Midfielder Ruler

Chapter 6 The Chinese Team’s First Group Match

The international players sitting in Tang Zheng's room watching the game include Lu Liang, Hao Junmin, Wu Sanshi, Zheng Zhi, **, Gao Lin and Yan Junling. That is to say, the Chinese team's starting players are basically gathered here.

In the entire national team, Tang Zheng's reputation is undoubtedly the loudest, and he is also the most powerful. Moreover, Tang Zheng's analysis is well-founded, so his teammates benefit a lot from listening to it.

In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again. The Brazilian team, which had the advantage of home court, once again controlled the rhythm of the game with its tenacious fighting spirit. No. 10 Neymar, who carries the hopes of 200 million Brazilians, frequently created murderous opportunities.

His outstanding foot skills were so dazzling that as many as three Croatian players received yellow cards for it at the beginning of the second half.

In other words, in just five minutes, three Croatian players chose to foul in order to inhibit Neymar's performance.

But the Croatians' defense did a good job, and they effectively suppressed Brazil's most threatening offensive point.

Until the 69th minute of the game, Oscar passed the ball to Fred on the left rib. Croatian central defender Lovren stepped forward to show off his emotional pull. Fred, who was flourishing in the Brazilian League, fell to the ground. , the referee decisively blew his whistle, and then pointed his right index finger to the penalty spot.

"Oh-my-god!!" Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV, heard the commentator shout in amazement: "Penalty kick! This is an excellent opportunity for the Brazilian team to equalize the score!!"

Neymar stood in front of the penalty spot. He had all the potential to become a world star, so he withstood the huge pressure and kicked the ball into the goal with a blast.

2:1

Brazil takes the lead!

Marcelo, who made a fatal mistake, hugged Neymar excitedly, because Neymar scored twice to make his own goal disappear.

Tang Zheng grinned when he saw the broadcast. He rarely saw team favorite Marcelo react like this.

The pressure from an own goal in the World Cup must be huge.

Neymar, who scored, was also very excited because he set another record.

He scored an astonishing thirty-three goals in fifty national team games, second only to Pele with 77 goals, Zico with 66 goals, Ronaldo with 62 goals, Romario with 55 goals, Bebeto with 39 goals, and Rivaldo with 34 goals. The goal tied Ronaldinho and Jalkinho with 33 goals, and tied for seventh place on the Brazilian team's history scorer list.

Neymar, who is only 22 years old, has not yet reached the peak of his career, which means that he still has a lot of room for growth in the future, so many Brazilian TV commentators are amazed by this.

When will he... be able to break Pele's national team scoring record?

The game restarted, Croatia, which was lagging behind, increased its offensive intensity, and the Brazilian team coached by Scolari appropriately recovered its formation.

After this, the Brazilian team launched a quick counterattack at home.

Although the Brazilian national team as a whole is relatively mediocre this year, the defense is absolutely strong.

Marcelo, Thiago Silva, Luis and Alves are all the main defenders of wealthy clubs, capable of attacking and retreating.

Gustavo and Paulinho are not well-known, their game attitude and concentration are quite concentrated, and they have obvious effects when Croatia strengthens its offense.

Thus, there was also Oscar's winning goal in stoppage time.

Just after three minutes of injury time, the referee blew his whistle. The Brazilian team finally relied on Neymar's two goals and Oscar's victory to seal the victory. They reversed Croatia 3:1 at home and got a good start in the World Cup.

※※※

As the opening game of the World Cup comes to an end, the Chinese team's first group match in the World Cup in Brazil is getting closer.

The World Cup group match between the Chinese team and Cote d'Ivoire is the sixth match of the World Cup in Brazil. Excluding the opening game, there is only one game on the first day, and there will be three games on each match day. That is to say, the Chinese team's first group match is in The morning of the third match day of the World Cup in Brazil.

The next day, the content reported by physical newspapers around the world revolved around Brazil's 3:1 victory over Croatia in the opening game.

The creative opening ceremony also appeared in the headlines, but compared to the World Cup events that fans paid more attention to, the opening ceremony was basically negligible.

The major physical newspapers also knew this and did not report too much on the opening ceremony, focusing more on the game itself.

However, it does not have much reference value for the Chinese team, so head coach Lippi and the players focused on the first group match against Cote d'Ivoire.

