Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Final confirmation, are all the reporters ready at the front? Is the studio ready?"

"All OK!"

"Countdown, five, four, three, two, one, start!"

Qi Wei turned his head to the camera in the center of the studio, with a smile on his face, "Good afternoon, viewers! Welcome to *I Love the World Cup*. Today's *I Love the World Cup* is a bit different from usual, starting at 5 PM, because there is a very crucial match at 12 AM tonight. I think everyone should know it, that is the life-and-death battle between the Chinese team and the Ukrainian team. Whoever wins, advances!"

※※※

"Teacher Liang, is it ready?" Dozens of students sat in their seats, eagerly watching Liang Ke, who was fiddling with the TV.

The air conditioner was on in the classroom, but Liang Ke was still sweating profusely. The TV was fine when the commercials were on, but why did the signal disappear as soon as the program started? He was really anxious.

He patted this and patted that, but the screen was still full of snowflakes.

Regarding this afternoon's class, the school posted a notice at the school gate at noon, stating that only three classes would be held in the afternoon, and the rest of the time would be used to watch the World Cup broadcast until school ended. The usual evening self-study was also canceled to allow students to go home early and not delay watching the World Cup.

Several players from Shuguang High School are on the Chinese team. This can be regarded as a kind of support for them.

Finally, when Liang Ke accidentally touched the optical fiber cable behind the TV, the picture suddenly returned to normal. He realized that the optical fiber cable was loose.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Then, they saw the Chinese team's bus on the TV screen.

"What we are seeing now is the entrance of the hotel where the Chinese team is staying. Several Chinese team players are already sitting in the lobby, and more and more people are coming out of the elevator. They don't seem as nervous as people imagine. I hope the lads can maintain this state until the end of the game."

Seeing that there was no problem with the TV, Liang Ke moved a chair from the podium and sat next to the TV, crossed his legs, and stared at it with a distracted look.

※※※

Reporters were going in and out of the hotel entrance. Sophie was also in the crowd. Because of Zhang Jun, she knew the Chinese team's players. When she approached a player, the other party would take the initiative to greet her, and she would take the opportunity to take pictures. Li Yan was not with her, but went to Ukraine for interviews.

Qiu Suhui and Hu Li did not come down. There are not many Chinese players in the lobby now. Most of the time, the players are sitting on the sofa doing their own things, while the reporters are gathered in twos and threes chatting, and the topic naturally revolves around the China-Ukraine match at 5:30 PM.

It is only 10:30 AM now, and the bus is parked at the door, but it does not mean that it will leave now. The people who came down were all here to relax. After lunch, they will have a half-hour nap, and after they wake up, they will pack up a little before setting off for Allianz Arena.

Some tired reporters also found a place to sit down, and reporters who had relatively good relationships with the Chinese players would also sit next to the players and chat for a few words. After the Chinese team achieved good results, Qiu Suhui also relaxed the restrictions on media interviews. The current situation was absolutely impossible to see before the opening match.

Sophie did not rest. She was always paying attention to the direction of the elevator. She really hoped that Zhang Jun would appear there.

The elevator door opened, but Xiang Tao came out, which made Sophie a little disappointed.

Someone gently patted her. Looking back, it was Yang Pan. "Waiting for Zhang Jun?"

"Yeah." They were very familiar with each other, so there was no need to be polite.

"Don't wait. He won't come down until the assembly time."

Sophie turned her head to look at Yang Pan.

"This game is too important for him and the Chinese team. He doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone or anything now, so he chose to stay in the room alone."

"I see..." Sophie understood Zhang Jun. The greatest psychological pressure now is not on Qiu Suhui, but on Zhang Jun. He really needs to be alone to calm down. "But...it's not good to stay cooped up all the time, otherwise he won't be able to perform well during the game. Yang Pan, you understand this, right?"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I said long ago that Zhang Jun is the introverted type. But Sophie, don't worry, he's been through so many years, and he knows how to adjust his mentality. And I know very well that he is a big-game player. The more important the game, the more extraordinary his performance will be."

Sophie decided not to continue this topic. She joked with Yang Pan, "Are you ready? Don't let your legs go weak when the time comes!"

Yang Pan waved his hand, "How is that possible? I am the one who is the most prepared!"

Sophie remembered that year in high school, before the game between Shuguang and Ke Da High School, how calm Yang Pan was, not at all like a fifteen-year-old high school student. She thought about it carefully. She had really never seen Yang Pan nervous. He was such a mature person.

