Chapter 1 The Opponents Clash

Park Ji-sung, the South Korean Olympic team's number one star, who also rushed back from the Netherlands to participate in the competition, expressed his strong confidence in winning during an interview with reporters: "I know that Zhang Jun is a very good and very threatening player. But football is a team sport. Compared with Zhang Jun, the strength of their other players is not very good. The South Korean team is superior to China in terms of overall strength. As long as we can keep an eye on Zhang Jun, it will not be a problem to defeat them. Don't forget, we haven't lost to China in twenty years."

Xiang Tao, known for his outspokenness in China, was not to be outdone. After hearing Park Ji-sung's words, he retorted unceremoniously: "It's understandable. He only knows Zhang Jun in the Netherlands. If Yang Pan were also there, he would say that watching Zhang Jun and Yang Pan would make winning the game not difficult. But, hehe!" Xiang Tao grinned mischievously and said, "Those defenders in Europe didn't keep an eye on Zhang Jun. What makes the Koreans think it's 'not difficult' to keep an eye on Zhang Jun? Are you kidding me? Haha!"

The match hadn't even started, but the war of words between the two sides had already begun. This was also an alternative spectacle of football matches.

Regarding Xiang Tao's remarks, the South Korean media generally used "arrogant Chinese" to describe him, and claimed that the Chinese Olympic team, which couldn't even beat Syria, would be useless without Zhang Jun. They were the worst Chinese Olympic team in history. "Our Great Korean Republic football team will definitely make the Chinese continue to fear Korea!" Finally, the media wrote like they were chanting a slogan.

In China, the fans' enthusiasm was also unprecedentedly high. Many fans expressed their expectations for the March 3rd match online, and they basically believed that victory was inevitable. Once asked for the reason, they were almost unanimous: we have a healthy and mature Zhang Jun.

There were also some calm fans who analyzed that although there was Zhang Jun, he had returned after playing so many games and was exhausted from the journey, so his physical condition was not very good. It was better not to be too superstitious about Zhang Jun. Moreover, in terms of comprehensive strength, physical fitness, will, psychology, and tactical aspects, the Olympic team did not have an advantage, and it was also an away game. The power of the South Korean "Red Devils" cheering squad had already been seen during the Korea-Japan World Cup, and the home advantage was too obvious.

The fans who supported China's victory jumped out and accused this group of people of being traitors and sellouts, saying such discouraging words before the game with ulterior motives. The calm faction, on the other hand, believed that Chinese football was impetuous, and the fans were the same. Then the two sides fought fiercely on the forums of major websites. In addition, a small number of people also jumped in to stir up trouble, saying what was so good about Chinese football? It didn't matter to us whether they won or lost. As long as Zhang Jun and Yang Pan didn't suffer the fate of *shang zhong yong* (a cautionary idiom about a child prodigy who fails to live up to their potential), there was nothing else to worry about. This was their point of view.

The pre-match atmosphere of a so-called big battle was probably built up like this, right?

※※※Zhang Jun called Sophie in the hotel. He didn't know much about what was happening in China, but Sophie did. However, Sophie didn't tell him, because she didn't want these things to distract Zhang Jun. He should only think about football now, and focus on the match the day after tomorrow. Sophie didn't want to call Zhang Jun at this time, but this time Zhang Jun took the initiative to call, so she didn't mention football at all, and just told Zhang Jun about things at school.

But in the current situation, how could it be possible not to mention football?

"The school is very lively recently. The student union is also organizing everyone to watch the game, saying they want to cheer you on..." Sophie then realized that she had unknowingly talked about football again. "Uh, Zhang Jun, are you tired?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You've played in the league, the UEFA Cup, European matches, and then you flew back to play in Asia. Is your physical strength okay?"

"Hehe, no problem, I'm in good shape!" Zhang Jun said with a smile.

"South Korea is an old rival, and it's also their home field."

"Don't you have confidence in me, Sophie?"

"No, it's not that. I just..."

"I want you to cheer me on, Sophie. As long as you cheer me on over there, it doesn't matter even if it's their home field."

