Chapter 1 The Beginning

The second half had just begun, and the Chinese team used their kickoff opportunity to launch an attack on the Brazilian goal. However, this attack failed to threaten Gabriel's goal, as the Chinese team had committed too few players. He Ying retreated after taking a shot from nearly thirty meters out.

With no obvious openings in the Brazilian defense, the Chinese team was unwilling to engage them at the front.

After regaining possession, the Brazilian team launched a fierce attack on the Chinese goal.

Hulk received the ball in the front and, like a green giant, used his physical advantage to push past Zhou Yi, then charged toward the Chinese goal. Yang Muge stood ready in front; if Hulk broke through him, he would face Guo Nu's defensive line directly, which would be very dangerous for the Chinese team.

However, Hulk was tackled by Zhang Jiadong, who rushed in from the side, before he could even get close to Yang Muge.

Zhang Jiadong received a yellow card for the tackle from behind, but he prevented Hulk from breaking through, making the yellow card worthwhile.

"The second half has just started, and the Brazilian team has launched an aggressive attack, it seems they want to decide the match against China in the second half!"

Zhang Jiadong's foul gave Brazil a free kick from a slightly angled position. Hulk took the free kick himself, choosing to shoot directly rather than pass, hoping to blast through the Chinese wall.

But the ball hit the wall and bounced out of bounds…

"That wasn't a wise choice, Hulk!" the BBC's Mark Lawrenson criticized. "He should have passed!"

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Although Hulk's free kick didn't threaten the Chinese goal, Neymar came back two minutes later, faking out Zhang Linpeng with a beautiful move on the left wing, cutting inside, dribbling horizontally, and then shooting from the edge of the penalty area.

The ball went slightly wide of the left post.

In the fiftieth minute, it was Neymar again. After receiving a pass from Damiao, Neymar took a low shot from twelve meters out inside the penalty area. The shot was deflected by Guo Nu, who came up to block it!

"Neymar's shot… dangerous!" He Ping exclaimed, and the hearts of Chinese fans watching on television clenched.

Deflected shots at such close range are the hardest to defend!

The other Brazilian players in the penalty area eagerly raised their hands, ready to celebrate a goal.

But then Sun Pan dived across again, deflecting the ball with his fingertips. It was a desperate touch, as the ball didn't fly directly out of bounds but instead spun and hit the post, then bounced back…

Zhang Linpeng, in front of the goal, instinctively turned and kicked the ball away before Hulk could reach it!

Finally, the ball flew out of bounds.

Everything happened so fast that He Ping only shouted out when the ball flew towards the sideline: "Sun Pan! He has saved China again! An amazing, incredible save!"

"Ah! Sun Pan!!" the BBC's Mark Lawrenson also exclaimed, "Unbelievable that he touched that ball! The biggest contributor to China's lead in the first half, I think, is not He Ying, who scored, but this young goalkeeper who Chelsea loaned to Atletico Madrid! I wonder if Chelsea will regret loaning him to Atletico Madrid for two seasons after seeing Sun Pan's performance in this Olympics…"

As Sun Pan got up from the ground after making the save, he saw the ball flying towards the sideline. He looked away, clapping his hands hard, not to encourage his teammates, but to shout: "Lao Guo, just let him shoot! If he scores, I'll take your last name, Guo!"

Guo Nu's face turned red: "Wh-why not take 'Nai'!"

"Are you stupid? Is Neymar's last name 'Nai'? His last name is 'Jian Ren'!" Sun Pan pointed to the name on the back of Neymar's jersey. "Didn't you see it says 'jr' up there? Jr, abbreviation for Jian Ren!"

Guo Nu was speechless, feeling that something Sun Pan said wasn't right, but he couldn't figure out what it was right now. Because Neymar's name on the jersey was indeed "neymAr.jr"…

Zhou Yi sighed after hearing the conversation between the two. "It's a pity that Pan Pan and Lao Guo don't speak Portuguese…"

"Why?" Yang Muge didn't understand why Zhou Yi would have such a feeling.

"Otherwise, those two idiots' words would definitely deeply stimulate Neymar, making him completely lose his mind…" After complaining about his two teammates, Zhou Yi clapped his hands hard and loudly encouraged his teammates, "Hold on! It's nothing! Their attack is just a bluff!"

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Actually, Zhou Yi was wrong. Brazil's attack during this period was not a bluff, but a real threat to the Chinese goal. If it weren't for Sun Pan standing in front of the goal, it would probably have been breached.

Only five minutes into the second half, Brazil had already taken three shots, while China had zero. Now there was no need to mention the number of shots, because China was definitely far behind Brazil. Since Hulk came on, Brazil's attack had been like a shot of chicken blood, suddenly erupting, and their number of shots had naturally skyrocketed.

But Zhou Yi, to encourage his teammates, had to "lie with his eyes open."

