Chapter 30 I Can’t Use My Strength
Brazil eliminated Chile through a penalty shootout and became the first team to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Then Colombia defeated Uruguay 2:0 with James Rodriguez scoring two goals and became the second team to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup. national team.
The 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and Costa Rica is the fourth game. The game time is 6 pm local time in Brazil, which is 4 am Beijing time.
Before that, the Netherlands and Mexico will compete in the third World Cup 1/8 finals.
Since he had plenty of time, Tang Zheng took his mobile phone to watch the 1/8 finals at the Castelao Stadium in Fortaleza. This game was played up by the media as the strongest battle of spears and shields.
Tang Zheng and his national team teammates want to know who will win and who will lose, because once the Chinese team can defeat Costa Rica, the opponent they will face will be the winner between the Netherlands and Mexico.
There are still four hours left before the game. The Chinese team, under the leadership of the nutritionist, began to supplement various nutrients and make final preparations for the 1/8 finals four hours later. Tang Zheng was able to hold the game phone. Watch it live.
The Netherlands is the team with the most goals in the group stage, scoring ten goals, while Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belgium are tied with the team that has conceded the fewest goals in the group. They have only conceded one goal in three games, so the strongest spear-and-shield game is attractive. caught the attention of countless fans.
However, after the game started, it was very different from what many media had speculated before the game. The Dutch team, which scored the most goals in the group stage, was beaten passively. On the contrary, Mexico, which conceded the fewest goals in the group stage, took the lead in taking advantage of the characteristics of the small and quick frontcourt to force the Netherlands. Goalkeeper Cillessen made consecutive saves.
It wasn't until the eighth minute of the game that the Netherlands got its first shot opportunity when Robben cut in from the right.
As the game slowly progressed, both sides returned their attention to their respective defenses. After all, the tournament system is more about defense than offense.
Letting go and attacking must also be carried out on the premise that there are no problems with the defense, otherwise it will be easy to be tied up.
However, until the end of the first half, neither side broke through the opponent's city, and the first half ended with 0:0.
Before the start of the second half, all members of the Chinese team needed to go back to their rooms to take a short rest. Tang Zheng did not have time to watch the live broadcast of the game, but he believed that the Dutch team should be able to win the final game.
as expected!
Although Mexico broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half, the score was still ahead until the end of the game.
However, the Dutch team is a world-class team after all, and most of its players are world-class stars and full of resilience.
In the 88th minute, Robben took a corner kick from the right with his left foot. Huntelaar nodded the ball and Sneijder fired an angry shot from the edge of the penalty area, breaking Ochoa's ten fingers and equalizing the score!
In the second minute of injury time, a controversial scene emerged in the game.
Robben broke into the penalty area from the right and was tripped to the ground by Mexican captain Marquez. The referee on duty hesitated for a moment when Marquez's tripping action was not obvious, then blew the whistle to signal a penalty kick and gave Marquez a yellow card.
Forward Huntelaar, who came on as a substitute in the second half, shot the ball into the lower left corner to take the lead!
The final score of the game was that the Netherlands defeated Mexico 2:1 and became the third team to advance to the quarterfinals.
As soon as the game at Castelao Stadium ended, the Chinese team took the bus provided by their hotel and drove to the Pernambuco Arena.
It is worth mentioning that before the bus left, many Chinese fans who did not have tickets came to the hotel where the Chinese team was staying to cheer for the team in advance.
Looking at the lovely fans holding high banners, slogans and flags, the Chinese players who boarded the bus all felt a sense of touch from deep inside.
In order to repay these lovely fans, we must win the 1/8 finals at the Pernambuco Arena tonight!
Otherwise...how to repay these lovely fans?
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At around 2:15 a.m. Beijing time, Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV or computer could see the Chinese team slowly leaving their hotel on a bus.
Head to the Pernambuco Arena, the venue for the competition.
Even though this point has entered the deep sleep time of Chinese fans, many fans are still sitting in front of the TV or computer, waiting for the game to start.
CC5 is the exclusive broadcaster of the World Cup in mainland China, so domestic fans can only watch the game through CC5.
However, many of the highlights, preparations and preparations before the game are not included in this list, so fans can see the situation of the Chinese team through many channels.
For example: the schedule progress before the start of the 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and Costa Rica.
Compared with traditional live TV broadcasts, online viewing is much more convenient.
