Chapter 27 First Victory

The second half of the game had just begun when the Mexican Olympic team made a substitution, bringing on their biggest star, Dos Santos.

Dos Santos's entrance did bring a strong attacking presence to Mexico's midfield and frontcourt, and his dribbling breakthroughs caused trouble for the Chinese team's defense.

Faced with the Mexican Olympic team's aggressive offense, the Chinese team chose to continue their defensive counterattack strategy. They would counterattack when good opportunities arose, and maintain a solid defense when they didn't. While defending, they also focused on ball control. As long as the ball was at their feet, they would pass it around in their own half, avoiding simply kicking it long into the opponent's half.

All of this was based on Zhou Yi's presence in the team. Zhou Yi was the one making the decisions about when to counterattack and when not to. If he misjudged, the team could find themselves in a precarious situation.

But in this regard, Zhou Yi was reliable.

Dos Santos's initial impact didn't last long. The Chinese team spent ten minutes gradually adapting to the changes Mexico made after Dos Santos came on, and then they stabilized their formation.

The main theme of the second half was basically the Chinese team and Mexico maneuvering against each other.

With fifteen minutes left in the game, the Mexican Olympic team realized that time was running out. They launched a frantic attack, putting enormous pressure on the Chinese team's defense. During this period, Sun Pan became a regular sight in close-up shots on television, making save after save, averting danger and keeping the Mexican Olympic team's shots out of the net.

In the ninety-third minute, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.

"The game is over!!" He Ping, the commentator at the venue, jumped up from his seat in excitement, raising his arms and cheering. "The game is over! The Chinese team defeated Mexico 1-0! This is Chinese football's first victory in the Olympics, their first three points!"

The Chinese team's substitutes and coaches, who had been waiting on the sidelines, rushed onto the field to hug and celebrate with the players.

"From 1988, when the Chinese team first participated in the Olympics, until now, twenty-four years have passed. In these twenty-four years, Chinese football has experienced the joy of qualifying for the World Cup and the bitterness of being eliminated in the top twenty qualifiers. Now, they are like a phoenix rising from the ashes, completing a magnificent transformation!"

Amid He Ping's excited commentary, the Chinese Olympic team players celebrated their victory wildly, then lined up and walked towards the stands where the Chinese fans were gathered, applauding and thanking them for their support.

This match was just an ordinary group stage game in the Olympics, and there weren't many spectators. Most of them were fans of the participating teams. The Chinese fans, dressed in red and waving the five-star red flag, were particularly conspicuous in the stands. They had been chanting slogans and cheering for the Chinese team almost the entire game. This made the Olympic team feel like they weren't playing on foreign soil.

Now that they had achieved the first victory in Chinese football's Olympic history, they should of course thank these fans.

"The young men of the Chinese Olympic team, they have created history! And we have become witnesses to history!" Finally, He Ping said with deep emotion.

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After the victory celebrations, Zhou Yi was pulled into the interview area to be interviewed by reporters.

He was named the best player of the match. In addition to scoring a goal, his passing and control in midfield were also key to the Chinese team's victory.

"We are all very happy to have defeated a seeded team. This victory is due to the team's unity and cooperation. We are a whole," Zhou Yi said.

"How does it feel to score your first goal in the Olympics?" a reporter asked.

"Very good. After all, this goal helped the team win."

"Now that we have defeated a seeded team, do we have reason to expect more?" a Chinese reporter asked.

Zhou Yi nodded and said in an affirmative tone, "Of course!"

He never concealed his ambition in the Olympics, because when he first decided to participate, he was thinking about how to win the gold medal.

Blazevic also praised the team at the post-match press conference, saying that this victory was due to everyone's efforts, and that he was very happy to lead this team to create history.

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The Chinese team's match against the Mexican Olympic team had just ended, and it was already eleven o'clock in the evening in China. Many people should have been washing up and preparing for bed at this time. But now, many people couldn't sleep at all and had no mood for sleep.

As soon as the game ended, the Chinese internet exploded.