"You're busy, I have to go up and see what Zhang Jun is doing. That kid better not be asleep..." Yang Pan waved his hand.

"How is that possible? You're the one who's going to fall asleep!" Sophie teased, imitating Yang Pan's tone.

Yang Pan laughed loudly, waved his hand, and turned to the elevator.

He really wasn't nervous. It wasn't something he was pretending to be to show off. No matter when, he was definitely a person worth trusting.

※※※

When Yang Pan came in, Zhang Jun was reading a book on the bed. Yang Pan glanced at the cover. It was still that book written by Zhang Lintao, *Do You Care If I Play Football*.

"You've read this book countless times. Aren't you bored?"

"No." Zhang Jun turned another page. You could tell how many times the book had been read from the frayed edges of the pages.

"Well, that's right. You like to read this book because you're nostalgic."

Zhang Jun continued reading.

"Oh, I met Sophie downstairs." Yang Pan said to Zhang Jun while turning on the TV.

Zhang Jun put down the book and looked at Yang Pan.

"She was waiting for you to come down. We chatted for a while. I said you were adjusting yourself up here, and she told me to tell you that you should still pay attention to going out to relax and move around. She really cares about you."

"I know, I know..."

"So, have you adjusted yourself now?"

"I think, it should be fine."

"That's good. I think you should treat tonight's game like an ordinary game. You don't really need to prove anything. You're the best anyway!"

※※※

The weather was nice today. The sun was shining brightly, but it wasn't very hot, and there was a cool breeze blowing. Shevchenko was moved by the weather and wanted to go out for a walk, but he didn't expect to be surrounded by a group of reporters as soon as he got out of the elevator.

Most of these people were reporters from his country, followed by Chinese reporters. Of course, since he played in Serie A, many Italians also came.

"Andriy, you look great!" Someone shouted a greeting to Shevchenko.

Shevchenko naturally returned the greeting with a smile, but then the person asked a question, "So, there shouldn't be any problems with the game against China tonight, right?"

"I can't say that now. The Chinese team is not weak." He looked at the surrounding Chinese reporters and replied politely.

"Is it a happy feeling to enter the World Cup finals for the first time, achieve good results, and have the possibility of qualifying?"

"The World Cup has always been my dream."

"AC Milan didn't win anything last season, but you personally participated in the World Cup for the first time. Do you think the World Cup is more important than the club?" This was a question asked by an Italian reporter. He had some malicious intentions and must be a reporter from *Roma Sport*. However, Shevchenko was already used to it, and he replied, "For me, the national team and the club are equally important. It's just that we had too bad luck last season. Who doesn't want to win all the championships?"

The reporters laughed.

"It is said that you value this game against the Chinese team very much. In addition to deciding whether or not to qualify, is it also related to your relationship with several players from the Chinese team?" Shevchenko knew the reporter who asked this question, a Chinese reporter named Li Yan, who often interviewed him in Serie A.

Li Yan's question was also what other Chinese reporters wanted to ask. They were all very concerned about Shevchenko's views on the Chinese team and Chinese players.

"Well, that's right." Shevchenko thought for a moment before answering this question. "I'm very familiar with Yang. We often call each other during the World Cup. He is a very, very stable player, which is terrifying. He is fast, has an amazing long shot power, and has a good cross. During the game, he is a big trouble for us."

Shevchenko's evaluation of Yang Pan was very high.

"What about Zhang Jun?" Li Yan continued to ask.

"Zhang? He is my opponent." Regarding Zhang Jun, Shevchenko only had such a simple sentence.

Many reporters thought this showed Shevchenko's contempt for this former "loser". He was just regarded as an ordinary opponent in the game, and his status was obviously not as high as Yang Pan. But Li Yan didn't think so. There were probably not many people who could be regarded as opponents by Shevchenko. He didn't expect Zhang Jun's status in Sheva's heart to be so high.

"Thank you for your evaluation. Then let's look forward to your game with him." Li Yan said this in Italian. He didn't want his colleagues to understand what he meant.

Shevchenko gave him a knowing smile, obviously he understood.

※※※

In China, when the night was deep, in Germany, the night had just begun to fall. At this time, the Allianz Arena was already full of people, and everyone was waiting for the two main characters of this game: the Chinese team and the Ukrainian team.

And they are all still making final preparations in the locker room.

