Chapter 27 Sino-Japanese War, Semi-Finals!
"Beep~beep~beep~~"
As the referee Irmatov blew two short and one long whistles, the second quarter-final of the 2015 Australian Asian Cup, with Tang Zheng’s two goals and Lu Liang and Gao Lin’s goals, With great success, the Chinese team defeated the South Korean team 4:0 at the Brisbane Stadium in the Asian Cup.
At the same time, the Chinese fans at the Brisbane Stadium instantly entered a crazy celebration mode, chanting and dancing hysterically to express their extreme excitement about winning the game with a big score.
Central 5 commentator He Wei, who was supporting the commentary box with both hands, was also affected by the fanatical atmosphere at the scene and shouted hysterically: "The game is over! The game is over! After ninety minutes of fierce battle! The Chinese team beat South Korea 4:0!" This is the largest point difference between the two teams in the history of the Asian Cup, and it is also the largest point difference in the history of China and South Korea!"
The broadcast screen then showed Tang Zheng, the captain of the Chinese team, and He Wei changed his voice: "There is no doubt that the Chinese team's four-goal victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup is directly related to Tang Zheng! Best player in the game Well deserved!”
The commentator Xu Yang nodded and said in a high-spirited tone: "Let's not talk about Haihu's own bigger score in the future, but this game has an epochal significance for the Chinese team. It defeated Saudi Arabia in the group stage to create history, 1/4 In the final, they defeated their old rival South Korea by a big score. I think Chinese football will be the representative team of Asian football for a long time in the future. According to the schedule, the Chinese team’s opponent in the semi-finals is the winner between Japan and the United Arab Emirates. Or, I believe that with the current state of the Chinese team, even if it faces the Japanese national team, it has a great chance of winning..."
During the words of Central 5 commentators He Wei and Xu Yang, the Chinese players on the field celebrated the victory of the game with the Chinese fans in the stands. Tang Zheng, who was elected the best of the match, came to the mixed game after being reminded by the AFC staff. District was interviewed by domestic and foreign media.
Lippi's Chinese assistant Li Tie felt the fanatical atmosphere rushing towards him, and his eyes were covered with mist. When he was young, the national team could be said to be at its peak level, but it was still very difficult to play against the Korean team, with many losses and draws. few.
Now that the Chinese team can defeat the South Korean team with four goals in the knockout round of the Asian Cup, it can be said that Li Tie's dream has come true when he was young.
Not long after, the on-site director's close-up shot showed the Korean players who were on the court with pale faces.
In fact, many Korean players collapsed on the ground when the whistle sounded at the end of the game, covering their faces with their hands. Son Heung-min, who was participating in the Asian Cup on behalf of the Korean team for the second time, even shed sad and sad tears.
In addition to the reluctance at the competitive level, it is more due to military service.
In the 2012 British Olympic Games, because I felt that I was still young and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future, I was a little annoyed that the Korean team finally won the Olympic silver medal. In the Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea last September, the Korean team won the championship with the advantage of home court.
But Leverkusen didn't let him go.
I thought Australia's Asian Games would be an opportunity, but ended up losing 0:4 to the Chinese team in the quarter-finals...
In other words, the 23-year-old Son Heung-min only has three chances left: the Olympic Games in Brazil next year, the World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Asian Cup.
The Chinese team, which was previously reduced to a foil, has now become the representative team of Asian football. Whether it can stand out among U23 teams such as Japan, Australia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China is still unknown.
It is obviously impossible to advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup again, so the only opportunities left for Sun Xingmin to be exempted from military service are the Rio Olympics next year and the 2019 Asian Cup.
If he fails to seize these two opportunities, it also means that Sun Xingmin will return to China to serve in the military before the age of 28, and then participate in the K League to maintain competitive status.
After experiencing Europe's top football, why would you want to return to China to play in the K-League?
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At the regular press conference after the game, South Korean team coach Stillik took the initiative to take responsibility, saying that the South Korean team's big loss was because his targeted tactics before the game were not precise enough and did not curb the performance of the Chinese team's core players.
When the South Korean team lost, the domestic media in South Korea were in a bad mood, so they asked very direct questions, asking Stillik if he had ever thought about resigning to apologize.
Stillik is a veteran, so he naturally did not answer, because resignation and dismissal are completely different concepts.
The former means giving up the salary package in the contract, while the latter means giving up the salary for the remaining years of the contract.
Professional football is inseparable from money. No one is a saint, especially Stillik, so he will not resign.
