Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 192 Japan's Desperate Gamble

Halftime.

In the Japanese team's locker room, head coach Zaccheroni returned early and sat on the middle bench, deep in thought.

Zaccheroni is a coach with a rich coaching resume, and since taking over as head coach of the Japanese national team, he has been quite successful in transforming the team.

This year, the most important goal is to win the Asian Cup, which is the most significant event since he took office.

Reaching the finals is an acceptable result, but their goal is definitely the championship.

Zaccheroni believes that beating the Chinese team is not a difficult task, even though they defeated Australia by a large margin, their weaknesses are still obvious.

The Chinese team has only one star player, and that star player's shortcomings are also very obvious.

Football is a team sport, and no matter how good a star player is, it is difficult to determine the outcome of a match. This is one of the most important concepts in Zaccheroni's decades-long football career.

However, Zaccheroni now has serious doubts about this idea.

“A top player… can still decide the outcome of a game.” Zaccheroni felt powerless as he thought about the first half of the match.

The opponent's number 10 is an unstoppable force. He even felt that it was unfair to these Asian teams to have such a player on the Asian stage.

Even the top Asian team, Japan, was down by two goals at halftime, which was quite one-sided.

Of course, this is just his opinion that it's unfair; Chinese fans would definitely think it's fair.

“Shan Yongzhuo…”

As he silently murmured the name, Zaccheroni felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Seeing the players return one by one, he knew he needed to make some adjustments. Yoshida Maya was simply unable to contain Shan Yongzhuo's performance, and even Konno Yasuyuki's help was of no use.

The defense was completely ineffective.

In addition, the defensive players on the field also suffered a significant blow.

Substitute!

This is the best option.

Zaccheroni looked at each player and decided to make a large number of substitutions to change the team's appearance, while also showing a do-or-die attitude.

Only in this way can we have a chance.

First, there was an adjustment in the forward line. Ryoichi Maeda, who had little impact in the first half, was substituted off, and Lee Chung-jung, the Korean-Hiroshima Sanfrecce forward, was brought on.

Jungo Fujimoto was substituted off in midfield, and young player Moe Hosogai got a chance to play.

On the most important defensive line, after much consideration, Zaccheroni did not substitute Yoshida Maya, who was mainly marking Shan Yongzhuo, but instead substituted another center-back, Konno Yasuyuki, with Sakai Gotoku.

Once the decision was made, Zaccheroni began to plan the second half of the game, focusing on only one thing: attack.

Trailing by two goals, the Japanese team had no other choice but to launch a relentless attack to break down the Chinese team's defense and score consecutive goals to equalize the score.

The second half began quickly.

The Japanese team made three substitutions, using up all their substitution slots, demonstrating their determination to everyone. This is not a decision that a coach of an ordinary team would make.

This is Zaccheroni's determination and a signal.

The commentator also analyzed, "Zaccheroni made three substitutions in a row, replacing Ryoichi Maeda and Jungo Fujimoto. It's clear that Zaccheroni is not satisfied with their performance."

"This is a desperate gamble."

"The Japanese team has used all their substitutions. If their performance doesn't improve, it will be difficult to make any further adjustments, and they will have to swallow the bitter pill of defeat." "On the contrary, if the Japanese team performs better, then we have to admire Zaccheroni's on-the-spot reactions."

"We'll have to wait and see in the competition."

……

After the match started, the Japanese team launched a fierce attack on the Chinese team's half, making three substitutions in a row. They were truly fighting with their backs against the wall and could only hope to score consecutive goals to have a chance to close the two-goal gap.

Many people noticed that the Japanese team was running more actively, tackling more fiercely, and their mental state was slightly better than in the first half.

This may be the effect of the adjustment.

The Japanese team also played a good offensive game, and Li Zhongcheng was the most eye-catching player.

Like the famous North Korean general Jeong Dae-se, Lee Chung-jung is a fourth-generation Korean expatriate living in Japan.

Although he doesn't speak Korean, Lee Chung-sung has always hoped to play for the South Korean national team when he grows up.

However, after joining the South Korean U19 national youth team in 2006, he did not win the favor of head coach Park Sung-hwa. Finally, in 2007, he accepted the invitation from the Japan Football Association, acquired Japanese citizenship, and participated in the Olympics as he wished.

After Zaccheroni took over, Li Zhongcheng earned a place in the national team based on his performance for Sanfrecce Hiroshima and participated in this Asian Cup.

In previous matches, he had always been Maeda Ryoichi's substitute. However, in the final match, Zaccheroni chose to remove Maeda Ryoichi, who was outstanding in headers, and gave him a 45-minute opportunity. Li Zhongcheng was eager to prove himself.

On the field, he was very active in his running. Although he touched the ball very few times, his tireless off-the-ball running still caused some problems for the Chinese national team's defense.

Finally, in the 59th minute of the match, Li Zhongcheng got his chance.

After a series of passes by the Japanese team, Zhang Linpeng's clearance inside the penalty area didn't go far enough, and the onrushing Keisuke Honda unleashed a powerful shot.

Yang Zhi was unable to react to the sudden shot, but fortunately the shot hit the post and bounced out.

The Chinese team's defenders relapsed into their old habits, letting their guard down for a moment.

However, it was this moment of relaxation that led to the goal conceded.

"Danger!"

Feng Xiaoting was the first to react, but he was too far from the ball and had no chance to rush over and organize the attack.

Zhang Linpeng, who was closest to the ball, was too late after hearing Feng Xiaoting's reminder. Li Zhongcheng had already received the ball and adjusted his posture to shoot.

In a moment of panic, Zhang Linpeng immediately lost her composure and instinctively pulled Li Zhongcheng down from behind.

Without hesitation, the referee blew the whistle, pointed to the penalty spot, and showed Zhang Linpeng a yellow card.

"Penalty!"

The CTV5 commentator sounded quite helpless, "The decision on this goal wasn't really wrong. Zhang Linpeng was too rash. Keisuke Honda went to the penalty spot. Now, we can only hope for Yang Zhi's performance..."

The commentator had barely finished speaking when the referee blew his whistle.

Keisuke Honda took the penalty kick, and Yang Zhi unfortunately guessed the wrong direction.

Break the door!

Thanks to this penalty kick, the Japanese team finally broke through the Chinese team's defense and scored a crucial goal.

"Keisuke Honda scored the penalty; Yang Zhi guessed the wrong direction."

The CTV5 commentator said helplessly, "This goal should serve as a wake-up call for the Chinese team's defense. A two-goal lead is not secure, and there is still a long time left in the game. They absolutely cannot afford to be careless!"

(End of this chapter)