As the head coach, Lippi is very satisfied with the team's mental outlook, especially Tang Zheng's competitive state.

As the Chinese team's first match of this World Cup gets closer, Tang Zheng's competitive form is getting better and better...

It is not difficult to see that Tang Zheng is the kind of player who competes in big competitions.

The higher the importance of the game, the better the performance.

This can also explain why Tang Zheng became the best on the spot in the Champions League finals for two consecutive seasons, because he has a heart to pursue the best.

The brave man has no fear, that’s the truth!

Tang Zheng's outstanding competitive form is not only visible to Lippi and his coaching team, but also to the domestic and foreign media who are following the Chinese team's preparations.

In this regard, the domestic media in Cote d'Ivoire and the domestic media in Greece felt a little bad. They expressed their personal views and asked the national team coach to send targeted defensive players to watch Tang Zheng, just like what happened in the just-concluded 2013-2014 Champions League final. , the whole game did not give Tang Zheng any chance.

At the same time, he also reminded that there should be no relaxation in attention, otherwise Atletico Madrid's injury-time victory will happen to the national team.

Of course, in addition to the opening game, there is also a peak showdown on the second match day that attracts attention and speculation from major media around the world.

Spain vs Netherlands!

The two final opponents of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa met in the first round of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, which will definitely affect the final qualifying situation of Group B.

Chile is very strong and is very likely to take all three points against Australia in the first round. If there is no way to determine the winner in the first game between Spain and the Netherlands, then the qualifying situation in the group of death will become even more confusing.

Tang Zheng watched the focus match at the New Water Source Arena with his national team teammates in the hotel room after dinner. Although the results of the match between Spain and the Netherlands were irrelevant to Group C, we could observe some of the differences between the teams themselves based on the match. question.

Findings before the game, overall during the game, after the game is much better.

really!

The peak Group B showdown between Spain and the Netherlands not only made the Chinese team see its own problems, but countless teams also saw a problem that cannot be ignored.

Spain leads the Netherlands 1:0 with Diego Costa's penalty kick in the middle of the first half. Many fans believe that Spain is likely to win this game and then set a new record of winning four consecutive major tournaments in one fell swoop. Casillas will also break Buffon's World Cup record of 517 minutes without conceding a goal.

However, dramatic results emerged.

Before the end of the first half, Robin van Persie received a long pass from Blind near the left midfield. He flew over the penalty area and headed the ball into the dead center. Casillas had no reaction and watched the ball fall into the net. The World Cup was not over. The record of goals conceded came to an abrupt end and stayed at 476 minutes...

In the eighth minute of the second half, Blind attacked from the left and took the ball. Robben used his left foot in the penalty area to perfectly unload the ball under his feet. Then he smashed the ball to the left with his right foot, shook away the defending Pique, and then grabbed the ball. Completed a powerful shot before Ramos blocked it.

The football was deflected by Ramos' outstretched right foot and once again broke through Casillas's fingers.

Ten minutes later, Sneijder took a free kick from the left wing. The ball drew a clear arc in the air. The attacking goalkeeper Casillas collided with Robin van Persie, but the referee Rizzoli did not blow the whistle and followed. Incoming centre-back De Vrij knocked the ball into the net.

Although the captain and Casillas roared loudly, he still did not let the referee Rizzoli change his decision.

Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV, also felt helpless for his club teammates. Spain now is like a leaky house that rains all night, and his luck is terrible.

But Casillas's bad luck didn't end yet. In the 75th minute, he received Ramos' back pass and stopped the ball with a little more force. Then he was intercepted by Robin van Persie and hit an empty goal...

Five minutes later, the Dutch team counterattacked quickly in the backcourt. Robben got the ball from the center circle and ran 60 meters to the right side of the penalty area. He first shook Casillas' body center of gravity, and then used the change of body center of gravity to shake him. Open Casillas's blocking range and hit the ball into the gate guarded by Pique and Ramos...

In just one hour, the Spaniards experienced heaven and hell.

They took the lead from penalties and then the Netherlands scored five goals in a row.

No one knows why the result is like this, but Tang Zheng, who is sitting in front of the TV, knows why...

The Spanish midfield control has greatly declined as Xavi and Xavi Alonso age, making it difficult for the forward line to threaten the Dutch defense with the ball.

Of course, the most important thing is that Spanish players are a little conceited, or Spanish players have too much glory on their shoulders and do not know how to face adversity when they encounter it.

