Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 455 This match might be tough.
At Shenyang Wulihe Stadium, as soon as it got dark in the afternoon, the entire stadium was in an uproar.

Meanwhile, the media is filled with reports about the match between the Chinese team and the Japanese team at home.

Japanese media also reported on this extensively, and their reports naturally leaned towards the Japanese team, but the vast majority of them focused on how to deal with Shan Yongzhuo.

The Japanese team is also preparing for the match.

During the preparation period, head coach Zaccheroni had the entire team focus on practicing defensive tactics, the most crucial of which was how to deal with Shan Yongzhuo.

"If the defense is successful, the chances of winning are not small."

"Otherwise, it will be very difficult."

Zaccheroni has a very clear understanding of this: to defeat the Chinese team, he must defeat Shan Yongzhuo.

Zaccheroni's strategy is still to have one player closely marking Shan Yongzhuo while other players provide support nearby. This support means that the players closest to Shan Yongzhuo assist the main defender in their defensive duties.

This ensures that there are at least two players marking Shan Yongzhuo at any given time, which is the best strategy Zaccheroni could come up with.

After expending most of their energy on defense, it won't be easy to compete with the Chinese team on offense.

Therefore, counter-attacking became Zaccheroni's choice.

After the game started.

Amidst the deafening cheers of the Shenyang fans, both teams started the game very conservatively.

The Chinese team also used a defensive counter-attacking strategy, without actively contesting possession of the ball. Unexpectedly, Japan also adopted this strategy.

Japan adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Makoto Hasebe and Yasuhito Endo forming the double defensive midfielders responsible for sweeping up defenses. The three midfielders, Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, and Shinji Okazaki, did not push too far forward, but were positioned in the midfield.

At the very front, there was only one striker, Ryoichi Maeda, who was entangled with Li Weifeng and didn't seem to be making much of an effort to attack.

Zaccheroni's instructions to the Japanese team were to prevent Shan Yongzhuo from easily receiving the ball within 30 meters of the goal. Even if he did receive the ball, he should not be given a chance to shoot. Even if it didn't seem like a chance, the defense should not be relaxed.

As a result, for the first three minutes of the match, both teams played very conservatively, making the game look somewhat like a warm-up.

Shan Yongzhuo didn't take it too seriously. Yoshida Maya was closely guarding him, which was within Shan Yongzhuo's expectations. On Konno Yasuyuki's other side, Hasebe Makoto was a little ahead, and the two of them were also eyeing him covetously.

However, the overall situation still seemed a bit relaxed, and the pace of the game was very slow. The two teams seemed to be just testing each other, and neither seemed to be making the first move.

However, just three minutes later, the Japanese team launched a sudden and rapid attack.

After receiving the ball in midfield, Makoto Hasebe passed it to Shinji Kagawa on the wing.

After receiving the ball, Shinji Kagawa did not break through along the wing as the Chinese players had expected. Instead, he suddenly changed direction, shook off Liu Jianye who was not yet on his feet, and broke directly into the middle before delivering a very exquisite through ball.

Ryoichi Maeda's sudden turn and acceleration completely caught Li Weifeng off guard, leaving him completely outmaneuvered and creating a one-on-one situation.

Goalkeeper Yang Zhi had no choice but to come out, but Maeda Ryoichi took a shot from a tight angle, and the ball went steadily into the far corner of the goal.

Japan took the lead, which dampened the atmosphere at Wulihe Stadium.

The defense is to blame for this goal.

On one hand, Shinji Kagawa's breakthrough caught the Chinese team off guard, and then the Chinese team's defense was completely disrupted. Feng Xiaoting went to cover Shinji Kagawa, but gave Kagawa a chance to pass the ball calmly.

Li Weifeng also failed to stop Maeda Ryoichi, allowing him to create a one-on-one opportunity.

In fact, the Chinese team hadn't expected the Japanese team to adopt such a defensive strategy from the start. This allowed the Chinese players to easily control the midfield, leading them to push their formation further forward. However, what they didn't anticipate was that Japan's counter-attack caught the Chinese team completely off guard.

But the goal has already been scored, and there's no point in saying anything more.

The commentator lamented, "Japan took the lead after just three minutes, which is not good news."

"This match might not be easy..."

"The goal was scored by Japanese striker Ryoichi Maeda, but the biggest contributor to this goal was Shinji Kagawa."

"Since joining Manchester United this season, Shinji Kagawa has not had many good opportunities and has not performed very well."

"But back in Asia, he showed his true strength, and now the Chinese team has to face the situation of falling behind."

"..."

The fans in the stands shared the same thought as the commentators: this match was definitely not going to be easy.

After all, the Japanese team is quite talented.

Shinji Kagawa is considered a very high-profile star among them.

One of the key midfielders in Borussia Dortmund's two consecutive Bundesliga titles, he joined Premier League giants Manchester United this season, making it a truly successful career.

In addition, Atsuto Uchida, Makoto Hasebe, Shinji Okazaki... these are all players who have played in the top five European leagues and are able to play as key players in their teams.

In contrast, the Chinese team only has Shan Yongzhuo playing for Manchester City, Feng Xiaoting playing for Granada in La Liga, and Deng Zhuoxiang playing for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the German second division.

Moreover, apart from Shan Yongzhuo being the world's number one star, Feng Xiaoting is not a starter at all, and Deng Zhuoxiang has also gradually lost his starting position this season.

That's all...

Looking at it this way, the gap between the Chinese team and the Japanese team is actually quite large, especially now that they have conceded the first goal, which has made the fans feel a sense of discouragement.

The Chinese players were also somewhat frustrated, especially Li Weifeng, who was largely to blame for the goal conceded, as he was easily outmaneuvered by Ryoichi Maeda.

Liu Jianye, who had just been easily outmaneuvered by Shinji Kagawa, was even more indignant.

Meanwhile, the Japanese team was very excited.

Taking the lead at the start is very good news.

In professional football matches, sometimes a single goal is enough to decide the outcome of the game.

Although Japan doesn't think they can beat China with this goal, scoring first is always good news.

Head coach Zaccheroni was also very excited. He stood in front, clapping and shouting instructions to the players: "Pay attention to retreating!"

"Pay attention to defense!"

"The competition has only just begun, don't let your guard down!"

"Yoshida, keep an eye on the order!"

(End of this chapter)