"I've always been cheering you on..."

"Today's cheering is different," Zhang Jun said with a smile.

"What's different?"

"Give me a kiss. I want you to give me a kiss." Zhang Jun smiled happily, joking. He didn't expect to actually hear a "啵" sound.

"This..."

"Work hard, Zhang Jun," Sophie said gently.

※※※Zhang Jun hung up the phone somewhat absentmindedly. He touched his cheek, still savoring the kiss Sophie had given him across time and space.

He was just joking, but he didn't expect Sophie to actually kiss him. When did she become so bold and direct? Thinking back to high school, she was so reserved. It's only been three years, tsk tsk!

"Hey? Zhang Jun, did you harass a waitress and get beaten up?" He ran into Xiang Tao, who was one of the few people on the team who didn't call him "Brother Jun" or "Brother Zhang."

Zhang Jun rolled his eyes at him: "You're the one who harasses waitresses!"

"Then why are you covering your face for no reason?"

"Can't I have a toothache?"

"Toothache! Then you have to be careful! I'll take you to see the team doctor. It would be troublesome if it affects the game the day after tomorrow!" Xiang Tao shouted in alarm.

Zhang Jun shook off his hand: "Stop messing around. Aren't you nervous?"

"Nervous? Hehe, they should be the ones who are nervous." Xiang Tao pointed to the South Korean reporters coming and going in the hotel lobby.

Zhang Jun looked at Xiang Tao's smiling face. This person had been criticized by some media for being uncultured because his words were often rough, and they had deduced the formula "no culture = no quality = a typical example of the ultimate decline of Chinese players." He really didn't know how those reporters' brains were wired. If this was called having no quality, then what kind of quality did those so-called national team players possess?

How could having no culture be linked to having no quality? There were many people with only elementary school education but noble sentiments, and there were also many people with overseas degrees who betrayed their country.

Xiang Tao himself scoffed at the media's evaluation and didn't bother to refute it at all. Zhang Jun felt that Xiang Tao could remain so calm not because he was a "musclehead," as others said. He was just more confident and believed in himself more than others, both on and off the field. This could be seen from the fact that he could maintain his characteristics even when facing the distrust of the head coach in the local team.

When others were always complaining that the environment was ruining them, why didn't they think about what they had done to face this environment? Did they persevere? No, they didn't persevere. But Xiang Tao persevered, persevered in very difficult circumstances.

Well, that's going too far, Zhang Jun shook his head.

"Hey, Zhang Jun, do you have a headache again?"

But Zhang Jun just smiled. He patted Xiang Tao's shoulder: "Let them be nervous for the game the day after tomorrow." Then he put his hands in his pockets, turned around and walked towards the elevator, leaving Xiang Tao standing blankly in the lobby, not understanding what was going on.

※※※Adapting to the venue, pre-match training... Qiu Suhui didn't make the same mistakes as his opponent Kim Ho-kon, such as wearing the wrong jersey or refusing interviews. He put Zhang Jun in the starting lineup during pre-match training, allowing the Chinese and South Korean reporters present to see the Chinese team's training clearly. It wasn't until the last pre-match training that he asked the reporters to leave fifteen minutes after the training started.

From this point of view, maybe it was true, as Xiang Tao said, that the Koreans were the ones who were nervous, not these newborn calves.

The training content was the same as before, with only one change. After each training session, Zhang Jun would be called aside by Qiu Suhui for individual training, including extra shooting training and set-piece practice.

"Don't think that you can kick a perfect arc ball by leaning back," Qiu Suhui said to him. "Beckham doesn't lean back either. That's just an illusion that the audience sees after his movements are coordinated. His upper body always tries to stay upright and stable. This will help you kick a faster arc ball and make the ball more stable. Leaning back too much will only make the ball fly over the crossbar again and again, and it's very unfavorable for you to control the ball after you kick it. You must know that truly excellent free-kick experts can maintain control of the ball until it hits the net. After maintaining the stability of your upper body, your free-kick accuracy will also be improved."

