Chapter 1 "Wu Shangshan Passes... Li Yongle's Mistake... Yang Pan! Yang Pan! Yang Pan!! Goal! Goal!! A Brilliant Long Shot! China Leads 1:0!"

At that moment, countless people in China jumped up and shouted. No one would open their windows to protest loudly this time, because almost everyone in China was watching this crucial match.

Since this World Cup was held in Europe, the time difference was a major issue. All matches were held in the evening and early morning, Beijing time. Many companies had adjusted their work schedules, allowing employees who stayed up late to watch the games to come to work later.

Football had never been so important to the Chinese people. For a football match, school and work hours could be delayed. People's daily conversation revolved around the World Cup and the Chinese men's national football team. This kind of life seemed to exist only in Latin America and Europe, but now the Chinese were experiencing it too.

How many years had it been since the Chinese people had any interest in talking about their own football, their own football team?

As the Chinese team players left the field at the end of the first half, they passed by a Chinese fan section on either side of the tunnel. The fans gave the players thumbs-up and shouted, "Good job! Good job!"

Every player looked up as they passed. Regardless of whether they qualified for the next round or not, they were already heroes. Zheng Jun felt this deeply. In the past, they would almost always lower their heads and run quickly into the locker room, afraid of being hit by objects thrown by the fans. As for the national curses of "idiots," those were commonplace.

After he had become accustomed to that kind of player-fan relationship, the stark contrast he faced today made his nose tingle. He stood at the entrance of the tunnel, forgetting to walk inside, looking up at the fans giving thumbs-up. Before, they used to give middle fingers!

Wang Liang walked up from behind and patted Zheng Jun. "Why aren't you moving?"

Zheng Jun shook his head. "It's nothing, just resting for a bit."

"Hey! Don't rest here, let's go to the locker room!"

Zheng Jun looked back at the Chinese fans in the stands again, then reluctantly followed Wang Liang into the player tunnel.

※※※

Xiang Tao was as active as a gorilla in the locker room, jumping up and down. It felt like he, not Yang Pan, had scored the goal in the first half.

"Haha! Ukraine is simply too weak! Their threatening attacks in the first half were pathetic, I was practically idle…"

Yang Pan glared at him as he entered. "Be careful, you might not be able to handle the second half!"

Xiang Tao shrugged dismissively and found a place to sit.

Qiu Suhui was the last to enter, and he closed the door behind him, blocking out the noise from outside.

"We had many opportunities in the first half, but frankly, you didn't perform well. So many chances, and only one goal. This is the World Cup! Are you being so generous? Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to yourself! Are you all too nervous? Because this match determines whether you can qualify? So you can't play freely?"

Xiang Tao muttered, "I'm not nervous."

Qiu Suhui ignored this player who liked to show off at every opportunity. He continued to say to everyone, "Have you forgotten what I told you before? Every step you take now is a big step forward. The tasks assigned from above have already been completed, there's nothing to regret. Play freely, put all your focus into the match. As for how it turns out in the end, think about it after the match is over. Ukraine is not weak, they must have encountered the same problems as us in the first half, so someone shouldn't relax too much in the second half." As he said this, Qiu Suhui wasn't looking at anyone in particular, but everyone knew who he meant. A slight laughter echoed in the locker room, slightly easing the serious atmosphere that had just been there.

"We defended Shevchenko fairly successfully in the first half, but don't ignore the people around him. Overall, our offense suppressed Ukraine in the first half, so their offense was limited, but don't take it for granted. Ukraine was able to qualify as the top team in a fiercely competitive European zone, which speaks volumes."

※※※

Su Fei was hurrying to change the film in her camera. Since the newspaper had limited staff, she couldn't have an assistant, so she had to do everything herself. Fortunately, she used to work as a photography assistant, so she was very efficient at this.

Just after changing the film, she received a call from Li Yan in the stands.

"How's it going? Su Fei."

"Not bad, I got the goal on camera. But Zhang Jun and Shevchenko didn't do much in the first half, so I didn't take many photos."

"Hehe, don't worry. You'll have plenty to shoot in the second half, didn't you see?"

"What?"

"He and Sheva were both a little out of sync in the first half. I think the coach will definitely make some adjustments for them during the halftime break. Get ready to keep pressing the shutter in the second half, hehe!" Li Yan's laughter sent a chill down Su Fei's spine, but his meaning was clear:

In the second half, Zhang Jun would definitely go head-to-head with Shevchenko, and the Chinese team would go head-to-head with the Ukrainian team.

