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

42 minutes.

Saudi Arabia played a series of lateral passes in the attacking third. They moved the ball to the left flank.

Number 13, Aldoubais, receives the ball. Feng Boxuan lowers his center of gravity, blocking his path to cut inside.

Al-Dubaish attempted two consecutive cycling motions in place, trying to create space. However, the movements were too large, and it was clear that his supporting leg was weakening.

Feng Boxuan seized the opportunity when his right foot landed, stretched out his foot and poked the ball out of bounds.

Corner kick.

This was also the first corner kick of the match for both sides.

Saudi Arabia's two tall center defenders, Tambati and Sindi, slowly ran from their own half into China's penalty area.

The referee glanced at his watch and blew his whistle.

Garnum takes the corner kick, aiming for the near post.

Zhu Chenjie leaped high and headed the ball out of the penalty area.

The ball landed at the top of the arc. Hassan met the ball with his right foot and unleashed a powerful volley.

It didn't press down on the ball at all. The ball flew wildly straight towards the corner flag.

Two minutes later.

The referee did not add any extra time and blew the whistle to end the first half on time.

0:0.

In those 45 minutes, the two sides combined for fewer than three shots, none of which were on target. Not even a single yellow card was issued.

The players strolled slowly toward the player tunnel. No one spoke. Each person's chest heaved violently, sweat dripping from their chins.

Inside the away team's locker room.

The air was filled with the strong smell of Yunnan Baiyao and muscle pain relievers.

The team doctor, accompanied by two assistants, moved among the players with a massage gun and ice packs.

The dull thud of the fascia gun hitting the muscles was the only sound in the room.

Cannavaro pushed open the door and walked in. Mario followed closely behind, closing the door behind him.

Cannavaro pulled over a folding chair and sat down directly in front of the tactical board. He glanced around at the players slumped on the bench.

Everyone was sipping their specially made electrolyte sports drinks or resting with their eyes closed.

"Not a single shot on target in the first half," Cannavaro said, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. "This is the quietest half I've seen since I took over this team."

Zhang Yuning looked up, rubbing his aching calves: "Coach, my legs really can't move anymore. You see, those Saudis are the same; their center-back almost tripped over himself while chasing back just now."

Huang Zhengyu chimed in, "Yeah. Everyone's got their tickets, it wouldn't be worth risking a serious injury now. We should focus on defense and drag it out to extra time or penalties. Chen Wei's in good form, so our chances of winning are pretty good."

No one in the locker room refuted this statement.

After all, the Olympic qualification was already secured. With the biggest psychological burden lifted, once that taut string was loosened, it was hard to tighten it again. Now, only the last bit of willpower was supporting this exhausted body, and it was truly impossible to sustain another ninety minutes of high-intensity shuttle run.

Cannavaro crossed his arms and placed them on his knees. Instead of criticizing the players, he turned to look at Sun Yang, who was sitting in the corner receiving a deep massage.

"Sun, what do you think?"

In a flash, everyone's eyes turned to the young man wearing the number 10 jersey.

Over these six matches, Sun Yang has completely won over this group of proud young players with his incredible passing vision, seemingly endless stamina, and clutch goals. He is no longer just the tactical core on the field, but also the undisputed spiritual leader in the locker room.

Sun Yang stood up and walked to the middle of the locker room.

Although his stamina was also greatly depleted, his passive skill had worked remarkably well over the past fifteen minutes. His stamina bar had recovered to a fairly respectable level.

He glanced at Zhang Yuning, then at Huang Zhengyu.

"If it's just about that ticket, we could just tell the referee we're forfeiting and go straight back home for a celebration banquet," Sun Yang said.

The locker room fell silent immediately.

"I know everyone is exhausted. We have leg cramps and blisters on our feet. But folks, this is the final. It's those Saudi tycoons in green jerseys who are standing between us and that trophy."

He walked to the tactics board, picked up a red marker, and drew a huge circle heavily in the Saudi team's half of the field.

"They were probing us in the first half. When they realized we weren't going to run either, they completely relaxed. Didn't you notice? Their defense was dropping very deep, and the two full-backs barely pushed forward. They thought the game would just go on like this, like a frog being slowly boiled in water, with everyone tacitly strolling around until the 120th minute."

Sun Yang threw the marker on the table, making a crisp clattering sound.

"I don't want to go to penalties. Leaving your fate to the goalposts and luck is a choice only the weak make."

He looked directly at Cannavaro.

"Second half. First fifteen minutes. No matter how tired you are, push the entire formation forward. Zhang Yuning, stop loitering outside, go into the penalty area and battle those two center-backs. Chen Binbin, you come on in the second half, go down the left flank and break down that exhausted full-back. Just fifteen minutes of high-pressure pressing, I guarantee their strolling defense will collapse on its own!"

Zhang Yuning suddenly stood up, took a deep breath, and slammed the towel in his hand to the ground: "Fine! Let's do it! The worst that can happen is I get cramps and have to be carried off on a stretcher!"

Chen Binbin's eyes lit up, and he immediately bent down to adjust his socks and shin guards: "I've been holding back this energy on the bench these past few days. My speed is definitely enough to devour that number 13."

The lazy and compromising atmosphere in the locker room was completely swept away.

Cannavaro stood up and clapped his hands vigorously.

"Tactical adjustments. From the first minute, press high up the pitch. Make them think we're crazy. We must end the game within fifteen minutes, or we'll suffer from our own fatigue. Guys, let's go get that damn trophy!"

A knock sounded on the door, and staff reminded both teams to prepare to enter the game.

The two teams met again in the players' tunnel.

The Saudi players remained as listless as ever, with captain Ghanam even joking with the assistant referee next to him.

The Chinese players stood in a line. No one spoke. Everyone was breathing heavily.

Sun Yang walked at the very front of the group.

Saudi Arabia's defensive midfielder Hassan glanced at Sun Yang unintentionally. He suddenly realized that the Chinese number 10 was in a completely different state than in the first half. It wasn't the posture of someone preparing to go for a stroll, but rather the posture of someone preparing for a 100-meter sprint.

beep!

The referee blew the whistle to start the second half on time.

China kicks off.

The moment the whistle blew, Zhang Yuning did not pass the ball back to the defense as he had done in the first half.

He made a short pass to Sun Yang, who was following up. Then, like a bull, he charged straight into the Saudi Arabian penalty area.

At the same time, Chen Binbin, who had just come on, and Yang Liyu on the right wing, accelerated and sprinted along the two sidelines.

The Chinese team's formation was like a fully drawn bow, with several arrows simultaneously shooting towards the Saudi half of the field!

The Saudi players were completely caught off guard. Gharib was still jogging in place when a gust of wind suddenly swept past him, and Huang Zhengyu had already passed him and cut into the 30-meter zone in the attacking third.

"Press it down!" Sun Yang roared.

He advanced at high speed with the ball. Facing Hassan, who rushed towards him to try to slow down the pace, Sun Yang didn't even slow down. He simply flicked the ball to the right and, using pure explosive power and a shoulder drop, squeezed past Hassan.

The empty stadium, which had been quiet for a full forty-five minutes, was completely ignited by the Chinese team's sudden attack.

He Wei jumped up in the broadcast booth, completely unaware that half of his earpiece had fallen out, and shouted hoarsely into the microphone.