Chapter 105 Give Him a Chance

At the start of the second half, Wu Shangshan was called over by Hu Li to warm up. But Wu Shangshan didn't think this was a sign he was about to enter the game, because like him, almost the entire bench went to warm up. He really couldn't see any intention behind calling him to warm up, other than to keep him from sitting on the bench all the time, lest he get hemorrhoids.

While sprinting back and forth on the sidelines, he occasionally paid attention to the situation on the field. In his opinion, although Li Jie was very hardworking, Italian defenders had never been afraid of tall and strong forwards, and Li Jie's style of play was perfectly suited to the Italians' tastes. Why could Zhang Jun always pose a threat to Italy? Because he was flexible. Now the level of Italian defenders in one-on-one situations had dropped significantly, so they were very troubled by those skill-based forwards.

Wu Shangshan watched the game and analyzed it. He subconsciously kept thinking about what he would do if he were on the field in the current situation, and what he would do in another situation.

As Wu Shangshan expected, Li Jie was performing quite diligently, but facing those strong Italian defenders, he didn't have many opportunities. His footwork wasn't as good as Zhang Jun's, and he wasn't fast, so he only had headers and physical strength to rely on. Unfortunately, the Italian defenders weren't afraid of headers or collisions; they were afraid of speed and skill!

Li Jie could only abandon his idea of scoring goals and concentrate on making plays for Zhang Jun and other teammates, acting as a true target man—in the middle of the Italian defenders, he was that post. He determined the direction and route of attack for his teammates at all times. Yang Pan, Li Yongle, Krew, Zhao Pengyu, and others were able to determine their passing routes because of Li Jie's presence.

This was also why Qiu Suhui dared to abandon Wu Shangshan and let Li Jie play—the Chinese team's offensive methods should be more diverse. Our combination shouldn't just be Zhang Jun and Wu Shangshan; it should also include Zhang Jun and Li Jie, or Li Jie and Wu Shangshan.

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In the second half, Italy was indeed a different team from the first half.

If Italy in the first half was somewhat like a team waiting to die, then Italy in the second half reminded people of the peak of their powers. The defense even made Zhang Jun complain endlessly, and the offense showed a strong momentum. Whether it was Cassano or Pazzini, or Bonera and Bovo, everyone was bursting with tremendous energy.

They were not only fighting for qualification, but also for their dignity. As a team that had once been glorious, they couldn't allow that glory to be lost in their hands.

Li Yongle fiercely collided with Cassano, but Cassano used Li Yongle's momentum to rush directly to the left, and even accelerated to get rid of Liu Peng, who was blocking the way. When he faced Li Suisheng, he didn't hog the ball like he did in the first half, but cleverly passed an overhead ball directly to the back post of the penalty area, where Gilardino, who was unmarked, received the ball and fired a shot!

An Ke made a world-class save, tipping the ball over the crossbar with one hand!

"Damn it! What are the defenders doing? Letting people through! Letting people through! The two wingers need to track back! Damn it! If we let Italy attack like this, we'll be finished sooner or later!" An Ke jumped up from the ground and roared angrily. He hadn't yelled at his teammates like this in a while, because everyone had been performing well, and the opponents hadn't been doing much. But now it was different; Italy's attack brought him a huge pressure, the pressure of being afraid of conceding a goal. He had to vent it with a roar.

Gilardino scratched his head in annoyance, regretting that he hadn't managed to shoot the ball in when he was unmarked. Pirlo, who went to take the corner kick, gave Gilardino a punch on the shoulder: "Don't stand here daydreaming! We have plenty of time. If we keep this up, we have a great chance. It's up to you, Alberto! Don't lose to that kid Zhang Jun!"

"Don't lose to that kid Zhang Jun!" These words gave Gilardino a lot of stimulation. In Serie A, he had never won against Zhang Jun as a scorer. Could it be that he still couldn't win against him in the World Cup? Even if he still couldn't win against him, as long as his team won, that would be enough.

The corner kick was taken, and Nesta, who rarely came up due to stamina issues, actually rushed to the goal to head the ball. If Liu Peng hadn't desperately interfered, the ball might have gone in—the ball Nesta headed just went slightly above the crossbar, but the speed... if it had been within the frame of the goal, An Ke definitely wouldn't have reacted.