※※※

"Andriy." Blokhin stopped Shevchenko, who was about to go out. "I want to talk to you, don't think I'm nagging."

Shevchenko smiled. "Of course not. What is it, Coach?"

"You didn't perform well in the first half, I think you're aware of that, right?"

Shevchenko nodded.

"I'm putting Voronin up front, and you behind him. I think you know what that change in position means, right?"

"I need to be more aggressive."

"That's right. And being behind Voronin will help you hide yourself better, which will make it easier for you to score. I want you to bring out the best in the whole team. This match is important to us, and it's important to you. This is your World Cup, Andriy!"

The last sentence touched Shevchenko. He had helped AC Milan win almost every honor they could, but he had never won anything for his national team. This limited his status in the FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2004, he lost to Ronaldinho of Barcelona. Although he tried his best to maintain a polite smile on his face, the disappointment in that moment did not escape many people's eyes.

In the 2002-2003 season, he helped AC Milan win the UEFA Champions League trophy. He once said, "The Champions League is my World Cup." These words were full of helplessness. When he returned to Ukraine with the European Champions Cup, he was welcomed as a hero. At that moment, he truly believed that what he held in his hands was the glittering World Cup.

Now, wearing the Ukrainian yellow and blue jersey, he stood on the World Cup stage, at a crossroads between heaven and hell. This was the time he needed to stand up like a hero.

I am the European Footballer of the Year, am I not?

I am the best striker in the world, am I not?

I am the captain of Ukraine, am I not?

This is my World Cup, Andriy Shevchenko, is it not?

The Ukrainian tightened the captain's armband on his arm, said nothing, but he knew very well what he had to do. He reached out and pushed open the door of the locker room.

※※※

Zhang Jun, as usual, waited until the very end before walking towards the door. This time, Qiu Suhui stopped him.

"You're not in high spirits, Zhang Jun."

Zhang Jun was indeed like that. Both on and off the field, he acted as if he hadn't woken up from a nap.

"Yeah... I can't seem to find my rhythm." Zhang Jun rubbed his nose.

"Is the pressure too much?"

"I don't know." Zhang Jun shook his head. "Maybe it is, there are so many Chinese fans in the stands, more than the previous two matches... I don't want to let them down."

Qiu Suhui patted Zhang Jun. "Listen to me, it's good that you have this sense of responsibility. But football is football, especially in this kind of crucial match. It's best to put national sentiment aside, it will only make you lose your judgment. It's better to think of things simply."

Zhang Jun nodded as if he understood. He couldn't fully grasp what Qiu Suhui meant at this moment. The education he had received since he was a child was to win glory for the country, to defend the dignity of the nation at all times, to make his Chinese compatriots happy. Even on the football field, was that not a good thing?

Qiu Suhui suddenly grabbed the corners of his mouth and pulled them upwards. "Smile, Zhang Jun. Don't forget what it feels like to smile. Think about when you were at Volendam, hmm?"

Zhang Jun suddenly understood, he had a kind of epiphany. Smile, yes, it was such a simple thing.

Smile.

He put a smile on his face and said to Qiu Suhui, "I think I know what to do, Qiu Zhi."

Qiu Suhui nodded with a smile.

Then Zhang Jun turned and pushed open the door of the locker room. Passing through a passageway, he came to the hall, where he turned right, which was the players' entrance tunnel. In this hall, he met Shevchenko, who was walking from the opposite direction.

Both of them were thinking about their own things with their heads down. They only noticed someone next to them when they were about to turn towards the stadium tunnel. They looked up almost simultaneously and saw each other.

Both of them were a little surprised, but Shevchenko reacted first. He smiled and greeted Zhang Jun in Italian. Zhang Jun could only return the greeting.

Meeting under these circumstances, with these feelings, was truly an awkward thing. So neither of them spoke afterward, and they just walked out onto the field side by side.

They were the last players from their respective teams to appear.

Su Fei was a little surprised that they would come out together. But regardless of whether this was a coincidence or deliberate, taking a photo of it would definitely be a very outstanding shot. She quickly pressed the shutter, capturing everything from the moment they appeared at the entrance until they parted ways at the sidelines. She believed that she would get the best photo after developing it.