About an hour and twenty minutes before the start of the game, the Chinese team took a bus to the Pernambuco Arena. The players sitting in the bus could clearly hear the clear shouts coming from outside the bus.
"Come on Team China!"
"The Chinese team must win!!"
"Tang Zheng, come on! Come on, Team China!"
"Lu Liang is awesome, Tang Zheng is awesome, we want to enter the quarterfinals!!"
…
Various sounds were transmitted into the bus through the glass windows.
Tang Zheng took off his headphones and looked at the Chinese fans who were surrounded by stadium security personnel. He smiled naturally and raised his right arm from time to time to pay tribute to these lovely Chinese fans.
The reason why the Chinese team can stand out from the group stage is not only its own strength and luck, but also the contribution of the fans.
Many times, players are prone to not knowing enough, but at this time, if there are fans who spare no effort to cheer and cheer, players with a little bit of blood will wake up from a dream and give their last effort for the lovely fans!
Other Chinese players also followed suit and waved to the fans.
Lippi led Guangzhou Evergrande to win the first AFC Champions League in the history of the Chinese Super League in the 2013 season. His position in the hearts of Chinese fans is already very high. Now he has led the Chinese men's football team to the top 16 of the World Cup, so he came to Bo Chinese fans at the South Buco State Arena gave huge cheers to coach Lippi, thanking him for the changes he has brought to Chinese football.
…
"Ouch-ouch——"
When the Chinese players arrived at the familiar Pernambuco Arena, deafening cheers suddenly sounded above the stadium.
Tang Zheng and other teammates subconsciously looked up. The stadium, which can accommodate 46,000 fans, was already nearly 80% filled with fans. Looking at it, most of the seats were occupied by enthusiastic Chinese fans.
It has to be said that as the Chinese team enters the top 16 of the World Cup, more and more Chinese people choose to come to watch the Chinese team's games.
Of course, this has something to do with the appeal of the Chinese team's top star Tang Zheng, but the Chinese team also has a lot of appeal. After all... the Chinese team represents the highest level of Chinese football.
In any case, as a Chinese, I naturally want to cheer for the Chinese team.
Moreover, the opponent Costa Rica in the 1/8 finals is not strong, which also means that the Chinese team is very likely to defeat the opponent and go one step further!
Even if the team they face after promotion is the uncrowned king Netherlands, Chinese fans still believe that the Chinese team can win to the end! !
Closer to home, the atmosphere created by the Chinese fans at the Pernambuco Arena was so fanatical that many Costa Rican players who came to the stadium to warm up felt uneasy.
Because the boos from the Chinese fans were really loud!
Goalkeeper Navas frowned. It was not that he was worried about the atmosphere, but that Tang Zheng, No. 10 of the Chinese team, was worried.
There was no need for special instructions from head coach Pinto before the game. The goalkeeper Navas, who plays for Levante in La Liga, had personally experienced Tang Zheng's sharpness, so he was very worried before the game started.
Captain Ruiz was still very observant. He noticed that goalkeeper Navas was a little distracted, so he patted Navas' right shoulder with his right hand and said with a smile: "Don't pay too much attention to how capable that person is."
Ruiz pointed in the direction of Tang Zheng and continued with a firm tone: "You just need to remember how strong you are! Don't forget! You were the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in La Liga last season! It's not just me, all of us believe that You can keep the goal!"
"Captain?" Navas turned to look at captain Ruiz's confident eyes, his eyes gradually became firmer, he held his head high, and automatically ignored the huge boos coming towards him, and his voice became sonorous: "Don't worry. Teammates! It’s you and Joel in the front, but me in the back!!”
"This is the invincible Keylor I know!" Captain Ruiz nodded with satisfaction, then stretched out his right hand to hold Navas's outstretched right hand: "Come on!!"
"come on!!"
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“Costa Rica is one of the three teams that conceded the fewest goals in the group stages of this World Cup. It also stood out in the group of death. It defeated Uruguay and Italy in a row and qualified for the group stage one round ahead of schedule. It has become the biggest dark horse of this World Cup. It is super strong. His defensive ability is truly extraordinary!”
He Wei, the CC5 commentator in the live commentary box at the Pernambuco Arena, frowned as he watched the broadcast.
Commentator Gong Lei nodded and said: "Costa Rica was able to stand out from the group of death and even eliminated Italy and England. In addition to luck, ability is also very important. They only conceded one goal in the three rounds of the group stage. I think in addition to the extraordinary defensive ability, the goalkeeper Na Gas cannot be ignored either.”