As expected of Coach Qiu, he immediately pointed out the problem that he had been thinking about for a long time, and the answer. In the Netherlands, he basically relied on his own exploration for free kicks, and there were indeed not many people who could help him in this regard.

If Coach Qiu could always be by his side, Zhang Jun thought. Otherwise, his technical progress would really be slow. But that was impossible. He could only seize every training session with the Olympic team and treat one day as two, and two days as four.

※※※The night before the game was very peaceful. Many Chinese reporters waited in the hotel lobby, hoping to capture some different news, but they were all disappointed. Except for a few players who occasionally came down to drink some drinks or call their parents, most of the players were doing their own things upstairs.

After experiencing the turmoil with Syria, they were no longer a group of rookies who relied on paper dolls to relieve their inner tension. Some read books, some bragged, and some played cards. Qiu Suhui even went for a walk outside the hotel with Hu Li. No wonder a reporter sighed: "Maybe the scene of holding preparation meetings before going to bed will never be seen again in this Olympic team."

"Are you a little nervous?" Qiu Suhui asked Hu Li, who was taciturn beside him.

"Aren't you nervous? The opponent is the South Korean team, an opponent that Chinese football hasn't defeated in more than twenty years."

Qiu Suhui smiled, "Hehe! History belongs only to the past. The current Olympic team is a brand new team, they have no history. Therefore, the 'fear of Korea syndrome' that the media is touting is invalid for them. Tomorrow is their first clash with the Koreans, so how can there be any talk of fearing Korea?"

"That's what you say, but they have grown up in the environment of Chinese football after all. It's impossible to say that the past has no impact on them..."

Qiu Suhui interrupted Hu Li: "It's precisely because of this that they don't need to be mobilized to play against South Korea. When we were assigned to the same group as South Korea a few months ago, many people even prepared for the worst for the Olympic team, but in my heart, I thought this was the real best-case scenario! Playing against South Korea, there's nothing more exciting than defeating the Koreans here! I just think about it, and I get excited, don't you?"

"I..."

"Haven't you ever thought about beating the Koreans beautifully? Haven't you ever had this idea? Haha!" Qiu Suhui watched the complex emotions on Hu Li's face. He had a sense of satisfaction that he had seen through other people's minds. In this seemingly peaceful night, Qiu Suhui's laughter was particularly clear.

※※※The Olympic team slept until nearly noon. Qiu Suhui didn't arrange any training today, but only announced that the players could move freely within a three-kilometer radius. But none of the players left the hotel. Unlike the previous night, today was sunny, and more players went down to the hotel's coffee shop to drink drinks, bask in the sun, and chat. Waiting for the night to arrive.

Compared with the team's leisure and ease, the reporters were even busier. They had one most important thing they hadn't gotten their hands on. Losing this would be a dereliction of duty, and that was the Chinese team's starting lineup for this China-South Korea war.

The South Korean team's list had been announced a few hours ago, but Qiu Suhui kept his mouth shut about the Chinese team's starting lineup, keeping it tightly under wraps. It seemed that China was nervous again about the starting lineup. So much so that some South Korean media said that everything Qiu Suhui had done before was just putting on a brave face, and when it came to the critical moment, he showed his "cowardly nature."

The head coach's lack of cooperation couldn't stump the resourceful news workers. Based on the Chinese team's starting lineup in the match against Syria, plus their own work experience, they compiled a Chinese starting lineup that was close to the truth.

The goalkeeper was No. 1 Sima Hongxin. On the defense line, No. 5 Liu Peng and No. 6 Li Suisheng still partnered as center backs, No. 3 Xiang Tao was the left back, and No. 2 Wang Liang was the right back. In midfield, although No. 15 Li Yongle was kept on the Olympic team by Qiu Suhui, No. 14 Wang Yu's main defensive midfielder would still not be shaken, and the attacking midfielder was still No. 10 Lin Feng. Because of Yang Pan's absence, No. 21 Zheng Chuan would still be the main right midfielder, and Zhao Pengyu, who had performed well on the left midfielder, would continue to start. As for the forwards, naturally No. 9 Li Jie and No. 11 Zhang Jun would join forces, one tall and one fast, a perfect combination.