※※※

"Alright, viewers, welcome back to the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany! We are here to broadcast the final match of Group A in the German World Cup, between China and Ukraine. In the final stages of the first half, China took a 1-0 lead over Ukraine with a long-range shot from outside the box by number 7, Yang Pan! The second half is about to begin, we see that both teams are in position, waiting for the referee's whistle."

Ukraine kicked off the second half.

Shevchenko said to Voronin beside him, "Andrei, you should know this saying, right? 'The first five minutes and the last five minutes of each half are the easiest times to score.'"

Voronin looked at Sheva in surprise. "Are you planning to..."

"It's too late to score in the last five minutes. We need to score now." The captain's tone was so firm that Voronin thought they were certain to score.

"Now?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, after the kickoff whistle." Shevchenko nodded.

※※※

The referee hadn't blown the whistle yet. Was he deliberately making everyone wait? Su Fei thought to herself, her palms were sweaty as she gripped her camera. She hadn't been this nervous even when China played Brazil in the opening match.

What was wrong? It was just a contest between twenty-two people on the field. Why was she getting so nervous?

※※※

Finally, the whistle that everyone had been waiting for sounded. Flashbulbs went off in the stands, and Voronin kicked the ball to Shevchenko.

Zhang Jun didn't run straight forward as usual, but instead rushed into the center circle, lunging at Shevchenko!

This was the first face-to-face contest between the two, and countless people who knew their history were excited. They were eager to see Shevchenko beautifully dribble past Zhang Jun, or Zhang Jun accurately intercept Shevchenko's ball.

But Shevchenko's choice disappointed them—he didn't satisfy the audience, but instead passed the ball back. Zhang Jun paused slightly, slowed his pace, and changed direction to run past Shevchenko, but his goal was no longer the pass, but forward, forward, towards the Ukrainian goal, to his own position.

But when Zhang Jun took his position, he realized that he was offside—the Ukrainian defense was very high!

"It seems that at the beginning of the second half, Ukraine wants to launch a full-scale attack, they definitely want to equalize the score as soon as possible."

A long pass, Voronin jumped up and headed the ball back. The one receiving the ball behind him was not the attacking midfielder, Takachenko, but the forward, Shevchenko.

This change caught the Chinese team off guard. They had become accustomed to seeing Shevchenko at the very front.

After receiving the ball, Shevchenko found that there wasn't a single Chinese player near him. He didn't hold back, took a small step, and unleashed a powerful long shot.

This powerful long shot seemed no less powerful than Yang Pan's cannon shot. The football roared, and An Ke was on high alert. At first, he wanted to catch the ball directly, but he quickly changed his mind. Just by looking, he knew that it would be difficult to catch Shevchenko's shot directly, and he might fumble, which would be a disaster.

In a hurry, he had no choice but to punch the ball out with his fist.

With a muffled sound, the football flew out of the baseline, and he himself sat down on the ground in embarrassment.

Li Suisheng went forward to help him up. He was still muttering, "What's going on? It feels completely different from the first half, like he's become a different person..."

From that one shot, Zhang Jun could feel the fighting spirit emanating from Shevchenko. This most powerful striker had finally awakened. Now, he was in full gear, vowing to crush all obstacles in his path.

Ukraine got a corner kick. Zheng Jun was responsible for marking Shevchenko, and he followed him closely, afraid that he would lose sight of this dangerous player and let him rush in front of the goal.

When the two made physical contact, Zheng Jun quickly realized that something was wrong.

"Damn! How did he suddenly become so strong?!" he muttered to himself. He had several direct physical confrontations with Shevchenko in the first half. At that time, he didn't feel like he was at a disadvantage. In fact, judging from the results, he seemed to have a slight advantage.

But what about now? The advantage was gone. Guarding Shevchenko was like guarding a tank, and he couldn't back down or let him in. It was really hard work.

"But it's just a halftime break, how can the change be so big? Is he doping?!" he was still complaining in his heart, using both hands to push him away, but the pressure didn't lessen at all. Just then, he heard the referee's whistle to signal the corner kick.

The ball was kicked towards the goal, and the once orderly penalty area immediately became a mess. Attacking players were trying to switch positions to force the defenders to lose their target. The defense was trying their best not to let them succeed.

Even in this chaos, Zheng Jun was still entangled with Shevchenko, blocking him from the goal. He must have thought he was an indestructible wall.

Shevchenko looked at the football, and then jumped up.