The Chinese team has had five previous encounters with Costa Rica, with one win, two draws and two losses.
The most recent confrontation was three years ago, when the Chinese team drew with Costa Rica 2:2, but that game was of little reference significance because the head coach of the Chinese team was still Gao Hongbo.
There has been one confrontation between the two teams in the history of the World Cup. It was twelve years ago in Gwangju, South Korea, when Costa Rica defeated the Chinese team 2:0.
Of course, this game also has no meaning and can only be used as a reference.
Ten minutes into the game, the Chinese team controlled the rhythm of the game with its strong midfield control, but Costa Rica clearly made targeted arrangements before the game. As the Chinese team's defensive midfielder, Tang Zheng not only pays attention to the defensive end, but also has very offensive responsibilities. powerful.
Costa Rica's game tactics were highly targeted and paid a lot of attention to Tang Zheng. Tang Zheng was allowed to pass crosswise and back, but forward passes were not allowed. This meant that Tang Zheng's forward pass was completely cut off.
Captain Zheng Zhi has good dispatching skills and is among the best in Asia. However, he is older and the Costa Rican players press the ball very resolutely from the high position. Even if Zheng Zhi gets the ball, he does not dare to pass it forward blindly.
You can only choose to move forward or pass back.
Passing forward with a big foot can easily cause the control of the football to change. Zheng Zhi, who has a strong ability to read the game, often chooses to pass back.
Feng Xiaoting accumulated two yellow cards and was suspended. Ren Hang, who partnered with Li Xuepeng, was nervous when handling the ball. Instead of passing the ball to goalkeeper Yan Junling, who was ready to catch the ball, he stepped forward, so the Chinese team's offensive organization seemed very messy.
There was nothing Tang Zheng could do about this situation.
When the game reaches the 1/8 finals, teammates will be nervous to varying degrees. Even if they perform well before the game, it will be a different story once the game starts.
Head coach Lippi stood helpless in the visiting team coach's command area, because as a head coach, he can only do so much.
Five minutes into the game, Costa Rica launched two threatening attacks when the Chinese team could not organize its offense.
Fortunately, Tang Zheng and goalkeeper Yan Junling were in very good condition and they tried their best to keep the goal.
As Tang Zheng once again appeared in a key position and completed a very good fall to the ground and shoveled the ball out of the sideline, the on-site director gave Tang Zheng a close-up shot of his face. British Sky commentator Andy Gray solemnly said: "Costa Rica, which uses the 5-4 formation, is destined to defend and counterattack. It seems that the Chinese team's offense cannot be organized, and the defensive end is continuously tested. If this situation continues, I think it is very likely to result in conceding goals. After all, …”
Before he finished speaking, guest commentator Martin Taylor said: "After all, Tang is not omnipotent. The two goals conceded by the Chinese team in the third round of the group were caused by Colombia's offense deliberately bypassing Tang. I think as the game progresses, Costa Rica's The offense will also find better ways, and Costa Rica who can stand out from the group of death is not a mediocre person!"
What's interesting is that Costa Rica head coach Pinto is in sharp contrast to Lippi. He is sitting leisurely in front of the coach's bench with his legs crossed, looking more like a fan who has no stance.
Because Costa Rica's entry into the top 16 has tied the Italian World Cup record 24 years ago. It is good to defeat the Chinese team and enter the quarterfinals to set a new record. If there is no way to win and stop in the top 16, there is no way.
The overall strength of the Chinese team may not be much higher than that of Costa Rica, but the Chinese team has world-class superstars like Tang Zheng. Hao Junmin, Lu Liang and Yan Junling in the team are also the main players of the Bundesliga giants, with outstanding offensive capabilities.
Perhaps it was the good mentality of head coach Pinto that was successfully instilled in the players. The players had no ideological baggage in this game and played lightly, so they showed unexpected combat effectiveness.
As the game passed by second by second, Tang Zheng became more and more troubled.
The offensive teammates in the frontcourt are getting better, which means that the defensive teammates in the backcourt make frequent mistakes.
Feng Xiaoting is the main center back and the core of the defense. However, he accumulated yellow cards and was suspended in this game, which resulted in a lack of tacit understanding among the defense.
Tang Zheng, who has a strong sense of responsibility, realized that there were many problems in the defense line, and the attack range was never enough.
As a result, the Chinese team's offense gave people a feeling of disconnection between the front and backcourt, or in other words, it was unable to use its strength.
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