This list not only had the players' names and positions, but also the analysis was reasonable and well-organized. After being announced by the media, it was once considered by fans to be the official version of the Chinese team's starting lineup.

But a fake is always a fake, no matter how realistic it is, it's still only close to the truth.

※※※At 6:30 PM Beijing time on March 3rd, the first match of Group A of the Asian Qualifying Tournament for the Athens Olympics was about to kick off at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the South Korean capital. The two sides in the battle were two old enemies in Asian football: South Korea and China.

CCtv5's live broadcast had already started at six o'clock. The situation of the Chinese team arriving at the stadium by bus earlier was played, and then the host and guests made some analysis and predictions about the game, including the Chinese team's mysterious starting lineup.

At this moment, a signal was inserted from the front. A reporter in front of the Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea appeared on the screen with a piece of paper in his hand, looking a little excited.

"Ah, Jianxiang. We just, we just got the Chinese team's starting lineup." He was so excited that he couldn't speak smoothly. "It can be said that most of it is the same as the media predicted, with only one difference, a key difference! The starting forwards that Qiu Suhui sent out were not the highly anticipated Zhang Jun, but No. 9 Li Jie and No. 18 Hu Bin. In this way, China's starting lineup is exactly the same as the first match against Syria, exactly the same!"

"No Zhang Jun?" Wang Jianxiang in the Beijing studio was stunned. "What is Qiu Suhui thinking?" He blurted out the question.

※※※Inside the away team's locker room at the World Cup Stadium, Qiu Suhui said to the players with a smile: "Our opponents must be very busy right now."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"You all understand, right? This is the starting lineup. Zhang Jun, considering that you are tired from the journey and to give the opponent a surprise, I didn't let you start. I will decide when you will play based on the situation on the field, so be patient."

Zhang Jun nodded lightly. When everyone thought he would start, Coach Qiu made this move, which would indeed catch the Koreans off guard. Then, when the time was right, he would suddenly appear and kill, kill them until they were completely defeated!

"Clarify your responsibilities on the field, then fully trust your teammates around you, play to your heart's content, move towards the goal, and strive for victory. This is a football match." Qiu Suhui said calmly, looking at the people he had been with for almost a year. Nine months of hard work, twists and turns, laughter, sweat, and pain, had all come to fruition today. Prove yourselves with your performance in a high-profile match, and then slap those doubters hard in the face.

"Remember every word I've said to you, and then..." He raised his hands, "...go play the game!" He waved them down forcefully.

※※※Passing through a narrow passage, the starting players from both sides met in the hall. They would wait here and then go to the stadium together, to that battlefield filled with noise.

Zhang Jun left the locker room earlier as a substitute player. He walked side by side with Li Yongle through the hall to the bench. While passing through the hall, Zhang Jun said to Li Yongle: "As expected of the World Cup opening match venue, it's much better than the Veronica in Volendam. In that kind of environment, you can't hear what I'm saying at all in Veronica. The soundproofing is really good! The Koreans are really rich, tsk tsk!"

The Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as the Sangam Stadium, can accommodate more than 63,900 people. As the venue for the opening match of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, it witnessed how the Senegalese defeated the defending champion France, starting the World Cup with upsets and subversion. I wonder if the Chinese team defeating South Korea here would be considered an upset? Would it be considered subverting more than twenty years of "tradition"?

Everything would be revealed within the ninety minutes after 7:00 PM Beijing time, including what impact not letting Zhang Jun start would have on China and on this match.

※※※The majestic march sounded, and the audience erupted in huge cheers. The players from both sides entered the field!

The FIFA Fair Play flag was in the center, followed by the flags of the two participating countries: South Korea's Taegeukgi and China's Five-Star Red Flag. Following the flags were the three referees on duty. Behind the referees were the twenty-two starting players.

"Now the players from both sides are entering the field! The South Korean team is wearing their traditional red home team uniforms, and the Chinese team is wearing white match uniforms! Leading the way are the captains of both sides, South Korean captain is defender No. 2 Cao Bingju, and the Chinese team is No. 5 Liu Peng."

