Chapter 25 Opportunity
Lu Liang, who entered the penalty area while running at high speed, passed the ball to Tang Zheng just right. Everyone thought that Lu Liang would choose to hit the goal directly or stop the ball and then follow up with the shooting action when facing goalkeeper Ospina.
No matter what Lu Liang chooses in the end, Ospina is mentally prepared.
Except for Arias and far-end left back Almelo, who approached Lu Liang at high speed from left to right, the other defensive players basically slowed down subconsciously.
Because of the distance, there was nothing they could do.
Everyone's attention was focused on Lu Liang, who was approaching the football. The Colombian fans in the stands instinctively burst into exclamations: "Oh oh oh -"
In sharp contrast are the Chinese fans in the stands. Their passion was completely released at the moment of Lu Liang's single strike, creating a deafening roar that resounded through the sky: "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
However, Lu Liang, who stretched out his left foot, did not hit the goal directly or stop the ball. Instead, he directly used the arch of his left foot to tip the ball back to the right.
The on-site director responded quickly and quickly pulled the camera back to the top of the Colombian penalty area.
A Chinese player wearing a red jersey appeared on the lower right side of the broadcast screen. The big Arabic numeral '10' on the back told everyone who he was.
Tang Zheng!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"
At the same time, the excited Chinese fans became even more crazy, shouting hysterically as if the Chinese team had scored a goal.
Central 5 commentator He Wei even subconsciously stood up with his hands on the commentary table and shouted: "Tang Zheng!!!"
Tang Zheng was running unmarked, and goalkeeper Ospina had to retreat into the goal midway through his attack, but Tang Zheng did not give him time.
Tang Zheng raised his left foot and rubbed it towards the bottom of the football. Although the force was not very strong, the distance was close. Ospina's lack of height was particularly obvious at this time. He looked up at the football with an obvious parabola in the small penalty area. He kicked off the line and took off, extending his right arm, trying to push the football up with his fingertips.
However, his height is limited, which affects his arm span. Ospina's extended right arm did not touch the football.
The attention of all the fans in the Pantanal Stadium was diverted to the slowly falling football until it fell into the net.
“Goooooooooooooooooal——”
British Sky commentator Andy Gray subconsciously lengthened his voice, so much so that Martin Taylor looked at him in a daze.
Central 5 commentator He Wei kept his momentum and shouted wildly: "The ball is in! The ball is in! Tang Zheng's non-stop ball in front of the top of the penalty area was lobbed into the goal guarded by Ospina! Help the Chinese team The score is tied at 1:2!! One goal away from qualifying for the top 16 of this World Cup!!"
At this time, Lippi, who was standing in the command area of the home team coach, had a rare moment of losing control of his emotions. He raised his arms and shouted, looking up to the sky and roaring.
It is not difficult to see that Tang Zheng's goal released a lot of pressure on him.
The Chinese players in front of the bench did not hesitate to give in. They rushed from the bench to the sideline and jumped three feet high to vent their emotions after Tang Zheng scored.
The same was true for the players on the field, but Tang Zheng, who scored the goal, was quite calm at this time.
After confirming that the football had entered the net, he bent down to avoid Gao Lin's outstretched right arm and ran towards the goal. Then, under Ospina's puzzled eyes, he bent down from the goal, picked up the football, and turned towards Running back.
How could the teammates who originally wanted to celebrate the goal with Tang Zheng not know what Tang Zheng meant?
This means... one ball is not enough!
Although most of the Chinese players on the field did not know that the Greek team was leading 4:0 in the other stadium, which was defeated by Côte d'Ivoire, but Tang Zheng knew it, so... he had to score another goal!
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The Chinese players who wanted to celebrate the goal saw Tang Zheng running back holding the football, so they gave up their big celebrations.
Choose to follow Tang Zheng and run back, trying to equalize the score!
During the halftime break, the Greek team already led Côte d'Ivoire 2:0. It is difficult to say that they will not score again in the second half, so equalizing the score is the safest chance to advance!
The broadcast screen showed a close-up shot of Tang Zheng, who was running toward his own half with a football in his arms. The passionate CCTV commentator He Wei continued to be passionate and said: "Narrowing the score is important for the Chinese team. It’s a good thing, but it’s still one goal difference behind the Greek team, so equalizing the score to end the suspense of qualifying in the group is the right way to go! Come on! Team China!!”
At the Castelao Stadium, Greek head coach Santos learned from his assistant that the Chinese team had narrowed the score from the first time. Invisibly, he had felt increasing pressure.
-----This is a gorgeous dividing line--
A reminder for novel netizens: please pay attention to resting your eyes when reading for a long time. Recommended reading:
----This is a gorgeous dividing line---
The team only scored a pitiful point in the previous two rounds of the group stage, while the rival Chinese team had four points, which means that their promotion must be based on the Chinese team's loss to Colombia, and at the same time, they must win against Côte d'Ivoire.
