Chapter 50: Winning the Respect of the World (World Cup Chapter·End)
"Uuuuuuuuuu——"
Blind stood in front of the football, and the sky above the New Water Source Stadium was filled with deafening boos.
The Chinese fans at the scene hoped to use this direction to influence Blind's mentality of taking penalty kicks, so as to achieve the effect of profit for their side.
However, Blind, who appeared on the broadcast screen, was not squinting, and the expression on his face was calm, and the subsequent penalty kick seemed insignificant.
Since Blind was taking the penalty kick, it was Dutch coach Van Gaal who was standing with his back to the home team coach's command area. Not many people noticed that Van Gaal was extremely nervous. The penalty kick in the fifth round was regarded as match point, but it was a pity that Henry Trall failed to seize the opportunity and was saved by Chinese goalkeeper Yan Junling. He was worried about entering the seventh round penalty shootout again with match point in hand.
Chinese head coach Lippi, who was standing in the coaching area of the visiting team, was equally nervous. He naturally clenched his hands and looked up at the night sky of El Salvador from time to time.
The substitute players all stood on the sideline, shoulders on each other's shoulders, eyes fixed on the court, and at the same time they kept praying in their hearts, hoping that the Tathagata Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Jade Emperor and other gods would step forward and turn the tide.
If there really were gods, wouldn’t the Chinese team have broken out of Asia to dominate the world long ago?
Obviously, this doesn't exist.
Facing Yan Junling standing on the goal line, Blind adjusted his mentality and kicked the ball towards the lower right corner of the goal with his left foot.
The penalty kick was very powerful, and it was close to the turf, and the angle was quite tricky. The Chinese team goalkeeper Yan Junling made a very accurate judgment, and the middle finger of his extended left arm also touched the football. However, Blind's penalty kick was too powerful, and in the end It can only slightly change the trajectory of the football but cannot completely move the football away from the right goal post.
The football scraped against the inner edge of the right post of the goal and hit the snow-white net. The New Shuiyuan Stadium was temporarily silent in the electric light, but soon the entire stadium was filled with hysterical chants from Dutch fans: "Ooooooooo-"
Yan Junling, who was lying in front of the goal, was very frustrated and kept beating the turf with his right hand that touched the football.
Just... just a little bit different!
Blind, who scored the key penalty in the penalty shootout, was very excited, opened his arms and ran all the way.
The Dutch players standing on the midline ran towards Blind, who scored the key penalty kick, in a feverish and excited manner, and at the same time roared to the sky, venting the great excitement of advancing to the semi-finals.
Four years ago, they finished second in the World Cup in South Africa. Four years later, Brazil advanced to the semifinals again. This was an unexpected surprise for the Dutch national team, which was in their prime, especially those who were past their prime. For Germany, Van Persie and others.
This World Cup may be their swan song on the World Cup stage.
If they could get rid of the title of Uncrowned King, they would die without regrets!
The Dutch fans at the New Water Source Stadium made louder and louder noises, while the Chinese fans in the stands seemed a little out of place.
Even if they thought before the game that the team that would advance to the semi-finals would definitely be the Dutch team, everyone is lucky, and it was not that the Chinese team had no chance to kill the game during the game, it was just luck.
It took a long time for Central 5 commentator He Wei to sigh: "Whether we accept this result or not, the World Cup is over for us, but this result can be said to be unexpected for us. To be able to win in the second I am very satisfied to have entered the quarterfinals for the first time in the World Cup, and there is also a chance to defeat the Netherlands in the game. If we are lucky, I think we will be the team to face Argentina in the semifinals instead of the Netherlands."
"That's right! The result of stopping in the quarterfinals was far beyond the budget. The failure to go further can only be said to be bad luck!" Commentator Xu Yang was enthusiastic: "Don't forget that our players are very young. We can come back in four years. Four years later, Tang Zheng was twenty-eight years old.
At the peak age of his career, Lu Liang is 23 years old, Sun Jingbo is 22 years old, Hao Junmin is 30 years old, Wu Sanshi is 27 years old, and many young and promising stars are slowly emerging. , I firmly believe that the World Cup in Russia four years later is the World Cup we can really look forward to! "
British Sky commentator Andy Gray watched the broadcast and said with emotion: "It is gratifying that the Dutch team has advanced to the semi-finals, but the core players in their team are already 'old'. It is probably very difficult to face Argentina in the semi-finals. Hard to beat..."