Zheng Jun also wanted to jump up, but he immediately realized that he had nowhere to borrow strength. Shevchenko was pressing down on him like Mount Tai. They were both in the air, but Shevchenko, who was lunging forward, had an advantage over Zheng Jun, who was forced to jump backward.

This wall collapsed without any warning.

The ball was there. Shevchenko exerted force suddenly in the process of rushing forward and jumping, heading the ball!

Zheng Jun had already fallen backward. Facing this close-range header, An Ke was helpless. He didn't even jump. He only had time to raise his hands, and the football slammed into the net behind him. He could even hear the sound of the football rubbing against the net: "Swish!"

"Booooooom!!! Ukraine's nuclear warhead has finally exploded! He has equalized the score!! Oh, the second half has only just begun, this is a terrible start for China! Their lead didn't last long." The German commentator used the unique word "Boom" to describe the moment when Shevchenko scored, which was very appropriate.

The power of a nuclear bomb explosion was indeed different.

Shevchenko was very, very excited after scoring. He rushed to the camera on the sidelines and roared at the lens. He had finally gained the upper hand in the contest with Zhang Jun. So far, Zhang Jun had not scored, while he had already scored one goal.

Ukrainian coach Blokhin was also excited. In his opinion, what he said during the halftime break had worked. Sheva's entire aura was different. "His form is coming back, his form is coming back..." The old man kept muttering to himself. He seemed to have already seen the moment when Ukraine advanced from the group stage.

Qiu Suhui looked at Zhang Jun with a blank expression. He saw Zhang Jun looking at the celebrating Shevchenko, his hands clenched tightly, and a faint smile on his face.

Shevchenko had gone wild. Zhang Jun, what about you?

※※※

After celebrating the goal, Shevchenko deliberately looked at Zhang Jun. He was a little surprised to find Zhang Jun looking at him with a smile.

What the hell, he could still smile after conceding a goal! Shevchenko muttered to himself.

Zhang Jun was indeed smiling, but his clenched fists were trembling non-stop below, unable to stop no matter what.

That's right, Shevchenko.

Zhang Jun had been waiting for this day for a long time. Ever since he lived in the shadow of the Ukrainian at AC Milan, he had been waiting for this day, to compete against the former European Footballer of the Year in a formal match.

When he first arrived at Milan, almost everyone thought that he should be positioned as a substitute for Shevchenko and Inzaghi, only playing when the two were injured or suspended.

A young man from a third-rate team in a second-rate league, being able to enter a powerhouse like AC Milan, was already a great success. What else could he expect? What about a starting position, or a key player? Before coming to Milan, Van Basten was the top scorer in the Dutch league for three years. What did he have? Only a useless Dutch Cup.

Zhang Jun wanted to prove himself to the people, but he had too few opportunities. Everything changed after his father's death. He left AC Milan, and it seemed like he would never be able to prove to people that he was no worse than Shevchenko or Inzaghi. Fiorentina was in Serie B, and AC Milan was in Serie A, completely different worlds. Now that Fiorentina had been promoted to Serie A, if he had insisted on staying at Fiorentina, he would have had the opportunity to meet AC Milan in the league.

But Zhang Jun couldn't wait that long. Being able to meet Ukraine in the World Cup group stage was great. He wanted to compete with Shevchenko here and now.

※※※

"Yang Pan breaks through! His speed is terrifying! Nesmachniy can't keep up with his pace at all!"

After shaking off Ukraine's left-back, Yang Pan looked up at the penalty area, and then crossed the ball.

The first center-back misjudged the ball, a fatal mistake. Zhang Jun was still entangled with the defender marking him. Would he be able to receive the ball that was leaking through?

Actually, it wasn't a misjudgment by the defender at all. It was clearly a good pass to Zhang Jun, only Yang Pan could pass it like that. It was the result of more than a decade of tacit understanding!

Zhang Jun pushed the opponent away slightly with both hands, then swung his arm and jumped forward. The defender behind him also jumped, hoping to continue to put pressure on Zhang Jun in the air, forcing him to lose his balance and accuracy.

Zhang Jun could feel the pressure from behind, but he still gritted his teeth and accumulated strength in his waist and abdomen, contracting his body in the air, his eyes never leaving the football.

This is the ball that Yang Pan passed to me!

The power was released in an instant, like the firing pin of a gun. His head slammed into the football!

"Header!"

This was a header with a very straight angle, but close range, fast speed, and rebound! The goalkeeper's most hated kind of rebound!

