Chapter 49 Even Though Defeated, It Is Glorious

Tang Zheng scored a penalty kick with a spoon in the penalty shootout. This hit goalkeeper Krul very hard. He looked very frustrated in the broadcast.

To be fair, the spoon penalty had a huge impact on the goalkeeper's self-confidence. It is understandable why Krul was so frustrated, especially since he had danced the water snake dance when facing Tang Zheng's penalty earlier.

Tang Zheng scored the penalty kick, which was undoubtedly a loud slap in the face.

German Sky commentator Marcel Leif said loudly: "Don is a top player with strong self-confidence and a big heart. It is normal for him to use a spoon penalty kick to equalize the total score in the crucial fifth round penalty kick." The operation is not amazing.”

At this point, Marcel Leif changed his voice, shook his head and said: "But Sun's missed penalty kick in the second round made the Chinese team completely passive, unless... Yan can save Klaas Jan Huntela My penalty kick in the fifth round, otherwise the team that advances to the semi-finals will definitely be the Dutch team."

As he spoke, Huntelaar, who was the fifth penalty kicker on behalf of the Dutch team, hugged his teammates and walked to the left side of the broadcast screen.

After Tang Zheng scored the ball, he did not immediately turn around and walk towards the midfield, but instead walked towards goalkeeper Yan Junling.

Different from the cheering of other teammates, Tang Zheng put his right hand on Yan Junling's shoulder and said calmly: "Don't think about saving the opponent's penalty kick. There are only so many things you can do. Relax, this is a forward In a direct confrontation with the goalkeeper, if you are more nervous than the opponent's players, then...we will definitely lose, of course...if we lose, we lose, and entering the quarterfinals is the best result we can achieve."

After saying that, Tang Zheng gave Yan Junling another hug: "You can do it, don't forget... You are the first Chinese player in Asia to become the main goalkeeper in a top European club. You have your own pride!"

Central 5 commentator He Wei's voice was obviously more nervous. He looked at Huntelaar in the broadcast screen with some anxiety: "There was a controversial penalty kick in stoppage time between the Netherlands and Mexico in the 1/8 finals. Henry Traal withstood heavy pressure and scored the ball. In this Ruhr derby, the spear and the shield met for the first time in the penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Can Yan Junling save Huntelaar's penalty?"

"If Yan Junling saves the penalty kick, we can drag the penalty shootout into penalty kick overtime!" Commentator Xu Yang was equally nervous and murmured solemnly: "Come on! Yan Junling!!"

Yan Junling stood at the goal line as calmly as before, constantly thinking about what Tang Zheng said in his mind: "Have your own pride."

That’s right!

He has his own pride!

When Tang Zheng was still in Dortmund, he could rely on Tang Zheng, but with Tang Zheng leaving, he could only rely on himself.

Now, standing on the goal line and facing Huntelaar one on one, I can only rely on myself!

Suddenly, he felt as if the fanatical atmosphere of the game had completely disappeared, he could not hear anything, and the whole world became extremely clear.

Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Yan Junling naturally opened his arms and stood on tiptoe with his legs, preparing to make a save at any time.

Huntelaar has rich game experience and abundant physical fitness. He is not nervous at critical moments. When he is walking towards the penalty kick, he has already thought about how to kick the next penalty kick - using a fake move to knock Yan Junling's center of gravity, and then Then kick the football in the opposite direction.

※※※

"The fateful showdown between the forward and the goalkeeper is about to begin. Who will have the last laugh?"

mused British Sky commentator Andy Gray.

As soon as he finished speaking, the referee Marco Rodriguez blew his whistle: "Beep~"

Huntelaar started to run, one step, two steps, and the third step was about 30 centimeters to the left of the football.

He raised his right foot and kicked the football.

At the same time, Huntelaar was paying attention to Yan Junling from the corner of his eye.

Yan Junling, who had been standing on tiptoe in small steps, concentrated all his strength on the forefoot of his right foot, and his body's center of gravity tended to his right side, which was the left side of Huntelaar's perspective.

"right!"

Attention Yan Junling made a prediction in advance. Huntelaar didn't think much and kicked the ball to the right side of the goal with his right foot.

Since Yan Junling had already made a prediction, Huntelaar did not deliberately pursue the angle in controlling the angle. Because the penalty spot was only 9.15 meters away from the goal, it was obviously too late for Yan Junling, who had made the save in advance, to change his center of gravity to save the ball. of.

so……

Still too young!

Huntelaar feels confident of victory!

However, everything has exceptions. Yan Junling's center of gravity did tilt to the right in advance, but his body's center of gravity was not completely transferred.

In other words, his body's center of gravity tilted to the right was a fake move!