South Korean fans wore red South Korean team uniforms and shouted "Daehanminguk! Daehanminguk!" Because their clothing was uniform and their actions were orderly, they appeared particularly powerful. In comparison, the hundreds of Chinese fans on the scene lacked unified and strong command, and neither their clothing nor their actions showed any momentum. A few Five-Star Red Flags were also not prominent at all on the stands with red as the main background.

The Koreans seemed to want to create a home atmosphere comparable to the World Cup, and use this atmosphere to overwhelm the Chinese team.

The players from both sides lined up on either side of the referees, stood still, and waited for the national anthem to sound.

First, the national anthem of the away team, China's "March of the Volunteers," was played. The South Korean fans were silent, and the Chinese audience could clearly hear the players' singing through close-up shots of the Chinese players.

"Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves! With our very flesh and blood Let us build our new Great Wall! The Chinese Nation faces its greatest danger! From each one forces out his urgent call: Arise! Arise!! Arise!!!"

Zhang Jun stood in front of the bench. Although he wasn't starting, his mood was the same as, no, even deeper than, those of his eleven teammates! This was the first time he had put on the Chinese team's jersey and stood on the field representing China to sing the national anthem. It wasn't the first time singing the national anthem. From elementary school to high school, Zhang Jun didn't know how many times he had sung it. He used to regard the flag-raising ceremony every Monday morning as a formality, but this time, standing on the South Korean field, he and the people around him sang the national anthem loudly, and he really felt the blood in his heart burning, just like his ancestors sang this song decades ago, facing the invaders.

"Arise! Arise!! Arise!!! We are of one heart, Braving the enemy's fire! March on! Braving the enemy's fire! March on! March on!! March on!!!"

※※※"Audience friends, if you just got off work and turned on the TV. What you are seeing now is the first match of Group A of the Asian Qualifying Tournament for the Athens Olympics! The two sides playing are the South Korean Olympic team and the Chinese Olympic team! The match is about to begin, and we are live broadcasting this match for you from the Beijing CCtv5 studio. Today, we have invited former national team player Li Bing as a commentator. We hope that the young players of the Olympic team can bring us a wonderful victory in Seoul!"

"That's right, this South Korean Olympic team is called the worst Olympic team in their history by their own media, so breaking the jinx of fearing Korea is the best opportunity now!"

"Li Bing, as a veteran national team player, you have also played against the South Korean team many times. Can you recall some of the past encounters between the two sides?"

"Um, at that time..."

※※※The Chinese team's players formed a circle in their own half. Liu Peng, as the captain, had a few words to say: "We've worked so hard for so long. Some people came in, some people left. What are we doing this for? Everyone should be clear about the grievances between South Korea and us. Play without restraint and make a big splash on their home field!"

"Oh!"

※※※"Okay! The match is about to begin. Let's go back to the scene. This match is very important for both sides. Qiu Suhui surprisingly didn't send Zhang Jun to start. I don't know if it's to catch the South Korean team off guard, or because he's considering that Zhang Jun's condition is really not good after a long journey. I heard that Zhang Jun's free-kick accuracy rate after returning is not as good as when he was in the Netherlands."

"Um, maybe Qiu Suhui considered both aspects. Indeed, Zhang Jun has shown signs of physical exhaustion after playing in the Dutch Cup, the UEFA Cup, and the league consecutively. Volendam's ultimate elimination from the UEFA Cup can't be said to have nothing to do with Zhang Jun's physical decline. The South Korean team has a tenacious style of play, and Qiu Suhui not letting Zhang Jun start to protect the player is also reasonable. The media's pre-match prediction that Zhang Jun would start was just wishful thinking."

"However, in this way, South Korea's pre-match tactical arrangements have all been scrapped. It is said that the tactics Kim Ho-kon formulated were very targeted, haha! Okay, now the referee from Singapore blows the whistle, and the match begins! The South Korean team, wearing red tops and white shorts, is attacking from the left side of the field to the right side, and the Chinese team, wearing white tops and white shorts, is attacking from right to left!"