The Ukrainian goalkeeper had already retreated into the goal. He reached out with his left hand towards the football, trying to push the ball over the crossbar.

He didn't touch the football, er, it should be said that the football didn't touch his hand. The rebound angle was very small, almost straight up and down. As a result, this powerful shot rebounded directly off the crossbar.

"Aiya! The rebound angle is too small, no threat at all! Hasn't Zhang Jun found his rhythm yet?"

Only Zhang Jun knew that this had nothing to do with rhythm. When the Ukrainian defender behind him jumped, his arm was on the back of his head, and when he swung his head to exert force, he pushed forward forcefully, so he just hit the top of the football.

Otherwise, the ball would have rebounded on the goal line, and then bounced into the goal.

What? The angle was too straight?

Zhang Jun did it on purpose, he wanted to shoot through the goalkeeper's legs.

It was just a pity, it should have been a very beautiful goal. Zhang Jun got up from the ground and rubbed his slightly sore back of the neck. The opponent's movements were concealed but forceful. The referee couldn't see it, and wouldn't easily award a penalty. He could only suffer in silence.

※※※

Who said I wasn't in form just now?

Five minutes later, Zhang Jun came back again. This time, after receiving Ke Lu's pass, he took a long shot from the edge of the penalty arc. Unlike Yang Pan's powerful long shots, Zhang Jun's shots were full of agility, no matter how much force he used.

It was true that this long shot had a lot of power, but it was an arc, going straight for the far corner of the goal. The Ukrainian goalkeeper jumped back with all his might, reaching out as much as possible, and barely managed to deflect the football, changing its trajectory and preventing the goal from being scored.

"Good shot! Beautifully shot! Great save! China gets a corner kick."

Everyone was regretting that this long shot didn't go in, but Zhang Jun just shook his head, maybe the arc should have been a little higher.

Li Yongle came over and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him. Zhang Jun looked at him with some surprise. "What are you doing here? Go take the corner kick!"

The corner kick was taken, but it didn't pose a threat. The ball was caught directly by the Ukrainian goalkeeper.

Zhang Jun and Shevchenko seemed to be able to influence each other. When one performed well, the other would definitely not be outdone. Zhang Jun had two threatening shots in a row, and Shevchenko responded with a powerful shot.

This was a duel between strikers. As the top scorers in their respective teams, they accounted for almost all the threatening shots. But this was definitely not a contest between two lone heroes, because their performance was inseparable from the full support of their teammates in the midfield and defense. The wonderful performance of the two forwards also drove the overall performance of their respective teams, and the two sides exchanged blows, playing a wonderful game.

After the match, someone asked Xiang Tao, "Zhang Jun and Shevchenko were obviously the protagonists of this match. As a supporting actor, what do you think of the feud between the two of them..."

At that time, Xiang Tao interrupted the reporter and widened his eyes. "Supporting actor? I don't think I'm a supporting actor." Then he left the stunned reporter behind and strode away.

Xiang Tao's words also reflected the views of all the players on the Chinese team. In this fierce match, almost everyone had an excellent performance. No one thought they were a supporting actor. On the contrary, they even felt that they were the protagonist.

Fierce tackles, key saves, beautiful passes, strange dribbling, and wonderful shots.

The commentator was shouting the names of the players like a madman.

"Oh! Shevchenko, speed! Shot!"

"Ke Lu! He's coming again, ahaha! The Ukrainian defenders are too nervous. Look at this dribbling, I really suspect he's Brazilian!"

"Xiang Tao's tackle is fierce, it looks like a foul... The Ukrainians are protesting, but the referee is ignoring it. Let's look at the replay, this is indeed a well-timed tackle. Voronin has a mouthful of grass and can't say anything."

"Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun! Zhang Jun!!! Ah... Shot high... He stomps his feet, bad luck... Just grazed the crossbar. A little further down, a little further down..."

"An! A great save, this is our goalkeeper from the German league, an excellent goalkeeper! He is Dortmund's treasure!"

……

This was a perfect second half. The Chinese and Ukrainian teams seemed to have put the matter of qualifying behind them. They just wanted to perform desperately, not to lose to their opponents on the field.

"In the first half, both sides were timid because they were worried about qualifying, but this second half is definitely the most beautiful half I've seen in this World Cup so far. Now, let's not worry about who can qualify, or calculate the win-loss relationship, goal difference, and goals scored and conceded. That's too disgusting. Let's enjoy this half!"

