Chapter 105 The Sun's Interference

After the game restarted, the Japanese team finally stopped pressing in the frontcourt and retreated.

However, the Chinese fans in front of the TV did not breathe a sigh of relief because of this. Instead, they felt a little regretful. They were worried that the Japanese team would use the frontcourt press to score another goal, but now they regret that the Chinese team has lost the opportunity to counterattack.

After the Chinese team scored a goal, they also saw the true meaning of "riches are found in danger." The Japanese team's press looked scary, but it often contained scoring opportunities for the Chinese team.

After the game restarted, Zhou Yi led the Chinese team to strengthen their attack, pressing towards the Japanese team's penalty area, constantly bombarding them.

Under the Chinese team's fierce attack, the Japanese team could only shrink their defense, looking a little embarrassed.

This was very satisfying to many Chinese fans.

But Zhou Yi didn't think the same way as them. He didn't just want to vent his anger, he wanted a real goal!

He hoped that the team could take a one-goal lead before the end of the first half.

The reason he was so anxious was that after the second half, the two sides would switch sides. The Chinese team would move to the Japanese team's current half. At that time, the Chinese team's enemy would not only be the Japanese team, but also the sun in the sky.

Looking at the weather now, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly. There was no possibility of a sudden change in the weather, with dark clouds gathering…

The second half would not be easy for the Chinese team…

So he urged the Chinese team to press the Japanese team and bombard them, but the Japanese team's defense was still very solid.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the score was temporarily frozen at 1:1.

Although they were unable to score another goal, the Chinese players looked relaxed when they left the field. After all, they had equalized after falling behind, and it was good not to go into the half-time break behind.

Only Zhou Yi was an exception.

When the camera gave him a close-up, Zhou Yi on the screen frowned slightly, unlike his relaxed and happy teammates around him.

He was not satisfied with this result.

※※※

During the half-time break, the Japanese team's coach, Takashi Sekizuka, was readjusting the team's tactics.

From pressing in the Chinese team's backcourt in the first half, he adjusted to pressing in his own half. Both were pressing, but with different positions, he could avoid large gaps in the defense.

At the same time, he could still ensure the intensity of the press on the Chinese team.

After making the adjustments, he had to rebuild the team's confidence.

"...The score is just a tie now, it's not a big deal! As long as we continue to put pressure on them in the second half, we can definitely turn the situation around! At the beginning of the second half, we must strive to attack and catch them off guard. It would be even better if we could score as early as possible!"

Why did Takashi Sekizuka emphasize scoring as early as possible at the beginning of the second half?

Because he was very clear about the weaknesses of his tactics.

There is no such thing as a tactic without weaknesses in this world. So, while the Japanese team's press did put the Chinese team in trouble in the first half, this tactic was not a panacea. Its weakness was that it consumed too much energy.

This kind of tactic requires players to run and press non-stop, which puts a lot of burden on their physical fitness. The Japanese team's players are not known for their physical fitness. In their daily training, physical training is not the most important thing, which is different from the Korean teams.

So the Japanese team's physical fitness is not outstanding, and they may not be able to support such tactics for the entire game.

As time goes by, the Japanese team's players' physical fitness will inevitably decline rapidly. If they adopted a general tactic, they might be able to ensure that they could complete the ninety-minute game with sufficient physical fitness. But using the current aggressive pressing tactic, their current physical fitness may only be able to support them for seventy minutes before they run out of steam.

If the Japanese team cannot take the lead before seventy minutes, they will face a series of serious problems caused by insufficient physical fitness. Modern football is based on running. Without this foundation, nothing else can be discussed.

The Japanese team, which has lost its ability to run, will be completely crushed by the Chinese team on the field, and their situation will be very difficult. They may not even be able to maintain a draw.

Only if the Japanese team scores as soon as possible and regains the lead can they change this result. If the Japanese team can take the lead again this time, Takashi Sekizuka will adjust the team's tactics as soon as possible, allowing the team to retreat appropriately and use the Japanese team's strong strength in the midfield to deal with the Chinese team. As long as they can maintain this one-goal lead, they can win the gold medal.

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At the same time, in the Chinese team's locker room, Blazevic was advising his players to be more patient in the second half.

The starting point for him to do this was naturally because the Japanese team's pressing tactic could not continue forever.

"...As long as we can avoid conceding a goal before the seventieth minute, the Japanese team will not be a threat. If they can't kill us, they will be killed by us." Jiang Xiaojun translated Blazevic's words, which were very vivid.

When there is a chance to score, they should invest in the attack, but if there is no good chance? Then don't be rash and play it safe. Blazevic was worried that this special opponent, Japan, would cause the Chinese team's players to have an adrenaline rush and lose their minds.

Fortunately, there was Zhou Yi.

So Blazevic pointed to Zhou Yi and told the whole team: "When you don't know what to do on the field, listen to Zhou Yi!"

※※※

As he was about to leave the locker room to prepare for the game, Zhou Yi suddenly asked Sun Pan, "Did you bring a hat?"

Sun Pan was very surprised: "No, I don't like wearing hats, they'll ruin my hairstyle."

