In this internal starting lineup for the Chinese team, in addition to He Ying, there was Yang Muge, who came on as a substitute in the game against Japan and performed well, and Guo Nu, who didn't even get a chance to come on as a substitute in the previous Top Ten match. Li Fengwei, the veteran who started the previous game but made a mistake that led to a goal, didn't even appear on the training list for this game.

Clearly, he no longer met the requirements of the Chinese team.

But if they had taken him down before the last game, they probably wouldn't have been able to convince everyone, and it would have brought Gao Hongbo a lot of criticism. But after that game, the resistance to removing Li Fengwei was much smaller.

Gao Hongbo used this opportunity to quietly promote his renewal of the team.

The methods were no longer tough and direct, but the effect was better. Perhaps this was the experience he learned when he "lost the battle" in Changchun back then.

Yang Muge and Guo Nu's starting appearances were also uncontroversial. Both of them had performed very well in the recently concluded league, and they were in good form. If they were still worried about silly excuses like "putting too many newcomers at once will cause turmoil within the team," then they were truly brain-dead.

Sun Pan would also start in this game.

Although this was his first national team game, no one would question that he deserved to start. This was an absolute crushing of strength and advantage.

It was the same as when Zhou Yi started in his national team debut.

※※※

After the last meeting before the game, everyone returned to their rooms to wash up and sleep.

Lying in bed, He Ying tossed and turned.

Hearing the movement, Zhou Yi asked him, "Are you so nervous that you can't sleep?"

"I'm worried that my performance tomorrow won't be worthy of the starting treatment…" He Ying turned to look at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi smiled: "He Ying, why do you think you can start?"

"I… don't know."

"Of course, it's because you performed well in training and internal games during the training camp! Otherwise, why do you think Coach Gao would want you to continue starting? You're not his own son. Why would he favor you so much? Of course, it's because you performed well! So there's nothing to worry about. If you can start, it means you're qualified and capable of starting. Just perform well on the field. And if you don't shine in the east, you might shine in the west. Maybe after you perform well in the national team, you'll be able to get more opportunities in Barcelona?"

After speaking, Zhou Yi yawned and finally told He Ying not to overthink it before falling asleep. He still had to go to the virtual space to spar with Australia in advance.

※※※

The match day finally arrived. From morning, every Chinese fan, whether at work or at school, was a little distracted.

Australia was not the strongest team in this group; the strongest was Japan. This game was not the final battle to determine whether they could qualify for the World Cup, but it still attracted a lot of attention.

Because even without the above two points, it could not change the important nature of this game.

If the Chinese team could defeat Australia at home, then after four Top Ten matches, the Chinese team would surpass Japan with three wins, one draw, and ten points, becoming the first in the group. Japan had no game on this match day; they had a bye.

This was a very memorable thing – since the 2001 Top Ten matches, the Chinese team had returned to this position again, and many people would feel that this was a good sign.

But if the Chinese team lost to Australia at home, then with the same number of games as Japan, they would still be one point behind Japan.

A draw would only tie Japan.

Although the top two in the group stage can directly qualify for the World Cup finals, wouldn't it be safer to get first place?

Before the game, everyone was still guessing whether He Ying would be taken off the starting lineup and put on the bench.

He Ying's fans on Weibo were tearing each other apart everywhere.

Media reporters were inquiring from various sources, hoping to break the news before the starting list was announced, grab headlines, and attract attention.

However, they were still unsuccessful after working for a long time and could only wait obediently for the official starting list to be announced two hours before the game.

When the Chinese team had just arrived at the Xi'an Zhuque Stadium, the starting list was finally released.

Everyone looked for "He Ying's" name on it as soon as they saw the list.

They found it quickly.

He Ying still appeared on the starting list!

As soon as this result came out, it caused an uproar on the Internet. Many netizens criticized Gao Hongbo for being stubborn, and some fans ridiculed He Ying for definitely being Gao Hongbo's godson. Otherwise, why would he still give him a chance? Others confidently stated that if the Chinese team ultimately lost the opportunity to advance to Brazil, then Gao Hongbo's bias towards He Ying would definitely be the most important reason. Some people also called on the fans at the Xi'an site to put pressure on Gao Hongbo by collectively chanting "Replace He Ying" to prevent him from going all the way in the wrong direction.

