Chapter 22 A Subtle Change

Zhou Yi received the ball again, but was once again surrounded by Australian players.

"This scene really reminds me of a scene from *Captain Tsubasa*..." Liu Hong said. Since the 2010 World Cup, a picture has been popular on the internet, using photos of real players being surrounded by multiple opponents to compare with similar scenes in *Captain Tsubasa*, to illustrate how much of a threat the player is, requiring so many opponents to defend him alone.

Zhou Yi also enjoyed this kind of treatment.

Faced with such an encirclement, Zhou Yi could only choose to pass back or sideways, passing forward was almost impossible.

This time, he also made a gesture to pass back. The Australian player Holman, who was pressing up, immediately took a step and rushed towards Zhou Yi, intending to interfere with his pass back—if he could interfere with the pass back, making it inaccurate, wouldn't Australia be able to take the opportunity to launch a counterattack?

After surrounding Zhou Yi, the Australian players were no longer satisfied with just preventing Zhou Yi from passing forward, they also wanted to launch an attack directly from Zhou Yi.

But this time, something was different.

When Holman tried to overtake from behind, Zhou Yi's foot, which was swinging out to pass the ball, didn't kick the soccer ball, but instead made a fake kick, a feint!

Then, he pulled back, pulling the soccer ball behind him as he retracted his foot. At the same time, he turned around, just brushing past Holman who was rushing in!

"Good ball!"

A huge cheer rang out from the stands of the Zhuque Stadium.

Zhou Yi, who had shaken off Holman with a turn, was now facing the direction of the attack. He looked up and saw He Ying retreating.

Zhou Yi didn't hesitate and passed the soccer ball directly to He Ying.

The originally tight encirclement suddenly had a gap, and a reinforcement suddenly appeared in this gap.

The delicate balance was suddenly broken...

※※※

"It's He Ying!" When He Ying received the ball, Liu Hong also shouted loudly.

At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on He Ying.

Everyone still remembered He Ying's performance in the last game against Japan. Now that Zhou Yi had passed the ball to He Ying, would China's attack end here?

Everyone watched He Ying with anticipation and trepidation, not daring to blink, for fear of missing something.

After receiving the ball, He Ying was completely unmarked, so he could turn around calmly. The Australian players then realized that there was still a Chinese player in their defense... Only then did they react, and two people immediately pounced on He Ying—no matter what He Ying's previous state was, when he received the ball thirty meters from the Australian goal, he had to be noticed.

So the Australian players turned to He Ying, which resulted in fewer people around Zhou Yi.

The solid quadrilateral encirclement formed by four people suddenly had two corners missing.

Zhou Yi then pulled away diagonally at this time and followed up as well.

When He Ying was targeted by the Australian players, he didn't choose to break through with the ball himself or force a shot, but very calmly passed the soccer ball horizontally again. Zhou Yi, who had followed up, happened to receive the ball.

Now Zhou Yi was facing the Australian goal, and he was only thirty meters away from the goal, which was already a very dangerous area!

The Australian players rushed towards Zhou Yi desperately. At this time, they must have been replaying the video clips of Zhou Yi's matches that their coach Osieck had shown them before the game. The scene of his equalizing goal against Japan was lingering in the minds of the Australian players at this moment.

They absolutely couldn't let him score this goal!

All the Australian players thought so, and their vision became extremely narrow, only able to see Zhou Yi in front of them, and not seeing anyone else, including He Ying.

After passing the soccer ball to Zhou Yi, He Ying didn't stay where he was, but continued to run forward. He saw the open space, so of course he had to run into the open space. This was his instinct as a striker. Even if he wasn't in good shape, and Zhou Yi might not pass the soccer ball to him again, he still had to run up. His poor form only meant his ability to get the ball and shoot wasn't good, but it wouldn't affect his other qualities.

An excellent striker must appear in the place where he should be in the game.

As for whether he would receive the ball, that wasn't important, as long as he ran to the position, he would have completed his task in this attack.

But just as he ran into the open space, the soccer ball rolled over...

He was surprised in his mind, but his feet stopped the soccer ball because of his body's instinctive control.

It was Zhou Yi who passed it to him!

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"Zhou Yi! Passing the ball... to He Ying!" Liu Hong was a little surprised.

Many fans in front of the TV also slapped their thighs and sighed when they saw Zhou Yi's choice: "Why pass it to him?!"