On Weibo, "Olympic Team Wins First Battle" was instantly trending, and everyone was passionately expressing their excitement.

For Chinese fans, the past two years had actually been very happy. In last year's Asian Cup, the Chinese national team won the runner-up. Although they didn't manage to win the championship in the end, everyone enjoyed the process leading up to winning the runner-up.

And this time at the Olympics, the goal that the previous two Olympic teams had failed to achieve was actually accomplished by this Olympic team in just one game—their first victory in the Olympics!

Lin Hai Ting Tao, a famous online sports novel writer, excitedly typed one hundred and forty "Shuang (爽)" characters (meaning "爽": exhilarating, awesome, satisfying) on his own Weibo.

The excitement on Weibo was only part of the celebration on the Chinese internet. On professional forums like Hupu, the Chinese football section was flooded with news about the Olympic team. Talented netizens used all sorts of witty replies to express their inner excitement.

"When the media first said that this Olympic team was the strongest in history, I thought they were jinxing it, praising it to death. Now it seems that the strongest in history is truly well-deserved!"

"...This one game is enough for me to brag about for a year!"

"Upstairs, you're bragging for a year after only the first game, what about the games after that?"

"I didn't want to watch this year's Olympics at first, but the Olympic team's performance has made me full of interest and anticipation for the Olympics!"

"It is said that Gao Hongbo also watched the game live, does this mean that they might enter the national team after the Olympics?"

"I strongly suggest that Coach Gao recruit all five little dragons into the national team. In terms of strength, they already have national team level. After this Olympics, their international competition experience has also been supplemented. What shortcomings are left?"

"If these five little dragons all go to the national team... that lineup is too beautiful, I don't even dare to think about it..."

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The celebration not only spread online, but also offline. The bar streets in major cities were particularly lively tonight. Many fans who were too excited to sleep after watching the game came to the bars to drink and share their joy with everyone around them, whether they knew them or not.

Some bars had already taken note of broadcasting the football matches live in their stores during the Olympics. Judging from the situation today, business would definitely be good.

The next day, Chinese sports news also broadcasted the hope of celebrating the Olympic team's first victory all over the country. This treatment was comparable to the Spring Festival—usually everyone thought that TV news would only show news like the masses across the country welcoming the Spring Festival during the Spring Festival...

Although Chinese football had been scolded for many years, these events still showed that football was still the number one sport with huge social influence.

Zhou Yi's goal was repeatedly played in the sports news the next day, and any video related to the Olympic team's match on the internet would instantly gain a high number of clicks and a flood of comments.

Zhou Yi once again became a national idol, worshiped by everyone. Countless women cried out that they wanted to have his babies, and some people were asking online if Zhou Yi even had a girlfriend...

The day after the game, the head of the Chinese Olympic delegation also went to the Olympic team's residence to visit and comfort them, thanking them for making a good start for the Chinese Olympic delegation and encouraging them to continue their efforts in the following games, playing with their level and style.

Chinese football had never had a good image in China's Olympic history. In the eyes of many people, they could only cause trouble and lose face for the country. But this time, they had become the darlings, and the players of the Chinese Olympic team were a little unaccustomed to this treatment.

After the delegation left, everyone gathered together and talked about everything that had just happened with some excitement and surprise. Some people even told their teammates what the domestic media and netizens were saying about them.

"It feels like I'm dreaming... I'm afraid that after I fall asleep, I'll be back to reality... Are we in Inception?"

Everyone laughed.

Zhou Yi remembered that he had finally led this team to win the Olympic gold medal in the virtual space last night. This was the first time he had won a gold medal after simulating so many Olympic games.

Although he had said long ago that his goal was an Olympic gold medal, in reality, even in the virtual space, it was not easy to stand on the top of the podium.

If we're talking about dreaming, then this is probably the real dream.

But as long as you continue to work hard, dreams will also shine into reality.

So he took out a coin and spun it on the table. The coin lost its momentum after a while and fell flat on the table.

Then he spread out his hand: "Looks like we're in reality!"