※※※

Yes, for a third party, enjoying the game was the greatest respect for these players. For the two sides on the field, they had to enjoy the game and strive for victory. It wouldn't work if they only enjoyed the process and didn't pursue the result. They were all professional players.

"Shevchenko breaks through Wang Liang! He crosses! Header! Post! Voronin hits the post, what a crisp sound!"

Subtitles were displayed at the bottom of the screen, twenty minutes had passed in the second half, and half the time had passed without anyone noticing.

"Time is passing so quickly, I didn't notice what minute it is in the second half. This fast back-and-forth transition is breathtaking, making the game exciting, but it's also making the players' stamina a hidden danger. They have already gone through two intense matches. If they continue to play like this, who will be the first to fall in the end?" The commentator took the time to express his concern about stamina, but he immediately became excited again. "Ke Lu has the ball, listen to the cheers from the stands. He is the most popular person on the Chinese team besides Zhang Jun. It's a pity we don't understand Chinese, what are they shouting?"

The shouts of the Chinese fans could be clearly heard from the television broadcast: "Get past him! Get past him! Get past him!!!"

"Poor Fodorov, he doesn't dare to make a move when facing Ke Lu. This is the edge of the penalty area, I believe the coach has emphasized Zhang's free kick skills to him."

Ke Lu is dribbling forward... well, maybe it's not appropriate to describe him as dribbling anymore. His whole body is shaking as if he has no joints, his legs are passing over the ball irregularly, but he doesn't touch the ball. Every time he shakes, you think he's really going to pass the ball."

"Oh my God! What kind of dribbling is this? Center-back Fodorov is dumbfounded. He's asking God in his heart, but God isn't saying anything. The commentator is shouting excitedly."

"Too weird! All the joints in his body are moving, Fodorov is completely at a loss, his legs are too wide apart... nutmeg! nutmeg! Ke Lu nutmegged him!"

Ke Lu's series of movements gradually diverted Fodorov's attention. As a result, his legs were so wide apart that it looked like a city gate. Ke Lu unceremoniously nutmegged him, a beautiful move to separate the ball from the player.

Ke Lu, who broke into the penalty area, didn't have much of a shooting angle, but he still chose to shoot. The ball was caught by the goalkeeper.

"A brilliant performance! He is a magician on the football field, no, a wizard! A wizard from the mysterious East!" In the eyes of this German commentator, the wizards from the East and the wizards from Africa are the same. "He is a genius! Absolutely!"

Zhang Jun was signaling to Ke Lu: You should have passed the ball to me just now.

Ke Lu shook his head. He wanted to score a goal himself. He hadn't scored any goals in this World Cup so far. At Chelsea, although Mourinho had always protected him, he had had a lot of disagreements with the fans, and he needed a goal to vent his frustration.

※※※

Adrianse, who had already retired from Volendam, was sitting in the south stand. In front of him was the Ukrainian goal, and he could clearly see Zhang Jun's performance.

He had watched all of China's matches, without missing a single one. He was mainly watching Zhang Jun. He paid less attention to Yang Pan, because they had only been together for less than a year. Adrianse only knew that Yang Pan's skills had improved, and the biggest improvement was in his mentality. He was more mature.

He could always be trusted.

Zhang Jun was still full of灵气 (literary talent or flair), and his mentality was better than before. Like Yang Pan, he had matured after training in Italy. But this progress was not enough, it was far from his original wish. If Zhang Jun really wanted to become an influential striker like Van Basten, this progress was far from enough.

Your road is still very long, Zhang.

Looking at Zhang Jun running on the field, Adrianse's eyes became blurred. The current Zhang Jun overlapped with the Zhang Jun of Volendam.

Suddenly, a loud roar came, interrupting Adrianse's contemplation.

"Andriy—Shevchenko!!!" The commentator shouted in a drawn-out voice, "Long shot! 2:1!! Ukraine takes the lead!!"

The old man's mouth was agape in surprise. He had only been distracted for a moment, how did Ukraine score a goal?

"God? How did this ball go in?" he muttered to himself.

※※※

The Chinese team's substitutes were dumbfounded. They stood there, looking at the sprinting Shevchenko in disbelief.

Qiu Suhui simply closed his eyes, not wanting to look at these things.

The goal was too sudden, catching him off guard. So were the Chinese players on the field. Even when Shevchenko took the shot, none of them thought the ball would eventually go in.