"Does your messy hair even have a hairstyle?" Zhou Yi grinned.

"Do you believe me if I tell you that this messy hair was specially designed?" Sun Pan was very proud. "This is art, you don't understand!"

Zhou Yi was too lazy to argue with him, so he simply asked his teammates, "Did anyone bring a hat to the stadium? A baseball cap or a sun visor will do, as long as it has a brim."

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding why Zhou Yi suddenly asked this.

Seeing that no one stood up and said they had one, Zhou Yi frowned.

At this time, team leader Guo Bing also noticed Zhou Yi's request. He came up and asked Zhou Yi, "Why do you want a hat? You're not going to wear a hat to play football, are you, Zhou Yi?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "It's not for me to wear, it's for Pan Pan to wear."

Sun Pan was very strange: "Me? I don't wear a hat to keep goal, it affects my vision!"

Indeed, with a block above the eyes, if you want to see that area, you have to lift your head up, which is like adding an extra step, which will naturally affect your vision.

"But you'd better wear one in this game," Zhou Yi said.

"Why?" Sun Pan asked in confusion.

"Because of the light," Zhou Yi said. Seeing that Sun Pan still didn't understand, he simply said, "You'll know when you go on the field later. If there's no hat, then you'll have to overcome it yourself, Pan Pan."

After speaking, he walked out of the locker room, and the other teammates followed behind him in confusion.

Sun Pan shrugged and shook his head as he followed out.

Everyone didn't quite understand why Zhou Yi suddenly mentioned hats and light, but when they passed through the player tunnel and stepped onto the field, they instantly understood - the bright afternoon sun was shining into half of the stadium, and due to the strong reflection, the green turf was almost turning white. And this area was where they would be in the second half…

Every time someone came on the field, they glanced at the Japanese team's half and found that their eyes were filled with white, and they couldn't see the Japanese team's goal clearly at all. A lot of sunlight was reflected in their eyes, almost blinding them!

"Damn it!" Sun Pan stood in front of the goal and finally understood why Zhou Yi wanted him to wear a hat…

But he didn't have a hat, so he could only use his hand to shield his eyes, which made him feel a little better.

But he was a goalkeeper, he couldn't always use one hand to shield his eyes and keep goal, could he? Facing the opponent's shot, he could only use one hand to save it. Even if he was great, he couldn't be a one-armed goalkeeper…

Team leader Guo Bing on the sidelines also realized the seriousness of the problem.

The second half of the game began at 4:05 p.m. local time, and the sun was setting in the west, hanging directly in the half of the sky facing the Chinese team's half.

If the football flew into the air, it would be like suddenly coming out of the sun. By the time the Chinese team's players could see it clearly, the football would be very close, leaving them almost no time to react. This would greatly affect the players' performance.

After the players from both sides came on the field and stood still, the second half began, and the Japanese team kicked off.

As soon as they kicked off, they launched a fierce attack on the Chinese team's goal, which was completely different from their shrinking performance at the end of the first half. It was as if the entire Japanese team had been resurrected with full health and status after the half-time break…

After a series of passes, the football reached the wing.

Right back Hiroki Sakai, who had moved up, received a pass from his teammate and crossed the ball directly. The football drew an arc and flew towards the Chinese team's goal!

This was a very ordinary cross, not particularly exciting or outstanding.

But when Sun Pan looked up to watch the ball, he was hit in the face by the dazzling sunlight… For a moment, he was even blinded.

When he regained his vision, someone was jumping in the air to block some of the sunlight for him. But unfortunately, the person jumping in the air was not the Chinese Olympic team's defender, but the Japanese team's forward, Kensuke Nagai!

"Nagai!" The Japanese commentator shouted excitedly.

He jumped high in the air, while the Chinese team's defender, Guo Nu, was obviously half a beat slower. When he jumped up, he was completely suppressed by the opponent. Because Guo Nu was also disturbed by the sunlight when defending…

"Danger! A header from the Japanese team!" He Ping exclaimed.

With a bang, Kensuke Nagai headed the football, and the football flew towards the goal.

When the football flew towards the goal, Sun Pan couldn't see exactly where the football was flying, he could only rely on his experience and intuition to make a save. He pounced to the right side of the goal, but the football flew straight to the middle!

When Sun Pan finally saw the football clearly, it was too late to make any further movements. He could only watch helplessly as the football flew towards the goal, and Zhou Yi's words popped into his mind.

Because of the light.

This damn light!

※※※

Watching the football fly towards the goal, many Chinese fans' hearts stopped at this moment. They forgot to breathe and stared blankly at the TV screen. The time that was less than a second felt extremely long to them.

Many people were horrified and felt that the ball was definitely going in.

In full view of everyone, the football slammed firmly on the crossbar!

"Oh! The crossbar! Kensuke Nagai's header hit the crossbar! What a close call!" He Ping felt his heart beating wildly. Although he was sitting in a chair, he couldn't support his waist and just wanted to lie on the table…

In China, many fans in front of the TV simply fell to the ground. Their hearts, which had stopped beating, started beating violently again, as if they were about to jump out of their chests, as if they had just walked through the gates of hell…