Zhang Jun watched Nesta traverse half the field in midfield, then head a very threatening ball, and then sprint back desperately, fearing that China would launch a counterattack. It wasn't easy for a thirty-four-year-old to sprint back and forth like that.

Was it not just Pazzini, but everyone in Italy who had this determination? To snatch victory and the hope of qualifying from the Chinese team?

He had said this to Pazzini, but he would never let them turn these words into reality.

Nice words had to be said, but China couldn't lose either the victory or the qualification.

He wouldn't let Italy off the hook, nor would he let Italy win. As for whether they could qualify after losing to China, he would let them see the results of the Mexico and Colombia game. That was the Italians' destiny, and it had nothing to do with him, Zhang Jun.

If Italy was destined to fall into hell, then all Zhang Jun had to do was give Italy another push.

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A long pass found Li Jie, who headed the ball directly to Zhang Jun, who was running up behind him. Zhang Jun used his chest to flick the ball forward while running, followed by a header. His body continued to move forward, and his speed didn't decrease at all.

"Here he comes again!" Bonera thought in his heart. Zhang Jun's speed was indeed feared by the entire Italian defense. He was quite like Ronaldo at his peak, able to make all kinds of convincing feints while dribbling at high speed, while maintaining the same speed!

This was a remarkable ability.

Zhang Jun leaned forward, his feet quickly moving. A simple bicycle kick, because of the super-fast speed, looked more threatening under Zhang Jun's feet than when others did it. Looking at Zhang Jun's feet, Bonera himself didn't know which direction he should pounce in. Would Zhang Jun go around once, twice, or more? He couldn't guess at all.

Just as Bonera was hesitating, Zhang Jun suddenly shot! He didn't break through anyone; he just shot suddenly in front of the Italian defenders! Like the shot in the first half, there was no run-up, and even the swing of his thigh was very small, relying entirely on the explosive power of his calf. The ball flew towards the goal.

Buffon once again used all his strength to stop the shot. He even fumbled the ball when he saved it, but fortunately Li Jie wasn't in position in time, allowing him to have enough time to react a second time and press the ball under his body again.

Compared to the first half, the second half was clearly much more exciting. The pace of the back-and-forth between the two sides accelerated, and all kinds of threatening shots appeared frequently, making the audience cheer with satisfaction.

Now, the Chinese team no longer dominated the situation on the field. Italy's counterattacks could already penetrate deep into their territory, directly threatening An Ke's goal. It wouldn't be surprising if either side's goal was breached.

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Time slowly moved to the sixtieth minute of the match. Qiu Suhui glanced at the field. The two sides were entangled in midfield, and the situation was now trending towards calm. Perhaps their stamina had reached a bump, and they all needed to recover.

Qiu Suhui decided to temporarily shift his attention away from the field. He needed to make some adjustments to his lineup. Being one goal ahead was really a very dangerous thing. The opponent only needed one goal, and he only needed one mistake to break this advantage and cause very serious consequences.

He wanted to nip this crisis in the bud before it even appeared.

"Lao Hu, have Wu Shangshan come back. It's time for him to play."

Wu Shangshan was stunned for a moment when he heard Hu Li call him, saying that he was preparing to play. He had thought that his excessive words and deeds in the past few days had completely angered Qiu Suhui, and that he would no longer have any chance in this World Cup. He didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly.

What kind of evaluation did Qiu Suhui have of him in his heart? The young Wu Shangshan couldn't figure it out. He thought that his future in the team only had two options: being a starter or not even being a substitute.

Hu Li shouted impatiently, then waved his hand sharply, signaling him to hurry back.

Only then did Wu Shangshan quickly run back to the coach's bench and take off his blue vest.

Qiu Suhui turned his head to look at the field. By the time he turned his head back, Wu Shangshan was already standing in front of him. Qiu Suhui tilted his head and stared at Wu Shangshan for a while, until Wu Shangshan felt his heart palpitate. Only then did he put his eyes on the tactical board in his hand.

Wu Shangshan breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Qiu Suhui would bring up the events of the past few days.

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"China is trying to launch a quick attack! Oh no! Zhao Pengyu's pass was intercepted. His intention was too obvious! I really don't know what he's thinking. Pirlo is stuck in the line between him and Krew, and he still wants to pass—and it's still the easiest ground ball to intercept!"

Zhao Pengyu, who lost the ball, desperately pounced on Pirlo, trying to intercept the ball. Pirlo didn't give him such a chance. After intercepting Zhao Pengyu's pass, he immediately passed it laterally to De Rossi. When attacking, De Rossi didn't need to consider Krew's existence, because Krew's defense was really not worth watching.