The Dutch team is different. They want revenge and avenge the humiliation of the World Cup final four years ago.

Before the game, Tang Zheng thought that the Netherlands might defeat Spain, but he never thought that the result would be like this.

Setting a record for the defending champion’s biggest loss and most goals conceded in their first World Cup group match…

This record is a huge shame for Spanish players.

※※※

The first World Cup qualifier between China and Cote d'Ivoire was held on the third match day. On that day, coach Lippi took advantage of the fact that media around the world were reporting Spain's defeat of the Netherlands and spurred the national team players.

Lippi also needs to let the Chinese team, which is participating in the World Cup for the second time, know that he has no capital to underestimate his opponents and must concentrate 100% on the game, otherwise the losses of Croatia and Spain will happen to him!

This is the second time that the Chinese team has participated in the World Cup. Domestic fans are already impatient. The game happens to be at 9 a.m. Beijing time. This time period is a challenge for office workers, but it is not entirely a problem.

As a true Chinese fan, work is only a small problem, and the big deal is not to do it.

The World Cup happens once every four years. Who knows if the Chinese team will still participate in the World Cup four years from now?

Work is everywhere.

However, most conscientious companies will give fans and employees a convenience, allowing them to take optional days off during the Chinese team's World Cup match days.

Therefore, many fans can sit in front of the TV or computer to watch the first game of the Chinese team's second World Cup trip!

Many of these lovely fans even suffered from insomnia.

Twelve years of waiting is indeed too long.

The Chinese team's hotel is a five-star hotel in the center of Recife, which is only 9.8 kilometers away from the Pernambuco Arena, the competition venue. However, the Chinese team still took the bus to the competition venue two hours in advance.

Those Chinese fans who did not have tickets to go to the Pernambuco Arena chose to come to the Chinese team’s hotel in Recife to cheer the Chinese team in advance, hoping that the Chinese team, which participated in the World Cup after 12 years, could break the embarrassing record of the past. .

For example, zero points, zero goals.

Of course, the current Chinese team is extremely strong overall and can be called the strongest in the history of the Chinese men's football team. Therefore, it is inevitable to break the embarrassing record of zero goals and a few points. More fans hope that the Chinese team will win over the world-class superstar Tang Under the leadership of Zheng, at least the team qualified.

In other words, the qualifying score of this Chinese team, which has high hopes, is fixed at qualifying in the group.

This is also the reason why Tang Zheng gave a 'lesson' to teammates with whom he was close to the national team during the Brazilian team's reversal of Croatia.

Because of the high expectations, I worry that my teammates will be overwhelmed by the pressure.

The Pernambuco Arena can accommodate 46,160 people, and it has some connections with China. The power generation system used in the stadium is provided by Chinese companies, and it is also the first photovoltaic power station in Pernambuco.

When the Chinese players appeared at the Pernambuco Arena to warm up, deafening cheers rang out from the stands: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

Tang Zheng and his other teammates, who had just stepped onto the grass, looked up and saw that most of the entire stadium was occupied by Chinese fans wearing uniform red T-shirts.

Looking up, it was majestic.

In addition to the fans from Cote d'Ivoire and neutral fans who came from afar, nearly 60% of the fans were wearing red T-shirts or jerseys, which means that 60% of the people in the Pernambuco Arena support the Chinese team!

Sun Jingbo, who is 18 years old this year, subconsciously exclaimed: "Are these...all our supporters?"

"Yes, they all support us!"

Tang Zheng looked at Sun Jingbo, the youngest in the team, playfully, put his hands on his hips, and said energetically.

As China's first group match of the World Cup drew closer, Tang Zheng's eyes lit up and he gradually felt his slowly flowing blood begin to boil.

That’s right, it’s boiling!

Not long after, Côte d'Ivoire's 23-man roster appeared on the court along with the fitness coach.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Suddenly, deafening loud boos erupted over the Pernambuco Arena.

The Ivory Coast players subconsciously froze on the spot and raised their brows, somewhat puzzled as to why there were such loud boos from the stands.

They looked up and saw all Chinese fans wearing red robes, and seemed to realize something.

The well-informed Drogba couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the Chinese players who were jogging. He easily found the number one star Tang Zheng among them.

That confident expression was like seeing himself back then.

This game is hanging!

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