In the Spanish team's locker room, the atmosphere was a bit heavy.

This was their battle for honor, but apart from Villa showing that kind of determination in the first half, no one else seemed to feel it.

Del Bosque was certainly not satisfied with the team's performance in the first half.

However, he couldn't directly criticize the players. After the failures of the first two games, he could already feel that his control over the team was not as good as it had been four years ago.

If he were to scold the national team players at halftime, Spain might just collapse on the field in the second half to spite him.

This team had won all the championships in the past three major tournaments. They probably had so much honor that they were tired of it and didn't care anymore. To put it bluntly, it was a team without ambition.

So Del Bosque could only coax them.

In the dull air, he began to praise the team's performance in the first half, attributing the score deficit to bad luck.

There was some truth to that.

Villa's backheel shot was so exquisite and sudden that it was almost perfect, but Sun Pan managed to save it. Wasn't that bad luck?

Zhou Yi's cross, or shot, accidentally passed to Guo Nu, allowing the Chinese team to score. Wasn't that bad luck?

So when Del Bosque said it was bad luck, those two moments flashed through the minds of the Spanish players.

Many people felt that this statement was correct, and they were indeed unlucky.

"But bad luck can't surround us forever, no one will be unlucky forever. In the second half, as long as we still have expectations and confidence in victory, we can defeat them. You must know that in terms of overall strength, we are superior to them. They rely entirely on that starting lineup and lack sufficient bench depth and changes..."

Del Bosque began to instill confidence in the players, urging them to persevere in the game.

On the other side, Lippi praised the team's performance in the first half, and then warned the players not to be arrogant and complacent because of a one-goal lead. Spain's strength was still very strong, and if they were not careful, they could still be bitten to death by their desperate struggle. This was not the result the Chinese team wanted.

"...If there is a chance to score, be sure to seize it decisively, don't be soft-footed. If you want to fight, you have to kill the enemy completely, don't be hurt by their counterattack," Lippi said.

He didn't say too much about specific tactics. Tactically speaking, he had already arranged it very properly, mainly relying on the players' execution level on the field.

And this batch of starting players had good tactical execution, especially after Zhou Yi came along. His understanding of the coach's tactical intentions could be said to be among the top three in world football today, without exaggeration.

With him, the coach's job could be made much easier.

※※※

The fifteen-minute halftime break passed quickly. After enduring a long period of advertisements, the audience in front of the TV followed the on-site hosts and guests in reviewing the highlights of the first half. The screen switched back to the Arena da Baixada.

The Chinese players had already walked out of the tunnel and onto the field. Zhou Yi was talking to his teammates, covering his mouth with one hand, a habit he had developed in European football.

No one knew what he said, but everyone laughed, and every Chinese player had a relaxed expression on his face.

The Chinese team was now in the lead, so of course they could be happy and relaxed. This was originally a very normal thing, but in the eyes of some people, it meant something completely different.

On the Internet, someone posted a Weibo, thinking that the Chinese players were not serious enough, and it was a bit too much to be laughing and joking in such an important battle of life and death. He also brought up old scores, saying that Zhou Yi and Guo Nu openly played around in the first half, which was not respectful enough to their opponents. If the Chinese team lost the game in the end, he would not be surprised at all.

Of course, this bizarre Weibo was quickly taken over by Chinese fans, who used all kinds of teasing and ridicule in their comments and reposts.

"Tell us, blogger, how much money did you bet on China to lose?"

"Blogger is sick in the head, did the Chinese team screw your wife or beat your kids?"

"When the national team has a tense expression, you say they are too stressed and have poor psychological quality. When the national team smiles, you say they are laughing and joking and disrespecting their opponents. If you're so capable, why don't you go to heaven?"

"You can't do anything right, you can't learn anything, just two layers of skin, all you know is to spray!"

"The blogger's certification is actually a financial writer, I beg you to go write your financial articles, don't come to climb up to such high-end things as football..."

……

However, some people were curious about what Zhou Yi had said to his teammates that made them so happy.