※※※Qiu Suhui's starting lineup did cause some confusion for the South Korean team. Before the match, Kim Ho-kon repeatedly studied Zhang Jun's match videos in the UEFA Cup, and summarized Zhang Jun's characteristics such as fast speed, flexible reactions, and comprehensive skills. He specially formulated offensive and defensive tactics against Zhang Jun, and conducted highly targeted repeated drills in these days of training.

But Zhang Jun not starting made all these "targeted" efforts useless. Kim Ho-kon didn't expect Qiu Suhui to not rely on overseas players under so much pressure, but instead chose an all-domestic lineup. And he requested that Park Ji-sung, who had only trained with the team for one day, start. In the game between the two coaches, Kim Ho-kon had already lost a goal first.

The hasty adjustments half an hour before the match could not bring much effect to the South Korean team. On the contrary, the Chinese team followed the established tactics, relying on a fearless spirit of newborn calves, and launched wave after wave of attacks on the South Korean team's goal, like a tide coming fiercely.

Lin Feng belonged to the kind of attacking midfielder that is basically extinct in China now. He has excellent ball control ability and is good at passing. He is a typical No. 10, not a No. 9 and a half. Unfortunately, such players are not popular in China today, because they are not good enough at defending and their scoring ability is also slightly weaker. In a league where even the center forward has to retreat to the goal, who would want a person who is excellent in individual skills but quite useless in the team's tactics?

But in Qiu Suhui's eyes, who advocates offense, Lin Feng is the main attacking midfielder of the Olympic team. His problem of dribbling too much has also been completely solved. It's just that the attitudes and methods of those coaches before were problematic.

When the team is on the attack, they will pass the ball to Lin Feng in front, and he will organize the attack. Lin Feng receives the ball and easily dodges the South Korean's fierce defense with a double-footed flick.

"Fierce is fierce, but it's very stupid!" Lin Feng smiled disdainfully, but he was suddenly tackled and fell, and the ball was naturally lost.

The referee signaled that there was no foul and the match continued. The South Korean team took the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Only then did Lin Feng have time to look up to see who had tackled him just now. A tall red figure, the No. 2 jersey and the white captain's armband on his left arm told Lin Feng that he was the captain of the South Korean Olympic team, No. 2 center back Cao Bingju. He had been selected for the national team many times and already had a goal for the national team.

Park Ji-sung, the young player from Eindhoven, is the offensive organizer for South Korea, while Cao Bingju is a mountain on South Korea's defense line. If you want to score, you must climb over this mountain.

In an instant, Park Ji-sung had taken the ball through the midfield. He dribbled past Wang Yu and shot from a long distance! The central shot from about twenty-seven meters was steadily pressed under him by the tall Sima Hongxin. If such a long-range shot doesn't have any changes, it is difficult to pass through Sima's ten fingers.

Because the tactical guidance is unclear, the South Korean team seems very anxious after attacking the frontcourt. Most people will use long-range shots. South Korea's long-range shots are not bad, but unfortunately the Chinese defense line pushes them too far, and if the shooting power is not strong, it is difficult to pose much real threat to the Chinese goal.

When the Chinese team attacks, they follow Qiu Suhui's request to control the ball more. Because the South Korean team recovers very quickly, if they can't counterattack, they have to stabilize the rhythm and keep the formation compact. This makes China's attack look like a tide, wave after wave, endlessly. Unless the goalkeeper or defender directly gets the ball.

This tactic is very oppressive, like a giant hammer slowly pressing down, making the opponent's physical and mental burden more and more heavy. Not to mention the sudden exertion of force in the slow movement, it is simply impossible for the opponent to defend against.

Of course, tactics are one thing, and concrete execution is another. It is impossible to ask the young Chinese players to complete the tactics 100%. As long as they can grasp a few of the limited opportunities, it is enough. The success rate of completing a tactic is much more valuable than the quantity of completing the tactic requirements.