"I think everyone is very clear about the importance of this game, but I hope everyone can relax. Remember what I said to you before? Every step we take now is creating history. We have completed our mission, and after that, no matter how we go, there is nothing to worry about. Because our performance has exceeded everyone's imagination." Qiu Suhui stood in front of the twenty-three players of the Chinese team, giving them the final mobilization.

Everyone was ready to go, just waiting for Qiu Suhui to say, "Everyone, go!" and then they would rush to the stadium like a swarm of bees. Are they nervous? Yes. But they had never looked forward to a game starting so soon as this time.

Everything that needed to be said had been said. Qiu Suhui scanned the players and then opened the door behind him, "Go out." Except for the sound of cleats hitting the ground, none of the players made any other sound. They didn't say a word, and their expressions were very serious.

※※※

Shevchenko, as the captain of Ukraine, stood at the front of the team, and next to him was Zheng Jun, the captain of the Chinese team. The players from both sides stood side by side in the player tunnel, waiting for the referee in front to lead them into the arena.

Zhang Jun was still at the back of the team. He looked at Shevchenko from afar. Perhaps he didn't realize it himself, but whether he admitted it or not, Shevchenko was now the goal he wanted to surpass. He could only look at Sheva's back now. Maybe in the future, he would stand in front of Sheva and become a sign for others to surpass.

He didn't think so much now. He was just constantly caressing the bracelet on his wrist, muttering in his heart, "Sophie, watch me play!"

※※※

Sophie was on the phone with Li Yan. Li Yan urged her to take more pictures of Zhang Jun and Shevchenko, because the subsequent special plan needed them very much. At this moment, she heard a huge cheer from the stands – they were coming out!

Taking photos, shaking hands with each other, tossing a coin, exchanging team flags... After a set of fixed procedures, the players from both sides stood in their respective positions, waiting for the referee's whistle.

Zhang Jun stepped on the football and turned his head to look at the referee on the side, just like a sprinter on the 100-meter starting line.

The only difference was that the sprinter was waiting for a gunshot, while he was waiting for a whistle.

"Beep!"

"The referee blew his whistle and the game has begun! Zhang Jun kicked the ball to Wu Shangshan, and Wu Shangshan passed it back..."

Zhang Jun rushed towards the Ukrainian goal, while Shevchenko rushed towards the Chinese team's goal. The two brushed past each other, heading straight for their targets without a pause or hesitation.

After receiving the ball, Li Yongle did not immediately look for a long pass to the front, but passed it horizontally to the full-back Xiang Tao. Xiang Tao did not pass it forward either, but passed it back again, and the one receiving it was the center-back Li Suisheng. Their goal now was to pull apart Ukraine's formation and create space.

In terms of strength, the Chinese team and Ukraine are actually similar. Both teams have equal opportunities, and it depends on which side is better at seizing opportunities. As a commander, Li Yongle did not dare to be rash and adopted a more stable start.

Shevchenko pounced straight at Li Suisheng, hoping to intercept the ball on the spot and launch a counterattack. Li Suisheng did not dare to delay either, and hurriedly passed the ball to Li Yi in front, but his hasty and obvious pass was intercepted by Voronin, who followed up!

Ukraine intercepted the ball in the front court!

Li Suisheng was shocked and rushed towards Voronin in a panic. As a result, the other side cleverly poked the ball, and it fell to Shevchenko, who was unguarded!

Ukraine's nuclear warhead was unguarded in front of the penalty area, which was definitely a fatal mistake!

"Defenders!" An Ke shouted and stood in his position to attack. At this time, Zheng Jun arrived. Shevchenko took a little more time to adjust the ball. Just when his football was about to enter the penalty area, he was marked by Zheng Jun.

Zheng Jun propped Shevchenko with his arm, constantly squeezing him outwards. The strength was just right, which could interfere with the opponent's shot without using too much force to cause a foul.

Shevchenko had no better way in this situation. Seeing that the shooting angle was getting smaller and smaller, he could only shoot as soon as possible.

This kind of shot was basically no threat to An Ke. He shifted slightly and took the ball into his arms. After receiving the ball, he did not forget to give Zheng Jun a thumbs up. The captain's performance was indeed timely just now, otherwise he would really have no confidence to save Shevchenko's close-range shot.

The Ukrainian team had another shot at the beginning, which made the Ukrainian fans very excited. They sang and danced and took the lead in starting the performance, but they did not rejoice for long, and the Chinese team immediately returned the favor.