The moment Huntelaar kicked the football with his right foot, Yan Junling's right leg exerted force suddenly, and the change of the body's center of gravity was stagnant. With the huge reaction force fed back from the ground, the whole person jumped to the left. .

"Shit!!"

The slow football rolled against the turf to the right side of the goal, and Huntelaar cursed in his heart.

Yan Junling's goal-line skills are very good. Even though his height and long legs affect his ability to reach the ground, he can still do something when facing Huntelaar's slow penalty kick...

Chinese fans who watched the game through the live broadcast saw with their own eyes that Yan Junling jumped to the left side of his body at a speed visible to the naked eye, which is the right side of the live broadcast screen.

Half a second later, He Wei, the CC5 commentator, stood up suddenly with his hands on the commentary box. He was so passionate that he raised his arms and shouted: "It's saved! It's saved! Yan Junling saved the Chinese team! 4:4!! Game!" The two sides entered penalty kick overtime!!!”

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

The Chinese fans at the New Water Source Stadium were as excited as children, dancing.

Yan Junling, who saved the football, rarely jumped up, raised his arms and shouted, looking up to the sky!

Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese team in front of the visiting team's coaching bench, also seemed very excited in the fanatical atmosphere. He raised his fists and punched hard with his right fist to vent the unhappiness he was holding in his heart.

Of course, Lippi didn't get carried away.

Even if Yan Junling saves Huntelaar's fifth penalty kick, it will be difficult to win this penalty kick, because the first five players who take penalty kicks are the last five players of the Chinese team. He had no confidence in the starting player in the overtime game.

The psychological quality of players playing in the Chinese Super League is obviously not comparable to that of players in Europe, but Dutch players have no such worries.

Not far away, in front of the Dutch bench, I couldn't say I was particularly disappointed, but at least I was a little depressed.

As long as Huntelaar converts the penalty kick, the Dutch team will enter the semi-finals.

Now that the penalty kick is not scored, the penalty kick automatically enters penalty kick overtime...

The Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, shown in the broadcast, had his arms folded across his chest, his brows furrowed, and his eyes looking toward the court, not knowing what he was thinking.

Van Vincent, the commentator of the Dutch National Sports Television, felt a little unhappy, but his tone was not discouraged and he was still full of energy: "The pressure is back on the Chinese team. I believe Tim Krul can show his power and bring China to the next level." Save the team’s penalty kick!”

※※※

Chinese fans thousands of miles away were completely elated when Yan Junling saved the penalty kick. The temperature of the entire country seemed to rise at that moment, and the deafening shouts echoed in every city.

"Well done!"

Every excited Chinese fan can't help but praise in his heart.

But the next problem still exists. The sudden death penalty kick is still started by the Chinese team.

Many pessimistic Chinese fans will inevitably think that the psychological quality of Chinese players is generally poor. Otherwise, where would there be so many black three minutes?

Except for Wu Sanshi who was substituted, all the five overseas international players ranked in the top five in the penalty shootout, which means that the remaining players who take penalty kicks will all be Chinese Super League players.

damn it!

Huntelaar, who did not score a penalty kick, was very frustrated. Goalkeeper Krul took the initiative to comfort the big brother of the national team, patting his chest and saying: "Don't be discouraged, believe me! I came on the field just for the penalty kick! I will definitely do it next." Save the Chinese team’s penalty kick! It’s only a matter of time before we advance to the semi-finals!”

"——Tim!" Huntelaar looked up at Krul and said solemnly: "It's up to you!"

"give it to me!"

Krul said confidently.

At the same time, the fanatical atmosphere at the New Water Source Stadium was still there. No one expected that the penalty shootout would end in sudden death overtime, so the fanatical atmosphere became suffocating and so tense that it was difficult to breathe.

The player who took the penalty kick on behalf of the Chinese team was Wu Xi, who has relatively good footwork in the team. In fact, Lippi did not have much choice in the penalty shootout list.

The five European players will definitely be the penalty kick starters, and the remaining six terms will be arranged according to their feelings.

Liu Jian, who played in the final stage, was a jack-of-all-trades in the backcourt, with limited footwork and abilities. This was especially true for Li Xuepeng, Feng Xiaoting and Ren Hang. Their footwork was not even as delicate as goalkeeper Yan Junling, so Wu Xi, who had relatively good footwork, was ranked sixth. , Yan Junling ranked seventh.

"Relax, relax! Believe in yourself!"

As the captain on the field, Tang Zheng used his unique confidence to incite Wu Xi and make him temporarily forget his nervousness.