De Rossi didn't pay any attention to Krew, who was interfering with him from behind. While protecting the ball, he looked up to observe the situation on the field and decided on his next move.

China had just tried to launch a quick attack, and most of their forces had pressed up in a short period of time. If he continued to look around like this, the best counterattack opportunity would be wasted!

Cassano waved his hand sharply in front: "De Rossi! What are you doing?! Pass the ball! Pass the ball quickly!!"

De Rossi gritted his teeth, not caring that his current posture was a bit awkward for passing the ball—because Krew was constantly harassing him from behind. He suddenly made a long pass, traversing the middle of the field and sending it directly to Cassano's feet.

The cheers of the Italian fans rang out in the stands.

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Qiu Suhui turned his head back to look at the field in annoyance. The Italians' sudden loud cheering interrupted what he was saying, and he had to start over: "Wu Shangshan, remember, you're coming on to replace Li Jie. Zhang Jun will be up front to attract the attention of the opponent's defenders for you. You stay a little further back, so that it's easier for your speed to break through. Get the ball more, dribble more, shoot more!"

Qiu Suhui raised his voice as he spoke, and Wu Shangshan was stunned. If his ears weren't playing tricks on him, he really heard Qiu Suhui give him such an important task, letting him be the main attacker, to the point that Zhang Jun had to serve him and open up the enemy's defense. He felt that this was not a task that should be given to someone who had been put in the cold palace like him.

Was there some mistake somewhere?

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Cassano received the pass from De Rossi, but he didn't touch the ball, because Li Yongle had killed him again, and at the same time, he was fierce and sharp. Cassano expected Li Yongle to do this, so he didn't touch the ball in advance, but jumped up directly to avoid Li Yongle's tackle. And Li Yongle didn't expect Cassano to not touch the ball at all, which caused his tackle to be misjudged, and he didn't tackle the ball.

He had failed!

This was a fatal action! In the front of his own half of the penalty area, as the main defensive midfielder, the last line of defense in front of the defenders, he made a defensive action, but he didn't touch the ball, and he didn't stop the opponent's players. He just watched Cassano easily cross him like a hurdle, and then chase after the rolling ball. He went away!

His unconvinced personality made Li Yongle jump up from the ground suddenly, and then his whole body pressed towards Cassano.

Cassano obviously felt the danger coming from behind, and this time he didn't dare to continue dribbling the ball, but he was very smart and poked the ball out at the same time as Li Yongle pounced on him.

Li Yongle risked a card to block Cassano, but he didn't expect that the other party knew his actions without turning his head, and also passed the ball out!

Cassano, who had passed the ball, was knocked to the ground by Li Yongle, but the ball was no longer at his feet.

Li Yongle, who had committed a foul this time, took the initiative to raise his right hand, signaling to the referee that he had committed a foul, hoping that the referee would blow his whistle to suspend the game and give Italy a free kick—that way, he would have successfully defended against Italy's fast counterattack.

But the referee stretched out his arms flat towards the goal: Advantage! The game continues!

After Wang Yu saw Li Yongle make a mistake, he pounced on Montolivo, who was receiving the ball, and at the same time, he fiercely tackled from behind, hoping to use his foul to stop the Italians from breaking through.

Montolivo wasn't as versatile as Cassano, and he was good at dribbling. His ability to send the ball out in any situation was what made him the main attacking midfielder in Italy.

Wang Yu's tackle was very fierce, and it went directly between Montolivo's legs, but before that, Montolivo sent out a provocative pass even when his center of gravity was extremely unstable!

This action reminded people of Krew in Florence... Having been teammates with Krew for several seasons, it wasn't surprising that Montolivo could do this action skillfully.

Liu Peng wanted to jump up and head the ball, and he really did it...

But after he jumped up, he realized that the ball was flying higher than he had imagined. He tried to straighten his waist in the air, and tried to stretch his neck, hoping to brush the ball, but the result was still... he missed!

One drawback of having three defenders is that when their team launches a fast attack but is intercepted halfway, and then the opponent launches a counterattack, the defense will seem stretched. Zhao Pengyu and Yang Pan were both trying their best to chase back, but no matter how fast they were, they couldn't be faster than the speed of the ball rolling. After De Rossi passed the ball, the Italian team passed the ball with one touch, and instantly opened up the Chinese team's defense.