Leading Côte d'Ivoire 4:0, they did it, and they were still ahead of the Chinese team by a goal difference. However, if the Chinese team draws, they can definitely qualify for the group. Now that the score has been narrowed, the morale of the Chinese team will definitely be boosted.
Colombia has won two consecutive games in the group and has qualified for the group ahead of schedule.
In addition, the first place in Group D is not a traditional strong team. It is Costa Rica, which represents North America in the World Cup. It is the first place in any group that the second place in the group hopes to meet.
From a knockout perspective, Colombia even wished to lose to the Chinese team.
However, due to pressure from public opinion, Colombia did not send a large number of substitutes to deal with the final round of the group.
The two-goal lead and dominance in almost the entire game shows that Colombia is strong. If the Chinese team had exquisite cooperation and then reversed the game in one fell swoop, the media would not have much to say.
Therefore, Santos is worried that Colombia will "let go" in the remaining game time, resulting in his side being eliminated.
Of course, Colombian head coach Pekerman wants to play Costa Rica in the knockout round, but as a well-known head coach with a good reputation, he cannot make fun of his reputation.
James Rodriguez watched with his own eyes as Tang Zheng placed the football at the kick-off point in the center circle and frowned.
He has an unshirkable role in losing the ball. If the pass had not been intercepted by Tang Zheng to counterattack, Guarin would not have lost his position. Moreover, his active defense did not have any effect, so he would feel a little frustrated. feel.
The game restarted, and Colombia, which had a kick-off advantage, quickly strengthened its attack under the organization of James Rodriguez.
The fanatical atmosphere in the Pantanal Stadium remains the same. Fans from both sides and neutral fans are in perfect harmony and cheer for the players on the field.
Although Tang Zheng's position is as an attacking midfielder, he has a very strong sense of responsibility. He did not relax his defensive attitude because of the change in position. Instead, he actively supplemented the defense after the restart to make up for the deficiencies in the defensive line.
Especially left back Jiang Zhipeng is a bit of a problem.
Cuadrado is fast, physically strong and has strong breakthrough ability. It is difficult for Jiang Zhipeng to guard against him.
Cai Huikang's body is good enough, but his speed is slow. Coupled with the impact of James Rodriguez, it is difficult to ensure the safety of the defense line.
At this time, Tang Zheng took the initiative to assist in the defense, which made up for the deficiencies on the defensive end and strengthened the defense.
Lippi was also ready to remind Tang Zheng to pay attention to the protection on the defensive end, but now it seems that Tang Zheng's ability to read the game is better than he thought, so he returned to the coaching bench to discuss the use of the last substitution with his assistant Madaloni .
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In the blink of an eye, the game came to seventy minutes, which meant that there were still the last twenty minutes of the game.
In the match at the Pantanal Stadium, the Chinese team still trailed Colombia 1:2, and in the match at the Castelao Stadium, the same happened, with the Greek team still leading Côte d'Ivoire 4:0.
It is worth mentioning that the Greek team, which originally wanted to score more goals, seemed to encounter strong resistance from Cote d'Ivoire. Especially with veteran Didier Drogba coming off the bench, Cote d'Ivoire's offense gradually came out, so that the Greek team had to start again. Start your own business.
Defensive counterattack!
Although it was a defensive counterattack, the Greek team did not counterattack once in the ten-minute game, and it was difficult to even bring the ball to the 30-meter area in the Ivory Coast defensive half.
So the Greek team coach Santos was very troubled. The score in another venue was still Colombia leading the Chinese team 2:1.
As long as the score was not extended to two goals, his heart would always be in his throat and it would be difficult to let go.
It would be easy to say if the Chinese team was an ordinary Asian representative team. The problem is that the Chinese team has the phenomenal superstar Tang Zheng. No one can say that as a superstar, Tang Zheng will not score the equalizing goal in the remaining game time. .
In the past 2012-2013 season and the 2013-2014 Champions League finals, Tang Zheng has fully proved his magic.
Santos was standing in the command area and pacing back and forth. Suddenly, a huge exclamation sounded over the Castelao Stadium: "Oh oh oh -"
Out of reflex, Santos looked up toward the court.
If you don’t look at it, look at it. You will be shocked when you look at it!
Drogba, who came on as a substitute in the second half, used his strong body to overthrow central defender Papastathopoulos.
---This is the gorgeous dividing line---
A reminder for novel netizens: please pay attention to resting your eyes when reading for a long time. Recommended reading:
-----This is a gorgeous dividing line-
The referee did not blow the whistle to signal Drogba for a foul, and another central defender, Manolas, had to step forward to fill in.