The most active player in Brazil's fierce offensive was Neymar.

After his shot was saved by Sun Pan, he had another header, but it was too straight and was caught by Sun Pan. In the fifty-ninth minute, Neymar pushed a shot from ten meters out on the left side of the penalty area. Sun Pan turned and lunged back, but Neymar pushed the ball high.

As the biggest star in this Olympic team and the most remarkable talent recently born in Brazilian football, he was highly expected to lead the Olympic team to win the first Olympic gold medal in Brazilian football history.

This sense of mission made Neymar fight particularly hard on the field.

The commentators also praised his active performance, complimenting Neymar's talent from various angles and believing that Neymar should leave Brazil and come to Europe after leading the Brazilian Olympic team to win the Olympic gold medal.

"Europe is already open to welcome him!" Mark Lawrenson said somewhat nauseatingly…

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Neymar's active performance made many people feel that Brazil was only a stone's throw away from breaking through the Chinese goal.

But then, Zhou Yi used his actual performance to remind everyone that this game was not just Neymar's solo show. The Chinese team also had more than just Sun Pan who could dominate close-up shots.

In the sixty-fourth minute, the Chinese team launched a counterattack. He Ying's shot was of high quality, and Gabriel barely managed to block the ball in the air. Juan quickly cleared the ball, but the clearance didn't go far, and the ball flew to the outside of the penalty area, where Zhou Yi was waiting.

After Zhou Yi stopped the ball with his chest, Thiago Silva pressed up. Facing Silva's frontal defense, Zhou Yi faked a shot to the left and then suddenly pulled to the right horizontally. But his feint didn't completely fool Silva. The AC Milan's main center-back decisively tackled the ball, and he got to the ball before Zhou Yi could pass it.

The kicked ball bounced up and hit Zhou Yi's shinbone on his right leg, bouncing high and becoming very difficult to control.

Seeing this, Thiago Silva used his hands and feet to get up from the ground, intending to seize the opportunity to completely eliminate the threat.

But Zhou Yi was faster than him. Looking at the ball high in the air, he didn't wait for the ball to fall but chose to shoot directly!

Watching the ball overhead, Zhou Yi took a running start and then leaped into the air, then swung his foot and kicked the ball!

A high-difficulty volley from the edge of the penalty area!

His foot hit the ball before Thiago Silva's head could reach it!

With a bang, vibrating Thiago Silva's eardrums, but also relieved Silva – Zhou Yi finally chose to kick hastily under his pressure. Shooting from such a distance, with such a high-difficulty movement, the final result was predictable – it must be ridiculously high and ridiculously wide!

But when he looked back, he saw goalkeeper Gabriel standing in the air, raising his hands high, but not touching the ball. The ball fell behind him towards the goal!

Immediately following was another crisp sound, the ball hit the top of the crossbar and bounced out…

Seeing this scene, Thiago Silva couldn't help but open his mouth wide… He never thought that Zhou Yi's casual shot could still be within the frame of the goal, almost flying into the goal!

"Ahhhhh!" He Ping in the commentary box held his head in his hands and shouted regretfully. "The crossbar! The crossbar blocked Zhou Yi's earth-shattering worldie! If this ball went in, it would not only help China take a two-goal lead over Brazil, but I dare to bet that this ball would eventually become the best goal of this Olympics! A volley from the edge of the penalty area! Brazil escaped a disaster. I hope that while they are constantly besieging our goal, they can take the time to think that in the Chinese team, there is a pair of eyes staring at their goal!"

The commentator for Brazilian television was also frightened into a cold sweat: "God! Zhou Yi almost scored! This shot was too sudden! Fortunately, God bless, the crossbar helped us stop the Chinese's second goal!"

The BBC's Mark Lawrenson exclaimed: "Wonderful! But this ball is perhaps too beautiful, even God doesn't want to see such a goal, so he let the crossbar block the ball! What a pity! The Chinese team, which has been under pressure, almost got rid of the pressure with this goal! Zhou Yi almost killed the game! Although Neymar has been in the limelight, this Dortmund midfielder reminded the Brazilians that he is also a force to be reckoned with!"

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Watching the ball hit the upper edge of the crossbar and then bounce out of the baseline, Zhou Yi, who had just sat up, also regrettably slapped the grass beside him hard.

This ball was of course a lucky shot, but it would be great if it could go in!

The pressure on the defense can also be reduced a lot.

But unfortunately not…

He Ying looked back at Zhou Yi blankly. He didn't expect Zhou Yi's shot to almost score. Zhou Yi regretted that the ball didn't go in, but He Ying felt that although the ball didn't go in, it could scare Brazil a lot, and it could greatly boost the team's morale, allowing everyone to maintain hope under Brazil's bombardment.

So he gave Zhou Yi a thumbs up.