"...I can see that He Ying is not in good shape. Can't Gao Hongbo see it? Human relationships, haha, this is where our country's local coaches are inferior to foreign coaches. No matter how high their professional level is, they can't escape the circle of human relationships..."

"In fact, Gao Hongbo is a very stubborn person, so this is in line with his character. But what I want to say is that success is due to stubbornness, and failure is due to stubbornness. Stubbornness is not a good character..."

……

There were many keyboard masters on Weibo with the level of Chinese national team coach who expressed their opinions and criticized Gao Hongbo's lineup.

They pointed out the country, stirred up words, and waved their hands, all sentencing He Ying to death in their hearts.

The pillar of shame had been erected, and they were holding large iron nails and hammers, waiting for the end of the game to nail He Ying to it.

※※※

At 7:30 p.m. Beijing time on October 16, in the Xi'an Zhuque Stadium, Hassan, the referee from West Asia, blew the whistle, signaling the start of the game. The pre-match uproar died down in front of this whistle. Of course, it was temporary. I was afraid that those people were holding magnifying glasses and趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴趴

Chapter 1 Excerpt from a Chinese Team Internal Document

In this internal starting lineup for the Chinese team, in addition to He Ying, there was Yang Muge, who came on as a substitute in the game against Japan and performed well, and Guo Nu, who didn't even get a chance to come on as a substitute in the previous Top Ten match. Li Fengwei, the veteran who started the previous game but made a mistake that led to a goal, didn't even appear on the training list for this game.

Clearly, he no longer met the requirements of the Chinese team.

But if they had taken him down before the last game, they probably wouldn't have been able to convince everyone, and it would have brought Gao Hongbo a lot of criticism. But after that game, the resistance to removing Li Fengwei was much smaller.

Gao Hongbo used this opportunity to quietly promote his renewal of the team.

The methods were no longer tough and direct, but the effect was better. Perhaps this was the experience he learned when he "lost the battle" in Changchun back then.

Yang Muge and Guo Nu's starting appearances were also uncontroversial. Both of them had performed very well in the recently concluded league, and they were in good form. If they were still worried about silly excuses like "putting too many newcomers at once will cause turmoil within the team," then they were truly brain-dead.

Sun Pan would also start in this game.

Although this was his first national team game, no one would question that he deserved to start. This was an absolute crushing of strength and advantage.

It was the same as when Zhou Yi started in his national team debut.

※※※

After the last meeting before the game, everyone returned to their rooms to wash up and sleep.

Lying in bed, He Ying tossed and turned.

Hearing the movement, Zhou Yi asked him, "Are you so nervous that you can't sleep?"

"I'm worried that my performance tomorrow won't be worthy of the starting treatment…" He Ying turned to look at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi smiled: "He Ying, why do you think you can start?"

"I… don't know."

"Of course, it's because you performed well in training and internal games during the training camp! Otherwise, why do you think Coach Gao would want you to continue starting? You're not his own son. Why would he favor you so much? Of course, it's because you performed well! So there's nothing to worry about. If you can start, it means you're qualified and capable of starting. Just perform well on the field. And if you don't shine in the east, you might shine in the west. Maybe after you perform well in the national team, you'll be able to get more opportunities in Barcelona?"

After speaking, Zhou Yi yawned and finally told He Ying not to overthink it before falling asleep. He still had to go to the virtual space to spar with Australia in advance.

※※※

The match day finally arrived. From morning, every Chinese fan, whether at work or at school, was a little distracted.

Australia was not the strongest team in this group; the strongest was Japan. This game was not the final battle to determine whether they could qualify for the World Cup, but it still attracted a lot of attention.

Because even without the above two points, it could not change the important nature of this game.

If the Chinese team could defeat Australia at home, then after four Top Ten matches, the Chinese team would surpass Japan with three wins, one draw, and ten points, becoming the first in the group. Japan had no game on this match day; they had a bye.

This was a very memorable thing – since the 2001 Top Ten matches, the Chinese team had returned to this position again, and many people would feel that this was a good sign.

But if the Chinese team lost to Australia at home, then with the same number of games as Japan, they would still be one point behind Japan.

A draw would only tie Japan.

Although the top two in the group stage can directly qualify for the World Cup finals, wouldn't it be safer to get first place?

Before the game, everyone was still guessing whether He Ying would be taken off the starting lineup and put on the bench.

