"Gangzi, is that you, Gangzi!"
"I knew the zoo director wouldn't disappoint us. We finally see Gangzi again."
"Who would have thought they'd send a kangaroo to be the goalkeeper?"
"It's already humane of the director not to send an elephant to block the goal."
"Sending out a boxing champion as goalkeeper, no one would dare foul now."
"I don't know if the animals would dare, but the male football players definitely wouldn't dare to foul."
...
With the appearance of the kangaroo Li Gang, the enthusiasm of the spectators, both inside and outside the stadium, was instantly ignited.
After all, Li Gang had left a deep impression on everyone in his previous boxing match.
At this point, all the animal players had arrived.
Faced with such a star-studded, all-star lineup, even foreign spectators couldn't resist the upcoming match.
As for the World Cup opening ceremony, it had long been forgotten.
The Planet Cup was now the priority.
Of course, not everyone was satisfied with the animal lineup on the field.
Netizen from Kimchi Country: Why aren't there any animals from our country? This is discrimination.
Netizen from Neon Country: What unique animals does your country have? Pretty Country soldiers?
Netizen from Mao Xiong Country: Why is it a black bear and not a brown bear? A polar bear would have been fine too.
Netizen from Oil Country: Why wasn't our country invited to participate in this match? We hope to host the next one. Money is not an issue.
...
As soon as both teams' players were on the field, the match quickly entered the next phase.
As per tradition, the players from both sides needed to shake hands before the match as a gesture of goodwill.
What was originally a very ordinary gesture became incredibly tense at this moment, especially for the male football players.
Looking at the neatly arranged animal players before them, their faces were filled with apprehension.
After waiting for a long time, one player finally mustered the courage to step forward.
As he stood there, his face full of nervousness, the Lion King, standing at the front, proactively extended his large paw.
Seeing this, the player almost instinctively brought his hands to his head. Fortunately, at the last moment, he suppressed the impulse and lightly clasped the Lion King's paw with both hands.
After the handshake, he realized that the Lion King in front of him was not as terrifying as he had imagined.
Instantly, his courage grew. He released the Lion King's paw and turned to walk towards Hua Dajie.
Hua Dajie also displayed her most gentle and kind demeanor.
Seeing this, the other male football players breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Before long, they all stepped forward and shook hands cordially with the animals.
After this interaction, the male football players' fear of these large creatures diminished significantly. At least their legs stopped trembling.
"Captain, I don't think these big guys are that scary."
"Yeah, they look quite cute."
"They probably won't eat us, right?"
"Don't worry about playing, I've watched their previous matches. They have good sportsmanship, you don't need to be afraid at all."
"With your words, I'm reassured."
"Everyone play with all your heart later. We can't lose this time. If we lose again, there will be no one left on this planet for us to lose to."
...
As the male football players encouraged each other, the match officially entered the countdown.
As the whistle blew from the referee, the captain of the male football team and the Lion King simultaneously approached the center of the field.
After the coin toss, the male football team took the kick-off.
However, as soon as the ball left the player's foot, he felt a strong gust of wind coming from the side.
Before he could react, the ball was already at Li Bao's feet.
Clearly, Li Bao could leverage its speed advantage not only on the track but also on the football field.
And this was just the beginning. As the football reached the animal team, the animals on the field soon sprang into action.
Under their immense weight, the entire stadium seemed to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
The scene was as magnificent as the animal migration on the African savanna.
The spectators, seeing so many large wild animals gathered together for the first time, instantly had their eyes light up.
Perhaps it was due to the immense pressure from the animals, but the usually somewhat lethargic male football players were now giving their all.
They all ran at full speed, and whenever the animals made a mistake, they immediately charged with the ball towards the animals' goal.
However, innate disadvantages are not easily overcome. Every time they got close to the goal, the ball was intercepted by the animals.
The most outstanding performer among them was surprisingly the unassuming honey badger.
In the eyes of the male football players, this little guy was incredibly ferocious.
Despite being no taller than the other animals' knees, it ran with the ferocity of a lion or a tiger.
When the match reached the 20-minute mark, the honey badger scored a header, sending the football into the male football team's goal.
The score on the field instantly became 1:0.
The very next second after the goal, bursts of excited cheers erupted from the entire stadium and from every corner of the country.
Whether in bars, restaurants, or residential buildings.
Regardless of whether they were football fans or not, everyone instinctively applauded upon seeing this scene.
Even netizens from foreign countries were no exception.
But after the cheers, they quickly came to their senses.
"Wait a minute, the goal was scored by an animal player. We humans are the losing side. Why are we so excited?"
"That's right, we're falling behind."
"Our happiness, doesn't it feel a bit like being a traitor to humanity?"
"It seems so, but not sure. Let's watch a bit longer."
"Ah, let's have a broader perspective. What humans and animals, aren't they all beings on Blue Star?"
"I know, but I'm still rooting for the animals. Honey badger is awesome!"
"Honey badger, aim for the MVP award!"
...
As the spectators were excitedly cheering, the male football players looked at the honey badger standing not far from the goal with disbelief.
It was one thing to lose to human teams regularly, but were they really going to lose to an animal team today?
If that were the case, they would be completely finished.
Losing to other human teams before, they could still somehow save face, but if they lost this time, even with the thickest skin, they wouldn't be able to endure it, nor would they have any excuses.
"Everyone, pull yourselves together. We can't let people make fun of us. We absolutely cannot lose today!"
With a roar from the team captain, the players, who had been somewhat lost, immediately snapped back to attention.
In the subsequent match, their performance clearly improved rapidly.
But why wouldn't the animals do the same?
Before long, the match entered halftime. At this point, the second fierce player among the animals stepped forward.
A plump wild boar, with the speed of a flat-headed bro, used its snout to fiercely nudge the football in front of it. Instantly, the ball drew a long arc.