Xiang Tao was paying attention to Pazzini, his teammate in Florence, because he was the most familiar with him, so he had been "specially" taking care of this club teammate.

Li Suisheng was on the other side, and Gilardino was originally Liu Peng's responsibility...

But who could have thought that Liu Peng would miss the top? He was the most stable person on the entire defense line.

"Alberto Gilardino!" The Italian commentator raised his hand and shouted.

Gilardino received Montolivo's wonderful pass without anyone guarding him. He chested the ball down, then turned around, and shot before the ball landed! A powerful volley!

In this one-on-one situation, An Ke once again made an amazing save.

Gilardino shot in the lower corner, and in a situation where the speed was fast enough, the goalkeeper generally had the most difficulty saving this kind of ball. But An Ke's sinking speed was amazing. He almost completed the swooping action in an instant, and then dived sideways, pushing the ball with one hand! He had touched the ball! He had saved the Chinese team, and he had saved his teammates who were bound to feel guilty because of their mistakes!

Chinese fans planned to cheer loudly and praise this hero.

But An Ke didn't have the mood to enjoy the fans' cheers at this time. He was still lying on the ground—he had just fallen from the air. His eyes were still staring at the ball. This was a goalkeeper's habit, and it had almost become a conditioned reflex. He was shouting desperately: "Bastard! Defender! Clear the ball!"

Xiang Tao was stunned for a moment, and found that Pazzini's figure was no longer beside him. The ball was pushed towards his side...

An Ke was lying on the ground, struggling to get up, using both his hands and feet, and then pounced on the ball for the second time. In front of him, there was a shadow. The owner of the shadow was Gianpaolo Pazzini.

Xiang Tao saw Pazzini's back appear between An Ke and the ball, and he rushed forward, intending to stop Pazzini from shooting, or to interfere.

"I fuck..." Before An Ke could finish cursing, Pazzini suddenly stretched out his foot and flicked the ball, and the ball passed An Ke's hand lightly and quickly, and then flew straight into the empty goal behind him...

Captain... as you wish, I'll take the victory and the hope of qualifying!

Xiang Tao's hand had just touched Pazzini's shoulder at this time, and then he used force backwards, and Pazzini fell on his back, but the ball had already gone into the goal.

"gooooooooooooooal!!! ita——li——a! ita——li——a!" The Italian commentator shouted excitedly.

"Offside! This ball is offside!" Wang Jianxiang was also shouting non-stop. He even raised his right hand like the players in the field while he was in the on-site commentary box.

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Qiu Suhui, who was interrupted by the huge noise, turned his head and saw the Italian players with their arms outstretched, and the Chinese players with their heads drooping. Then he saw the referee whistling and pointing to the center circle.

Goal? Goal!

"What the hell?! What's going on?!" Qiu Suhui didn't care about his image, and blurted out a curse. He had just turned around to explain to Wu Shangshan the changes in tactics after he came on, and to let him inform the players on the field after he went up, but he didn't expect that his goal would be broken in less than a minute.

He had just been worried that his one-goal lead wouldn't be secure, so he was preparing to let Wu Shangshan come on.

Wu Shangshan also cursed, of course, he was cursing the Italians.

"A series of mistakes from midfield to the defense..." Hu Li explained to Qiu Suhui painfully.

Qiu Suhui shook his head helplessly, then suddenly grabbed Wu Shangshan, the force on his hand made Wu Shangshan's arm feel pain, he frowned, but didn't call out.

"Listen, I won't repeat it again, when you come on later, you must give me a complete recount to the others!" Qiu Suhui's tone was very fast, his expression was serious, and his eyes were sharp. He stared at Wu Shangshan. This expression made Wu Shangshan feel that Qiu Suhui really put his hopes on him, he couldn't help but nod his head, indicating that he knew.

"You come on, behind Zhang Jun, let the midfield pass the ball to you more. Because you came on later, so your stamina is guaranteed, and at the same time, hiding behind Zhang Jun can effectively hide yourself. After getting the ball, break through for me! Use your speed, skill, and all the means you can think of. Then shoot! Score for me, Zhang Jun has been eaten very thoroughly by the Italians, I need a surprise soldier, only you have this ability, understand? Why didn't I let you play from the start? It's for this moment!"

