Chapter 22 Simplicity and Confusion

Twenty minutes into the two matches of the third round of Group C of the 2014 Brazil World Cup at the Pantanal Stadium, Colombia led the Chinese team 1:0 with James Rodriguez's penalty kick.

In another match at the Castelao Stadium, the Greek team relied on a steal in the frontcourt and a goal from substitute Samaris, leading Côte d'Ivoire 1:0.

In other words, the Chinese team and the Greek team are currently on the same score. In terms of goal difference, the Chinese team is two points ahead of Greece, so it is temporarily ranked second.

But there are still seventy minutes left in the game and anything can happen.

Colombia's overall strength is obviously stronger than that of China, and scoring another goal is a very likely result.

At present, the morale of the Greek team is greatly boosted, and it is possible to score against the badly hit Côte d'Ivoire. In other words, if Colombia and the Greek team score again, then the Chinese team's goal difference will become '-1', and the Greek team's The goal difference also became '-1'.

According to the rules related to the same points in the World Cup group stage, when the goal difference is the same, it depends on who scores more goals between the two teams compared.

Of course, the Chinese team is still higher than the Greek team in this regard, but once there is still time left in the game, there is no guarantee that the Greek team will score again, and the Chinese team has always been accustomed to missing out at critical moments.

If that time comes, those pessimistic fans will definitely say goodbye in four years.

In fact, many Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV have already begun to think about this issue.

The advantages of starting two games at the same time are obvious, and the disadvantages are equally obvious.

Especially in the two games, the scoring times that were not conducive to the Chinese team were almost the same, which felt like God's arrangement.

Although the Chinese players on the field did not know that the Greek team in another venue was already leading Côte d'Ivoire, the lagging Chinese team still consciously strengthened its offense in the next game.

The score was behind, and I felt somewhat uneasy.

Tang Zheng, on the other hand, played very calmly and did not follow the rhythm of his teammates to speed up the pass, because he knew that the current overall strength of the Chinese team was not enough to achieve smooth and continuous cooperation.

Without solid basic skills, it is easy to make mistakes when passing quickly, and it is even possible for Colombia to score a second goal in a short period of time.

Players such as James Rodriguez, Jackson, Martinez, Adrian Ramos and Guarin are all playing for top giants and should not be underestimated.

The Chinese team coach Lippi, who was still a little worried on the sidelines, let out a sigh of relief and returned to the coaching bench.

As long as Tang Zheng is not affected by the falling score, the Chinese team's offensive and defensive transition will not have any major problems.

Unless, unexpectedly.

It is unavoidable for Feng Xiaoting to send points. As a central defender, his body is not strong enough. He relies on his consciousness to handle this kind of ball only with anticipation.

It’s just that he didn’t know that Ramos could stretch his feet faster!

James Rodriguez scored his fourth goal of this World Cup. His confidence gradually increased and he got the ball more often in the frontcourt. Tang Zheng had to focus more on it. On James Rodriguez.

Tang Zheng clearly feels that James Rodriguez has improved significantly in the past 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons, especially his physical fitness, kicking awareness and scoring ability.

In order to completely suppress Colombia's offensive in the middle, Tang Zheng had no time to participate in the attack, and even captain Zheng Zhi was the same.

In other words, the Chinese team's offense can only rely on the four offensive players in the frontcourt. This is not to say that Tang Zheng does not participate in the offense. It can only be said that the number of times Tang Zheng directly participates in the offense is limited. He is more of a player when the team attacks. Transfer station.

In addition, Jiang Zhipeng and Zhang Linpeng were under so much pressure to defend on the wing that they did not dare to get too close.

This is the World Cup that the whole world is watching. A little carelessness may cause the national team to be eliminated!

Defenders have always been the ones taking the blame.

And they don’t want to be the ones taking the blame!

※※※

The lagging Chinese team has never been able to pose a threat to Ospina's goal.

Central 5 commentator He Wei was a little worried: "The Chinese team's continued passive defense was something I thought of before the game, but the offensive end cannot pose a direct threat to the Colombian defense. If this continues, it is not a good thing for the Chinese team's defense."

"There is nothing we can do about this." Commentator Xu Yang sighed: "Tang Zheng's attention is completely on Ronaldo, and he does not dare to attack too much. After all, we can still win the game with the current score. It is impossible for Tang Zheng to neglect his duties before he is qualified for promotion. After all...he is a defensive midfielder now, not an attacking midfielder."