Immediately, the broadcast screen showed the disappointed Chinese players, and then the screen was fixed on Tang Zheng comforting his teammates. Commentator Martin Taylor said: "Tang's ability has been proven in the Bundesliga, Champions League and La Liga. It is a pity that his teammates at the national team level are not following him." The strength of teammates at the club level is very different, which affects Tang's performance. However, four goals and two assists have explained a lot. Moreover, the Chinese team's frontcourt players have great potential and are very young. I think four years from now The World Cup in Russia is when the Chinese team will truly be recognized by the world! Come on! Team China!"
Dutch National Sports TV commentator Van Vincent also gave rare praise to the Chinese team: "Although the Chinese team lost to the top eight in a penalty shootout, they earned respect. In the 120 minutes of the game, they not only defended strictly, but also attacked. The end also brought huge pressure to the goal guarded by Jasper Cillessen. This Chinese team is very young. I believe the Chinese team will be even stronger in four years!"
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In the final game of the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Chinese team eventually lost to the Netherlands 4:5 in penalty kick overtime, but the Chinese team's strength and resilience exceeded everyone's imagination.
Perhaps there are many media and fans who believe that the Chinese team's defeat of Costa Rica in the 1/8 finals was due to luck. It is undeniable that the Chinese team has the ability to defeat Costa Rica. Tang Zheng's barrier role in the midfield line and the role of stabilizing military morale are very obvious. Coupled with the ability and potential displayed by several very creative offensive players in the frontcourt, the top eight are well-deserved.
Wu Xi, who missed the crucial penalty kick, covered his face with his hands and lay in the penalty area. Hearing the uncontrollable shouts from the Dutch fans, his heart felt like a knife.
After Tang Zheng comforted his teammates in the middle of the court, he walked towards Wu Xi and pulled him up from the ground to comfort him.
At the same time, Chinese team coach Lippi walked to the home team's coaching bench, shook hands with Dutch team coach Louis van Gaal, and expressed congratulations.
The game can be lost, but the spirit cannot be lost.
Besides, the overall strength of the Dutch team is already stronger than that of the Chinese team, so it is reasonable to win the game.
As a winner, Van Gaal has no intention of showing off, and Lippi has a great influence in world football. If you bless me, I will naturally bless you.
Reciprocity.
In addition, as the captain, Zheng Zhi came to the stadium from the aisle leading to the stadium, and worked with Tang Zheng to comfort the depressed teammates on the field.
In the past five minutes or so, Tang Zheng, captain Zheng Zhi and head coach Lippi had calmed down all the depressed Chinese players. Then the players, led by captain Zheng Zhi, walked to the gathering place of the Dragons Fan Club to thank the fans for attending. support.
After taking two steps, a hand hit Tang Zheng's right shoulder. He stopped where he was and turned to look.
It's Robben.
"Alger?"
Robben smiled and raised his right hand, and held it with Tang Zheng's subconsciously extended right hand: "Your performance completely exceeded my imagination. If it weren't for good luck, I think the team that entered the semi-finals would be the Chinese team. "
Tang Zheng shrugged his shoulders, looked at the smiling Robben and said, "You guys won the top four, congratulations."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Zheng noticed that the smile on Robben's face became even stronger. He changed the subject and said playfully: "The next words are very unpleasant. I wonder if you are interested in hearing them?"
"Huh?" Robben was slightly stunned. He didn't know what Tang Zheng was going to do, so he tentatively said, "Let's talk about it."
"As far as I know, the Dutch national team is currently in decline. You, Robin, and Wesley have all passed the peak of their careers." Tang Zheng raised the corners of his mouth slightly and emphasized his tone: "Whether you admit it or not, this is a fact. I believe you also know, otherwise I would not have worked so hard in this World Cup. It will be difficult for the World Cup in Russia to achieve the results of the World Cup in Brazil four years later."
While Tang Zheng was speaking, he also paid attention to the changes in Robben's expression. He knew enough was enough, and patted Robben's shoulder with his left hand and said: "No one can predict the future. Your most urgent game is the semi-finals. I believe you have the ability." Can lead the national team to defeat Argentina and advance to the final."
"That's a very nice thing to say, I like it." Robben punched Tang Zheng in the chest and said with a smile, "I'll treat you to a big dinner when I get the chance."
"OK!"
After hugging each other and greeting each other, Tang Zheng took the initiative to say goodbye and walked towards his teammates. As the captain of this game, he had to go with his teammates to thank the fans who showed up for their support.
The Chinese team can reach the quarterfinals. In addition to its own extraordinary performance, the role of the fans is very obvious.