"Shoot yourself!"

But on the field, He Ying, who had stopped the ball, heard Zhou Yi's shout: "Shoot—!"

At that time, the Zhuque Stadium was actually very noisy. The enthusiastic Xi'an fans burst into huge shouts. This was one of the few attacks since the start of the game that China had been able to reach the core of Australia's defense!

But in such a noisy environment, He Ying happened to hear Zhou Yi's voice, which was very strange.

Perhaps Zhou Yi's voice wasn't ringing in his ears, but in his mind...

Or maybe Zhou Yi didn't shout at all, it was just the voice from the depths of He Ying's own heart. That voice was telling him that no matter what the situation, as a striker, he had to shoot at this time!

He Ying swung his right foot.

Australian central defender Spiranovic turned around and pounced on He Ying. Seeing He Ying swing his foot, he directly slid over, intending to use his body to block He Ying's shot.

But He Ying's kick was a feint, he faked a shot and then dribbled!

The soccer ball was dribbled to the left, and then He Ying swung his left foot directly without adjusting the ball. This time it was for real!

His left foot kicked the soccer ball directly, and the soccer ball drew a faint but real arc, flying towards the near corner of the goal!

Australian veteran goalkeeper Schwarzer was also completely fooled by He Ying's fake shot at the beginning. By the time he adjusted his center of gravity to make a save, it was too late!

The soccer ball brushed against the near post and flew into the goal!

The Zhuque Stadium was like an active volcano, erupting violently, with lava, smoke and heat composed of cheers soaring into the sky.

"He Ying! He Ying! He Ying!!" Liu Hong shouted excitedly at the scene. "Goal! Goal, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal!!! China leads Australia 1:0 at home!"

Those who had been looking at He Ying with suspicion before also jumped up and cheered: "Good ball!!"

"Beautiful!"

"Long live!"

Some people also cheered on Weibo: "Damn, He Ying's shot was awesome! I didn't even want him to start before the game, now I've been slapped in the face... but I'm happy to be slapped in the face, hahaha! Hit harder!"

※※※

On the field, the surrounding area was already filled with cheers, but He Ying himself was still a little dazed—I scored?

But he soon had no time to think about this question, because Zhou Yi had already pounced on him and hugged him, causing him to stagger and almost fall.

"I knew you could do it, haha!"

While pouncing on him, Zhou Yi shouted in his ear.

The other teammates also swarmed up, screaming and hugging them, surrounding them, completely submerging them both.

Everyone knew that if China could beat Australia at home, the road to the top ten would be much easier. And being able to take the lead against Australia in the game would greatly increase their chances of defeating their opponents.

"He Ying, who was heavily criticized before the game for his poor form, scored the first goal for China in this game, which is really unexpected. Because Gao Hongbo was widely questioned by public opinion when he insisted on letting He Ying start. Now it seems that Gao Hongbo's trust has been rewarded, and He Ying has not disappointed those who believe in him!"

Liu Hong said with some emotion. The pressure He Ying had been under before the game and the huge cheers now were in stark contrast...

He didn't know what this young man had experienced during this time, and what kind of changes had taken place in his heart. But what was gratifying was that in the end, this matter had a relatively satisfactory ending.

He Ying scored, and the calm and comprehensive shooter in front of the goal was back.

This was definitely a huge benefit for China. Zhou Yi was able to create many opportunities, but those opportunities needed someone to turn them into goals. He Ying was undoubtedly a very good choice.

※※※

After the celebration ended, He Ying and Zhou Yi returned to their own half of the field with the other teammates.

The two ran shoulder to shoulder, and He Ying suddenly asked, "Did you shout 'shoot' when you passed the ball to me?"

Zhou Yi smiled and shook his head: "No. You must have been hallucinating. And even if I shouted, you definitely wouldn't have heard it in such a noisy environment."

He Ying turned his head back and recalled the scene at that time.

Maybe it was really the desire from the depths of his heart, the belief to prove himself again.

"Thank you, Zhou Yi," he said.

"What's there to be polite about? You're a striker, I'm a midfielder, it's natural for me to pass the ball to you!" Zhou Yi patted He Ying on the shoulder.

The two smiled and ran towards their teammates who were already waiting in their own half of the field.

This could be considered a "return to the team" in a certain sense.