The game continued, and Colombia, which had an absolute advantage, still controlled the rhythm of the game and frequently created murderous opportunities.

The Chinese team could only rely on limited offense to test the Colombian defensive players, but it did not create a threat until half an hour. Ospina guarded the goal.

Immediately, the broadcaster gave a set of data.

The Chinese team's ball possession rate was only 36%, while Colombia's ball possession rate was as high as 64%.

Shooting comparison: 2VS9

Shooting ratio: 0VS5

Thirty minutes into the game, Tang Zheng realized that the situation could not continue like this, because continuous defense would easily lead to a lack of concentration on the part of the defensive players, especially since Zhang Linpeng was the only player in his defense who played in the European League.

Jiang Zhipeng, Li Xuepeng and Feng Xiaoting are all Chinese Super League-level defenders. Colombia's offensive combination may not be the best in the world, but it can at least be considered first-class. Therefore, the Chinese Super League level must resist the world's first-class offensive line for the entire game.

The difficulty coefficient is not generally high.

Of course, Tang Zheng did not blindly choose to go forward and participate in the attack, because he had a clear mind and knew that there was still time in the game and it was not time to burn the boat.

If a large-scale attack is carried out too early, the most likely result will be that there is no goal scored in the front and the ball will be conceded first in the back.

In order to avoid this embarrassing situation, Tang Zheng has been deliberately controlling the rhythm of his team's attack. Unless there is a large space between the forward line and the midfield line, he will generally not push forward too far.

However, as long as there is a chance, Tang Zheng will be extremely decisive in participating in the attack.

In the 34th minute, Tang Zheng saw a good opportunity to advance forward and attack, and his sudden advance also caused panic in the Colombian defense.

Guarin, who was just behind, was not in position. Neither Valdes nor Balanta dared to step forward to block Tang Zheng. Therefore, when the Colombian defenders were fighting and retreating, Tang Zheng was able to reach the top of the arc in the penalty area. opportunity to shoot.

The football flew into the air with a violent roar, flying from between Valdez and Balanta to the upper right corner of the goal.

James Rodriguez, who has never been active enough in defense, felt his heart pounding when he saw the football in flight. Like the Colombian fans in the stands, his heart was in his throat and he couldn't take his eyes away. At the same time, he gave hope to his brother-in-law Os. Pina.

Goalkeeper Ospina is focused and contented. Although he is not tall among goalkeepers, or even short, his reaction speed, saving ability and quick footwork are his characteristics, which make up for his lack of height.

However, despite this, Ospina still did not touch the football even though his body flew to the end.

"Oh oh oh——"

Just as the Colombian fans let out loud exclamations, they heard a crisp 'bang'! !

Suddenly, I was ecstatic!

Central 5 commentator He Wei looked at the football that bounced into the penalty area, held his head in his hands, and felt extremely regretful: "What a pity! Tang Zheng's long-range shot from the top of the penalty area hit the left post of the goal! Otherwise we would have equalized. score!!"

Center defender Valdes reacted quickly. He pushed the ball over the baseline before Gao Lin's supplementary shot, and cleared the ball before goalkeeper Ospina got up.

Commentator Xu Yang spread his hands helplessly: "In this World Cup, except for scoring in the first game against Cote d'Ivoire, Tang Zheng has been unlucky. The reason why the Chinese team drew with Greece in the second round was not only affected by the overall downturn, but the biggest reason was that Tang Zheng Zheng is so unlucky, and it is the same in this game! If the football could have rotated inward by one ball, I think... we would have equalized the score now!"

“Colombia dodged a bullet!”

This is a common line among many commentators in the live commentary box.

British Sky commentator Andy Gray sighed: "Don is so unlucky! If I remember correctly, this is his third goalpost of this World Cup. It is really a typical bad luck! If he had better luck A little bit, I think the current Chinese team has already qualified ahead of schedule."

"Yeah, my old man." Commentator Martin Taylor shrugged his shoulders and said: "Maybe scoring the first goal on behalf of the Chinese team in the World Cup has exhausted his luck. But..."

At this point, Martin Taylor changed his tone: "But I believe in Don, he is a person who is good at creating miracles! Come on!!"

Looking at his extremely persistent old partner, Andy Gray shook his head and smiled bitterly.

As an old partner, he understands Martin Taylor's character even better than Martin Taylor's wife.

If you become stubborn, you won’t be able to pull back nine cows!

※※※

James Rodriguez had a very good view of his own goal and happened to see Tang Zheng's long-range shot.