Drogba has rich experience in the game and has broad vision. When he turned halfway, he passed the ball directly to the defensive hole between Manolas and full-back Maniadis. The right winger Gervinho seemed to be out of control. The Mustang, while running at high speed, waded the ball into the penalty area and directly faced goalkeeper Kanezis.
Facing goalkeeper Canezis who was half-attacking, Gervinho was very calm. He launched a low shot with his right foot, bypassed the extended right hand of the fallen Canezis, and grazed the inside edge of the far goal post and rolled into the net. nest.
4:1! !
When Cote d'Ivoire regained a goal, it also meant that the Greek team's goal difference returned to '0', and it was on the same starting line as the Chinese team, which is currently lagging behind Colombia.
The Greek fans sitting in front of the TV were completely anxious. Now that Côte d'Ivoire scored a goal when they were behind by a big score, they must be very energetic, and they are likely to score again in the next game.
In addition, the Chinese team that has narrowed the score will definitely gain a huge boost in confidence. It is not impossible to equalize the score!
Gervinho had just helped Côte d'Ivoire narrow the score. Standing on the left edge of the home team's command area at the Pantanal Stadium, Lippi had already learned the result from his assistant Madaloni, but he did not have any hope that Côte d'Ivoire would score another goal.
It’s not that I don’t believe in Cote d’Ivoire’s strength, but it’s the right thing to firmly hold the initiative in your own hands!
So he decided to make another substitution and try to score another goal in the remaining game time to equalize the score!
In the 78th minute, the Chinese team requested a substitution and made the last adjustment of the game.
No. 18 Gao Lin goes down, No. 22 Sun Jingbo goes up.
Gao Lin, who had just seen the electronic substitution board, thought he had made a mistake, so he looked at the coaching bench. As a result, head coach Lippi nodded firmly.
Although Gao Lin was a little dissatisfied, he didn't say anything. After all, this game was about whether the national team could stand out in the group and advance to the top 16.
Central 5 commentator He Wei criticized Lippi's substitution: "Sun Jingbo is capable and has great potential, but he lacks game experience. There are many players with more experience on the bench than him. Gao Lin is indeed easy." He squandered the opportunity, but he has balanced abilities and rich game experience. He even scored a key goal in the AFC Champions League final last year."
Commentator Xu Yang was more optimistic. He smiled and said: "Lippi is nicknamed the Silver Fox. He must have had his thoughts on replacing Gao Lin with Sun Jingbo, and Sun Jingbo's skills are more delicate. After all, he comes from La Masia and is also fast. Maybe It will bring different changes to the offense."
As soon as he finished speaking, the right back Zhang Linpeng threw the ball to Sun Jingbo who turned around to receive the ball. The latter took the initiative to catch the ball forward. The Colombian defenders who had not had time to divide the work chose to defend based on the principle of proximity. Cuadrado quickly stepped forward to meet him.
However, Sun Jingbo's forward movement was an illusion. The moment Cuadrado followed up, he stopped on the spot, gave up the ball, and turned around to start.
After all, Cuadrado was not a professional defensive player and lacked defensive awareness. By the time he realized that he should take advantage of the situation and pull down Sun Jingbo, it was already too late.
Sun Jingbo had just come on the field and was full of physical energy. He dribbled the ball forward directly.
Facing Guarin's frontal defense, Sun Jingbo did not continue to choose to break through, but used the arch of his right foot to pass the ball to Tang Zheng who was in charge.
James Rodriguez ran over without hesitation, but Tang Zheng had no intention of taking the ball. He pushed the ball directly with the arch of his right foot and passed it to the foot of Lu Liang, who was attacking the left rib.
Guarin originally wanted to turn around and continue to follow Sun Jingbo who was advancing, but Lu Liang made a diagonal pass to defend the right rib and had to defend.
But Lu Liang also didn't dribble and kicked the ball towards where Guarin was sitting.
Guarin quickly braked on the spot and turned to the right using the sole of his right foot as the axis, facing his own goal.
Sun Jingbo did not kick the ball again, because there was no contact point in the frontcourt. He directly used the arch of his right foot to move the ball forward and accelerate.
After completing his turn, Guarin realized that it was very dangerous for Sun Jingbo to face two central defenders, so he lowered his body weight, kicked off the ground with his left foot, and shoveled out with his right foot.
Sun Jingbo's competition experience was incomparable to Tang Zheng's and Gua Lin's. He was kicked to the ground.
The referee Kaushoy decisively blew his whistle and gave Guarin a yellow card for the foul.
British Sky commentator Andy Gray saw the foul location given by the broadcaster and suddenly said: "Freddy Guarin's foul location is close to the center, 32 meters away from the goal in a straight line. Maybe... it's a mistake for Tang. Chance!"