Klinsmann from Germany likes to use this method to find the ball's trajectory in the penalty area."

Cannavaro took a deep breath. Genius. This can't be described as talent anymore; this is a supercomputer with self-learning capabilities.

"Well done! Excellent!" Cannavaro patted Sun Yang on the shoulder forcefully.

He turned his head and looked at the combat video he had just recorded on his tablet. A slow, tactically calculated smile spread across his face.

Cannavaro walked over to Mario and began to speak in hushed tones.

"Paul, the plan has changed. Tell the midfielders to drop deeper. Tuck our defense in five meters. Give Uzbekistan space to cross the ball from both sides."

Mario was stunned. "Fabio, this is playing with fire. If we let them launch a high ball, our defense will be completely destroyed."

Cannavaro shook his finger, pointing at Sun Yang, who was still explaining the techniques for taking off and generating power to Zhang Yuning.

"Don't be afraid. That idiot coach on the other side, Drulovic, will definitely exploit our Chinese team's height. They will absolutely abandon the middle and attack the penalty area. We'll turn the penalty area into a meat grinder. Sun will teach their tall striker a lesson in the penalty area. As long as they fail to get a header in the air, Sun will win the first ball and launch a long counter-attack."

This is not just a defensive tactic, but a trap specifically designed for Uzbekistan.

Cannavaro can already imagine the interesting expression on Drulovic's face when Uzbekistan's proud tall strikers are skillfully suppressed in the penalty area by China's number 10, who is half a head shorter than them.

Right now, outside the hotel where I'm staying in Uzbekistan.

Drulovic was giving his pre-match address to several reporters from Central Asia who were covering the team.

"We respect the Chinese team. But we will control the rhythm of the next game," Drulovic said arrogantly, hands on his hips. "Football is a sport played in a three-dimensional space that is 100 meters long and 70 meters wide. We will make full use of every inch of height above the field. We will show the Chinese defense what unstoppable aerial guidance is."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

7 p.m. local time.

As the team buses of both teams slowly drove into the empty underground passage of Songkhla Stadium, the life-or-death battle for a spot in the knockout stage officially began.

The starting lineups for both teams were submitted to AFC officials.

The moment they received the opposing team's list, Cannavaro and Drulovic glanced at it and both smiled.