※※※Lin Feng made a sudden stop and turn to temporarily get rid of Choi Won-kwon, No. 12 of the South Korean team. Since Wang Yu does not have excellent ability in offensive and defensive organization, Lin Feng naturally became the key figure in controlling the rhythm of the Chinese team. When to control, when to pass the ball, when to accelerate straight passes, these are all choices he must make based on the situation at the time.

Zhao Pengyu is reaching out for the ball, but his position is not good, and there is a South Korean player not far away. On the other hand, Xiang Tao has the ability and opportunity to insert from the back. Lin Feng didn't hesitate and passed the ball to Xiang Tao behind him.

Xiang Tao stopped the ball, and the South Korean players immediately stepped forward to press him closely, because according to the previous video, Xiang Tao was one of the most active people in the Chinese team's assists. Once he gets the ball near the midfield, vertical breakthroughs are definitely more common than passing.

Sure enough, even in the face of the opponent's close pressing, Xiang Tao still chose to dribble the ball along the sideline.

"What the coach said is really right!" Cao Jae-jin, No. 18 of the South Korean team who was defending Xiang Tao, kept in mind the coach's instructions before the match. As soon as he saw Xiang Tao dribbling the ball, he decided to use a tackle to destroy the ball. But just as he took action, he saw Xiang Tao's left foot very inconspicuously passing the ball horizontally.

Breakthrough? No, it's a pass.

Li Suisheng stepped forward to respond to this pass, and the center back even crossed the center line! The Chinese team is in high spirits in the first half!

Li Suisheng did not transfer horizontally, he sent the ball forward again, and Xiang Tao happened to run to the position to receive the ball, two-on-one! Xiang Tao continued to dribble the ball along the sideline, and Kim Jung-yong, the No. 14 midfielder of the South Korean team, rushed up to intercept, but Xiang Tao flicked his instep, and the football fell to Zhao Pengyu's feet again.

The South Korean defender Park Young-ho quickly stuck to Zhao Pengyu before he could turn around. But Zhao Pengyu never thought of turning around, he directly held Park Young-ho with his hand, and flicked the ball with his heel! The football was sent forward again!

"A beautiful back-heel pass, the Chinese team's attack on the left is very active!"

Xiang Tao went around from the outside, he caught up with the football!

"For a three-defender formation, the biggest loopholes are on the two sidelines," Qiu Suhui muttered to himself.

Xiang Tao looked up at the penalty area, and then started to cross!

"The Chinese team is crossing! The high center forward Li Jie is responding in front of the goal!"

Li Jie, who is 1.89 meters tall, jumped high, he jumped very high, a whole head higher than Kim Chi-kun, No. 26!

"Header!"

With such a close-range header, it was almost impossible for the South Korean goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang, No. 31, to react, but the football slightly deviated from the goal!

"Ball... Oh! It's a pity, it slipped out of the goal!" Wang Jianxiang shouted in the Beijing studio.

Li Jie jumped up again after landing, and roared in annoyance: "Fuck his mother!"

Xiang Tao also felt it was a pity, he waved his hand: "Xiao Li Zi, if you don't score again, you'll be severely punished when you get back!"

"Fuck off!" Li Jie replied to him.

"Keep it down! This is a live broadcast." Xiang Tao shrugged and ran back to defend quickly.

Although this ball didn't go in, tens of thousands of South Koreans on the scene seemed to have felt that today's Chinese team was a bit different from the Chinese team of the past, but what was the difference? No one could tell.

March 3rd is not an auspicious day for South Korea.

※※※ps: Next chapter "Who is the Key Figure" exciting preview: Wang Yu closely watches the front, "When you go up, I'll cover. This is the coach's arrangement."

Li Yongle looks at this partner who was initially worried that he would take his position, "If there's a chance, you rush up too."

"Idiot, who will defend if I rush up?" Wang Yu turns his head, but doesn't see Li Yongle.

"When you went up this morning, I covered," Li Yongle said behind him. No wonder Wang Yu couldn't find Li Yongle just now, he was behind him.

"But...this doesn't meet the tactical requirements..."

"Tactics are dead, people are alive," Li Yongle smiled.