When he saw his brother-in-law Ospina flying all the way without touching the football, his heart was in his throat. Fortunately, the sound of the goal post made him feel like a spring breeze and refreshed.

Although the overall strength of Colombia is stronger than that of the Chinese team, there is no guarantee that the Chinese team will not be upset!

Costa Rica, the recognized 'big team' in Group D of this World Cup, taught the world a good lesson. They successively defeated Uruguay and Italy to qualify for the group early, and even won the first place in the group.

If Tang Zheng can equalize the score with a long shot, Tang Zheng will definitely be more confident based on James Rodriguez's understanding of Tang Zheng, and by that time the Chinese team's overall momentum will definitely gain a lot.

Then it is not completely impossible for the Chinese team to be upset under the leadership of Tang Zheng!

At the same time, Colombian head coach Pekerman made a tactical gesture towards Guarin when Hao Junmin jogged to the left corner kick area.

Lippi, who was in front of the home team's coaching bench not far away, saw it, but he didn't know the specific meaning of Pekerman's gesture, but he could roughly guess it. The specific tactical content can only be revealed when the game goes deeper.

Hao Junmin took a corner kick, but Tang Zheng failed to exert force due to the interference of Jackson Martinez and Valdez. The football was easily held by goalkeeper Ospina.

Colombia did not rush to counterattack, but waited for the players on both sides to run forward for a certain distance before throwing the football to the central defender Balanta, who slowly passed the football forward.

After a while, Lippi realized what adjustments Pekerman had made.

In fact, it is very simple. In order to avoid Tang Zheng's failure, Guarin's forward penetration has been restricted to a certain extent, and he has changed from the original central midfielder to the current defensive midfielder.

Guarin is not prominent in the current national team, but his important nature needs no introduction and he can defend it well, otherwise he would not be picked up by a wealthy team like Inter Milan.

But Guarin's ability is more reflected on the offensive end. If he is allowed to be a purely defensive midfielder, it would be equivalent to abolishing general martial arts.

As a result, Colombia's frontcourt offense gradually became monotonous without Guarin's participation, and the Chinese team's defense began to become easier.

The defensive pressure was greatly reduced and the offense slowly started.

Lippi stood in the home team coaching area full of confidence. He believed that if the team continued like this, it was very likely to equalize the score!

However, at this moment, assistant Madaloni brought very bad news!

The Greek team expanded the score and led Cote d'Ivoire 2:0!

In other words, the Chinese team's goal difference is now '0', while the Greek team's goal difference has become '-1'.

There was a goal difference between the two, but there were still a few minutes left in the second half and first half of the game.

The morale-boosted Greek team is likely to create a miracle!

Just like the 2004 European Championship in Portugal!

Fortunately, the players on the field don't know the situation in another stadium yet, otherwise it would be difficult to overcome the alienated psychological quality of the current batch of Chinese Super League players.

But then again, Lippi is not worried about several Guangzhou Evergrande players. He is most worried about left back Jiang Zhipeng.

Jiang Zhipeng's ability is second to none in the Chinese Super League, but his mental quality is somewhat difficult to estimate.

Not only in this game, but also in the previous two games against Cote d'Ivoire and Greece, I felt nervous in different situations.

Li Xuepeng can play at the left back position, but Ren Hang at the center back position is really difficult to reassure.

Although right back Zhang Linpeng can play as central defender, the result is an imbalance between attack and defense on the right.

Taking into account many factors, Lippi finally chose Jiang Zhipeng as the left back, Li Xuepeng as his partner Feng Xiaoting, and Zhang Linpeng as the right back.

Guarin consciously paid attention to Tang Zheng's activity area, and he certainly could not devote himself wholeheartedly to the offense, which meant that the offensive organization in the middle fell entirely on James Rodriguez.

The Chinese team spent more time defending than attacking. Tang Zheng was worried about defense and his position was always relatively deep, so his contribution to the offense was limited.

Coupled with the fact that there was not much time left in the first half, players from both sides were reminded by their respective head coaches to pay more attention to defense, so it became more difficult for the opponent's offense to penetrate.

Until the end of the first half, the score did not change. Colombia ended the first half with a 1:0 lead over the Chinese team.

In another stadium, Greece leads Côte d'Ivoire 2:0.

At halftime, the Greek team's total goal difference was only one less than the Chinese team.

With forty-five minutes left in the second half, anything is possible.

The Chinese team's prospects for qualifying have become extremely simple and confusing.

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