Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 384 I'll start with a full-on opening sequence
Time flies.

Shan Yongzhuo stayed at the Kunming training base for three days, and the big battle was about to begin.

This match is highly anticipated in the country.

Firstly, this is the first match of the national football team's World Cup qualifiers, and it is also another major test for Gao Hongbo's team after winning the Asian Cup. Everyone in the country is eager to see how they perform.

Secondly, Shan Yongzhuo has returned to China from England and will be a starter.

Because of Shan Yongzhuo, many fans believe that the Chinese team will definitely defeat the Singapore team by a large margin; Shan Yongzhuo is the source of confidence for domestic fans.

Many optimistic fans even believe that with Shan Yongzhuo on the team, China will sweep across Asia and easily defeat teams like Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Australia.

Even some critics of the Chinese national football team believe that with Shan Yongzhuo in charge, the national team is definitely one of the strongest teams in Asia.

There's a saying in football: "Football is a sport of eleven men."

In fact, with the development of modern football, this statement has been increasingly proven to be true.

However, in reality, the presence of a top superstar can still significantly change a team.

This is not only an improvement in strength, but also an impact on the fighting spirit of other players.

For example, Andriy Shevchenko of Ukraine is the most typical example. With this superstar, Ukraine has reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

The team's efforts contributed to this success, but Shevchenko's presence brought immeasurable morale boost to the team.

Shan Yongzhuo is even more terrifying than Shevchenko.

Moreover, the Qatar Asian Cup has already proven how much the Chinese team has improved with Shan Yongzhuo on its roster. At least in Asia, it's hard to find a team that can compete with the Chinese team.

"With Shan Yongzhuo on the team, the Chinese team is fully capable of reaching the top 16 in the World Cup!"

"No one can underestimate the Chinese team with Shan Yongzhuo!"

"This match might become a showcase for Shan Yongzhuo; the Singapore team has no chance of containing him."

"..."

Because of Shan Yongzhuo, domestic media reports were unanimously positive, even praising him.

However, we can't blame them. It was Shan Yongzhuo's sudden emergence that allowed the national football team to rise from its slump.

This gives domestic media and fans tremendous confidence.

Therefore, tickets for this match against Singapore at Kunming Tuodong Stadium have been sold at exorbitant prices, and many fans who wanted to attend in person simply couldn't buy tickets and could only watch the game on television.

After all, the opponent was weak.

From the fans' perspective, this was a match where they crushed the weak, and of course, everyone loves to watch a match where they crush the weak.

On the other hand, Singapore's head coach, Rady Avramovic, is having a real headache.

Avramovic became the head coach of the Singapore national team in 2003 and stayed in that position for nine years.

As the head coach of Singapore, a team considered one of the weakest in Asia, Avramovic has been very successful.

In 2004, he led the Singapore team to win the Tiger Cup, a very prestigious title for a Southeast Asian team, for the first time. In 2007, he won the Tiger Cup for the second time.

In 2007, Zhu Guanghu was dismissed, and the Chinese Football Association turned its attention to the Serbian and Montenegrin head coach who was coaching Singapore.

Unfortunately, the shrewd Avramovic declined the invitation from the Chinese Football Association at the time and continued to coach in Singapore.

However, Avramovic is now extremely frustrated when facing the Chinese team.

"If Shan Yongzhuo had been there back then, how could I have refused!"

However, Avramovic then thought that if Shan Yongzhuo had been there at the time, he probably wouldn't have been chosen as the head coach of the Chinese team.

But now, he has to face Shan Yongzhuo and find a way to defend against him. This puts him in a difficult position.

At the pre-match press conference, Avramovic appeared somewhat pessimistic.

"The Chinese team is very strong. In my opinion, the Chinese team with its best players is the strongest team in Asia. It is not easy to beat them."

"However, the Singapore team will not give up. We will do our best to defend against Shan Yongzhuo and then strive for victory in the match!"

……

The next morning, the team had breakfast early and then took a bus to one of the lucky places for the national football team, Kunming Tuodong Stadium.

According to Gao Hongbo's plan, the team will stay at Tuodong Stadium for a day. In addition to warm-up and training, rest is also very important. The stadium has also arranged special rooms for the players to rest, so they can prepare for the game at 8 pm with peace of mind.

This is home-field advantage.

Playing at home, the Chinese national football team can prepare in a relaxed manner.

The Singapore team also arrived early; they arrived in Kunming the day before yesterday and reached the stadium at 3 pm today, giving the players more time to familiarize themselves with the field.

Soon, as the time drew near, the competition was about to begin.

Meanwhile, Tuodong Stadium was already packed with people, filled with noise, horn blasts, and, of course, the distinctive sound of drums typical of Chinese football fans.

Every spectator in the stadium was shouting excitedly, eagerly anticipating the start of the match.

After the warm-up, there was another period of time before the competition officially began.

The players from both sides entered the field.

The audience chanted the players' names enthusiastically, but there was one special case: the fans were only chanting one name, "Shan Yongzhuo".

It felt like this match was specially prepared for Shan Yongzhuo, with everyone else just there to make up the numbers.

However, the other players were also mentally prepared, as their reputation and strength were far inferior to Shan Yongzhuo's, and they were not even on the same level.

This put immense pressure on the Singaporean players, while also making them quite envious.

"That's the influence of an international superstar!"

"Truly worthy of being called the world's number one striker!"

"If only I could have that kind of influence..."

"That's how a player should behave to be considered successful!"

Of course, some players don't think that way. For example, Singapore's main center-back, Shayef, has some other ideas in mind.

"If I could defend against Shan Yongzhuo in this game..."

"Perhaps I can become famous in one battle!"

With that thought in mind, Shayev's eyes suddenly filled with fighting spirit as he looked at Shan Yongzhuo.

Gao Hongbo fielded his favorite 4-2-3-1 formation, with Yang Zhi in goal, Sun Xiang, Li Weifeng, Du Wei, and Liu Jianye as defenders, Zhao Xuri and Huang Bowen as the two defensive midfielders, Yu Hai, Deng Zhuoxiang, and Chen Tao as the three attacking midfielders, and Shan Yongzhuo leading the attack.

Dan Yongzhuo also felt a sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, mixed feelings) that this formation might be the most suitable for him.

After a series of pre-match ceremonies concluded, Lebanese referee Haddad blew the whistle to start the match.

The Chinese team was the first to get the kickoff opportunity.

After thinking for a moment, Shan Yongzhuo whispered to Chen Tao, "Just pass the ball to me, I'll go for a solo run to start the game!"

(End of this chapter)