In this game, the Chinese team went into penalty kick and overtime, and the cheers in the stands never stopped, rising one wave after another.
Most of these selfless fans are actually from China. They have traveled thousands of miles to come to Brazil just to cheer for the Chinese team. Therefore, before the curtain call of the Chinese team’s last game of this World Cup, I would like to thank the fans present. them.
After showing the Dutch players celebrating their promotion, the broadcast screen switched again to several players led by the Chinese team's number one star Tang Zheng.
The commentator of CC5 changed his voice and said in a deep voice: "The World Cup is over for us, but it is far from over for Chinese football. I believe that the more than 20,000 Chinese fans at the scene also think so. Elimination is not the end. We are still very young and there are many opportunities in the future! Tying the Korean team’s record in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semi-finals? Why not?"
"We have such enthusiastic fans and the players have such potential. I have every reason to look forward to the World Cup in Russia four years later!"
Guest commentator Xu Yang added.
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As the Dutch team defeated the Chinese team on penalties in the last quarter-finals, all four national teams that advanced to the semi-finals were settled.
The two semi-final matches are Germany VS Brazil and Argentina VS Netherlands, two top competitions from European and South American teams!
At the regular press conference after the game, the Chinese team, which ultimately lost, received unanimous praise from Dutch coach Louis van Gaal and captain Robin van Persie. The Dutch domestic media also spoke highly of the Chinese team.
Online media reports are often more efficient than physical media reports, because online media can be published online immediately through the Internet, while physical newspapers in physical media require a series of complex processes such as editing and printing.
Therefore, young fans prefer to watch actual sports news reports on the Internet. Those fans who do not have time to watch the quarter-finals of the Chinese team and the Netherlands are quite amazed by the game highlights and post-match reports, especially Korean and Japanese fans.
Almost all fans thought that the Chinese team would definitely suffer a heavy defeat when they met the Netherlands, the most powerful team in the World Cup, in the quarter-finals. However, the game was quite stalemate, and the Chinese team even had a chance to kill the game.
In the end, they lost to the Dutch team in the penalty shootout. It can be said that despite the defeat, it was an honor and won the respect and recognition of the world.
Before the 1/8 finals, Costa Rica was considered the biggest dark horse of the World Cup in Brazil. However, as the Chinese team defeated Costa Rica and then lost to the Netherlands on penalties, the Chinese team deservedly became the biggest dark horse of this World Cup.
Of course, the biggest dark horse is a compliment, because the Chinese team performed very well, and their elimination was just due to luck.
Most of the Chinese players who returned to their hotel were generally in a bad mood, which is understandable considering they were only half a step away from the semifinals.
Tang Zheng was also in a bad mood, but he had a strong ability to adjust mentally and knew that his words and deeds would affect his teammates, so he couldn't reveal his true state of mind.
We are all adults, and Tang Zheng knows that it is useless to talk too much. The defeat in the World Cup is a valuable tuition fee paid by everyone, and it is also a very important period of energy.
The next day, except for a few players in Europe, the Chinese team was disbanded on the spot, and other fans playing for the Chinese Super League took a chartered flight back to China to prepare for the second half of the 2014 Chinese Super League season.
Lu Liang, Hao Junmin, Yan Junling, Wu Sanshi, **Peng and Sun Jingbo took different flights to the resort to enjoy life.
Tang Zheng took his father, mother and girlfriend Zhao Lina to stay in Brazil to watch the remaining World Cup games.
Three days later, the host nation Brazil faced Germany’s challenge at the Mineiro Arena. Surprisingly, the result was a jaw-dropping one.
German veteran Miroslav Klose broke Ronaldo's total World Cup goals while helping the German team beat the host Brazil 7:1.
Before the game, no one thought that the Brazilian team would plummet in strength after missing Neymar and captain Thiago Silva. Even Tang Zheng, who concluded that the German team would win before the game, did not expect that the gap in the game would be so big.
At one point in the game, the German team led Brazil 7-0. If Oscar hadn't pulled one back before the end, the host Brazil would have lost seven points.
Tang Zheng did not attend the second semi-final at the Sao Paulo Arena. The Dutch team, which had played an overtime match before, once again drew with Argentina in the regular 90 minutes and entered overtime.
However, neither team scored in overtime and had to enter a penalty shootout.
I don’t know if the Dutch team ran out of luck in the quarter-final penalty shootout. Vlaar and Sneijder failed to hit the penalty kick, and eventually lost to Argentina 2:4.