An Ke threw the ball out with his hand. He pursued success and did not choose to kick the ball far. Li Yongle received the ball, did not turn around, but passed the ball horizontally to Wang Liang, and Wang Liang passed it to Yang Pan again.

Yang Pan put on a posture of wanting to break through forcibly, and the Ukrainian player who was defending him immediately retreated. Yang Pan just passed the ball horizontally to Li Yongle, who had followed up. Li Yongle also put on a posture of wanting to shoot with great force, and a Ukrainian player left and flew up, hoping to block Li Yongle's shot. But Li Yongle's was also a feint. He flicked the ball to the left with his left foot, and at the same time jumped up to avoid the opponent, and then passed the ball to the left.

Kelu Li, who had pulled to the left, received the ball, and just the shaking of the upper body's center of gravity made it impossible to defend. Kelu, who won a one-on-one on the wing, did not seek to cross to the bottom, but cut inside. His actions immediately affected two Ukrainian defenders.

Just when the other party came at him, he knocked the football to the side of Li Yongle, and at the same time continued to move forward around the two people. At first glance, this was a two-over-one cooperation. No one would doubt it, because the intention to pass and run was too obvious.

The two Ukrainian players had a very tacit understanding. One pounced on Li Yongle, and the other went to chase Kelu.

Li Yongle performed quite calmly at this time. Unlike many Chinese players in the past, he would panic when he saw someone approaching. He was indeed going to pass the ball, but he was not passing it to Kelu, but...

"Zhang Jun!" the Chinese commentator cheered, because the ball was unexpectedly passed to Zhang Jun's feet!

Zhang Jun received the ball with his back to the goal. He did not observe the surrounding situation, but directly turned around and shot!

This shot was very sudden, and the Ukrainian goalkeeper had no reaction. He just tilted his head and watched the football fly out of the goal.

"Ah! It's off! It's off! What a pity!"

Although it was a pity, it was also a warning to Ukraine that the Chinese team was not easy to bully.

Zhang Jun, who shot off target, was not very frustrated. He just got up from the ground and ran back. He knew very well that the game had just begun and he would have opportunities.

Shevchenko watched Zhang Jun running away with his head down, and he also knew in his heart that the contest between him and Zhang Jun had just begun.

The duel between strikers is often linked to the team's results. Whichever striker wins, the team he is in will have a very high chance of winning in the end.

One prospers, all prospers; one suffers, all suffers.

※※※

After the first round, the game between the two sides was not as exciting as the audience imagined, but fell into dullness, and both sides made mistakes constantly.

"The game has started for twenty minutes, but it is not exciting. This game is too crucial, both teams are very nervous, and they can't let go. I think I can understand them. They are both facing this situation for the first time. Whoever wins, advances." The German commentator said this.

"Oh, Hoff. Have you ever thought about what if the two teams draw?" The guest commentator next to him reminded.

"I'm sorry, I neglected it. If the score is tied, the two teams will have the same win-loss record, but the Chinese team has more goal difference, and Ukraine will be eliminated. Then for the Ukrainians, they have no choice but to win. In that case, the pressure on the Chinese team will be great. No wonder their coach looks very anxious now."

Qiu Suhui was indeed very anxious, but he could only be anxious in his heart and could not show it. Most of the team is young, and he has always been regarded as the "stabilizing force." In any case, he must not show a trace of anxiety.

He was just observing the situation on the field. The game had been going on for less than half an hour, so it was not easy for him to make any adjustments. And this kind of psychological thing, he couldn't adjust it by changing players or formations.

Yelling loudly on the sidelines? That was even more of a joke. If psychological problems could be solved by shouting a few words, Chinese football would have rushed out of Asia ten years ago, because Chinese people are best at shouting slogans.

On the contrary, Ukrainian coach Blokhin was more revealing. As a teacher, his experience was no less than that of young people. When Ukraine was in a stalemate, he never returned to his seat for a moment and was always shouting on the sidelines.

"Andriy! Andriy! You are too far forward!"

"Push up! Push up!"

"Look up! Transfer! Transfer!"

If this were a game with few spectators, Blokhin's voice would definitely become the main character.

Zhang Jun had no outstanding performance except for that shot at the beginning. He was not active in running. It was a game that started at 5:30 PM, but he seemed like he hadn't woken up from his afternoon nap, which made people suspect that he was not in good shape today.