He Ying's fans on Weibo were tearing each other apart everywhere.

Media reporters were inquiring from various sources, hoping to break the news before the starting list was announced, grab headlines, and attract attention.

However, they were still unsuccessful after working for a long time and could only wait obediently for the official starting list to be announced two hours before the game.

When the Chinese team had just arrived at the Xi'an Zhuque Stadium, the starting list was finally released.

Everyone looked for "He Ying's" name on it as soon as they saw the list.

They found it quickly.

He Ying still appeared on the starting list!

As soon as this result came out, it caused an uproar on the Internet. Many netizens criticized Gao Hongbo for being stubborn, and some fans ridiculed He Ying for definitely being Gao Hongbo's godson. Otherwise, why would he still give him a chance? Others confidently stated that if the Chinese team ultimately lost the opportunity to advance to Brazil, then Gao Hongbo's bias towards He Ying would definitely be the most important reason. Some people also called on the fans at the Xi'an site to put pressure on Gao Hongbo by collectively chanting "Replace He Ying" to prevent him from going all the way in the wrong direction.

"...I can see that He Ying is not in good shape. Can't Gao Hongbo see it? Human relationships, haha, this is where our country's local coaches are inferior to foreign coaches. No matter how high their professional level is, they can't escape the circle of human relationships..."

"In fact, Gao Hongbo is a very stubborn person, so this is in line with his character. But what I want to say is that success is due to stubbornness, and failure is due to stubbornness. Stubbornness is not a good character..."

……

There were many keyboard masters on Weibo with the level of Chinese national team coach who expressed their opinions and criticized Gao Hongbo's lineup.

They pointed out the country, stirred up words, and waved their hands, all sentencing He Ying to death in their hearts.

The pillar of shame had been erected, and they were holding large iron nails and hammers, waiting for the end of the game to nail He Ying to it.

※※※

At 7:30 p.m. Beijing time on October 16, in the Xi'an Zhuque Stadium, Hassan, the referee from West Asia, blew the whistle, signaling the start of the game. The pre-match uproar died down in front of this whistle. Of course, it was temporary. I was afraid that those people were holding magnifying glasses and watching He Ying's every move on the TV screen, not letting go of a single one.

After the game started, everyone quickly discovered that Australia, playing as the away team, did not shrink back and defend, nor did they all retreat to their own thirty-meter area, waiting for the Chinese team to attack. Instead, they were clashing head-on with the Chinese team in midfield—which was a bit unexpected.

Many people thought before the game that Australia might adopt a defensive counter-attack strategy, after all, this was their away game.

Zhou Yi became the focus of Australia's marking.

Everyone quickly discovered that no matter where Zhou Yi appeared in midfield, as soon as he got the ball, there would be four players wearing Australian jerseys around him. They were three to five meters away from Zhou Yi, neither too far nor too close, just surrounding Zhou Yi directly, cutting off his connection with other Chinese team players.

The positions of these four people were very obvious, as obvious as the constellation Orion in the night sky. As long as the weather was good, you could see it as soon as you looked up.

Moreover, they were not just dividing up the space around Zhou Yi in this way. Australia's coach Osieck must have watched the Champions League game where Dortmund challenged Manchester City away.

The Australian players' actions against Zhou Yi were very big. Originally, Australian players were very strong and had a physical advantage. When they specifically wanted to use their physical advantages, it was even more difficult to deal with.

Moreover, Zhou Yi was injured in the game against Manchester City, which was no secret, so the Australian players could make bigger moves to make Zhou Yi retreat in the face of difficulties, and let him involuntarily choose to avoid, thus losing control of the ball.

As long as Zhou Yi couldn't play, it would be equivalent to limiting the entire Chinese team.

As long as Zhou Yi was limited, it was not an unattainable dream for Australia to take three points from the Chinese team's home ground.

In fact, during the game, because of Australia's various measures against Zhou Yi, Zhou Yi did not play very smoothly.

Seven minutes into the game, he had been kicked over twice. The second time, he was kicked over by Australian forward Sirocco.

The referee Hassan showed Sirocco a yellow card.

And the entire Zhuque Stadium was filled not with boos, but with uniform shouts of: "Zei ni ma!!" (Fuck your mother!!)

The people of Xi'an greeted the Australian guests who had come from afar with their simplicity and enthusiasm.