The big screen was already replaying Shevchenko's goal.

At that time, Shevchenko's position was a bit off-center, and he was facing layers of defense. Li Yongle was also constantly harassing him. He didn't even have room to run, and just shot the ball like that.

At that time, the football was about twenty-six meters from the goal. The ball was shot very cleverly. An Ke dived to save it, but didn't touch the football. But at that time, everyone thought the ball would definitely go out-- even An Ke couldn't touch the shot, so it probably wasn't within the range of the goal.

Even An Ke thought so, so when he saw Voronin in the penalty area raising his arms and cheering, he thought he was seeing things. This ball... can it go in?

※※※

The Ukrainians went crazy, from the players to the coaches, to the fans and the football association officials.

Halfway through the second half, they took the lead! This was really a good situation.

"Shevchenko's eruption is key, he drove the whole team. The ball just now, if he wasn't in good shape, maybe it wouldn't have gone in. Now we need to see how the Chinese team will fight back. They were still leading at the end of the first half. As a result, they were equalized at the beginning of the second half, and now they have been overtaken. It must be very demoralizing."

The commentator would be wrong if he really thought so. Shevchenko's goal had indeed stunned the Chinese team, but they quickly recovered.

"It's no big deal, they just scored another goal! There are still twenty minutes, we still have a chance!" Yang Pan shouted loudly.

Sometimes it makes people wonder, who is the real captain? It is rare to see Zheng Jun take the initiative to give orders or boost morale. On the contrary, Yang Pan has always been very active in this regard.

The World Cup has become a classroom for cultivating his leadership skills, a stage for exercising them.

Qiu Suhui was initially deliberately cultivating Yang Pan, but not anymore, because Yang Pan already had this awareness. Qiu Suhui had never promised him anything, but he had this idea himself: in the future, he would wear the captain's armband for the Chinese national team.

※※※

The Ukrainians, who had taken the lead, seemed to be too excited. The fans were shouting loudly: "Sheva! Qualify! Sheva! Qualify!" They were sure that the team could qualify for the group stage, and the greatest hero was their captain, their star player, their top scorer Shevchenko.

Shevchenko was satisfied with his performance. It was the first time he had scored twice in a World Cup, helping the team take the lead, and he had completely gained the upper hand in the duel with Zhang Jun.

He had already scored two goals, but Zhang Jun had not contributed anything in this match. It was good to be active, but what was the use of a forward who didn't score goals?

But seeing Shevchenko playing better and better, Zhang Jun was not in a hurry. He was trying to calm his mind, so that he could seize the gaps that others could not see in the complicated situation on the field.

"Zhang Jun!" Yang Pan shouted and pushed the ball to Zhang Jun, who was diagonally in front.

Zhang Jun took advantage of the situation, dribbled the ball and rushed forward. The Ukrainian defender naturally came up to defend him.

Some people had criticized Zhang Jun for relying only on speed to squeeze past defenders, completely taking advantage of the defenders' slow turns, without any technical content.

When Yang Pan learned about this comment, he dismissed it with contempt: "Let that damn critic watch Zhang Jun play football from high school, and you'll never hear an intelligent word come from his mouth!"

Facing Fodorov's defense, Zhang Jun had to break through to get closer to the goal. Shevchenko had scored in almost this situation just now. Zhang Jun couldn't do that, his leg strength couldn't support him taking a long shot without running, and without much room to swing his leg, he could only take other methods.

Swing his left leg towards the ball. It looked like he was going to step on the ball and stop suddenly, and Fodorov slowed down. But Zhang Jun used the sole of his shoe to tap the football forward, and accelerated his sprint!

What a Fodorov, knowing that his speed couldn't compare to Zhang Jun, he immediately stuck his body against him and grabbed Zhang Jun's shoulder with his hand, preventing him from running at all.

It wouldn't work to keep doing this, Zhang Jun decided to change his strategy.

Swing his left leg again, this time it was a real sudden stop. He used the heel of his left foot to gently knock the football behind him, and quickly turned around, using his right foot to flick the ball, hoping to get rid of the opponent. But when he turned around, he saw Fodorov again.

This difficult guy!

Zhang Jun didn't think about it and directly used his right foot to flick the football back, making the opponent run for nothing.

Fodorov was also a tough guy, he stubbornly followed the football and turned around again, but this time he was careful...

Zhang Jun didn't want to flick the ball back