Moreover, Stillik believes that the team's loss has little to do with him. The main reason is that many players in the Korean team are not as strong as the current Chinese team, and many players representing the Korean team did not try their best, and even failed to work hard. Condition.
His responsibility is to prevent the players from bearing too much pressure. Although many Korean players are limited in strength, there is no shortage of star players like Ki Sung-yong and Son Heung-min. In time, the Korean team is still very promising, but he does not I know how patient the Korean Football Association is.
Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese team who participated in the regular press conference after the game, did not get carried away because of the Chinese team's victory over South Korea. On the contrary, he was very low-key. He answered in an interview with domestic media: "The four-goal victory over South Korea does not mean the strength of the Chinese team. How powerful it is. It can only be said that the Korean team is not in good condition. If the Korean team is adjusted to its best condition, I think it will be difficult for the Chinese team to win the Korean team, because the Korean team once won the fourth place in the World Cup. Their strength Super strong..."
At first, the Chinese media was confused. It was not until "the Korean team once finished fourth in the World Cup" that they realized that Lippi the Silver Fox was trying to ridicule the Korean team.
As we all know, the situation of the Korean team in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup advanced to the semi-finals.
The South Korean team didn't feel much when they eliminated Spain's Lippi in the Korea-Japan World Cup. Even though there were many shady facts, the elimination of Italy was unbearable.
Now that we have the chance to satirize Koreans, why not?
The next day, all the football reports in Asia revolved around the Chinese team's 4-0 victory over the South Korean team, creating a history of fighting between the two sides and advancing to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
According to the schedule, the semi-final opponent of the Chinese team that advanced to the semi-finals in advance will be the quarter-final winner of the Japanese team and the United Arab Emirates. Therefore, the Japanese media and the UAE media are paying special attention to the Chinese team, and the content of their reports is more targeted.
Especially Japanese domestic media, they are extremely sensitive.
In the past ten years, the Japanese men's football team has been the undisputed leader in Asian football. However, with the rise of the Chinese team, many foreign media have claimed that the Chinese team's midfield ability can compete with the Japanese team, or even exceed it. And nothing less.
At 5 pm local time in Australia, the third Asian Cup quarter-finals kicked off at the Canberra Stadium in Canberra. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, Iran and Iraq drew 1:1.
Then it entered the 30-minute first and second half overtime. No one expected that the former Asian Cup champion Iraq would lead the score with a header from veteran Younis.
But as a hero, Younis sent a penalty kick in the second half of overtime, and the Iranian team equalized the score.
Three minutes later, the Iranian team also sent a penalty kick due to a defensive error. Veteran Younis withstood heavy pressure and scored the ball, taking the lead again.
There was not much time left in the game. When everyone thought that Iraq would advance to the semi-finals, in stoppage time, the Iranian team, which was pressed by the entire army at the last moment, took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to score a supplementary shot in front of the goal and score a tying goal.
3:3
After the Iranian team equalized the score, the referee on duty did not give the two sides any more time and blew the full-time whistle directly, which also meant that the first penalty shootout of this Asian Cup was coming.
The penalty shootout between Iran and Iraq was exactly the same as the 120-minute game. It was very intense and the winner was not decided until the eighth round.
Amiri, who took the penalty kick on behalf of Iran, missed the penalty kick, and then the Iraqi player Salim, who took the penalty kick, won the penalty kick and advanced to the semi-finals.
The last place to advance to the semi-finals was between Japan and the United Arab Emirates. I wonder if it was affected by the match between Iran and Iraq. The quarter-finals between the Japanese team and the United Arab Emirates also entered the final penalty shootout.
With its technical advantages, the Japanese team had the last laugh and became the last team to advance to the semi-finals of this Asian Cup.
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Those Chinese fans who learned that the Japanese team advanced to the semi-finals were particularly looking forward to it. The Chinese team defeated the South Korean team 4:0 in the quarter-finals. Will they meet the Japanese team again in the semi-finals? Will they score high scores again?
Chinese fans are full of expectations, but Japanese fans are very worried.
Judging from the group stage, the Japanese team's performance was indeed very good, with three consecutive wins in the group, but it did not go well in the knockout rounds. Facing the United Arab Emirates, whose overall strength has not yet reached the second-rate level in Asia, they failed to resolve the battle in 90 minutes. It was puzzling that the game even entered a penalty shootout...