Wu Shangshan was shocked, did he always overthink? How did he know that the cunning Qiu Suhui was still acting for him at such a critical moment.

"Go up and tell Zhang Jun to give you cover and attract all the defensive attention to him. But you have to remember, as a surprise soldier, your opportunities are limited. Trapattoni is not an idiot, after a long time, after many times, he will definitely see the problem. Therefore, it's best if you can do a one-hit kill... I know it's a bit difficult, but you have to do it in this situation!"

Qiu Suhui said very sincerely, with a fanatical light bursting out in his eyes, making Wu Shangshan unknowingly follow his path, willingly listen to him, and do what he said, completely forgetting that he was still resenting him in his heart at the beginning.

Let Zhang Jun serve me, let Zhang Jun give me cover! Haha, I, Wu Shangshan, will have such a day! He immediately felt high-spirited, but still tried his best to make himself look calmer, he nodded in a deep voice—this voice had already become a little trembling because of excitement—and said: "Don't worry, Qiu Zhi! I will definitely do it!"

Women are for those who please them, and men are for those who know them!

Qiu Suhui patted Wu Shangshan hard on the back with great satisfaction: "Go on the field! It's all up to you!"

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Amidst the constant cheers of Italian fans "ita——li——a! ita——li——a! ita——li——a! ita——li——a!", the fourth referee raised the sign for the substitution, China's No. 9 replaces No. 18.

Li Jie looked at his number on the sign and shook his head gently. As a forward, it was very painful to be replaced by another forward without scoring a goal. Zhang Jun caught up and slapped him hard on the ass: "Don't shake your head! You did a good job today!"

Li Jie smiled gratefully at Zhang Jun, then quickly ran off the field, he didn't want to delay his team's time. After a simple high-five with Wu Shangshan, Wu Shangshan ran onto the field, while he took the coat that Hu Li handed over and put it on, and slowly walked back to the bench. When he passed by Qiu Suhui, he heard Qiu Suhui say softly: "Thank you, Li Jie. You've worked hard."

Li Jie's nose suddenly soured, and he quickly rubbed his nose with his hand to cover it up.

He played for sixty-three minutes, had four shots, thirty passes, eight steals, two fouls, was fouled six times, and scored zero points. But what he did was not useless. He firmly believed that the other teammates on the field would defeat Italy. He, Li Jie, although his skills were not good, he had no fame, and he could only play in the domestic league, but as a member of this group, as long as he was allowed to play, he would never let down every minute, he was not running around blindly, but truly making his own contribution to this group, even if it was insignificant compared to Zhang Jun, Krew, and others.

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Wu Shangshan, who was on the field, called everyone together while the Italians were celebrating, and then conveyed the latest instructions from the coach: "It's like this... Qiu Zhi, Qiu Zhi said to let Zhang Jun go forward to cover, let me drag back, and the midfielders will pass the ball to me more!" He spoke intermittently, obviously he had just run onto the field and hadn't caught his breath yet.

Seeing his teammates looking at him with a distrustful look, he quickly explained: "I know you must not believe what I said now, my performance some time ago..."

Zhang Jun interrupted him: "I believe you, ok, I'll distract the opponent's attention. But, the person who passes the ball to you is not me, but the people behind you, don't waste their kindness."

After speaking, he stood up, "Don't let the Italians celebrate for too long, guys." The others stood up with him.

Wu Shangshan looked up at Zhang Jun. Due to the lighting on the ceiling, he couldn't see Zhang Jun's expression clearly, and he couldn't guess Zhang Jun's heart. Was he upset because he had to cover for himself? Would people who were touted as gods by outsiders also have joys, anger, sorrows, and joys?

Yang Pan leaned close to Zhang Jun and said softly, "Qiu Zhi's arrangement, what do you think?"

"I think this is the only correct and effective method at present. My name is enough, and the Italians are more familiar with me, so letting me be the leading bird is the best choice. Wu Shangshan, who has a similar style to me, can play the effect of a surprise soldier behind me. But we don't have many opportunities, and Wu Shangshan doesn't have many opportunities either. Since he is a surprise soldier, then he can't just take action casually. I think the outcome of this game is in between a ball."

Yang Pan nodded, "I think the same as you. Also, you won't be upset that you have to cover for that kid, will you?"

Zhang Jun looked at him in surprise, "Why would I? This is a good opportunity to solve the problems between us, I can't ask for more."