Zhang Jun himself was also very depressed, and the chaos on the field made him feel a little at a loss. Several times his teammates passed the ball, he couldn't receive it, and even if he received it, he could only kick the ball away from the goal under the opponent's close pressing.

Since he had scored goals in the previous two games, he had naturally become the strict defense object of the Ukrainian defenders.

"Zhang Jun gets the ball, he turns around, dribbles forward... Oh! Ukraine fouls to stop Zhang Jun's breakthrough!"

Zhang Jun knelt on the ground, spreading his hands helplessly. Most of the time, he was constantly repeating the process of falling and getting up again. Facing this Chinese man with amazing speed and skillful footwork, it seemed that fouling was the most effective way. And so far today, Zhang Jun's free kicks have not scored - it seems that he is really not in good shape.

Half an hour had passed, and the score was still 0:0. Qiu Suhui finally stood up. He shouted to Yang Pan on the sidelines, "Tell the others to increase the number of shots! Don't let Zhang Jun and Xiao Wu be the main attackers!" Although the Chinese team could advance if they tied, there were too many examples of losing the game after saying "a tie is enough to advance" in the Chinese team, so Qiu Suhui couldn't take the risk. It was best to win.

Then Yang Pan made a powerful long shot from thirty-five meters, which went over the crossbar, but it also scared the Ukrainian goalkeeper into a cold sweat.

"The others should also shoot more! Zhang Jun and Wu Shangshan will attract the attention of the opponent for us!" Yang Pan clapped his hands to his teammates and shouted loudly.

Zhang Jun increased the range of his running, but he no longer served as the main attacker, but together with Wu Shangshan, created scoring opportunities for the midfielders behind him.

Yang Pan crossed, and Zhang Jun headed the ball to the outside of the penalty area after jumping up. Li Yongle, who followed up, made a powerful shot, and the football was obtained by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Wu Shangshan and Zhang Jun made a cross-exchange in front, pulling the Ukrainian defense, and Kelu took the opportunity to smear in while dribbling the ball, but his shot in the penalty area was too hasty, and the strength and angle were not good enough, and it was easily confiscated by the Ukrainian goalkeeper.

After experiencing a stalemate, the Chinese team's attack improved slightly, but the midfielder was still too young and lacked experience in world competitions. One by one, the thunder was loud and the rain was small, and they just couldn't seize the final scoring opportunity.

This made Zhang Jun, who was creating opportunities for them on the side, feel anxious in his heart. If the opportunity was given to him, he might have scored several times.

Looking at the young players squandering this hard-won opportunity, Qiu Suhui was also a little anxious. The lack of ability to seize opportunities led to the team's inability to establish an advantage and then transform it into a victory. This was the immaturity of the team.

Watching Li Yongle make another long shot that went nowhere, Qiu Suhui couldn't help but wave his hand. This team was too young for the World Cup. Fortunately, their opponent, Ukraine, also lacked World Cup experience. If their opponent at this time was Brazil, they would probably have been beaten into a sieve.

"Wasting opportunities like this will be punished by God..." Qiu Suhui turned his head and said helplessly to Hu Li on the side as he returned to his seat.

This almost made him a jinx. A Chinese team attack failed, and Ukraine seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Shevchenko staged a good show of long-distance running. He turned around with the ball in the center circle and dribbled straight to the Chinese team's penalty area.

"Oh! God! He's so fast! None of the Chinese team can catch up with him!"

Li Yongle and Li Yi, the two defensive midfielders, watched Shevchenko pass between them, and it was too late to turn around and chase.

Yang Pan was trying his best to chase back, but the distance was still very long. It was estimated that by the time he caught up with the Ukrainian, he would have already scored. He could only wave his hand to let Xiang Tao, the fastest running defender, move to the center to defend. "Xiang Tao, stop him, even if you foul!"

In fact, without Yang Pan saying it, Xiang Tao also knew what to do. He had already moved to the center and quickly approached Shevchenko. But his tackle from the side was easily dodged by Shevchenko jumping up!

"Damn it!" Yang Pan cursed and increased his speed again.

"Two people! Two people go up!" An Ke directed the defense line, no matter what, he could not let him face Shevchenko one-on-one, that was the most dangerous situation.

Li Suisheng and Zheng Jun did not say a word and both rushed up. As long as one of them entangled Shevchenko, An Ke would have a chance to keep the goal safe.