Indeed, it is undeniable that Wu Xi did not feel any nervousness when Tang Zheng and Wu Xi communicated, but as he walked towards the penalty area, the nervousness returned, as if he had returned to the quarter-finals of the Asian Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia in 2008. Penalty shootout.

The same quarter-finals, the same key penalty.

Different from the Asian Championships in Saudi Arabia, the quarter-finals of the World Cup are obviously much more important. Thinking of the importance of the World Cup, Wu Xi felt that the strength of the two legs that should be full of strength is slowly losing...

“Relax and relax!!”

Wu Xi kept giving himself psychological hints, but the huge boos caused by the Dutch fans made him very uncomfortable and found it difficult to adjust his mentality.

In the blink of an eye, he had gone to the penalty spot.

Goalkeeper Krul adjusted mentally very quickly and was not frustrated by Tang Zheng's spoon penalty. He continued his performance - dancing the water snake dance in front of Wu Xi.

The Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV were speechless watching Krul's "ugly" water snake dance. They couldn't help but think - aren't you tired after dancing for so long?

"are-you-ok"

When the referee Marco Rodriguez saw that Wu Xi was unmoved by his gesture, he raised his eyebrows and asked displeasedly.

Wu Xi reacted immediately and nodded: "OK! OK!!"

This detail was seen by everyone. Naturally, He Wei, the commentator of CC5, would not tell the truth, so he had to change the topic: "Except for the accident of Sun Jingbo's penalty kick, the other four penalty kicks all scored. I think Wu The same goes for Xi’s penalty kick.”

Tang Zheng, who was standing in the middle line, had a very bad feeling, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He can only seize the opportunities he can, and as for other teammates, he can only leave it to fate...

"Beep~"

Wu Xi, who was brought back to reality by the referee, had just finished adjusting his mentality when he heard a whistle.

Krul was doing the Water Snake Dance in front of him, but Wu Xi's mind was still blank and he didn't know which way to kick.

left? right?

Or in the middle?

The run-up time was very short, and Wu Xi didn't have time to think too much, so he could only choose to shoot vigorously, hoping to have the same effect as Zhang Linpeng.

"Boom~"

Wu Xi's penalty kick was full of power, like a cannonball, and goalkeeper Krul was ready to strike back, but the distance from the penalty kick was too short and he was unable to react. His heart trembled and his expression froze.

In the flash of lightning, Krul, who had a stiff expression, was immediately elated, because there was a crisp sound of hitting the goalpost in his ears: "Bang——"

The football hit the post on the right side of the goal and bounced back onto the court. After finishing the shot, Wu Xi half-knelt on the ground and covered his face with his hands, feeling extremely frustrated.

After all, I still couldn't defeat my inner demon...

Central 5 commentator He Wei took a deep breath in the fanatical atmosphere, adjusted his mentality, and reassured the Chinese fans in front of the TV: "It doesn't matter if the penalty kick is missed! We still have Yan Junling!!"

Yan Junling pulled Wu Xi up, comforted him, and then stood at the goal line, looking at the Dutch player Blind walking towards the penalty area, and at the same time cheering himself up.

At this moment, all the fans in the audience became nervous.

The same was true for Van Gaal and Lippi. Some players standing in the middle of the court did not dare to look at the direction of the penalty kick.

Players in big scenes like Robben and Sneijder turned their backs nervously, and then kept crossing themselves on their chests, hoping that God could hold their own team.

The penalty shootout overtime is different from the penalty shootout. If it scores, it will be the semi-finals. If it fails, it will be the seventh round penalty shootout.

Even though Tang Zheng had excellent psychological quality, he was still a little nervous.

Of course, the same goes for the parties involved, Yan Junling and Blind.

In this suffocating and fanatical atmosphere, what is tested is the players' ability to withstand pressure.

Blind placed the football, backed away enough, and waited for referee Marco Rodriguez's whistle.

"Beep~"

The whistle sounded, Blind took a running start, and Yan Junling concentrated and held his breath. Be prepared to make the save.

left!

Yan Junling pounced on the left side of his body like a shark smelling blood.

The football was running in the same direction as Yan Junling's paving direction. Everyone at the New Water Source Stadium was so nervous that they forgot to make a sound.

Yan Junling felt the fingertips of his left hand touch the football that was running fast against the turf. He was so nervous that he was too late to exert force. The trajectory of the football changed slightly, but it did not deviate from the goal.

The football hit the inner edge of the right post of the goal, and then hit the snow-white net...

5:4

"The game is over! The game is over! The Dutch team finally defeated the Chinese team 5:4 on penalty kicks to advance to the semi-finals of this World Cup!" British Sky commentator Andy Gray paused and said passionately: "Although the Chinese team missed the World Cup The top four, but they are proud of their defeat!"