Yang Pan patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder, "Ok, go, get ready to kick off. Show them some color!"

Zhang Jun and Wu Shangshan stood in the center circle, with the ball between them.

Zhang Jun kept staring at Wu Shangshan, Wu Shangshan didn't dare to look Zhang Jun in the eye, so he had to lower his head and look at the ball.

"You're replacing Li Jie, Qiu Zhi has great expectations for you, I hope you won't let them down."

Wu Shangshan was about to look up and ask Zhang Jun why it was two people when the referee blew the whistle for the kick-off.

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"Look! Wu Shangshan is on the field! He and Zhang Jun, the rest of the game is going to be interesting! How big will the conflict between them be? Will they ignore each other in the game? It's really exciting!" A Chinese reporter next to Li Yan shouted excitedly, accidentally exposing the despicable thoughts in his heart.

Li Yan glanced at him disdainfully, thinking that this person was really pitiful. As a football reporter, he couldn't do anything in football reports anymore, so he turned his attention to the gossip between players. It was a big loss for the paparazzi that he didn't become an entertainment reporter.

※※※

Zhang Jun faithfully carried out Qiu Suhui's tactical arrangements, and he ran tirelessly in the front, attracting the attention of the opponent for Wu Shangshan, who was behind him. The Italian defenders were very familiar with Zhang Jun, and they also knew how terrifying it was to let this person approach their goal, so everyone focused their attention on Zhang Jun, and ignored Wu Shangshan, who had just been substituted on.

In the eyes of the opponents, Wu Shangshan was also incomparable to Zhang Jun.

Every time Zhang Jun dribbled the ball, he would attract the attention of two Italian defenders. What about Wu Shangshan, who was behind him? Only one person came up to defend him. Whether Wu Shangshan admitted it or not, he was indeed not as good as Zhang Jun now, at least in terms of the deterrent effect on the enemy.

The midfielders were also faithfully carrying out Qiu Suhui's requirements, and they passed the ball to Wu Shangshan. Then Wu Shangshan would handle it. If the opponent didn't mark him closely, he would break through and shoot himself. If the opponent marked him very closely, he would pass the ball out again.

Qiu Suhui kept nodding his head below, "Wu Shangshan's performance is very normal, he's finally playing football, instead of being angry."

※※※

When Krew got the ball, Zhang Jun immediately ran to the left front, and an Italian central defender and right back immediately pounced on Zhang Jun. At the same time, a small gap appeared in the left rib of the penalty area.

Krew passed the ball unhesitatingly to Wu Shangshan, who appeared in that place. Because Wu Shangshan appeared suddenly, no one came up to defend him after he received the ball!

He was unmarked only nineteen meters away from the goal! This was a great opportunity for a forward!

Wu Shangshan didn't seem to expect that he would receive the ball so easily, and there wasn't even an Italian beside him. He was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that he should be shooting at this time, right?

Unfortunately, he had lost the best opportunity, and Nesta turned around to block most of his shooting angles. Wu Shangshan's hasty shot ultimately only resulted in a high shot.

The whole of China was sighing, and Wu Shangshan had wasted such a great opportunity.

Xiang Tao in the backcourt spat, "I can't figure it out, Zhang Jun is a hundred times stronger than him in terms of personal strength, why should Zhang Jun cover for this person? Look at his unreliable high shot, even I can shoot better than him!"

Even Krew frowned.

Contrary to them, Zhang Jun didn't blame Wu Shangshan, he turned around and gave Wu Shangshan a thumbs up. This action was somewhat unexpected by Wu Shangshan. Seventy-five minutes had passed since the game started, and Zhang Jun's stamina was greatly depleted, but in order to create opportunities for Wu Shangshan, he still had to run back and forth non-stop. Even if Wu Shangshan wasted his efforts, he still just gave him a thumbs up and encouraged him.

Wu Shangshan felt that his previous view of Zhang Jun was a bit too harsh.

A minute later, Krew made a comeback, he broke through the staggering De Rossi, and the Chinese team launched a quick counterattack. Zhang Jun and Wu Shangshan's speeds were both very fast. Zhang Jun pulled to the side again, he raised his right hand, and ran quickly to the wing. The Italians thought that Krew would pass the ball to Zhang Jun when they saw this gesture. So they assigned two people to defend again.

Unexpectedly, Krew kept his eyes on Zhang Jun, but passed the ball to Wu Shangshan in the middle!