The Ukrainian slowed down slightly, which made Li Suisheng vigilant and nervous. He could not see what the other party wanted to do at all. Just when he was confused, Shevchenko flicked the ball and shook him away.

Just when he thought he had successfully broken through, Zheng Jun rushed over from the other side again. The two collided firmly together in opposite directions. Shevchenko was not prepared enough and staggered slightly, but he cleverly hooked the ball with his foot and still did not lose control of the ball. Zheng Jun's collision only made him deviate slightly from the goal, but that deviation was enough.

Zheng Jun and Shevchenko were entangled in close combat. As a center-back, roughness was certainly undesirable, but the unique impulsiveness in him could not be underestimated. Many strikers hated the kind of tenacious defender, and Shevchenko was no exception. On the one hand, he had to withstand Zheng Jun, on the other hand, he had to find a shooting opportunity. In addition, Xiang Tao and Li Suisheng, who had been shaken away by him, would also rush up to surround him at any time.

Every second in the penalty area would be infinitely long, and it was only a matter of time before he lost the ball if he didn't react early.

Shevchenko flicked the ball again, and then immediately shot! When he flicked the ball, Zheng Jun stretched out his foot to block it, and the football happened to be shot out from under his crotch. This should be a very hidden shot. In this complicated situation, he could still calmly shoot a crotch ball, and Shevchenko's strength was really terrifying.

But this time he was facing An Ke, who was also terrifyingly agile. For this crotch ball, his 1.92-meter height suddenly sank, and he made a ground save, directly pressing the football firmly, leaving no chance for the Ukrainian team.

Shevchenko scratched his head with his hands in annoyance. At this time, he must have missed his partner Filippo Inzaghi at AC Milan very much. If it was Inzaghi who was facing Zheng Jun's entanglement just now, he would have fallen down long ago, and the referee would have given them a penalty without saying a word. Pippo's diving could no longer be simply defined by "fake", because sometimes, even he himself could not figure out whether he was faking or really falling. Anything done to the extreme is a kind of art and deserves respect. Pippo had already played "diving" to the realm of art. As the saying goes, when fake is real, real is also fake.

The TV broadcast was still replaying Shevchenko's breakthrough just now, and the performance of passing several people, while the Chinese team had already counterattacked with the ball.

Chinese fans cheered loudly. Although the game was a bit dull for third parties, it was definitely not the case for the fans on both sides of the field.

Li Yongle's sudden forward insertion disrupted the already chaotic Ukrainian defense, and Zhang Jun and Wu Shangshan also created space for their teammates while running. Kelu ran towards this gap and signaled Li Yongle to pass the ball to him.

The ball was passed to his feet, and he also successfully broke into the penalty area, but in order to avoid the Ukrainian defender, he and Zhang Jun ran to a line. When he flicked the ball to the right with his right foot, he completely ran to a point with Zhang Jun. The two were not tacit enough, and Kelu didn't know whether he should shoot himself or pass the ball in this situation. Even if he passed the ball, it was really difficult to pass with Zhang Jun so close to him. As for shooting, it was also so close that he couldn't swing his legs...

Zhang Jun was also hesitating at the beginning. He wanted to retreat and give the opportunity to Kelu. But then he thought about it again, the midfielder had wasted so many opportunities, and this time he ran into his own gun, he couldn't give up again. So, without waiting for Kelu to react, and without waiting for the opponent to react, he shot with his left foot!

The football suddenly flew towards the far corner, which startled Kelu, because he was just about to make up his mind to kick the ball hard, and almost kicked Zhang Jun's calf hard. This kick also startled the Ukrainian goalkeeper. When he reacted and lunged out, the football was already behind him.

Will this ball go in?

Sophie's shutter kept ringing, and she recorded all the flying trajectory of the ball. In her lens, the arc drawn by the football did not hit the goalpost, nor did it hit the side net, but directly bypassed the goalpost and flew out of the baseline.

Still no score!

Huge sighs.

"Zhang Jun snatched the shot that should have belonged to Kelu, and it can be seen that he is really anxious. Thirty minutes of the first half have passed, and he and the Chinese team have gained nothing. The only thing they can be thankful for is that Ukraine and Shevchenko have not scored either. But if this is the situation in the second half, then it is not worth celebrating at all. To qualify, to win his duel with Sheva, Zhang Jun and the Chinese team must try their best to score." The German commentator commented on the just-concluded round of offense and defense in a joking tone. As an outsider, he was still very relaxed.