Facing the Chinese team that scored the most goals in this Asian Cup but did not concede a goal in defense, Japanese head coach Aguirre had no confidence in his heart. Therefore, when he was interviewed by the media, he had no confidence in winning, which also indirectly caused Japanese fans to have doubts about the next step. lack of confidence in the semi-finals.
The Japanese national team preparing for the semi-finals was worried. Captain Makoto Hasebe had many encounters with Tang Zheng in the Bundesliga, and the result was more losses than wins.
To be precise, I have never won.
In the past few days, head coach Aguirre often calls on his players to watch the Chinese team's game videos after training, especially the personal highlights of several core players.
On the offensive end, the Chinese team already has Lu Liang, the new European Golden Boy Award winner, and now has the rapidly growing Sun Jingbo. Hasebe Makoto is worried about whether the team's defense can perfectly contain the Chinese team's offense.
Also thinking about this issue is midfielder Shinji Kagawa. He moved to Dortmund in the summer of 2010 and his position overlapped with Tang Zheng's. However, he failed to show a performance that convinced head coach Klopp, so he was benched.
Shinji Kagawa would often be very unhappy when he thought of this. Now he would have the opportunity to directly confront Tang Zheng, and he wanted to prove himself!
But deep down, he was worried.
The ambivalent psychology makes it difficult for Shinji Kagawa to concentrate, which leads to frequent distractions during training.
Head coach Aguirre saw this and frowned, extremely worried.
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Three days passed quickly, and the first semi-final of the 2015 Asian Cup kicked off at the Australian Stadium in Sydney. The game was between the host Australia and Iraq.
Although Iraq is not as strong as it was in the 2007 Southeast Asian Cup, they cherish every game as the country is at war.
It was precisely because the Iraqi players cherished the game that they were able to stand out in the group and then eliminate Iran in the quarter-finals.
However, in addition to having the advantage of home court, Australia also has a strength advantage.
In addition, Iraq played a quarter-final match of 120 minutes, and the physical recovery of the players was not ideal. Moreover, the Australian players had an extra day of rest, so they were unable to withstand Australia's attack under various unfavorable circumstances. attack.
2:0
The home team was in front and the visiting team was behind. Australia won the game and took the lead in advancing to the finals of this Asian Cup.
Another final spot will be determined between the Chinese team and the Japanese team.
In fact, in the eyes of many Asian media, the semi-final between the Chinese team and the Japanese team can be said to be an early final.
It's not that Australia is not qualified to enter the finals, but the Chinese team and the Japanese team have similar playing styles, both emphasizing midfield control.
However, the total ball possession rate in the game cannot exceed 100%. Therefore, the two teams have to compete for control of football time according to the situation of the game. It has also attracted the attention of countless fans, including fans outside Asia.
Of course, many fans go to the Asian Cup because of the name of Real Madrid superstar Tang Zheng.
Because many European fans believe that the overall strength of Asian teams is not good enough, the games are not exciting enough, and they cannot be on the stage.
However, as the final semi-final of the 2015 Australian Asian Cup between China and Japan officially started at Newcastle Stadium, European fans watching the live TV gradually discovered that the Asian Cup is quite interesting.
First of all, the Newcastle Stadium was packed, and the fans in the stands worked very hard, creating waves of cheers.
The midfielders of the Chinese team and the Japanese team have very delicate foot skills, so it is difficult to complete the steal when the opponent has the ball.
However, this situation is directly related to the fact that both sides of the game have reached the semi-finals, because at this stage no one wants to lose.
Losing means that if you want to compete for the Asian Cup again, you have to wait until four years later!
Four years, how many four years does a professional player have?
The Japanese team adopted a four-five formation, with goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, four defenders Takanori Sakai, Maya Yoshida, Masato Morinaka, and Yuto Nagatomo, and five midfielders Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, and Mikiki. Shi, Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda, Shinji Okazaki is at the forefront of the striker.
The Chinese team still fielded its usual 423 formation, with goalkeeper Yan Junling and four defenders Li Xuepeng, Feng Xiaoting, Ren Hang and Zhang Linpeng lined up. The position of the double midfielders has changed. Previously, he only had two substitute appearances. Young player Li Kui replaced captain Zheng Zhi, who was injured before the game, and partnered with Tang Zheng.
There are three vanguards: Lu Liang, Hao Junmin and Wu Sanshi, with Gao Lin at the front.
In the blink of an eye, five minutes passed. Both sides focused most of their energy on the midfield battle, and the total number of shots was still zero.