"It's him again! What is Krew doing? That kid can't shoot at all!" A Chinese fan in front of the TV complained loudly. "This kind of person who抢 [qiang - compete/vie] for the main position with Zhang Jun should be dragged out and humanely destroyed! Qiu Suhui actually let him play, and even let Zhang Jun cover for him! Even so, he still wastes the few opportunities he has again and again! What the hell!"

It wasn't that Zhang Jun's covering task was over when the ball was passed to Wu Shangshan—although it was not wrong to say so, Zhang Jun pursued perfection, and since he was going to cover, he had to do it more thoroughly—he made a circle and ran to the middle of the penalty area, seemingly intending to接 [jie - receive] Wu Shangshan's pass.

The Italian defenders once again stubbornly believed that Wu Shangshan would pass the ball to Zhang Jun, and then he would complete the final blow.

"We are partners on the field, not saying that other forwards, everyone else has to serve me. You assist me, and I will also open up the opponent's defense for you." These were the words that Zhang Jun said that night. Wu Shangshan heard it clearly, and now he personally saw Zhang Jun opening up the opponent's defense for him, and he ran half the field tirelessly, from the middle to the wing, and then back again.

Bonera pressed up, intending to cut off this Chinese kid who he didn't think much of.

Wu Shangshan slammed the ball to the left, and then, taking advantage of the opponent's pouncing on the ball, he quickly poked the ball forward, and then jumped up and绕 [rao - circle/go around] the Bonera who had lost his center of gravity. His starting speed came to an explosion at this time.

Then, before the other Italian players could react, he swung his leg and shot!

The ball flew quickly towards the goal!

Buffon扑 [pu - pounce/throw oneself on] and hit the ball, but he couldn't catch the ball directly, because Wu Shangshan's shot was very similar to Zhang Jun's: the power was not great, but the angle was tricky enough.

The ball didn't go far, and a gasp sounded in the stands. In front of TVs in China, countless people were shouting frantically, "Re-shoot! Re-shoot!"

Zhang Jun was appearing in front of the goal as they had hoped, preparing to re-shoot, but Nesta held him tightly, so he didn't have more time to adjust the ball, so he had to take advantage of Nesta's strength, lean his body back, lift his left foot, and barely kicked the ball. As a result, the ball eventually flew out of the goal, brushing the crossbar, scaring Buffon, who was on the ground, into a cold sweat.

※※※

As time passed, the Italians became more and more anxious. If they drew, they would only have three points, and their chances of qualifying would be quite slim. The Italian team strengthened their attack again. At this time, the only thing that could give them some comfort was probably the news that there were any goals in the Mexico and Colombia game.

When Italy strengthened their attack, the Chinese team had to retreat to defend, and temporarily gave up their intention to continue scoring. There was a saying in China that people would fight to the death when they were cornered. Now that Italy had been forced to a dead end, Qiu Suhui had to be more conservative. Even a rabbit would bite when it was in a hurry, not to mention that Italy was not a rabbit in the first place. Every attack by Italy in this situation was very dangerous.

Qiu Suhui had to avoid their sharp edge, and then patiently look for every漏洞 [lou dong - loophole/leak] under Italy's unrestrained attack. The Chinese team could also qualify with a draw, and what he needed now was patience. It was not worth it to put the Chinese team in a situation of utter destruction for a goal.

Trapattoni paced back and forth on the sidelines non-stop, and occasionally喉 [hou - throat/yell] a few words to the ball, but unfortunately, he was old and weak, and his voice was not as loud as before. In the noisy stadium, his voice was like a lone舟 [zhou - boat] on the turbulent sea. On the contrary, his head of silver hair was blown by the night wind in a particularly messy way, which made people不禁 [bu jin - can't help but]唏 [xi - sigh]. An old man of seventy years old had to come here to feel the cruelty of football, which made people have to捏 [nie - pinch] a一把 [yi ba - measure word]汗 [han - sweat] for his heart.

In the seventy-eighth minute of the whole game, a piece of news from Johannesburg that made all the Italians crazy:

The main force of the Colombian midfielder, Martin Abella Ni, used his personal skills to create a penalty, and the team's number one shooter, John Jones, scored the penalty. After the two sides had been纠缠 [jiu chan - entangle] for seventy-seven minutes, Colombia finally broke the僵局 [jiang ju - deadlock], and they led Mexico 1:0.