But the two sides on the field were completely different feelings.

Zhang Jun wiped a handful of sweat with his sleeve, and finally cursed, "Damn it!" It wasn't even a corner kick. He knew he should have kicked the ball lighter and slowed down the ball so that the opponent's goalkeeper could hit the ball. Maybe his teammates could make up for the shot and score.

Kelu, who was robbed of the ball by Zhang Jun, was also depressed, but he was not good at losing his temper, because Zhang Jun had a very good relationship with him.

He could only vent his anger on the football and the opponent. Soon he forcibly broke through the Ukrainian defender with his weird skills, which made the Chinese fans howl like crazy. But his breakthrough, although beautiful, could not help the Chinese team score. He couldn't always dribble the ball all the way into the goal, could he?

Overall, the Chinese team had an advantage in the first half. Although they didn't score in the second half, their attack was colorful and had the appearance of the previous two games again.

Ukrainian coach Blokhin absolutely could not accept this situation. He continued to ask the players to strengthen their attack, put pressure on the Chinese team, and suppress their offensive momentum.

Qiu Suhui looked at the big screen. There were more than five minutes left before the end of the first half. Should he defend or attack in these five minutes? Generally speaking, the beginning and end of each half are good times to score, because the opponent often relaxes at this time. Ukraine is now counterattacking with all its strength, and there are considerable gaps in the defense, which is the opportunity for a counterattack. Qiu Suhui naturally did not want to give up this opportunity, he waved his hand: Attack!

An Ke saved a shot from the Ukrainian team, and then he kicked the ball far to launch the attack.

Zhang Jun, who was at the front, did not take the ball himself, but headed the football back. Kelu finally received the ball, and he dribbled the ball forward. Kelu's skills had also been shown in the previous two games, and the Ukrainian team also attached great importance to him, sending two people to block him in front.

Many viewers were expecting Kelu to pass two people, but Kelu made a feint, but turned around and passed the football back.

One-on-two, Kelu was not without confidence. It was just that if he had to pass the ball, he would delay the team's time, and now every minute and every second could not be wasted.

Li Yongle rushed up to receive the returned ball. He dribbled the ball forward himself, and no one came up to defend at the first time. This was the benefit of the defensive midfielder inserting to attack, because it was easier to cause chaos in the opponent's defense.

If the opponent must come up to defend, then choose to pass the ball. This time Li Yongle passed the ball to Wu Shangshan.

Wu Shangshan pulled to the right wing, and he could only choose to cross. However, he did not pass it to the front of the goal. When crossing, he did not grasp the footwork well, and the ball was passed to the outside of the penalty area.

Zhang Jun and Kelu ran in vain, but the ball was accidentally passed to Li Yongle's feet. At that time, Li Yongle also wanted to insert to the front of the goal, but he was half a beat late. He was regretting that Wu Shangshan passed too fast when he saw the football flying towards him. He was startled and hurriedly stretched out his foot to stop it, but accidentally stopped the ball too far, and the football bounced out three meters.

"It's over!" Li Yongle couldn't help but shout, and a threatening attack by the Chinese team ended without a result.

But just when he was preparing to make another effort and rush up to see if he could kick the football away in front of the two Ukrainian defenders, a person rushed out from the side, ignoring the flying tackles of the two Ukrainian defenders, and volleyed a shot!

The football quickly passed through the Ukrainian penalty area and flew towards the goal cunningly. The goalkeeper was blocked by the defenders and could not make a timely judgment. As a result, when he saw the football drill out from the crowd, his instinct made him take action, but it was too late. He didn't even have time to pray to God that the ball would not go in, and the football slammed into the net.

Who else could shoot this kind of ball except one person?

"Yang Pan! Yang Pan! Yang Pan!! Goal! Goal!! A brilliant long shot!!"

Li Yongle fell to the ground. He never expected that Yang Pan would appear here. His performance after the start of the game was not much, and he was almost forgotten. Who could have known that Yang Pan was just accumulating strength?

Yang Pan ran to the corner flag, and he kicked off the corner flag with one foot.

This was his first goal in the World Cup. A roar let him vent well. In the club, he was basically more of a substitute than a starter. He could not shake Gattuso's position, but Seedorf on the left did not even enter the Dutch national team this time, and Yang Pan also wanted to completely squeeze him to the bench in AC Milan. This beautiful World Cup long shot was an important bargaining chip.

Zhang Jun screamed and threw Yang Pan to the