Well, it was actually very simple, Zhou Yi was just roasting Guo Nu again.

"Old Guo, I just paid attention and saw that the hair in that area on top of your head is obviously softer and thinner than the hair in other places, you have to be careful..." he said earnestly to Guo Nu.

As soon as Old Guo heard this, he perked up, knowing that Zhou Yi was going to make fun of him again, so he quickly made fun of himself in advance: "What's there to be afraid of? At worst, I'll become the second Zidane! Just a receding hairline!"

Zhou Yi shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, I'm not talking about that, I'm saying that you should reduce the number of headers in the future, otherwise, what if your hairline gets higher and higher, and you directly rub the front bald? It'll be like the samurai hairstyle of ancient Japan, even a receding hairline would be better than that!"

"You little rascal..." Guo Nu didn't expect Zhou Yi to use such a roundabout way to mock him.

The teammates next to him burst out laughing.

Zhou Yi waited for everyone to laugh enough, then raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

Everyone knew he had something to say, so they stopped laughing and looked at him seriously.

"There are forty-five minutes left, and leading by one goal is definitely not safe, so if possible, we should try to score more goals and kill the suspense of the game as soon as possible. So after the second half starts, we should try to speed up the pace of the football match and try to press them in all directions as much as possible. If we win the ball, we will directly launch a counterattack. If you don't know how to attack, or are not sure how to attack, just pass the ball to me, no matter where I am, I will definitely guarantee to be by your side..."

Everyone nodded repeatedly, accepting Zhou Yi's plan.

"This is definitely not our last game in this World Cup," Zhou Yi said finally. "We can definitely go further!"

"Yes! Go further!"

Everyone echoed in unison.

Then Zhou Yi stretched out his hand, and the other players put their hands on his, and then they shouted in unison: "One, two, three, Chinese team, go!!"

After that, they returned to their respective positions, ready to start the second half of the game.

※※※

In the second half, the two sides changed sides to fight again, and neither side made any personnel adjustments.

Spain didn't seem to have recovered from the halftime rhythm, but the Chinese team was very active.

The Chinese team kicked off in the second half, which was good news for Zhou Yi.

After controlling the ball at his feet, he did not pass it back, nor did he shift it horizontally, but directly made a diagonal long pass, sending the ball to the left side, passing it to Yan Min, who had pulled to the left side.

This long pass was very fast and very accurate.

Yan Min easily stopped the ball with his chest.

Then he took the ball forward and launched an attack.

When Spain's defensive focus shifted to his side, he also encountered strong defensive resistance. It was not impossible to move forward, but the success rate was low and the risk was high.

Before, he might have taken this risk and forced a bloody path.

But now he didn't have to do that at all, Zhou Yi was on the field!

While he was dribbling forward, Zhou Yi accelerated and rushed over after passing the ball.

Now, when he encountered resistance, Zhou Yi had just run to a place not far from him.

So Yan Min stopped the ball and passed it to Zhou Yi.

Facing the ball passed by Yan Min, Zhou Yi did not stop the ball, but directly used the outside of his right foot to flick the ball forward.

The ball flew up, drew an arc in the air, bypassed the Spanish defense, and appeared in the right rib gap of the penalty area.

"Good ball! Zhou Yi's wonderful pass!"

Wu Lei appeared in that gap. He didn't stop the ball, but chose to volley directly!

Of course, he shot the ball high...

"Wu Lei! Shot high! But it doesn't matter, the idea is right, the running is also very good, and the choice of the last kick is also good. If he stopped and shot again, he might be marked by the Spanish defender and lose the chance to shoot... The important thing is that doing so shows the momentum of the Chinese team!" Liu Jianhong kept praising the Chinese players and encouraging them.

Wu Lei himself felt very regretful that he couldn't seize this difficult opportunity. He put his hands on his head, then squatted down hard and slapped the turf in the Spanish penalty area.

When a player can feel annoyed and regretful that he has not seized such a difficult opportunity, it can actually show that his self-confidence has increased.

And in such an important game as the World Cup, self-confidence is very important.